Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Jasmine

I stay locked in Liam’s room for nearly an hour, until my full bladder forces me out. I guess I had a lot to drink tonight between one beer and a couple of soft drinks. When I open the door, I find Liam sitting there, leaning against the wall beside the door reading on his phone.

“I have to pee,” I say.

He chuckles as he points to the bathroom door. “Go ahead.”

When I emerge from the bathroom, he’s still sitting there. “What are you reading?”

He lays his phone down. “Jamie’s new book.”

“You have so many siblings I can’t keep track of them all.”

Liam laughs. “Maybe you’ll get to meet the rest of them one of these days.” He rises to his feet and holds out his hand to me. “Let’s go sit on the sofa and talk.”

I stare at his outstretched hand, surprised by the gesture. He’s always been so careful to avoid touching me, and I never blamed him for that. I’m dirty. Tainted. I get that. He probably can’t help thinking about the things my hands have touched, all the things I’ve done.

He waits patiently until I lay my hand in his. When I do, he links our fingers and leads me to the living room. I sit, and to my surprise, he sits down right beside me, so close our thighs are touching. Then, to my utter shock, he puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close.

“I’m sorry about what happened tonight,” he says. “I guess it was a bad idea for us to go out in public in an area where you could run into someone who knows you.”

“Liam, I froze.”

“What?”

“When Kat grabbed me, I froze. I didn’t fight back. I didn’t do any of the techniques Lia taught me.”

“It’s okay. You were startled. That’s to be expected in the beginning of training.”

“Learning self-defense moves isn’t going to help me much if I don’t use them when I need to.”

He squeezes my hand. “It takes time to build muscle memory. Just keep working on it. It’ll eventually become second nature to you. I’ll help you practice. We can spar in the martial arts studio in the mornings before Lia comes to get you.”

Liam starts stroking the back of my hand with his thumb. I don’t even think he’s aware he’s doing it. It’s soothing. No one’s ever touched me like this before—just to provide comfort and nothing else. No ulterior motives. No intentions other than to be kind. I don’t even remember my mom ever holding me or trying to comfort me.

It feels good.

Suddenly, he stops as if he just realized what he was doing. I give him a smile to let him know it was okay.

He releases my hand and pats my thigh. “Yeah, we’ll practice sparring every day. It’ll help you jump into self-defense mode when you need to. It’ll become second nature to you in no time.”

“What if Kat tells Tony she saw me?”

“He doesn’t know where you’re living. He doesn’t know who I am, so he’ll have no way of tracking you. We’ll stay away from Tanks from now on. I can meet my friends someplace else, in a different part of town.”

I sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted. When I lay my head on Liam’s shoulder, he doesn’t object. I close my eyes, just for a second, and allow myself to enjoy the moment. The closeness. The sense of security I feel when I’m around him.

I remember how he stepped between me and danger this evening, not just once but twice. Once at the bar, when the inebriated blond asked me to dance, and again, out on the street when Kat grabbed my wrist. I froze in both instances, but Liam didn’t. He stepped right up and handled things.

Lia’s teaching me all these wonderful self-defense techniques, but in order to implement them, I have to stop freezing and take charge of the situation.

With a sigh, I sink more fully against Liam. His arm around me is a comfort. He’s so strong and solid. And his masculine scent makes my belly flutter.

“Jasmine?”

I wake with a start and sit upright, leaving the heat and security of Liam’s body. I push back my hair. “Sorry. I guess I dozed off.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t mind. Since you’re tired, maybe you should head to bed.”

I stretch, raising my arms in the air and arching my back. “That sounds like a good idea. I’m wiped.”

Liam lays his hand on my back. “Goodnight. I hope you sleep well.”

I force myself to ignore how good the slight pressure of his hand on my back feels. There’s nothing sexual about it, which is good because I’ve never taken pleasure from sex. Sex is—was—just a job to me. A way to make money, a way to survive. But I never enjoyed it. I just sort of shut off my brain and tried not to think about it when it was happening.

But this—simple touches from a friend, from someone I trust—feels amazing. It’s something I’ve never experienced.

“Thanks, Liam.” I don’t dare look him in the eye, afraid he’ll see more than I want him to see. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know where I’d be right now if not for you.”

“You don’t need to thank me,” he says. “This is what friends are for.”

