Liam: Branded Brothers (27 page)

“Jesus, Charla. Is everything okay?” Gina sputtered. “What
the hell is going on?”

“You don’t want to know,” she replied, turning back to the
alley to see the open door and the back of the van. “Everything is going to be
fine though. Liam’s back and wants you to close the bar early.”

“What am I supposed to say?” Gina said. “I’ve got leagues
going on. There’s about fifty people in there.”

“I don’t know. Tell them you’re sick or something, and
there’s no one else to cover,” Charla said, looking over Gina’s shoulder to
make sure no one was coming. “There’s going to be an ambulance and police here
soon. Liam doesn’t want anyone here.”

“Charla, what the hell happened?” Gina asked, craning her
neck toward the alley. The men’s voices carried into the hallway.

“I’ll let Liam explain that one when he gets back, but for
now, just get everyone out, okay?” Charla grabbed Gina’s shoulders lightly and
looked her in the eyes. “If you want to keep your job, trust me.”

“Got it.” Gina turned and disappeared through the bar door.

Charla turned to the open door to the alley, peeking out to
see Liam, Ronan and Declan standing at the back of the van.

“I can’t go back,” Declan said. “Word will get out that I
betrayed Mickey. I’ll catch hell for that.”

“You can testify against him. I’m sure they’ll offer you a
great deal for information to use against Mickey or anyone else. You can go
into the witness protection program,” Liam said.

“I’m not going into the witness protection program. I’ve
heard how things end with that, and it ain’t good,” Declan replied.

Ronan leaned his hand against the van. “Then take the
fucking money. We’re blood. The money is yours just as much as it is ours.”

“What?” Liam and Declan both asked at the same time.

“Take the fucking money and get the hell out of here. Start
a new life just like Jack did,” Ronan said. “You got anybody back in Boston? A
girl or anything?”

“No,” Declan said. “Just my mom.”

“She’ll understand,” Ronan said. “She’ll have to understand.
Take the money. We’ll get money from bringing these guys in, and I’ll make that
baby bro of ours cough some our way. Sounds like he shits money.”

“I can’t do that -” Declan started, shaking his head.

“You will,” Liam said. “And you’re going to get the number
of Jerry’s guy. His cleaner. He’ll take care of you just like he did with
Jack.”

“I can’t after everything I did,” Declan said, his voice
sounding remorseful. “With Charla and Paul or Brody, whatever the fuck that
kid’s name is.”

“It’s Brody,” Charla said, stepping forward. All three men
turned toward her in surprise. “And you’re going to take the money and get the
hell out of here. Just promise me that you’ll stay clean. Keep your head out of
this mafia shit for good. Can you promise me that?”

“I guess I can,” Declan said.

“You guess or you can?” Charla raised her eyebrows and put
her hands on her hips.

“I will,” Declan said with a smile.

“Or otherwise you’re going to find that big, thick head of yours
floating in Mud Lake.” Charla waved her finger at him.

He bowed his head. “I’m never going to live that down, am
I?”

“No,” she said. “But you made a promise, and I don’t back
out on promises.”

“Neither do I.” Declan met her eyes.

“Good, then it’s done,” Liam said, hitting Declan’s back.
“Charla, you want to run upstairs to get the money and the number from Jerry? I
don’t want to leave these guys alone.” He pointed to the back of the van. “I’m
not going to feel good until we get them down to the station.”

“You got it,” Charla said, turning back to head up the
stairs. She heard their voices carry in the alley as she took the first few
steps.

“You’re one lucky son of a bitch,” Ronan said. “That Charla
is something else.”

“I know,” Liam said with admiration in his voice. “I know.”

Chapter 15

An arm curled around Charla’s waist
as the soft morning light streamed through the window. She looked out to see a
soft bed of fog hovering over the surface of Mud Lake.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she whispered.

“It is.” Liam murmured in her hair, nuzzling closer. His
body wrapped around hers, fitting snug like a mold. His arm left her waist and
slowly crept up to lightly cup her breast. “Sure is.”

“We’re both talking about the lake, right?”

