Black (19 page)

“Are you here to save me, Liam Black?” She laughs, but her laugh isn’t a happy laugh though. It’s a mocking laugh. “After you sold me?” The laugh dies on her lips.

“I don’t save people, Rose. I’m the fucking executioner.”

“What are you going to do?”

I stand in front of her. “What I do best, Rose. Execute.”

She sits back down, her hands running through her hair nervously. She looks to me, then back to the floor, then to me again. “Who are they?” she asks.

“Bad people. People with a lot of backing.”

“I won’t see you ever again, will I?” She knows the truth, it’s in her eyes. Once I go down that path, there’s no way out of it.

“No, you won’t.”

“What if that’s not what I want?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does, Liam… it does.” A tear slips from her eyes and she doesn’t bother to wipe it away.

“Do you want a life with Isabelle?”

She doesn’t hesitate when she answers, “Yes.”

“That’s what I will give you. I will make it right, reverse the wrong that happened to you.”

“But I lose you?”

“You do.”

“Do you think you could have loved me, Liam Black?” More tears fall down her cheeks now.

“I do, Rose Miller, ever since I was sixteen.” She sobs now, tears staining her face. I walk forward and wipe them away with my thumb. Her hand reaches up and captures my hand.

“Don’t make me choose.”

“You don’t have to. I’ve already decided, Rose.”

She grabs my hand and takes me back to her bedroom, her red sheets a mess from where we slept. She pulls me down with her, and I tuck her into me. And we just lay there, no need for more words. She hugs me, and I hug her. I turn her head to me and lay my lips to hers. She tastes of maple syrup from the pancakes. She opens her mouth and kisses me. The salty tears are what I taste next, but I don’t stop, neither does she.

She climbs on top of me, removing her dress, now completely naked. I didn’t expect this, didn’t think she would want to know me after what I told her, but here she is kissing me with tears, loving me like I’m a man.

She’s never been on top, always below. I’ve always had the control, but she’s now taking it away, and all my clothes with it. There’s no foreplay needed, this isn’t a game, this is what she wants. She slides straight onto me, gasping as she does. Her head goes backward, tears still run down her face. I pull her to me and kiss her face, kissing away all the pain I have single headedly handed her without knowing it.

“I can’t erase you,” she whispers, pleasure taking over her body. I lift up and slam into her, giving her the pleasure she desires, then pull her down, sliding in and out of her.

“Don’t then.”

She screams my name, the tears joining in.

I don’t know how long we lay there for, but we eventually we fell asleep. I wake to her getting dressed. She sees that I’m awake and throws my clothes at me.

“We need to go back, back to where it all began,” she says smiling, but her smile is laced with sadness.

We’re back to where it all started, the water calm below us. It’s still green, but the fences to get in have been wired shut and I had to make a hole for us to get in.

She stands at the top the swimming hole. It’s a long way down. I haven’t been here since the last time I was with her. The water looks stiller today than I’ve seen it before if that’s possible.

She laces her fingers through mine like she did the first time.

“I don’t want to be loved again. I just want yours,” she says, referring to what she said all those years ago, about wanting to love.

“One…” she starts the count, “…I don’t want to lose you.”

“Two…” she continues, her hand squeezing mine, “…I don’t know if I can breathe without you.” Her voice begins to shake.

“Three…” I finally say, exactly the same as last time, “…Isabelle needs you.” Her eyes close, then we jump.

We stay in the water, just the two of us, swimming and kissing. Getting lost in each other, remembering each other.

“I thought I loved him,” she says as I hold her, her back floating in the water. Her head on my shoulder. “He tricked me, he needed a child. It was part of his inheritance when his grandmother passed away. She left it all to him, thousands, and the condition was that he had to become a father first.”

“He used you?”

“He did. Then he disposed of me like I was nothing but trash.”

“You are anything but, Rose.”

“I know that now, Liam, but the thought of it still hurts. Though out of all of it, I got her. So it was meant to happen, you know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Does it hurt you the thought of losing the person you love?” she asks me.

“I haven’t loved anyone, Rose.”

“You haven’t?” she asks, surprised.

“No…” I pause thinking on the question, “…but the thought of losing you hurts.”

“I’m glad, it means you care.” She smiles, swimming around so she’s facing me. Then her legs wrap around mine.

“You are a great man, Liam Black.”

“No! I’m not, Rose.”

“You are, you just don’t know it. Not enough people have told you. Listen to me when I speak it. You are a great man.”

“If you say so.”

