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“You didn’t want one?”
“I wanted you to have a miracle.” He gave her a sweet, sexy smile. “I already found mine.”
The lump in her throat grew without warning. She swallowed hard and said huskily, “You’ve been my miracle for twelve years.”
He took her hand and kissed it softly. “I’ve missed you.”
She knew he wasn’t talking about being away from her for twelve years, but her absence over the last few days.
“I’m sorry. I—”
“No. You have nothing to apologize for. What you’re dealing with is unimaginable. I just want to help in any way I can.”
“You are helping. I just—” She paused for a moment. “Have you ever had something hurt you so much that you couldn’t even articulate how bad the pain was?”
“Yeah.” The look he gave her told her what that pain had been. The day they’d taken her out of that cell, and he’d believed she’d been tortured because of him. Yes, he definitely understood her pain.
Standing, he held out his hand. “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”
He took her to the family room with its deep sofas and retro game machines. Flipping a switch, he turned on the gas logs of the fire, and then they settled onto a sofa.
She put her head on his shoulder and for the first time in days, felt her body relax.
“Ready to talk about it?”
“Not yet,” she said. “Soon. Just not yet.”
Instead of pressing the issue, he squeezed her gently and said, “Okay.”
He settled them deeper into the sofa. “My dad,” he began quietly, “was the greatest storyteller I’ve ever known. This was one of the first stories he told me.”
Aubrey listened intently. His dad had passed away when Liam was a young teen and from the few stories he’d shared about him, Aubrey knew he had been his hero.
“A long time ago, there was this family of angry squirrels.”
“I didn’t know squirrels could get angry.”
“Well, most of them are pacifists. You know, gathering nuts, climbing trees, doing squirrely things and living their lives like proper squirrels should. But there are a few, a very few, angry squirrels. And this family. They were the angriest of them all.”
Aubrey relished the timbre of his voice, the thud of his heart, the warmth of his body against hers, and felt perfect peace.
* * *
Liam figured she fell asleep around the time the youngest of the angry squirrels met the youngest of the happy squirrel family.
He remembered his dad’s story like he’d heard it yesterday. He’d realized years later that the tale was his father and mother’s story. His dad’s family had been the angry family, bitter and mean. He’d said he figured he would have ended up like the rest of them if he hadn’t met Mary Sue Murphy, who had changed his life.
Just as Aubrey had changed his. The day he’d met her, his life had become infinitely more meaningful. And even though it had taken twelve years to find her again, everything in his life had led him to her.
Their problems were far from over. This organization or whatever the hell it was wanted to kill her or stop her from making the documentary. He would fight to his death to keep her alive. And if something happened and he wasn’t around, the OZ team would always protect her. It was what families did.
Aubrey thought she’d lost hers, but she had gained a stronger, more powerful one that would do whatever was necessary to keep her safe.
Holding her close, Liam closed his eyes with the comforting knowledge that no matter who or what came after them, she would be safe.
Chapter Forty-Two
She woke to the most delicious sensation. Liam’s mouth was moving softly on her neck, nibbling at hidden erogenous zones she’d had no idea existed.