“Is that what we’re talking about?” He kissed the back of
her head and then slowly dropped his hand back to her waist.

“Yeah.” Charla let out a soft laugh and then turned to face
Liam. “I like waking up to this. I think I could get used to it.”

“Are we still talking about the lake?” Liam tucked his arm
beneath his head.

“No, keep up,” she said, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
“I’m talking about you.”

“I don’t need to get used to it,” he replied, returning
another kiss. “Because I’m already there. I expect to wake up to this every
morning.”

Charla sighed as he ran his hand along her hair and brushed
the side of her cheek. “You’re hell of a lot better than Jack’s wrinkly ass and
balls, although I have to admit, part of me is going to miss that every
morning.”

“Give me some time, I’ll take care of that.” Liam laughed as
she shook her head.

“Where do you think he is?” she asked as he pulled her
closer into his chest. She snuggled in and rested her head on his chest,
feeling the comfort of his strong body around hers.

“I don’t know,” Liam said, lightly running his fingers
through her hair. “Not anywhere close to here or Boston. Maybe the west coast.”

“Maybe Montana or Idaho,” she added. “It would be easy to
get lost somewhere there. Although, Declan’s not exactly easy to ignore. He’s
going to have to work on that accent of his and stop pounding the protein
drinks.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said. “The Connolly boys can
take care of themselves.”

“You think we’ll ever see him again?”

“Probably not,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her
ear. “You want to? You said you never wanted to see him again.”

“Yeah, I know what I said. But a part of me feels bad the
three of you found each other and now have a chance to be brothers. You can get
to know each other. You’ve all had the opportunity to have a good life while he
was left back in Boston and now he’s left out again.”

“You’re really saying this about the guy who threatened to
float your corpse in the lake?” he asked, resting his hand on her head. “You
really do have a heart of gold.”

“Or I’m just hopeless.”

“Not a chance in hell. But speaking of hopeless, I forgot to
tell you Marian left me a message last night. Someone named Dotti Taylor came
to see her,” he replied.

“Really?” Charla lifted her head away from his chest to look
him in the eyes.

“Really,” he confirmed, nodding his head. “Marian sounds
pretty confident she’ll be able to help her.”

“I’m not going to get my hopes up, but I’m glad to hear she
went in.” She put her head back down, nuzzling into his chest again. She
wondered how Dotti was handling what she had told her about Robert a few days
ago. All Charla felt was relief. The nightmares were gone and the guilt that
weighed her down for years had been lifted. She felt free.

“You never know, this could be the beginning of a long road
to recovery for her,” Liam said.

“You never know.” Charla’s voice trailed off. “As much as I
want to lay in this bed all day with you, we should probably finish moving the
rest of the stuff so we can get that for sale sign up.”

He pulled her chin up and met her lips in a sweet, sensuous
kiss. He trailed his fingers along her collarbone and then around the tops of
her breasts. He cupped her breast again lightly, sending warmth flooding
through Charla’s body.

He released her lips and whispered. “You sure about that?”

“Maybe in a few minutes.” She met his lips again and pressed
her body against his.

“It will take me more than a few minutes,” he whispered
between kisses.

***

A chirping noise sounded from Charla’s
purse on the kitchen counter. She stood in the living room, taking one last
look at the cottage. It was spotless, except for her bed, dresser and a few
boxes stacked on the driveway. Ronan would be here any minute with his truck to
pick up the rest of her belongings and haul them to the apartment building just
a few blocks down from the Dirty Leprechaun.

“I’ll get it,” Liam called from the kitchen. “It’s a text
from Jill.”

“What does it say?” she asked as she met him in the kitchen.
He passed the phone to her and then opened up the small piece of paper in his
other hand.

She looked down at the message on her phone.
Happy Moving
Day. See u at class tmrw.
Charla shook her head and texted back
Thx. No
rest for the weary.
She tucked the phone in her pocket and then looked up
to see Liam holding the piece of paper up with a grin on his face.

“What’s this?” he asked, waving the paper. “I don’t
particularly like number five on the list.”

“You,” she warned, trying to grab the paper out of his hand.
He pulled it away at the last second and laughed. She slugged him in the arm as
he backed up against the kitchen counter.

