beginning to realize that Flirtation wasn’t like riding a bike. If you went long enough without doing it, it was very possible to forget how. “As if…” I muttered into my palm, feeling my cheeks flush of color as I looked out the window.
It was raining out.
Big surprise there…
“Oh come on,” Liam said in a childish tone, “I’m just having some fun with you, thas’all. You familiar with the concept?”
I clenched my jaw. The huskiness in his voice made my heart flutter involuntarily. “I know how to have fun, thank you very much.”
“Could have fooled me…”
“Jesus.” I shook my head. “Are all the men in your family like this?”
“Depends what you mean by ‘like this.’ ”
I waved a hand at him. “I mean, do any of you actually think before you say or do anything?”
I must have struck a nerve because his smile quickly dissolved. He frowned and looked out at the rain, picking at an edge of the peeling tabletop.
“Sorry,” I spoke up after a few minutes in a softened tone. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No,” he interrupted, meeting eyes with me, “never apologize for saying what you mean. Besides, it’s all right. I actually wanted to apologize to you about that.”
“About what?”
“About my brother,” he said quietly, “I’m sorry he wasn’t more gracious to you. Anders, he’s just—”
He fell quiet and scrunched his brows, scratching his stubble-covered jaw as he searched for the words. “He hasn’t been right the past few years,” he continued, “not since his wife died.”
A lump surfaced in my throat. “That’s…”
“Yeah.” Liam nodded. “She meant a lot to both of us but it really hit him hard.”
“What was her name?”
“Nina.”
That was it…
That was the name he kept saying.
“Worst part was,” Liam continued, focusing on his coffee. His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “She was three months pregnant when she was killed. Course we didn’t find that out until after.”
My stomach tightened and the fluorescent lights above made me feel dizzy. I furrowed my brows and shook my head.
“What happened to her?” I questioned before I could stop myself. “I’m sorry. I mean…if you don’t mind me asking…”
Liam nodded and was quiet for a few moments. “Nah, that’s alright,” he breathed, cracking his knuckles. He kept his gaze focused on the window. “She worked here. There was this guy who came in all the time, well two of them I guess, regulars. Anyway, one night they got it into their heads to wait outside for her until her shift ended. Just wanted to ‘have a little fun with her’ I guess. But she fought back when those bastards made the moves on her. Ended up falling and hitting her head on a concrete divide. The impact killed her.”
Jesus Christ.
“Anders killed one of them,” he added quietly, “beat the other up pretty bad. Turned himself into the cops after.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and studied my hands. Suddenly my own run in with death seemed to pale in comparison.
Chapter 13
—
T H E N
“ You don’t value your life.”
Those five words, some of my mother’s favorite, vibrated in the back of my head as a team of paramedics worked on my unresponsive body—red lights illuminating their washed out faces. “Get an IV going!” one yelled to the other, shoving me into the back of the waiting ambulance.
I felt something prick me in the arm. I tried to speak but my tongue felt dry and weighted down in my mouth. The last thing I remembered before it all went dark was the sound of sirens and Luna’s worried face as the doors slammed shut on her.
When I awoke, I found myself alone in a dimly lit hospital room, attached to multiple beeping machines through a mirage of wires and tubes. I felt like some kind of science experiment. I tried to focus my eyes on something, anything, but the strain associated in doing so was too uncomfortable to bear.
“Hello?” I called out. My voice
It was raining out.
Big surprise there…
“Oh come on,” Liam said in a childish tone, “I’m just having some fun with you, thas’all. You familiar with the concept?”
I clenched my jaw. The huskiness in his voice made my heart flutter involuntarily. “I know how to have fun, thank you very much.”
“Could have fooled me…”
“Jesus.” I shook my head. “Are all the men in your family like this?”
“Depends what you mean by ‘like this.’ ”
I waved a hand at him. “I mean, do any of you actually think before you say or do anything?”
I must have struck a nerve because his smile quickly dissolved. He frowned and looked out at the rain, picking at an edge of the peeling tabletop.
“Sorry,” I spoke up after a few minutes in a softened tone. “I didn’t mean to—”
“No,” he interrupted, meeting eyes with me, “never apologize for saying what you mean. Besides, it’s all right. I actually wanted to apologize to you about that.”
“About what?”
“About my brother,” he said quietly, “I’m sorry he wasn’t more gracious to you. Anders, he’s just—”
He fell quiet and scrunched his brows, scratching his stubble-covered jaw as he searched for the words. “He hasn’t been right the past few years,” he continued, “not since his wife died.”
A lump surfaced in my throat. “That’s…”
“Yeah.” Liam nodded. “She meant a lot to both of us but it really hit him hard.”
“What was her name?”
“Nina.”
That was it…
That was the name he kept saying.
“Worst part was,” Liam continued, focusing on his coffee. His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “She was three months pregnant when she was killed. Course we didn’t find that out until after.”
My stomach tightened and the fluorescent lights above made me feel dizzy. I furrowed my brows and shook my head.
“What happened to her?” I questioned before I could stop myself. “I’m sorry. I mean…if you don’t mind me asking…”
Liam nodded and was quiet for a few moments. “Nah, that’s alright,” he breathed, cracking his knuckles. He kept his gaze focused on the window. “She worked here. There was this guy who came in all the time, well two of them I guess, regulars. Anyway, one night they got it into their heads to wait outside for her until her shift ended. Just wanted to ‘have a little fun with her’ I guess. But she fought back when those bastards made the moves on her. Ended up falling and hitting her head on a concrete divide. The impact killed her.”
Jesus Christ.
“Anders killed one of them,” he added quietly, “beat the other up pretty bad. Turned himself into the cops after.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and studied my hands. Suddenly my own run in with death seemed to pale in comparison.
Chapter 13
—
T H E N
“ You don’t value your life.”
Those five words, some of my mother’s favorite, vibrated in the back of my head as a team of paramedics worked on my unresponsive body—red lights illuminating their washed out faces. “Get an IV going!” one yelled to the other, shoving me into the back of the waiting ambulance.
I felt something prick me in the arm. I tried to speak but my tongue felt dry and weighted down in my mouth. The last thing I remembered before it all went dark was the sound of sirens and Luna’s worried face as the doors slammed shut on her.
When I awoke, I found myself alone in a dimly lit hospital room, attached to multiple beeping machines through a mirage of wires and tubes. I felt like some kind of science experiment. I tried to focus my eyes on something, anything, but the strain associated in doing so was too uncomfortable to bear.
“Hello?” I called out. My voice
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