68

NORA

I could see the worry on Liam's face before his impassive mask fell in place. I hadn't known him for so long, but it had been long enough for me to know his tells. And the fact that he massaged the skin on his nape as though he was trying to loosen some unseen knots, was enough to tell me he was bothered.

“What's going on?” I asked, my skin crawling with dread.

“Nothing. Just an impromptu meeting,” Lie. “You don't have to wait until the day is over. I'll take a look at the pitch and get—”

“I'm coming with you,” I declared, cutting him off.

Uh oh. Stupid, stupid mouth. It just couldn't clamp shut when I needed it to.

But I couldn't watch Liam fret away on his own. He looked like he needed someone to watch over his shoulder. And yes, I knew I was a whole head shorter than him, but I could still be helpful.

His response was swift and straightforward. “No,”

But I wasn't exactly known for taking no for an answer, was I? I jumped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. In response, he shoved his keys into his pocket, almost rolling his eyes. Did he think I'd snatch his keys and flee?

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes too. “I'm your assistant. "If this is some business meeting, I need to be there too.” There was no world where an assistant would talk to the boss like this and get away with it. But Liam and I weren't like the others. There was a familiarity we shared that I was sure only two people who had seen each other naked could.

A small blush threatened to color my cheeks at the thought of the few times we were tangled in the sheets, our breaths mingling, bodies colliding. I shook my head. Focus. Now was not the time.

If Liam was annoyed by my declaration, he didn't show it. He sighed, looking me dead in the eye. “Look, I understand that you want to be helpful, but focus on the job. "I'm going out into the wild and I don't want you there with me,”

“Because you're big, bad, and scary?”

I saw a smile threaten to break on his full lips, but he hid it with the hand. He ran over his face in mock frustration. It was pretty obvious that he didn't want to take me with him to wherever this was, but I have been told I'm pretty persuasive when I want to be. Plus, I also had a feeling Liam couldn't resist me no matter how hard he tried.

“Fine,” he finally agreed, jaw tense, shoulders rigid. “But you stay with me at all times,” his eyes softened a bit before he concluded. “I mean it, never leave my side,”

The taut lines on his face clearly said this was no joking matter. I frowned. What had Liam gotten himself into? Did it have to do with the company? Or…me? No, it couldn't be. If he'd found out the relationship between Mark and I was fake, this wouldn't be his reaction.

Whatever it was, I needed to find out.

“Is this your attempt at spending more time with me?” I asked, tongue in cheek, arms crossed with a leg propped out. I saw his eyes trail the movement, saw them linger on my legs before he looked away.

“I should be asking you that, Miss Parker. Come on,”

~

Liam’s McLaren was fast, jetting forward at full speed. I wasn't an adrenaline person with a drug problem, but the fast past, coupled with the trees breezing past in a blur excited me.

I stared in awe, taking in the scenery around us as we drove to the outskirts of town.

Whatever this was, it definitely wasn't company-related. Liam’s fingers were wound tightly around the steering, the tension was evident in the set of his jaw and the dark, intense gaze that kept drifting towards me, as if he was struggling to keep his focus on the road.

I straightened in my seat, wincing from where the seat belts dug in between my breasts. “Are you okay?” came Liam's voice.

When I glanced at him, his eyes were set on the road, one hand on the wheel, the elbow of the other propped against the door with his fingers resting lightly on his lips.

“You look stressed,” I answered.

“I'm the CEO of a company, Miss Parker, it’s only right that I'm stressed,” he deadpanned.

“I lived with you for weeks. I know what you look like when you're stressed about something. This, whatever this is, isn't work-related. What is it about?”

He chuckled, the low sound reverberating in the confined space. “I wonder why you didn't find work as a detective. You would make a good one,”

“Yeah right. Sherlock Holmes has got nothing on me. Now please tell me what's going on?”

All traces of humor disappeared from his face. My heart skipped a beat. What was he going to say? I almost screamed at him to keep it to himself, but wouldn't that be embarrassing? So, I swallowed, pulling on my metaphorical big girl pants as the subdued rumble of the engine serenaded us. 

“It's about the guy who attacked you the other day at the bar,” he finally said, an air of wariness to him as he glanced at me, possibly hoping to gauge my reaction.

“Okay…” I drawled, “Did the cops ID him?”

“I hired a PI to do some digging,”

“Liam,” I protested and he shrugged.

“We needed to hasten things up and the police are slow as fuck,” his eyes were back on the road, but when they flitted to me once again, I almost melted at the softness in them.

"He looked like he couldn't stand to lose me. “When you told me you suspected he might not have been working alone, I needed to get my guy on it. Nora, I don't know what I would do if something ever…”

He trailed off, as though simply saying the words would bring them to fruition.

My heart swelled, and I turned my body towards him, a silent action that showed I trusted him in my entirety. “Liam, hey, it's okay. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I'm good, okay?”

He nodded, keeping his eyes glued to the stretch of asphalt before us. My brows furrowed. “So what did your PI guy find?”

“A link,” Liam’s eyes flitted to me. “Between him and Gemma,”

My blood ran cold at his words, lips quivering as I struggled to get my own words out. Gemma.

I just couldn't get away from that woman, could I?

It was infuriating how much of a hold she still had on me. Even after months of not seeing or hearing from her. Where was she even? And why was she sending some dude to molest me?

“Liam, I don't get it. What’s Gemma got to do with this?”

“Exactly what we're on our way to finding out.”