8. Liam

I’m leaning against a filing cabinet in the basement of Niko’s pizzeria where he has his main office. I’m the epitome of nonchalance even though inside I’m coiled up tighter than a snake about to bite.

Lucy just got a call and with a glance at me stepped outside the office to take it. I have no clue why she looked at me unless it’s the FBI or one of my men.

Considering she’s now in partnership with Donovan in taking over her father’s business, I doubt it’s the FBI.

Donovan’s gaze follows her. I can’t be sure whether it’s a protective instinct or lust. Maybe it’s both. Or maybe lust because Lucy knows how to take care of herself.

The man in me is irked that Lucy saved Kate from Fiori instead of me.

But that’s the price I pay for failing to keep Kate safe in the first place. I don’t plan to make any mistakes going forward. It’s why there are so many dead bodies in my wake.

“You’re not worried you bit off more than you can chew?” Niko’s question filters into my mind.

“No. Did you feel like that when you killed your uncle and took over the Leone family?” I’m miffed that he’s suggesting I can’t take care of my own. Then again, I have a black eye from a fight I hadn’t anticipated.

Then I sent someone to move Kate, and he drugged her. She tried to escape, threatening me with a knife. I never felt in danger, although I might have a new scar from the vase she threw at me. Maybe I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

Niko’s eyes narrow. “There were moments I wondered if I had it in me, but I pushed through. I suppose my question isn’t about whether you’re capable, but you didn’t want this life. At least not to be a Boss. You were good in the FBI, and I don’t mean just to me. It’s a shame to give that up if it’s what you really want.”

What I want is Kate. Since I can’t have her, what I want is her safety. I can only guarantee that by eliminating all of Igor Peprov’s men, including Dimitri Babichev.

“Call it destiny,” I quip.

“I think it’s great.” Donovan gives me a thumbs-up.

The door opens, and Lucy returns with a smirk on her face directed toward me.

“Everything okay?” Donovan asks.

“I suppose that depends on who you ask. Kate seems to think she’s in danger.”

What the fucking hell?“She just called you?”

Lucy nods. “She said you kidnapped her and that you’re not really in the FBI. Apparently, you killed someone?—”

“I’ve killed several people for her.” I’m trying not to show it, but I’m fucking pissed. Especially since I’ve told my men to be scarce.

Not that they’re not there to protect her or stop her from leaving, but they’re not out in the open talking shop while they clean their guns. In my mind, if they’re not lingering or hovering, Kate will feel safer in my home.

“She thinks I’m on my way to save her.”

“What’s going on?” Niko asks me. He’s not the boss of me anymore, so I’d be well within my right to tell him to fuck off.

I grit my teeth. “She’s realized I’m no longer in the FBI?—”

“I think she believes you never were,” Lucy says.

“I had to kill one of my men. Apparently, she was watching. In my defense, he was supposed to move her to my place up north, but he did so by drugging her.”

“Fuck! I’d kill him too if he drugged the woman I love.” Donovan reaches out a hand, touching Lucy’s arm.

“I don’t love her. I just… he fucked up.” I scrape my hands over my face, a frequent gesture where Kate is concerned. “I’ll take care of it.”

“You know… Elena is still asking about her. We can take her,” Niko offers.

It makes no sense, but Niko’s comment pushes me to the edge. “Oh, and what? You’ll marry her off to one of your men like you did with Lucy here?”

“Watch yourself, Liam.” Donovan straightens to his full Hulk-like height. I’m big and strong, but I’m not dumb enough to take on Donovan Ricci. At least, I’m not dumb enough to provoke him.

“I thought getting married was your idea?” Lucy quips to Donovan.

“It was.” He turns to her. “It was the best damn idea I ever had.” He grins like a lovesick loon. Lucy waggles her brows.

I’m in hell. “The point is, you can’t protect her fully. You think I’ve bitten off too much? You’ve got your business, and now the Abate business, you need to bring into control. Plus, you’re down a man with Donovan taking over Fiori’s?—”

“And a woman,” Lucy says. “Me and Donovan are a team.”

I nod my apology. “Yes, and a woman. I’m sorry.”

“We can make it happen,” Niko says. His wife has him wrapped around his finger. Then again, what have I done lately that wasn’t for Kate?

I tilt my head at him. “Babichev is after her to get to me. You don’t want that sort of?—”

“So, we’ll help,” Lucy says as she turns to Donovan. “And if she needs more protection, we can introduce her to Carlo. He’s good. Or I know, we can send her to Luca in Italy.”

“Like hell you will.” My fists clench, and I really want to hit something… or someone.

No other man is going to protect Kate.

The thought is idiotic considering someday, Kate will be back in a normal life where she’ll find some nice man who’ll marry her and give her babies. Fucking hell, the thought of it makes my brain want to explode.

