7. Liam

CHAPTER 7

LIAM

T he city bleeds neon and shadow as I navigate the rain-slicked streets, my mind awhirl with dark thoughts and darker plans. Asher dozes in the passenger seat, his face peaceful in the fitful glow of passing headlights, and my heart clenches with a fierce, desperate love.

It's been a week since I brought him home from the hospital, his wounds slowly mending, his spirit as bright and unbreakable as ever. A week of stolen kisses and whispered endearments, of learning the dips and planes of each other's bodies in the hush of sleepless nights.

But even as I lose myself in the sweet, consuming fire of Asher's touch, his love, I can't escape the specter that looms at the edges of our fragile happiness. Declan's ultimatum hangs like a guillotine over my head, a ticking clock racing towards an inevitable, bloody end.

I know what I have to do. What I should have done years ago, before my soul was stained with so much innocent blood. I have to take Declan down, dismantle his empire brick by filthy brick. It's the only way to ensure Asher's safety, to free us both from the poisonous web of the O'Connor legacy.

But God, the thought of failing, of bringing even more danger and destruction to Asher's doorstep... it's enough to make my hands shake on the wheel, my breath come short and sharp in my lungs.

I pull up outside Asher's apartment, killing the engine with a twist of the key. Asher stirs, blinking owlishly in the sudden quiet.

"We home?" he mumbles, his voice sleep-rough and adorable.

"Yeah, sunshine." I reach over, brushing a lock of hair off his forehead. "Let's get you inside, hmm?"

He leans into my touch, a dopey smile curving his lips. "M'kay. But only if you come with me."

I chuckle, warmth blooming in my chest like a rose unfurling. "Always, baby. I'm not going anywhere."

He clings to my arm as we make our way up the rickety stairs, his steps still a bit unsteady. I keep him close, relishing the warm press of his body, the sweet, sleepy scent of him.

As soon as the door closes behind us, I'm on him, my mouth finding his in a kiss that's deep and drugging. Asher makes a soft, needy sound against my lips, his hands fisting in my shirt, tugging me closer.

I walk him backwards to the bed, our kisses turning hot and hungry, clothes shed in a haphazard trail across the floor. The first slide of skin on skin is electric, my nerve endings sparking and sizzling as Asher arches against me, his hardness pressing insistently into my hip.

"Liam," he breathes, his pupils blown wide and black in the buttery lamplight. "Please, I need..."

"I know." I capture his mouth again, my hands roaming the silken expanse of his back, his sides, cupping the perfect curve of his ass. "I've got you, sunshine. Gonna make you feel so good, I promise."

I take my time preparing him, kissing away each gasp and whimper as I work him open on slick, careful fingers. By the time I slide inside the tight, perfect clutch of his body, we're both shaking, sweat beading our skin like diamonds.

"God, Asher," I groan, my forehead pressed to his, our breath mingling in the scant space between our lips. "You feel incredible. Never gonna get enough of you, of this."

He clings to me, his thighs bracketing my hips, his nails scoring delicious lines of heat down my back. "Then don't," he pants, rolling his hips in a sinuous, maddening grind. "Don't ever stop, Liam. Want you forever, want this forever."

The words pierce me like arrows, bright and sharp and bittersweet. Because I want that too, with a ferocity that steals my breath. I want a lifetime of Asher's smiles, his kisses, the sweet sanctuary of his body. I want lazy mornings and silly fights and a house filled with laughter and light.

But forever is a promise I don't know if I can keep. Not with the sins of my past breathing down our necks, hungry for blood and retribution.

So I pour all my desperate, aching love into this moment, this joining of bodies and hearts and souls. I move deep and slow, savoring every hitched breath and broken moan, every flutter and clench of Asher's body around mine.

When he comes, it's with my name on his lips like a prayer, his release painting our bellies in hot, pearly streaks. I follow moments later, my orgasm crashing through me like a tidal wave, flooding Asher with pulse after pulse of my seed, my very essence.

I gather him close in the afterglow, our sweaty limbs tangled beneath cool sheets, our heartbeats slowing in tandem. Asher tucks his face into the curve of my neck, his lips brushing my thrumming pulse.

"I love you," he murmurs, drowsy and content. "No matter what happens, Liam, I need you to know that. You're my heart, my home. My everything."

Tears sting my eyes, my throat tightening with a swell of emotion so profound it steals my breath. "I love you too," I rasp, burying my face in his hair, breathing him in like he's my only source of oxygen. "More than my own life, Asher. More than anything in this fucked-up world."

He lifts his head, his eyes luminous and bottomless in the half-light. "Then fight for me," he whispers, fierce and utterly certain. "Fight for us, Liam. Don't let Declan or anyone else tear apart what we've built. Promise me."

I cup his face in my hands, my thumbs stroking the delicate arch of his cheekbones. "I promise," I vow, the words ringing with unshakable conviction. "I will burn the whole goddamn world down before I let anyone take you from me, sunshine. That's my fucking oath, on everything I am."

