The Awakening: Liam (Entangled Covet) (15 page)

dark, but the detective’s almost white blond hair stood out. She was at the far end of Ava’s yard, on the

edge of the woods that led deep into the mountains.

She’d hobbled halfway across the yard, when the detective said, “You need to go back inside, Miss

Michaels,” without turning around.

How had she known Ava was the person coming up behind her? She hadn’t made that much noise.

“I want an update on the investigation.”

The woman faced her. “We don’t always get what we want, do we?”

“
Excuse
me? I was kidnapped by this madman. I have the right to know what is happening.”

“You have the right for us to protect you, since you are marked by Liam, but you are not a part of our

world. You don’t get updates.”

“Are you for real?”

“Very real, Miss Michaels. Had I known you would
Dsert
Liam again, I wouldn’t have shared the bit I

did back at the Bradley Center. You don’t get to know about our world. Not with the choice you’ve made.”

Ava opened her mouth to argue, but the blonde held up her hand. “You’re an outsider by your own choice.

Accept that. You’ll be told what you need to know. Nothing more. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a case

to solve.” The woman turned and disappeared into the woods.

Ava was dumbfounded. She was an outsider.
She
was an outsider?

The whole damn lot of them could go to hell. She hadn’t asked for any of this. She’d met a man and

fell in love. It wasn’t her fault he turned out to be some kind of species she hadn’t known existed. How was

she supposed to make informed decisions if everyone was dead set on keeping her ignorant?

“What the hell are you doing out here? Get back in the house!”

She awkwardly turned to find Liam stalking across the yard to her.

“Stop telling me what to do!” She pointed one crutch at him. “I’m sick of everyone giving me orders on

how to protect your world, but refusing to give me information so I can protect mine.”

“Don’t do this now, Ava. It’s not the time.”

“It’s never the time, is it, Liam? All I get are half-truths or tight lips. I’m just as involved in this as you

are. I have a right to know everything about this world you involved me in. But
I’m
the outsider.” She took

a step closer to Liam. “
I
didn’t ask for any of this.
You
brought me into this and I demand answers.” What’s

deserted, Liam? What is really going on?”

“We’ve been over this,” he gritted out. “It’s a shifter term for being dumped.”

“The hell it is. Tell me the truth.”

“You know everything you need to know. Anything else doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me? I guess that’s what you’d have to believe, when you mark a woman and bring

her into a supernatural world without telling her, huh?” she scoffed harshly. “Fact check: It
does
concern

me and you don’t get to tell me it doesn’t. If you won’t give me answers, I’ll find someone who will.”

When she went to hobble past him, his hand shot out and latched onto her wrist. “Stay out of it, Ava.”

She tugged her arm, but stopped when his grip tightened. Lifting her gaze, she was stunned by the fear

she saw in his eyes. “Liam,” she breathed. “What won’t you tell me?”

His eyes flashed caramel before returning to normal. “You want truth? Here’s some truth. If you don’t

want to completely ruin me, you have to live. Now get in the damn
house
,” he roared.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Groaning, he hoisted her over his shoulder. The crutches fell from her grip to the ground. He squatted

and snatched them up, then stalked across the yard.

“It means: You. Have. To. Live. That’s pretty fucking clear.”

He yanked open the screen door. As he lowered her, her body slid down the length of his, her breasts

puckering as hard muscles scrapped against her nipples. Arm holding her tight to him, Liam stared down at

her, his breathing ragged. Caramel lightened the dark brown irises causing her heart to stutter.

Before she could even blink, both of his hands grabbed the side of her face and his lips were on hers.

Angry. Possessive. Punishing…desperate.

As quickly as he started the kiss, he ended it, ripping his mouth from hers. Anger still tightened the

contours of his face. He leaned down until he was eyes to eye with her. “All you have to concentrate on is

breathing. So do it.”

The screen door slammed as he backed out.

She pressed her fingers to her tingling lips, still reeling from the fury that had been behind his kiss.

Ruin him?

What wasn’t he telling her?

Chapter 8

The weeds had taken over.

Liam sat in Brit’s Jeep the next morning and stared at the cabin he hadn’t stepped foot in for almost a

year. It looked abandoned now. Definitely not how he’d always kept the place. He’d prided himself on

keeping the landscape groomed. Even when he’d been living with Ava, he’d come out here every so often

to mow, weed the flowerbeds, and dust inside. If the overgrown grass and beds weren’t a testament to how

badly the
Dsershon
had fucked up his life, he wasn’t sure what was.

Man, it was rough seeing the evidence of how little he’d cared. He really had changed after Ava left.

He’d known he had, but he’d been so caught up in his own downward spiral, in the damn despair the

Dsershon
created, he’d been oblivious to how much—until now.

The sad condition of his cabin was a rude awakening. If he hadn’t reconnected with Ava, he still

wouldn’t care. That was a hard pill to swallow.

What was even harder to swallow was the possibility he could return to that state. That he’d be trapped

again in hopelessness, with no way to emerge from it.

He shook himself. No. He wouldn’t go back to that. Ava
would
be his again.

And he had to win her back, get her to bond to him, before she made good on her vow to learn the

truth. She’d been so goddamn determined last night to get answers, it had scared the shit out of him. Before

Val had left, he’d made her promise to keep Ava abreast of any and all developments in the case. She

hadn’t been happy about it, but had finally agreed. And he would continue to slake Ava’s need for

knowledge by telling her anything she wanted to know about his world—except the true meaning of

Dsershon
.

She would
never
learn that horrible truth. Never know what she’d done to him when she’d left. He

knew Ava. It wouldn’t matter that she hadn’t known at the time, she’d never be able to forgive herself.