He hasn’t left my house at all. He’s been here for two days straight. He’s waiting for something, but I’m unsure of what. I’ve been ignoring Robbie’s phone calls, unsure of what I should say, or be saying. Today I have Isabelle, and it just makes the day even better. I have to pick her up. Liam has been taking me to work every day and picking me up. Today I drove myself as I need to pick up Isabelle. I don’t know what he does when I’m at work, and I don’t really care, as long as he’s there when I come home.

Roger answers the door. He looks me up and down and sticks his nose up at me.

“He told you yet?” he asks, smugness in his voice, thinking he wouldn’t.

“Yes! You’re a fucking evil man,” I spit at him, wanting to throat punch the cunt.

“I’m surprised, you must be a better lay than you were before. Especially to hook a man like Black.”

“Oh really? I thought it was your small dick that was the shit lay.” He steps closer to me. His fist at his side is bunched like he wants to hit me.

“Watch what you say, Rose. I still have our daughter full time.”

“Please don’t threaten me.” Isabelle comes running out and straight into my arms. I don’t say goodbye. Instead I grab her bag and walk off with her.

I tell her on the drive about Liam that he will be at our house and she claps excitedly.

He’s at the door when I pull up. Isabelle runs from the car and straight into him, hugging his legs. He looks down, unsure of what to do. Then she tells him to pick her up like she understands that he doesn’t know. He does, and she wraps her little arms around his neck. His eyes are wide, and he looks to me for help. I walk past him, slapping his ass, and he laughs. The first ever laugh I’ve heard from him, and it stops me in my tracks. Making me turn to him, it’s a beautiful laugh.

“Don’t say a thing,” he warns. He puts Isabelle down to the ground and she runs inside.

He grabs my hand stopping me from going in after her. “I have someone here.” Panic sets in. I get my hand free and run inside to where Isabelle is and see her sitting on the floor talking to a little boy with blond curls.

“He’s harmless,” Liam whispers into my ear from behind me. “Hayden, you remember Rose,” he says, to which the little boy’s head turns around. His eyes are black. Shock radiates through me on a gasp.

“Hi, miss,” he says, turning back to Isabelle, who’s claiming his attention.

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out tomorrow. He’s staying the night.” My hands fly up to my hips, not because of the little boy—no child should be put through that—but because he’s saying what goes.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Is this your house?” I ask. I’m just joking, but his face turns serious. His hand goes to pull his beard again, and all I want to do is pull that beard so his lips smash on mine.

“I can go,” he says, walking past me. And just as he does, I do what I’m thinking by pulling his beard and placing his lips on mine. I don’t let our kiss go long, too many little eyes around. But, boy, do I want those lips in other places as well.

“Get your mind out of the gutter,” he says, breaking away. I smile and walk into the room. Hayden looks up to me and smiles. He looks thin for a kid his age. Like he isn’t eating enough.

“When was the last time you ate, Hayden?” I ask, and his little head turns to me.

“A day ago, miss,” he says like it’s not bad. I look to Liam to see him already cooking. I follow him in.

“They don’t feed him either?” I ask, my heart breaking for this kid even more.

“Not as much as he should be fed. That’s why he comes to me. I feed him and give him money.”

“Where would he be without you?” I ask.

“I don’t want to know,” is all the answer I get.

“Will you go to his place? Take him from them legally, though,” I add, knowing what he could do.

“Legally?” he questions.

“Yes, legally, Liam. Get them to sign a form or something. They can’t raise a child, look how they treat him. How do you think he will turn out?”

“Like me.”

“I remember,” I say, referring to his bruises from back when I first met him. “You aren’t bad though, Liam, just dark in some places.”

Liam cooks us chicken and veggies, and Hayden eats as much as he wants. As the kids are getting ready for bed, a knock sounds at my door and my heart rate picks up. I can’t answer it. I’m too afraid of what will be on the other side. Liam steps into the room I’m in and checks on me, then goes to the front of the house. I watch as he opens the door. Then I hear a familiar voice.
Shit.
I so didn’t want to have to deal with this.

“Why the fuck are you here?” Robbie barks at Liam. Liam just stands there, hands crossed over his chest, not answering. Robbie spots me straight away and goes to take a step inside the house, Liam blocks his path with his body, and it’s a pretty big body to block.

I walk up behind him and tap his shoulder. He relaxes just a bit but lets me through. “I have to talk to him,” I tell Liam. His head shakes no, but my eyes plead with him. He lets up and I walk outside with Liam watching us. Robbie starts to pace the front lawn, unsure of what’s happening, and keeps on looking back to Liam.