He smiles, radiant and achingly beautiful, and seals it with a kiss that feels like coming home. Like absolution and benediction and every good thing I never thought I deserved.

We drift off like that, wrapped in each other, clinging to this fragile bubble of peace, of belonging. But even in the warm cocoon of Asher's embrace, my mind whirs and churns, the seeds of my plan taking root, growing thorns.

Dawn finds me slipping from the tangle of sheets, pressing a soft kiss to Asher's sleep-slack mouth before creeping from the apartment like a shadow. I head for The Emerald Serpent, my blood thrumming with grim purpose.

Finn and a handful of my most trusted men are waiting in the back room, their faces hard and watchful in the dingy light.

"I want out," I say without preamble, bracing my hands on the scarred table. "I want Declan's head on a fucking spike, and I want every last scrap of his empire ash at my feet. Who's with me?"

Finn steps forward, his blue eyes glinting like chips of ice. "You know I've always got your back, brother," he says, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "If you're going to war with Declan, then I'm your fucking cavalry."

The others nod, their jaws set, their stances ready. A fierce surge of pride and gratitude rises in my chest. These men, my brothers in all but blood... they've been by my side through hell and back, bound by loyalty and the unshakable code of our world.

And now they're willing to risk everything, their lives and their livelihoods, to help me bring down the man we once called king.

"It won't be easy," I warn, my voice grim. "Declan's got eyes and ears everywhere, and he won't go down without a fucking bloodbath. We need hard evidence of his dealings - the drugs, the weapons, the human trafficking. Enough to bury him and his top brass so deep they'll never see daylight again."

"We know some people," Finn says, his grin sharp and wolfish. "Hackers, informants, folks with grudges to settle. Between all our networks, we'll dig up every last skeleton in Declan's closet."

A spark of hope, bright and fierce, kindles in my chest. "Then let's get to work, boys," I say, straightening up, my resolve hardening to steel. "We've got a kingdom to topple."

The next weeks are a blur of clandestine meetings and covert intelligence gathering, whispered phone calls in the dead of night and encrypted files passed like secrets. Slowly, painstakingly, the pieces fall into place, the noose tightening around Declan's neck.

But even as I pour all my energy, all my ruthless focus, into bringing my brother to his knees... I cling to Asher like a lifeline, a glowing beacon in the darkness.

Every stolen moment is precious, a gem hoarded and treasured. I memorize the melody of his laughter, the sunlit warmth of his smile. I map the lines and curves of his body with desperate, reverent fingers, as if I can imprint him on my very soul.

"I'm going to build a life with you," I promise him one night, our naked bodies twined in the rumpled sheets, the silver light of the moon painting his skin in alabaster and shadow. "When this is all over, when Declan's rotting in a cell and we're finally free... I'm going to give you everything, Asher. A home, a family. My whole fucking heart, for the rest of our days."

Happy tears glitter on his lashes, his smile incandescent as he draws me down into a kiss that sears and consumes. "I want that," he whispers against my lips, his hands threading into my hair. "I want everything with you, Liam. Forever and always."

My heart swells, too big for my chest, a tangle of love and terror and fierce, unshakable determination. Because I will make that dream a reality, even if I have to crawl through oceans of blood and bone to do it.

Even if I have to become the monster I've tried so hard not to be.

But mere hours after that perfect, shining moment... my phone trills with an incoming call, the display flashing with Finn's number.

"What is it?" I answer, my gut already clenching with dread.

"Liam, fuck." Finn's voice is tight, panicked. "Declan knows. I don't know how, but he found out about our plan. And he's... Christ, Liam, he's put a hit on Asher. A fucking kill order."

The world tilts, the ground dropping out from under me. No. No, this can't be happening. Not now, not when we're so close...

"Where?" I demand, my voice a barely human rasp, my free hand already reaching for my gun. "Where's the hit going down?"

"The diner," Finn says, and I can hear the screech of tires, the roar of an engine in the background. He's already moving, racing to head off the threat. "Liam, you need to get there now . I'm on my way, but you're closer."

I'm out the door before he finishes speaking, my blood turned to ice in my veins, my heart a jackhammer against my ribs. The ride to the diner is a blur of red lights and blaring horns, my foot like lead on the accelerator.

Asher. My sweet, shining boy, in the crosshairs of my brother's wrath. Because of me. Because of my fucking hubris, thinking I could outsmart the devil himself.

I screech to a halt outside the diner, the neon sign flickering like a dying star. The plate-glass window is shattered, gaping like a wound, and the sound of raised voices, of shattering glass and splintering wood, echoes from within.

I'm out of the car and across the sidewalk in a heartbeat, my gun drawn, my finger on the trigger. I shoulder through the ruined door, my pulse a deafening roar in my ears.

And the scene that greets me stops my heart dead in my chest.