Indebted (30 page)

I left as fast as I could without even looking back—running for what felt like forever, but in reality was a few minutes. I knew someone was chasing me, and I was thankful to be a “fast little fucker,” as Lee had called me. Then, taking refuge in an alley, I waited while peeking around the corner.

“He got away, and no, I don’t know where he is.” Jeremy paused to, apparently, listen to what the contact was saying. “You promised I could have Aaron, and as long as you’re keeping your word, I will keep looking.” He stopped again, and then said something that took my breath away. “Did you get any more info from his phone? I understand you need Aaron, and I’ll find him. That little prick is mine for some much-owed lessons.”

He moved on further down the street, much to my relief. I was stunned. Somebody had either been listening to, or looking through, our phones. The former seemed more likely, knowing how high-tech the criminal element was nowadays.

The weight of the day overpowered me and I slid down the brick wall of the alley I’d been leaning against. My mind kept flashing through scenes of Tristan’s demise. Oh God, Liam was going to be devastated. Tristan meant the world to him, and now because of me, he was gone. How the hell was he ever going to forgive me?

Even though the guilt racked my mind, I couldn’t help but want Liam’s arms around me right then. It seemed like ages since I’d seen him. He was it for me. Even if he couldn’t forgive me for Tristan’s death, I wasn’t sure I could ever move on from him. I would have to try to gain a reprieve for my culpability in all this.

I wished time would turn back to our perfect weekend. Maybe I was not there for the right reasons, but it was flawless nonetheless. I wished, as I had that last day, our moments together would repeat like in
Groundhog Day
.

That thought made me instantly grab for my phone to call Liam. I paused when I realized I couldn’t do that. Someone was listening to Liam’s cell. It wasn’t safe. Well, shit! What should I do?

My heart thundered in my chest as I began to panic. I couldn’t go to Liam or call him. Where exactly did that leave us?

For some reason, all of a sudden my mind was filled with images of old spy flicks—the ones with secret codes and messages. It occurred to me that could be the answer to my dilemma.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I opened the text messaging app. My brain practically herniated as I tried to think of some obscure way to warn Liam. As I pondered what to say, I decided I shouldn’t stay in town. Liam taught me to “haul ass” if there was something going down, and he wasn’t around. I’d even been instructed to stash some money in a safe, untraceable place. Of course, after my earlier thoughts, my destination was easy to choose—Punxsutawney, the setting for
Groundhog Day
.

With the movie in mind, the choice of words for the text was easy. It included a message that seemed harmless enough, but I knew Liam would understand it as odd from me. The most important part was he got that someone was watching him. I wanted him to be able to focus on that, so it was imperative he knew I was okay and headed to Pennsylvania.

My thumb hovered over the send button as I questioned if this was the right thing to do.
Maybe you should wait a bit and send it when you’re in a safe place. Paranoia is not a bad thing when in your situation.

I saved the text as a draft and headed off to get the cash I’d put aside. It amazed me what could get done when I offered cash—almost as if they’d never seen the stuff. Soon, I was on a flight that happened to have a last-minute seat available. I couldn’t wait to get there because then, and only then, would I feel safe to contact Liam with my message.

As I landed, I sent my text to Lee. Then the thought occurred to me if they had bugged the phones, they might have also used tracking devices for location purposes.
Oh great, now they know where you are, stupid.
I could’ve also watched too many damn movies—who the hell knew. With a sigh, I made up my mind to sit at the airport and hope for something back from Liam. The last thing I wanted was to lead them to where I was going to be staying.

Those seemed like the longest hours of my life. I sat there at the Pittsburgh airport, people watching, and eventually moseyed over to the phone booth. After thumbing through the yellow pages, I found a place to stay about an hour and half away called the Country Villa Motel. It was outside of Punxsutawney. From the ad, it wasn’t much to write home about, but then again, I wasn’t on vacation.

Finally, I received a text back from an unknown number.
He saw his shadow.

My breath left in a harsh sigh of relief. He had understood, and from the looks of it, he had a new phone. Now the only question to answer was, how would he find me?