Lucy smirks. “You’re in love with her. Just admit it.”

“It’s not love. It’s obligation. Duty. You grew up in this life. You know what it is.” The truth is, not knowing Kate’s location at all times has been a problem for me since the day I first moved her into Witness Protection. She has a hold on me, and it’s driving me to the loony bin.

She rolls her eyes.

“That’s the problem,” I say. “People think that she’s my woman, and it’s put a target on her back.”

“So let us take her,” Lucy says.

“No. It’s my war.”

Niko shrugs. “Well, you”d better deal with her before she starts calling the wrong people, like the police?—”

“She knows her father was dirty. She won’t call them.”

“The FBI, then?” Niko arches a brow.

“What is the deal with Captain Emerson?” Donovan asks.

“Still MIA,” Niko responds.

Good. Maybe we can move on to a new topic. Better yet, I’ll leave.

Lucy steps in front of me. “As you said, I know this life. Elena did too. But Kate doesn’t. She’s scared out of her wits.”

Yeah, well she doesn’t know scared yet. She’s safer than ever, and she goes and pulls this stunt.

“Give her time,” Lucy finishes.

“She doesn’t have time. But neither does she need to fit into this world. I’ll take care of Babichev and get her a new situation so she can go back to her old life.”

“Do you think that’s possible after all she’s been through?” Lucy asks.

“I think that’s what she wants, so I’m going to make it happen.” I head to the door.

“We’ll let you know if we hear anything on Babichev or Emerson,” Niko says.

“Thanks.” I go up the stairs and grab a pizza on the way out. In the car, I share it with Artyom who is the only man I know who can eat and drive smoothly at the same time in New York city.

“Niko has the best pizza in New York,” Artyom says around a mouthful of pizza. “Where to, Boss?”

I sigh as I think about going to my own place. I want to take a breath. Regroup. I need to get my mind and body back in shape. That’s partly what today was about. I took care of business. I got a haircut so I didn’t look like a fucking wild man. Between that and the shiner and new scar, maybe Babichev won’t recognize me.

Finally, I met with Niko and Donovan. Oh, and Lucy. Can’t forget her. I’m ready for a drink and maybe a long soak in the hot tub. But no. Kate fucked that all up.

“We need to get back north.” I settle in for the four-hour drive. It will give me time to rest and figure out how to deal with Kate. Make no mistake, when I’m done with her, she will never disobey me again.

It’s nearly ten at night when Artyom pulls into the long drive of my cabin retreat.

Artyom parks in front. “I’ll let you out and then park the car.”

“Thanks.” I exit and trot up the steps and through the front door. Initially, the place is quiet. No one in sight. Good. They did as I asked.

But quickly, Robbie and several others of my men appear, guns ready in case someone else besides me or my men have entered.

“You’re back already?” Robbie asked, holstering his gun. The other men follow suit.

“There’s an issue here I need to deal with. Where is Kate?”

Robbie nods upward toward the loft. “In her room. She’s stowed away, apparently. Cherry has tried to coax her out, but no luck.”

Oh, she got out, alright. But the fact that none of my men have seen her suggests that Cherry got her a phone or while unsupervised, Kate found one. Cherry is devoted to Robbie, and I can’t see her doing anything that would jeopardize his job with me, so it had to be the latter.

“Make sure everything is locked up. Extra lookout around the property tonight.” For all I knew, Kate tried to call others for help. I take the stairs up to the second floor and stride down to her room.

I’m trying to control the anger seething in me. I don’t want to scare her. Well, that’s not true. I do want to scare her. But I want her to recognize the danger she’s in and be afraid of Dimitri, not me. And yet, being afraid of me could work to my advantage.

I try the doorknob to her room and find it locked. “Open the door, Kate.”

“No. Where’s Lucy?”

Fucking hell. “You will not lock me out of a room in my own house.” I reach over the door jamb and grab the emergency pin to unlock the door. As I push the device into the doorknob, I hear movement. Another door shutting. She must be hiding in the bathroom.

I shove open the door and head to the adjoining bath, taking a quick peek under the bed just in case. “Get out here, Kate. I’m not in the mood for your games.”

“Games? Killing people isn’t games.” Her voice comes from inside the bathroom.

Shit. Fuck. Hell. I try the doorknob to the bathroom, not surprised to find it locked. “Would you rather I let Fiori sell you to some fucking rapist?” I’m nearly ready to bust down the door but remember I have the pin.

“Where is Lucy? Did you kill Lucy? What about Donovan?”

“Lucy sent me.”

“I don’t believe you.”

I push the pin into the doorknob and shove the door open. “Fucking hell, Kate. Get your ass out of here.”