Then she
would
give him everything that he wanted, and he’d rather not have her at all than have her like

that.

Liam slipped out of the Jeep. When Brit made to follow, he shook his head. “I’ll only be a minute. I’m

not going inside, just grabbing a chest out of the workshop.” He didn’t want to go inside and see the layer

of dust coating the furniture or smell the stale air of an uninhabited home.

He walked around the side of the cabin to his workshop. Using his key, he opened the door and stood

in the entrance. The smell of wood wrapped around him, welcoming him home. Taking a step inside, he

looked around. Everything was exactly as he’d left it. Different types of lumber were stacked on the shelves

mounted on the wall. On another wall, paints and stains sat neatly in rows in an open cabinet. Even his drill

was exactly where he’d placed it, as if waiting for him to return.

When he’d left that day, he hadn’t known it’d be almost a year before he came back.

He pocketed his keys as his gaze fell on the large workbench in the middle of the room that displayed

the last project he’d worked on. As he stopped beside it, he ran his hand over the unfinished red cedar

wood. A few hours of work were all that was needed to complete it. A bit of sanding, lacquer gloss, and

hardware. He’d been so close.

He still remembered the joy he’d felt when he’d left this room for the last time. He’d been on his way to

meet Ava, ready to start their future as husband and wife, mates for eternity. Never imagining his life would

be destroyed instead.

Since then, he hadn’t thought about this chest and what it was meant to symbolize.

But he was now.

His secret project. She had no idea it existed. Had no idea he’d spent countless hours picking out the

perfect wood and gloss. The meticulous time he’d spent cutting and shaping the wood until it fit perfectly

together.

As he and Ava did.

It was time to finish what he’d started—in more ways than one.

After wrapping the chest in a blanket, he carried it out to the Jeep, and placed it in the backseat. Then he

returned to the workshop and put the sander, lacquer, and wrought-iron hardware into his toolbox. Just one

more thing. He looked around, his brows drawing together. Where was his wood burner?

The piece wouldn’t be complete without it. Then he spotted it sitting on a table. Relieved, he lifted it up.

What if it no longer worked? He couldn’t check it here. The power was shut off. He’d have to wait until he

got back to Ava’s, and hope the lack of use hadn’t killed it. Without this final step, the chest would only be

a chest.

And that was far from what it was.

He quickly added the burner to his toolbox and returned to the Jeep.

After setting it in the backseat, he looked up to find Brit watching him. “What?”

“It’s just good to see you wanting to work again.”

Liam only nodded, knowing even his friend didn’t understand the significance of this piece. But what

he’d said was true, he wanted to work, and just having that desire again spoke volumes. Before the

Dsershon
, Liam had become the most sought after woodworker across the southern states, making

everything from cabinets to rocking chairs to cribs for an exorbitant amount of money. Even after the

Dsershon
, he’d had people hunt him down, begging for a Liam Doyle original. But his passion had gone.

And over time, they’d stopped asking, which had suited him just fine.

But it didn’t anymore. The need to take a simple piece of wood and craft it into something magnificent

urged him to pick up his tools again. How long would that last if Ava kept pushing him away?

Why did her rejection keep coming back into his thoughts when he didn’t want to concentrate on that,

but on
her
—on them? Probably because it was the dark, ominous cloud that loomed over him, threatening

to steal his future again, no matter how much he wanted to pretend it wasn’t there.

He needed to talk to his therapist. Trevor would let him know what future he faced. Once he got back to

Ava’s and had the chest stored away, he’d give him a call. If his time truly was running out, he needed to

stop dawdling and initiate his plan of attack.

He climbed into the Jeep, and took one final look at his cabin as Brit backed up, hoping it wouldn’t be

the last time he saw the place.

When they pulled onto the narrow mountain road, Brit looked over at him. “Did she ever let you in last

night?”

“Nope.” Unlike what was portrayed in the movies, shifters were just as affected by the cold as humans

were. Though it would’ve been nice to saunter around shirtless twelve months out of the year, especially in

front of Ava, doing so would have meant certain frostbite and not sensual foreplay. “I huddled under the

quilt she gave me.”

“You want to stop at Aidan’s and grab a few things? Like maybe a jacket?”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

He still kept most of his stuff stored at Aidan’s since Brit’s place was the size of a shoebox. Besides, this

would mean he wouldn’t have to call Trevor, after all. Aidan’s mate, Jaylin, had actually been Liam’s first

therapist—until her tumultuous relationship with Aiden had gotten in the way. Luckily, the couple had been

able to work things out. Liam had been worried his friend was going to wind up
Dserted
right along with

him.

Brit veered off the street and up a dirt road that led to thecabin, and stopped in front of the house. As

they climbed out, Aidan came out to stand on the porch. Liam hadn’t seen his friend since the night he was

kidnapped, though they’d spoken on the phone.

He owed him a lot. If Aidan hadn’t sought out Jaylin to start treating his
Dsershon
, there would be no

telling how the last six weeks would have gone. He could very well be locked in a never-ending
Bahrraj

episode he would never come out of.

As Liam approached, Aidan’s brows drew together. “You’re different.”

He couldn’t help but smile. Unlike Brit, Aidan had no problem butting his nose into his business, and

would most likely be full of unwanted advice.

“Is your gorgeous mate around?”

His friend jerked back, eyes wide with suspicion. “What the hell is up with you?”

Brit chuckled. “See, I told you I felt like I’d entered the Twilight Zone. Seems I’m not the only one. It’s

weird, isn’t it, Aidan?”

“Yeah, freaking bizarre.”

Liam ignored the ribbing, actually enjoying that it didn’t fester any ugly emotions inside him. Before, he