I head for the bathroom to get ready for bed. Then I disappear into the bedroom, put on my pajamas, and slide beneath the covers. Sleep eludes me for a long time. Every time I close my eyes, I see Kat standing there on the sidewalk, glaring at me, judging me, reminding me of what Tony will do to me when he finds me.

That night, Kat revisits me in my dream. Only this time she’s not alone.

We’re back on the street just a couple of blocks from Tanks. Tony is waiting in the shadows, along with some of his goons. They jump out of the darkness and overpower Liam, two of them grabbing his arms while a third one gets him in a choke hold from behind.

Another man grabs me and holds me immobile while Tony looks me over. “You been givin’ it out for free to this guy?” he asks, nodding toward Liam.

“No,” I gasp as I struggle to free myself. But my movements are sluggish, and nothing I do loosens the grip of the man holding me.

“Where’d you go, Jasmine? You just dropped off the face of the earth.”

I continue fighting, trying to free myself, but my efforts are pointless. “I’m done with the business,” I tell him. “I want out.”

“And who’s this guy?” he asks, nodding to Liam.

“No one. Just a nice guy who’s been helping me out.”

When I realize Liam has stopped struggling, I glance back and see that one of the guys has a knife pressed to his throat. “Leave him alone!”

Tony chuckles. “You should have thought about that before you ran away. You belong to me, Jasmine. Running off isn’t an option.” Then Tony glances to the men holding Liam. “Take him someplace no one will find him and kill him.”

“No!” I scream at the top of my lungs.

As the men drag Liam away, I scream over and over, hoping to attract attention. Hoping to avert this horrible tragedy unfolding around me.

“Jasmine, wake up!”

Gasping for air, I shoot upright in bed. The room is dark, but the door is open, letting a faint light inside, enough that I can see someone’s sitting beside me. Strong hands grip my upper arms. “Liam?”

“I’m here,” he says. “Are you okay? You were having a nightmare.”

I struggle to catch my breath, and then to my absolute horror, I burst into tears. “I’m so sorry!”

“About what?” he asks, sounding perplexed.

“For putting you in danger. Tony—”

“Honey, Tony can’t hurt me. I’m not in danger, and neither are you. It was just a dream.”

“But—”

“It was just a bad dream.” He gets up to turn off the hallway light. Then he returns to the bed and lies down beside me. “Come here.” He pulls me close. “I’ll stay with you until you fall back to sleep.”

Reluctantly, I try to relax in his arms. I’m still reeling from my dream—from the thought of Liam being hurt. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him.

He rubs my back slowly, and it helps me relax. Gradually, my heart rate slows and my breathing evens out. My eyelids grow heavy once more as sleep pulls me under.

* * *

I wake up Saturday morning warm and snuggly in bed. It takes me a hot minute to realize why I’m so comfortable. I’m lying on my side, and there’s an arm draped across my waist and a solid warm weight pressed up against my back.

That warm solid weight is Liam.

Of course it is. How does he always know what I need without me asking?

I smile as he begins to stir.

“Good morning,” I say.

His arm tightens around me just for a second before he removes it altogether. “I guess I fell asleep. Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

He checks the time and groans. “Eight o’clock? I never sleep this late.” He sits up and swings his legs over the edge of the bed. “Ready for some breakfast?”

I sit up. “Yes. I’m starving.”

“How would you like to go out for breakfast? I know a place where we can get the best homemade waffles you’ve ever tasted.”

“That sounds wonderful, but where?” I really don’t feel like going anywhere after what happened last night.

“Just let me make a call to confirm we can get reservations this morning.” He runs out of the room and returns a moment later with his phone. “Hi. I was just wondering if it’d be okay if I stopped by with a friend for breakfast this morning. Yeah? You’re sure it’s no problem? Great, thanks.” He checks the time, then looks at me. “Can you leave in about thirty minutes?”

“Sure,” I say, curious about where we’re going.

“How about nine?” he says into his phone. “Is that okay? Great. We’ll be there. Thanks.” And then he ends the call. “Let’s get ready. Breakfast awaits.” And he starts for the closet.

“Where are we going?”

He grins. “To my parents’ house. My mom makes the very best homemade waffles.” And then he grabs clean clothes and heads for the bathroom to get ready.

His parents’ house? Is he insane? He just invited a prostitute home to meet his parents.