She’s cowering in the shower. Anyone else, my enemy, the sight would fill me with unspeakable power. But it’s not anyone else. It’s Kate. And seeing her terrified of me makes something in my chest crack. I fight against the feeling.

“You broke the rules. Rules that are meant to protect you.”

She watches me with fear in her eyes, and now it angers me.

“Do you know what I’ve done to save you? To keep you safe, you ungrateful…” My jaw tightens as I work to keep my anger from getting the best of me. I reach into the shower and grip her wrist, tugging her up and out of the shower.

“Don’t touch me.”

I laugh derisively. “Not so long ago, you liked it when I touched you.”

She looks up at me, and this time, there isn’t fear. It’s more like confusion. Or disappointment. “What happened to you, Liam? Why are you part of the Mafia?—”

“Not anymore, sweetheart. I’m the Boss, and I deserve to be treated as such, especially in my own home. Especially after all I’ve given up to protect you.”

She shakes her head. “I never asked for your protection.”

“No. Niko did. On Elena’s behalf.”

“The FBI…”

“That’s gone now. This is who I am. You don’t have to like it. You can hate me all you want, Kate. But you will follow my orders.”

“Or what? You’re going to kill me just like you killed that man?”

“Which man? The man who kidnapped you? The man who drugged you. All the men who are looking for you now?”

She stares at me, and I hate how lost she looks. This is why I want to get her out and back into a normal life. She doesn’t belong here.

“How did this happen? How do I?—”

I hook my finger under the crook of her chin and lift it so she’s looking at me. “This isn’t your fault, but if you’re going to get out of this mess, you have to obey me. Do you understand?”

“Sometimes, I see you… the man I used to know.”

Alarms sound off in my head telling me to back away. I don’t want her to be afraid of me because that makes her do stupid things that put us all in danger. But I can’t have her looking at me like I’m her hero, either.

“The truth is, this is who I am. Whatever you thought I was, it was a lie. But I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to protect you. You have to let me.”

She shakes her head. “No. You’re not a monster. Not deep down.” Her hand presses against my chest, and a longing so fierce fires inside me.

Back off, Liam. I can’t afford to succumb.

And yet, her scent… her heat… they’re like magnets, and I’m not strong enough to resist the pull.

My lips crush down on hers. An inferno erupts. The need to possess. The need to punish. The need for her to submit.

All of it collides as my mouth consumes hers. I expect her to fight me. I’m ready for it. I want it because I need something to make me stop.

But heaven help me, her fingers cling to my shirt and hold me to her. She moans against me, and that’s all it takes.

I maneuver her to the bed, my hands stripping her clothes off her. I’m not gentle. I don’t have enough control for that. I”m a starving man and she’s my feast.

I push her back on the bed as I tug my clothes off until I’m naked. My dick is hard, jutting out from my body like a fucking sword. There’s a moment when I look at her. It’s the moment that she can stop this. I will her to stop this.

But her gaze is on my dick. Passion flares in her eyes. The tether of my control finally snaps.

I crawl over her, holding her arms over her head as I straddle her body, holding her down. “You can’t defy me anymore, Kate. I won’t have it.”

“I’m not fighting now.”

Her words are an invitation. My heart squeezes tight, and I have a moment to rethink this whole thing. I should be gentle and giving. I should show some finesse. But to do that would be to acknowledge the storm of emotion raging inside me.

“Do you want me to fuck that sweet pussy of yours?

She gasps at my vulgarity, and yet, she nods.

“Then you surrender to me.”

“I don’t have much choice.”

“Ah, but you do. I will fuck you, Kate. I will make you come so hard that you never forget me. But there’s a price because you’ll want to forget me before all is said and done. So now is the time to tell me no. I will get dressed and leave your room.”

“I already can’t forget you.”

Her words try to seep into my heart like they mean something. I remind myself that since the moment I’ve met her, she’s lived a nightmare. No wonder she can’t forget.

“I see you, Liam. I want you.”

I close my eyes, knowing this is a moment of no return. No matter what I do, I’m fucking doomed to hate myself in the end.

“I’m going to hell, anyway,” I murmur, and then I let go. I let my desires take over. My obsession consumes me. My hands and mouth are everywhere as I imprint her body into my mind. Turns out, I’m the one who will never forget.

I lay my body over her, and her eyes watch me in a way that makes me feel like shit. It’s not just a hero she sees. It’s a man she seems to care for.

I can’t bear to see her look at me like that. I turn her over, lifting her hips as I position myself behind her.

“Now’s the time to tell me to leave.” I give her one last chance to push me away.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

I close my eyes as I grip her hips and thrust until my dick fills her pussy. Stars burst. My dick throbs. She’s perfection, and I’ve just tainted her.