ROMANCE: Mason (Bad Boy Alpha Male Stepbrother Romance Boxset) (New Adult Contemporary Stepbrother Romance Collection) (120 page)

Liam stood with Lamar following suit.  He reached out his hand, noting Lamar giving his palm a final wipe on the side of his jeans before shaking Liam’s hand. 

“I’ll be in touch, if I have more questions.”

“Let me see you to the door.”  Lenore smiled and walked gracefully in front of him.  When they got to the front door, her smile disappeared.  “This has been…trying, Detective Lamb.  He’s not a rude young man.”

“Oh no, Mam.  I understand.” 

“Have a good day.”  She said and opened the door for him.  When the door clicked shut Liam began moving down the walkway to the driveway.  He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention.  He turned and looked back at the house and saw the figures of Lamar and Lenore standing at the triple windows watching him.  They moved away from the window in unison, their faces impassive.

Liam called Audrey on his way back to the station.  She answered on the second ring. 

“Just checking in.”

“I’m doing fine.”  She answered tersely. 

“I’m going to bring home a pizza.”

“When will you be here?”

“No later than six or seven, I hope.”

“Ok.”  Had he just said home?   “See you then.” 

Audrey ended the call and looked across the room at Luke.  She moved towards the couch and sat on the far end opposite him. 

“I noticed you didn’t tell him that I was here.”  He laughed nervously. 

Audrey didn’t reciprocate the laughter.  “You need to go, Luke.  There has been a patrol car rolling down this street every hour.”

He frowned.  “I just wanted to check on you.” 

Audrey sighed.  “I know, and you’ve seen that I’m fine.” 

“Let me at least go get you something for lunch, since you’re under house arrest.” 

Audrey rolled her eyes, but she did smile.  “It’s not house arrest.  Liam just wants me to be cautious today.” 

Luke reluctantly stood.  “You know your husband is a rude man, right?” 

Audrey laughed as she walked towards the front door.  “You have no idea!” 

Luke leaned in and grazed her cheek with his lips before she opened the door.  “Take care of yourself, Audrey, and please call me.” 

“Ok, I will.”  She promised.

She watched him get in his car and back out before closing the blinds.  She went to the living room drapes to close them again and caught sight of another cruiser coming slowly down the street.  She watched it go just past her driveway, and waited for the inevitable.  The cruiser couldn’t have gone more than two houses down before turning around.  When the car came back, it moved at an even slower pace past the house.  A dark haired female officer in the passenger seat turned her head.  She looked right at Audrey and she was sure the woman smiled.  Audrey pulled he drapes as tightly as she could.  It was the woman from the pictures.  She would have bet her life on it.

Liam juggled the hot pizza box while trying to answer his cell phone.  He could hear the pizza sliding around in the box, and cursed into the night air.  He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear. 

“Detective Lamb.”

“I guess you’ve heard about our situation.”  Lydia said tersely. 

Liam rolled his eyes to high heaven.  “You know, for someone who thinks they are so smart, you sure are dumb.  Do you realize if you go through with this…this idiocy…I can have our cell records pulled?”

“So?  It doesn’t prove anything.” 

“It proves everything, Lydia!  Stop calling me!”

“I’m just calling as a concerned friend.” 

“You have no concern for anyone but yourself, and you know it.”  Liam placed the pizza on the hood of his car. 

“Really?  Huh…well then I guess you won’t care that while on patrol, I saw a rather hot curly headed young man leaving your residence.” 

“What?”  Liam demanded.  He pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it.  Lydia had hung up. 

Liam knocked on the kitchen door and waited for Audrey to let him in.  He could have used his key, but something didn’t feel right about that.  For the time being, this was Audrey’s house.  He didn’t actually live here anymore. 

Audrey opened the door and went back to the television show she was watching.  She didn’t know how she felt about Liam staying for a while.  Part of her was thrilled, but another part dreaded it.  He seemed like a stranger. 

Liam set the pizza on the table and came to stand in front of her.  Audrey tried to move her head and see the television again, but gave up with a sigh every time he moved his body with her head.  His hands were on his hips, and judging from the expression on his face, Liam had something to say.

“What?”

“Did you and your little friend have a nice visit?”

Audrey bobbed her head up and down.  “So, it was her on patrol earlier!”

Liam’s face went blank.  “You saw her?”

“Yes.”  She said and went into the kitchen to get plates.  “I recognized her from the pictures.” 

“Bull shit!”

Audrey whirled.  “Maybe I recognized the snide little grin on her face more than her actual face!” 

Liam narrowed his eyes.  “Why was he here?”

“He’s my friend!  He’s worried about me!”  Audrey crossed her arms and thrust one hip out.  “You’re upset because your mistress told you a friend of mine came by here?”

Liam advanced on Audrey fast, leaning in far enough to make Audrey bow her back as she looked up at him.  “She’s not my mistress!” 

“Then what is she?”

“It was a stupid mistake, Audrey!  She kissed me, and I should have stopped it!  She’s got this funny idea!”  He said and motioned at the side of his head. 

They stood staring at each other without moving.  Liam’s eyes moved back and forth across her face willing her to understand.  His breath, hot and short, beat down on her forehead and nose.  Without warning Liam grabbed Audrey by the sides of her face.  His mouth opened hers in an instant.  They moved together, and Audrey could feel the breath leave her lungs as her back hit the wall.  This was the Liam she had missed.  This was the Liam that could bring her to her knees with one hot touch. 

Liam kissed Audrey like he were a starving man and she was the only meal he could have.  He couldn’t get close enough to her.  He couldn’t taste enough of her.  It was all over in a few seconds as his cell phone began to ring.  It was always his damn phone.  Audrey began pulling away, and he groaned in protest.  They stood looking at each other breathlessly. 

