The Awakening: Liam (Entangled Covet) (12 page)

Liam blew out a breath. “I don’t like it, but I understand.”

“We’re going to keep a detail on her, though. You won’t have to worry.”

“I know I won’t, because I’m going to be with her, too. Whether she likes it or not.”

…

As the SPAC officer turned the car into her subdivision, Ava inhaled a shaky breath. A part of her was

ready to get home and away from the madness, while the other dreaded walking into that house again and

reliving the night she was taken.

The last twelve hours had been a whirlwind of crazy. After her EKG and MRI came back normal, Dr

Bradley had surmised the drugs wouldn’t have any long-term effect on her heart. To be on the safe side,

she was scheduled for follow-up tests in a couple of months, and if she started having any shortness of

breath or heart palpitations she was to immediately come back to the center. With those instructions, Dr.

Bradley had given her a sedative to help her rest before they’d transported her to Carnal Ridge Hospital. She

didn’t know what she’d been expecting when they “moved” her, but the elaborate lengths to which they’d

gone to cover their tracks would have been laughable if it hadn’t meant she had to put her bloody, tattered

clothes back on. They caked her nails and body with dirt, and re-gnarled the hair Liam had so gently

brushed out, in order to make her story believable. When she looked in the mirror, her stomach had

twisted.

A lady friend of one of the SPAC officers drove her to the hospital with the lie that she was the one

who’d “found” Ava barely conscious on one of the trails. Ava figured the use of a woman was a calculated

move on the detective’s part to keep any suspicion off the person who brought her to the hospital. A

woman was less likely to have inflicted the bruises.

Once her identity was known, the chaos had started. She’d been rushed back to the ER where she had

to pretend to be barely lucid. After a round of more x-rays and blood tests, the ER doctor had been

befuddled on how she wasn’t dehydrated, but said she’d been lucky to escape without any major injury.

He’d wrapped her ankle and said they would keep her overnight for observation, to be on the safe side.

After all that, she’d finally been allowed to shower. And God had she. Just having shampoo and

conditioner and fresh clothes had done wonders for her spirit.

Then the two police officers had arrived. They’d fired one question after another at her, their eyes

locked on the bruises around her neck. She knew they didn’t believe a word she said, had even used the

“he could hurt someone else” tactic, to try and force her to tell them the truth. She stuck to the detective’s

story, though, and eventually they’d left.

Liam had been a no-show over the last twelve hours. Every time the door opened to her hospital room,

her heart had jumped into her throat—part of her desperate to see him, while the other part dreaded

inflicting more pain on him. In the end, it had always been someone else who entered the room.

When the SPAC officer turned onto her road, Ava’s lungs constricted, making it difficult to breathe.

She exhaled slowly. Emma wouldn’t be there. She had made sure of that. When they’d spoken on the

phone, she had convinced her sister not to come up to the hospital. Maybe it hadn’t been so difficult

because she hadn’t wanted to come. Had readily agreed to stay with Jessica until Ava got home.

Whatever the reason, she had been thankful her sister wouldn’t be here. She didn’t want Emma to

witness her first steps back into the house. Didn’t want her to see the fear.

Because she was chock full of it.

Hopefully by the time her sister arrived, she would have dealt with her demons and Emma would only

see her clumsy older sister, be relieved she was okay, and go about her day-to-day life as though none of

this had ever happened.

Ava wouldn’t be able to move on as easily as her sister, though. He—possibly
they
—was still out there.

Even after he was caught, Ava worried she’d never feel truly safe again.

The officer parked the car in front of her house. “Ready?” he asked, looking over at her.

No. Not even close
.

The house looked the same. Innocent enough. From the outside, no one would know that two days ago

a horrific event had taken place inside. That lives had been changed forever because of it.

Nerves compressed her chest until she felt as if she were suffocating. She forced an inhale between her

lips, and slowly exhaled.

It’s just a house. Your home
.

Still she could not move.

Maybe she should’ve called a friend to bring her home. But she hadn’t. On top of the fact that she

didn’t want anyone to see how afraid she was, she also didn’t want anyone to see her bruised and swollen

face. The fewer questions she aroused, the less lying she’d have to do. What if one of her regular customers

from the cafe asked a question she wasn’t prepared to answer? What if she told one person one thing and

got it wrong with the next? She was a crap liar.

Though she longed to get back to her coffee shop, she couldn’t chance it. She wasn’t sure about the

backlash from SPAC if she screwed up her story.

So she’d made the difficult decision to take a week off from work to heal. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust

her employees to handle things while she was gone, she did, but that coffee shop was her baby, and with

her best friend Jimmy out of the country, it was a lot harder to place her baby in someone else’s hands.

Thankfully Jimmy
was
out of the country, though.

If the cops hadn’t bought her story, he sure as hell wouldn’t, and he’d get all protective on her ass. With

everything she was dealing with, she didn’t need that right now. He wasn’t scheduled back from his

vacation until tomorrow afternoon, so it gave her some time to figure out how to handle him.

“Miss Michaels?” the officer said. “Are you ready?”

She blinked and shot a glance at him. “Uh…yeah. Sorry.”

Taking another deep breath, she opened the cruiser door, climbed out, and withdrew the crutches from

the backseat. Slowly she made her way up the path to the front door.

After she unlocked the door and let it swing open, the officer made to step inside. She shook her head.

She had to face this alone. “I’m fine.”

“Let me make a quick sweep of the house, okay? Then I’ll let you get adjusted.”