I sat there for another few minutes, thinking everything through. Finally, I saw a young concierge attendant close to the main entrance door, and an idea popped into my head. Going over to the desk, I asked for a sheet of paper, an envelope, and a pen.

Liam knew I had gone to Punxsutawney. That much was clear from his message. He would come find me when he felt it was safe. He may be upset with me about Tristan, but he would still want to know I was safe and see that in person. Liam was tenacious when tracking someone down. He would start here.

With that thought in mind, I placed all my eggs in one basket, hoping he would show up before the young man’s shift ended and Liam would be seen by the employee. I scrawled out a quick missive to Liam, stating my location and that I was safe, and most importantly, that I loved him.

With the note secured in the envelope, I trudged up to the boy and offered him a good deal of cash to hand this note to Liam, and only Liam—showing his picture on my phone to the clerk. He agreed and eagerly took the bills from me. I had no clue if it would work, but it was the only chance I had. If Liam didn’t get the note, I wouldn’t have my phone tomorrow to show another employee at the airport.

As they say, I’d cross that bridge tomorrow.

Resigned to going ahead with my plan, I trashed my cell and grabbed a cab—making my hour-and-a-half trek to the motel. Once my nerves finally settled a little and the knots in my stomach lessened, I realized I was starving. Thankfully, the motel had an in-house restaurant.

I ate my fill and went to my room to wait. Before I knew it, I was sound asleep.

A
N
URGENT
pounding on my door startles me awake.

My heart feels like it’s going to leap out of my chest.
Who in the world could that be? Have they found you already? What are you going to do if it’s not Liam?

I have no choice but to sneak up and look through the peephole. My breath catches in my throat as my eyes take in the sight of the distorted image of my hot-as-hell man. Relief pours through me and I swiftly unlock the door.

Just as the door opens, Liam barrels through it, gun drawn and ready for anything. He has this fierce expression on his face, and it’s embarrassing to say, but it turns me the fuck on.

What is wrong with you? Your lives are in danger, and your cock wants to come out and play?

Liam pauses in the room after checking to make sure I’m alone. He’s breathing heavily, almost as if he’s run a marathon, but more because of the intense emotions coursing through him. They are written all over his face: relief, happiness, disbelief, and a whole lot of lust.

Oh good, you’re not the only moron thinking with his smaller head.

He walks over to me as if I’m a figment of his imagination and grabs both of my arms with his powerful hands. I’m about to speak, but he surprises me and sinks to the floor on his knees, wrapping his arms around my waist so tightly I can barely breathe. Shock doesn’t even begin to cover what I’m feeling when I hear him sniffle and begin to shake. My big, strong man is silently crying. In a stupor and at a loss for what to do, I slowly run my fingers through his hair.

Liam’s voice is thick with emotion when he speaks. “Thank fuck you’re alright. I was so worried about you. All the scenarios running through my head were making me crazy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I’m overcome with my own emotions at the thought of what my boy has been through in the last several hours, including the loss of a friend. He has also probably been going apeshit because he didn’t know where I was.

“Shhh, Lee, I’m here and I’m okay. I’m sorry I took so long to let you know.”

He pulls back and gazes at me, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I’m so relieved. I thought those assholes had you. It never even occurred to me that you got away.” Then he pauses and smiles sheepishly up at me. “Who knew my little Aaron would be such a badass?” Just like that, all the tension and emotions break, and I’m busting a gut at him. He’s laughing as well. Through his chuckles, he asks, “What? It’s hot as hell.”

“Liam, you’re delusional if you think I’m badass. You know that, right?”

My mood suddenly turns serious as I think about poor Tristan, and wonder how Liam can laugh at a time like this. He’s lost Tristan. He senses the change in my mood and gets a stern look about him too.

“What’s wrong?” Liam questions.

“How can you be so happy after losing your best friend? I don’t understand.”

He appears confused and stands up. “What the hell are you talking about? I haven’t lost anyone. Well, besides you, but you’re here now.”

“Tristan was killed at my apartment. I saw it, Liam. Why are you trying to sugarcoat this?”