“Answer it.” 

Liam kept his eyes on her as he grabbed the phone and put it to his ear.  “Detective Lamb.” 

“When you’re done making out with your human meet me at the park.” 

Liam’s eyes bulged as he frantically looked around the living room and the kitchen.  All blinds and drapes were closed.  Even the curtains on the kitchen door. 

“Liam?”  Audrey’s voice held the edge of beginning fear.

He set the phone on the table and motioned for her to be quiet.  He walked soundlessly down the hall to the guest room and looked inside.  It was dark and the blinds were shut there as well.  He checked the bathroom and then turned his attention to the master bedroom.  He knew before he pushed the door open what he would find.  The blinds were up and the window was open. 

Liam came back up the hallway and grabbed Audrey by the hand.  He pulled her into a kitchen chair. 

“Did you leave this house for any reason today?” 

“No.”

“Did your friend go into any other room of this house?”

“No!  He sat right there on the couch!  He was only here for maybe twenty or thirty minutes!” 

Liam’s face was white.  Lydia had been in the house.  She had been in the house before then. 

“Last night, did you check all the windows by any chance?” 

Audrey nodded her head.  “Yes.  All of them.”

This doesn’t make sense.   “Pack a bag. We’re not staying here tonight!” 

Audrey stood and began following him down the hall.  “What are you talking about?” 

Liam was pulling a few articles of clothes he had left there and stuffing them into their suitcase.  He brushed past Audrey and entered her bedroom.  He began pulling random clothes out of the dresser.

“Liam!”  She yelled.  “You have to tell me what’s happening!”  She laid a hand over his, her hazel eyes pleading. 

He stopped and pointed to the window.  “That’s why.” 

Audrey gasped when she realized it was open.  She quickly slammed it shut and re-locked it. 

Liam grabbed the carry-on bag they kept in the top of the closet and handed it to her.  “Go get your toiletries.”

Audrey obeyed, too stunned to do anything else.  She felt sick.  Liam stuck his head in the bathroom door. 

“Did you nap at all today?”

“No.”

“Did you recheck the windows again this morning?” 

“No, I…”  Realization dawned on Audrey, but her mind couldn’t contain it.  “I must have thought I checked the window last night but didn’t, because I moved the tall dresser in front of the bedroom door to be safer…”  She trailed off again, her eyes so filled with tears she couldn’t see Liam clearly.

He grabbed her and pulled her to him.  “It’s alright.  I’ll make it alright.” 

Liam checked them into a Best Western on Broad Street.  He had been over zealous in checking around the house and watching for clues to see if they were being followed, that Audrey thought he had finally gone mad.  He drove up and down Broad and eventually made his way into the Fan district before backtracking and going to the same motel he had passed three different times.  They were literally ten minutes from the house, but it had taken them an hour to get there. 

Liam asked the desk clerk for a second floor room, preferably on the corner of the building closest to the front office.  All of the rooms had exterior access, but the second floor over looked he parking lot, and at that angle he could see the entire parking lot.  The desk clerk nodded her bright red curls and handed him the key. 

“You’re in luck!”  She said cheerily.  “All of the second floor is vacant.” 

Liam mumbled a thank you before taking Audrey by the hand and leading her outside.  He took her to the room and unlocked the door before locking her in to go get the car and the bags. 

Audrey looked around the cool room and shivered.  The bedspread was brown and gold and had blue worked into the pattern.  Of course the curtains matched.  There was a dresser with television, and a single night stand was shoved between the two full beds.  A round table with two chairs was in front of the window.  She sat on the end of the bed and counted backwards and forwards to ten to calm her nerves until Liam came back. 

Liam unlocked the door and brought the bags in, laying them on the bed closest to the door.  “I’m going to walk the parking lot.”  He said and vanished through the door again. 

Audrey resumed her counting again until he returned.  It was a trick she had learned as a little girl.  She had been playing in her Grandmother’s back yard and there was an old well there.  She must have played on its concrete top a thousand times before that day.  She and her cousin had heard the slight crumbling noise just before the much louder snap of it breaking.  Audrey had been sitting on the top pretending she was Queen Elizabeth on her throne, and Troy was her subject coming to make a grievance.  He had grabbed her by the wrists and yanked her as the concrete split in two.  Her ankle had been caught for a split second between the two pieces of concrete before they fell, but it was long enough to break her ankle.  Troy had laid her gently on the ground and said he would get help.  Audrey had counted from one to ten forwards and backwards to ward off the pain and fear until Troy came back, leading the way for their startled Grandmother.

Audrey kept her eyes on the door as she heard footsteps jogging up the metal steps.  She sighed with relief when a moment later Liam opened the door and came back inside, for the final time.  How they had managed to remember to grab the pizza before they left the house, she would never know, but he had it with him, and had gotten two sodas from the vending machine as well.  He sat down wearily in one of the chairs at the little table.  Audrey stood and joined him, taking a piece of the cold pizza from the box.  It tasted like air in her mouth.  She couldn’t taste anything. 

“Can you tell me what you think is happening here?”  She swallowed and threw the piece of pizza back into the box.  “Did the monkey killer enter the house?  Do you think that?” 

Liam shook his head.  He looked at her with concern.  “No, I think it was Lydia.” 

“Why?”  Was all Audrey could say.

Liam explained everything to her.  He explained how Lydia had seemed interested in him, how things had played out the night at O’Malley’s.  He told her about seeing Lydia at the park and how she had told him he was to be her mate. 

Audrey listened in complete silence.  She wanted to stay angry with him.  She still was in a way, but it was all starting to make perfect sense.  The pieces to the puzzle were starting the fit.  All but one.