25. Liam

"Who the fuck is this?" a deep voice growls at me over the line.

I frown and pull the phone away to glare at it before slamming it back to my ear. "Who the fuck is this?"

"Hang up," I hear Zara hiss at me from where she's still slicing onions, but I'm already caught up in the confrontation, and this pillock has wound me up the wrong way.

"Listen here, pal," I say firmly into the phone, "if you're looking for trouble, you've called the right number."

Zara looks like she's about to bolt across the room and grab the phone out of my hand. Ben and Henry have gone dead quiet, their attention shifting between the phone and Zara's increasingly agitated movements.

There's a pause on the line, and then the voice returns, dripping with malice. "You tell Zara that Eddie isn't done with her yet. She can run, she can block me, she can change her number, but she can't fucking hide."

My blood runs cold, and I feel anger boiling up inside me like a kettle set to scream. "You fucking what?" I growl, ready to throw down with this asshole, but the line goes dead.

I lower the phone slowly and meet Zara's gaze, her face pale. Her eyes are wide, her hands have stopped moving, and a half-chopped onion has been forgotten on the cutting board.

I feel Ben's presence before he actually speaks, his tone urgent with concern. "What the hell was that?"

Zara, fear on her face, takes a shaky breath and looks like she might crumble right there in the kitchen, so I do what my alpha instincts are yelling at me to do. I cover for her.

"Some dickhead ringing the wrong number."

Zara gulps, and our eyes meet. There's a silent understanding between us.

Ben and Henry look sceptical, but they don't push it. They decide to let it lie, for now.

"I'll set the table," Ben says after a moment.

"Thanks," Zara says, her voice steadier than her hands as she goes back to chopping.

I keep my eye on her as she finishes the onions and slides them into a pan, wishing I could do something more to help her, something to take that fear away from her eyes, but I'm at a loss. Instead, I focus on putting together a salad with a bit too much vigour than is probably necessary.

After Zara manages to whip up a delicious-smelling pasta and sit down to eat, she is quieter than usual.

"What a day," I murmur.

"Yeah," Ben agrees, finishing up. "I'm knackered. I'm going to bed. I'll feed Mia before I crash."

"Okay," Zara says quietly.

"Guess that's my cue to beat it," Henry says, giving me a lingering stare which speaks volumes. He wants answers about that phone call. But then, so do I, and until I can talk to Zara, no one is getting any.

Henry gets up and claps me on the shoulder. "Catch you in the morning."

I nod as he heads out, leaving just Zara and me with the remnants of dinner and a heavy silence. I clear my throat, trying to cut through the tension that's hanging between us like a sodden towel.

"Look, Zara," I start, keeping my voice low, "about earlier –"

She jumps in before I can finish. "Who was it?"

"Some fucker named Eddie. Real piece of work."

"Figured. How did he find my new number?"

I shrug. "You want to tell me who he is?"

Zara clenches her jaw, looking down at her hands, which are fiddling with the edge of the tablecloth. "My ex. I left him the day I came here. It was only days ago, but it seems like a lifetime already."

"I see. Clearly, he didn't want to lose you."

"He didn't want to lose his control over me, you mean," she says bitterly, and I narrow my eyes as this douche canoe is getting worse by the minute.

I watch as Zara takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Her bravery is like a light in the dark, and I admire her strength. But right now, she looks so vulnerable, her guard down, and for a second, I just want to reach out and hold her.

"Please don't tell Ben. He will freak if he thinks some psycho is tracking me down."

"And so he should."

"I know, but… Fuck!"

"What?" I ask, startled by her sudden expletive.

"My email!"

"I don't follow."

"He contacted me through a Facetime audio, didn't he? Through my email address. Fuck! Zara, how could you be so fucking stupid?" She lowers her head to the table, and I wince as she bangs her bump.

"Okay, so he hasn't stalked you and found out your new number," I mutter, trying to keep up with this ever-changing scene. "He's just threatening you into thinking that."

"What did he say?" she mumbles, not lifting her head.

"You tell Zara that Eddie isn't done with her yet. She can run, she can block me, she can change her number, but she can't fucking hide."

"Wonderful," she grits out. "Just fucking great."

"You do know that if he even steps foot near this house, Ben will go ballistic on his ass. Mia is in this house. Does he know about this ex?"

"No!"

"You need to tell him so he can be prepared."

"Fuck!"

"Yep."

"I have to be a grown-up, don't I?"

"I'm afraid so." I rise and go over to her, crouching next to her. She lifts her head, but I don't see fear or panic in her eyes. Just a growing determination not to let this asshole beat her.

"I don't think he would hurt anyone," she says. "He never hurt me, physically, at least. I don't think he has the guts. He's a gaslighting narcissist who found me in a moment of pure grief and vulnerability. I lost my parents in a car crash a bit ago."

"You don't need to explain anything to me," I start.

"Yeah, I do. I don't want you to think I ran out on a maniac who would come here and hurt Mia. It wasn't like that. He is all words."

"Well, you don't know that for sure."

"Fuck."

"Listen, Zara, words can be just as damaging, and this Eddie bloke has gotten into your head enough to shake you up like this."

She exhales sharply, nodding in agreement. "You're right. It's just, I thought I'd left him and all that shit behind."

"You have," I reassure her, but my mind is racing with ways to ensure Eddie stays the hell away from her. "But now we need to make sure he's got no way back in. You'll need to get a new email account, and like it or not, you're going to have to tell Ben about this."

Zara grimaces at the thought, biting her lip with anxiety. "Is he going to be big mad?"

"Nah," I lie, but she snorts as she can see straight through me. "Ben's bark is worse than his bite, except when it comes to protecting his family. He'll want to know so he can keep Mia and you safe."

She sighs deeply, tapping her fingers on the table. I watch as she seems to be mentally preparing herself for the conversation ahead with Ben.

"Yeah, you're right. I need to tell him," she finally says, her voice carrying a new layer of resolve. "I'll tell him in the morning."

"I'll be here for you," I add firmly. "If Eddie does show up here, he will realise pretty quickly that he made a big fucking mistake."

Zara gives me a small smile and reaches out to cup my face. She leans forward and presses her forehead to mine, drawing my scent into her lungs. "Thank you, Liam," she murmurs before she drops her mouth to mine, and gives me a soft, sweet kiss that fills me with a sudden rush of protectiveness. I've been trying to keep a lid on these feelings for Zara ever since she arrived. I've been trying not to push too hard even though I can't get her out of my mind, but her lips on mine blow the damn thing right off. I deepen the kiss, and she mewls softly into my mouth.

Pulling back with every ounce of inner strength I have, I shake my head. "Not yet."

"No," she agrees. "Not yet."