The words were said softly, kindly, as though he understood what she needed. She was thankful for

that. Nodding, she shuffled backward to allow him inside. A few minutes later, he returned. “All’s clear. No

chemical scents or shifter residue. I’ll be out in the cruiser until the unmarked car gets here to cover you. If

you need anything, let me know.”

Ava waited for him to reach the car before she stepped inside and closed the door. Everything looked

the same. Nothing out of place. As homey as ever. But there was a sinister feeling in the air now. No

amount of leaving the lights on would make her feel safe now. Even with the sunlight pouring in through

the windows, the house made her feel trapped, closed in, shut off from the outside. Flurries of anxiety

rippled through her chest, her vision tunneled, and she closed her eyes.

She would
not
have a panic attack.

This is your home. He will not take that away from you
.

The suffocating sensation lessened, and she opened her eyes and looked at the staircase. How had she

puttered around this house, completely unaware that a man had been waiting for her upstairs?

Taking one step at a time, she made her way up to the second floor landing and paused outside her

bedroom. The door was shut. She reached for the knob, then fisted her fingers, hesitating.

She hated the hesitation. Hated how she was creeping around her own house as if she had done

something wrong.

Grabbing hold of the knob, she used her crutch to push the door open, then hurried inside. Air gushed

out of her lungs. The room was exactly as she’d left it, except the bed had been completely made and not

turned down. No stringent cleaning solution laced the air. No foul stench of blood. Just a light spritz of the

floral perfume she wore on occasion.

The SPAC team had gone out of their way to make her feel less violated. And though she appreciated

the sentiment, no matter how much they tried to bandage the room, the scars were embedded in her mind.

Her haven, the place she curled up to read or watch TV, or just relax, would never be the same.

She stepped further into the room, staring at the spot where two days ago she’d spun around to find a

masked man standing behind her. Where everything had changed, where she’d been certain she was about

to die. And she had—to Liam.

Where had she been when he’d found her? Had she been crumpled against the wall the man had held

her pinned to by the neck? Or was she in the middle of the room, lying in a puddle of blood?

What had Liam felt when he’d found her?

Anguish, for certain. Just imagining what it would be like for her to find Liam, lifeless, covered in

blood, caused her intense agony.

The song
It’s Five O’clock Somewhere
floated into the air, making her gaze snap to the cell phone on

her nightstand beside her. The number was unfamiliar. Like always. A different one each and every time

he’d called. A burner phone, he’d said. Untraceable. And how right he’d been. The only information she’d

ever been able to find on the numbers were the cell provider and general location.

As fear threatened to consume her, her throat started to close. She shoved the feeling aside. How many

times had she given out her phone number in the last twelve hours? It was probably just Detective Calhoun

making sure she got settled in okay. That reminder didn’t stop the tremor in her hands as she picked it up.

“H-hello?”

“I’m not very happy with you, right now,” a distorted mechanical voice said.

“I—”

“You weren’t supposed to escape.”

The mechanical voice had disappeared. The last sentence had been delivered with a soft Cajun accent.

Her strength gave out and she dropped onto the edge of the bed.

“It
was
you all along. W-why did you let me believe otherwise?”

“This wasn’t a reunion for you and Liam, Ava. It was a final goodbye. One that was supposed to end

filled with doubt and mistrust.”

“You failed.”

“Obviously.” He laughed softly, but there was no real humor in the sound. “Do you realize that Emma

was the safest she’s been while you were locked up? Now I have to refocus on her again to get my plan

back on track.”

“Why are bringing me and my sister into this? If this is between you and Liam, leave it between you and

Liam.”

Not that she wanted anything horrible to happen to Liam—she just wanted her sister to be safe damn it.

“That’s not the punishment I’m looking for. Doing something to him is too lenient. But if I punish you

for his crimes…well, that carries a lifetime sentence.”

Was his ultimate plan to kill her so Liam had to live with the guilt? The thought horrified her.

“Why did you make me leave him if killing me was your plan all along?”

“Ava,” he softly chided. “The last eight months have been nothing more than a holding cell, a place to

wait, until it was time for your execution…instead you escaped. You’ve put your sister in very grave danger

because of that.”

Ava tightened her grip on the phone. “Leave her alone.”

“And I will, just like I always have…as long as you stay away from Liam.” He paused a moment before

continuing, “I know SPAC is following your sister. I do understand your need to protect her, and I respect

that. Please be my guest, tell them about this phone call, give them the number…they won’t be able to find

me. But I will find Emma. I’m asking for one simple thing to keep her safe. Stay away from him. The

decision is yours.”

Then the line went dead.

She stood, holding the phone in her hand. As the facts sank in, her body shook. He was watching her,

had known the moment she walked back into the house and that her sister was under protection.

He knew everything. As always.

Why was her distance from Liam so important? Did he just like seeing her hurt him? Watching Liam

hurt?

A banging at the front door made her heart climb to her throat.
Stop it!
He wasn’t going to knock. If he

showed, the bastard would suddenly just be there.

The banging intensified. She hobbled downstairs and yanked the door open. Liam stood there, fuming,

nostrils flaring like some enraged ape.

“Why the hell did you leave the hospital without me?” he demanded.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I didn’t realize I had to wait for you.”

“Don’t be stupid, Ava. There’s a man out there who wants you dead.”

“I was escorted here by SPAC. I think I was pretty damn safe.”

“Not safe enough. I’m staying here with you.”

“The
hell
you are.” ”