“Babe, I’m not sugarcoating anything. Tristan was hurt badly, but he’s going to be fine. He’s in the hospital, recovering. When I got to your apartment, he was barely hanging on. I’m not gonna lie. He’s going to make it, though. He’s too stubborn not to.”

My tense body relaxes. “Oh, thank God. I couldn’t imagine Addison going through the pregnancy and raising that baby all by herself.”

Liam freezes. “Baby? Addison is pregnant? Why didn’t she tell me? For that matter, why didn’t Tristan tell me?”

Now I’m worried I’ve overstepped my bounds and told what apparently is a secret. “I don’t know, Lee. Maybe they wanted to surprise you. I don’t think Tristan meant to tell me either. I kinda cornered him right before all the shit went down. That’s the only reason I know anything. Now I wish I had kept my mouth shut. Please, when we see them again—act like you don’t know. We don’t want to spoil it for them.”

His dimpled smile is back, lighting up his face. “So Aaron, are you gonna kiss me hello, or what?”

His voice has dropped down into that sexy, gravelly tone, and when he says my name, it ignites the desire in me.

For some reason, the words leave my mouth before I can stop them. “Don’t you think we should talk? If I kiss you, there will be no more talking.”

Liam gives a sexy chuckle. “Fuck talkin.’ I need to feel you’re alive, not just see it.”

“Agreed! Fuck talking.”

Liam growls, “I thought you’d see it my way.”

That said, he wastes no time and clutches a fistful of my hair—bringing our lips crashing together in a harsh kiss. My mouth opens immediately. I’m dying to have a taste of him. As our tongues meet and Liam groans loudly, I know I’m not the only one. The vibration of it goes right through me, all the way down to my cock, which is already straining again the zipper of my pants. He pulls back a little to suck on my bottom lip, occasionally giving it a gentle nip. Hissing at the feeling, I snake my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss again.

My fingers twist in the hair at the nape—trying to find anything to grasp as my mind spins from lack of oxygen and lust. Leaving my lips, he traces the muscled cords in my throat with his tongue, softly scraping his teeth over my Adam’s apple. I lean my head back to give him more room to work his magic. The quivering in my legs is making it near impossible to stand much longer. As if sensing my distress, Liam steps back, panting.

“I need you naked, right the fuck now,” he says in a low, sexy voice. “I can’t take this much longer. It feels like forever since we’ve been together.”

I whimper at his demand. It’s exactly what I’m thinking right now too. I can’t wait to have him inside me, making me whole and complete.

“Let’s get into bed so I can enjoy that fuck-hot, badass body of yours.”

I manage to groan. “Oh fuck, yes. I want to lick every inch of you too.”

As we step over to the bed, we slowly peel off our clothes. It’s an unhurried game we play with each other. My shirt slips to the floor and Liam watches my every move with fire in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. Next, his shirt slides to the carpet, but not without him running his hands over his well-toned muscles more than he needs to get it off. My dick is screaming to get out of my pants at this point, but I rein it in. With each garment that’s removed, more anticipation builds until both of us are literally shaking with need.

Instead of reaching for my zipper as my cock demands, I turn around and brace my right hand on the bed, making sure to give Liam a good view of my ass. Then I reach down and pull my shoes off. I hear him groan at each movement my ass makes. I can’t help but chuckle when I turn around and see him gnawing on his lip.

The image is endearing and hot as hell at the same time. “What’s wrong, Liam? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it?”

“Oh, don’t you worry, boy. I’m goin’ to dish it out. I can definitely take it too.” He gives me a little wink that makes me want to get right back on task—getting him naked.

Glancing pointedly at his slacks, I reach for the button of my own. Liam gets my not-so-subtle hint and removes the rest of his clothes. Standing there looking at each other, something seems to snap in him. He comes at me full force, wrapping both arms around me and attacking my neck with openmouthed kisses, licks, and nips.

Each little nibble and lick pulls a groan from me. “Oh God, Liam… fuck, yes. Missed you so much.”

As he travels to my chest, my fingertips take in the smooth skin in front of me. Making my own path down to his stiff dick, I grasp the silken flesh, causing him to grunt in need. His hips reflexively thrust his cock further into my grip as his hands grab my ass. He gently lays me on the bed.