“Come on, now,” he said between laughs. He raised the paper
above his head. “I really don’t like number five though.
Don’t fall in love
with Liam Murphy
. I think I should burn this list.”

He pulled her into him so she couldn’t hit him anymore. She
stopped swinging and said, “Make me change my mind then.”

“Don’t worry, I planned on it,” he said, wrapping his arms
around her. He bent down and softly kissed her.

“That’s a good start,” she said, pulling away slowly.

“Come on, now.” A deep voice sounded behind them. “Didn’t
you have enough of that last night?”

Charla turned to see Ronan shaking his head and Brody
grinning next to him.

“Movers are here,” Liam called, letting Charla go. She
grabbed the list from his hand and tucked it into her pocket. “Ronan, I see you
brought some extra muscle.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Brody said as Ronan shoved him in the arm.

“Baby bro wanted to help. I figured I can’t say no to him,”
Ronan said. “I don’t want to be left out his will. This little shit has deeper
pockets than I thought. Coughed over his share for catching Mickey without any
complaining.”

“What makes you think you’re in my will?” Brody asked. “Or
that you will
ever
be in my will?”

Ronan laughed and then turned to Liam. “You ready to load
the rest of this shit?”

“Yeah.” Liam pushed himself off the counter and joined them
in the living room.

“I’m going to take one last pass around the place,” Charla said.
“I’ll meet you outside.”

“I told you I could help,” Brody said, making Ronan laugh
harder. Charla shook her head as they disappeared out the front door.

She opened the patio door and stepped out onto the deck,
inhaling the smell of pine trees she’d come to love. She gazed at the rippling
water of Mud Lake, glimmering in the morning light. Putting the for sale sign
up at the end of the driveway was going to be hard, but Liam was making it
easier than she’d thought it would be. Holding Jack’s hand as he passed to the
other side had broken her heart, but his death had brought her to Liam,
something she entirely unexpected. They shared something they
both
unexpected.

“Jack, you Silver Devil,” Charla whispered at the lake. She
exhaled and stepped off the porch. Then she turned to walk around the house,
catching a glimpse of a light brown line in the grass. She walked closer to see
Jack’s baseball bat lying in the grass just before the line of thick
evergreens.

Thanks, Declan.
She picked up the bat, feeling the
smooth handle against her skin and wondering if Jack had told the truth about
making the bat. She fingered the initials at the base of the bat.
F.C.
She
had always wondered what it stood for, but now she knew. She swung the bat over
her shoulder and walked around the cottage to meet the guys in the driveway.

“Whoa,” Ronan said at the sight of Charla with the bat. He
held up his hands. “I think we have to rethink not having Charla on our team.”

“What team?” she asked, standing next them.

“We’re going to start our own security company,” Liam said,
looking at Brody and Ronan. “Brody’s going to provide some of the start-up
money and technology while Ronan’s going to work on getting some clientele.”

“No more bounty hunting?” she asked with a hopeful look. “No
more tattoo parlor? Because I was thinking I have just the idea for my tattoo.”

“Well, let’s not go that far,” Liam said. “We still plan on
picking jobs up from Jerry.”

“We?” she asked.

“Yeah, we.” Brody nodded his head.

“Oh my God,” Charla said, walking to the back of the truck
to toss the bat in. “I’m going to need to keep that bat.”

“You guys are ignoring the more important part. You’re
thinking about getting a tattoo?” Ronan asked, folding his arms across his
chest.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Don’t act so surprised. I’ve been
thinking about it for a long time and now I have the perfect idea.”

“Oh yeah?” Liam asked. “Something with meaning?”

“A baseball bat. Just a tiny one on my hip.”

“Whatever you want,” Ronan said as he opened the driver’s
side door. “I’m ready when you are. You’re welcome at my shop anytime.”

“Truck’s ready to go and everything is locked up.” Liam held
the for sale sign in his hands. “Only one more thing to do. You want the
honors?”

“You know I do, but is there any way I can convince you guys
to split the money when the cottage sells?” Charla asked.