Page 10 of Liam (R.I.S.C. Delta Team #5)

The next morning…

“Is that our plane?”

Allison followed her daughter’s line of sight to the private jet idling several yards from where they stood.

“I think so.” She smiled, glancing down at the sweet child.

Maddie was so pure. So innocent. She deserved so much better than the father she’d been given, which was why Allison had decided to force her way onto this trip.

I have to stop running. For her. For us.

“All right, Mads.” Liam rounded the front bumper, his shaded gaze focused solely on the little girl. “You ready for your very first airplane ride?”

Maddie’s tiny hand jerked Allison’s up and down as she began bounced up and down exuberantly. “Yeah!”

The smile he flashed her daughter’s way was so instantaneous and genuine, it filled her chest with a comforting warmth she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“Okay, but there’s one more thing we have to do before you can board the jet.” Liam’s expression grew over-the-top serious. “It’s a very important tradition my team has whenever someone takes their first plane ride on our jet.”

“What?” Maddie’s entire face lit up with excitement. “What’s the tratition?”

Allison slid her focus back up to Liam in time to see the corners of his lips twitch with the urge to smile. Instead, the sexy bodyguard shifted his body sideways before dropping down to one knee.

“All first timers must get a piggyback ride to the plane.” He lifted both hands to the sides of his head before holding them palms-up behind his shoulders. “Otherwise, it’s bad luck.”

“Okay!”

Her daughter ran Liam and put her tiny hands in his. Moving with far more grace than one would expect from a man of his size and stature, he slid the little girl onto his back while simultaneous rising up to his feet.

Allison fell in step behind them as they made their way across the team’s private tarmac. She couldn’t help but chuckle when Liam began bouncing Maddie with each of his exaggerated steps, sending the little girl into a fit of seemingly endless giggles.

She didn’t know much about Liam Cutler, but from what she’d seen so far, she liked. Especially the way he was around Maddie. The pair got along like two peas in a pod, almost as if they’d known each other forever.

Her sneakered feet hit the bottom step, and Allison began climbing the staircase leading up to the jet’s opened door. A heaviness began to settle deep inside her gut. A feeling of dread at the thought of what would happen once this whole thing was over.

Best case scenario, Tommy—along with his merry gang of sleezeballs—would get locked up and spend the rest of their miserable lives behind bars, where they all belonged. She and Maddie would finally be free to live the kind of life they’d always wanted. A life her little girl deserved.

But even then, that sort of life would require yet another fresh start. Another city. And that would mean that, eventually, Maddie would have to tell Liam goodbye.

It was a silly thing to be worried about, she knew. Especially since Liam had been a part of their lives for all of about five minutes. But Maddie was like her in that she trusted empirically and loved with all her heart.

Or at least, that’s the way Allison used to be.

“Wow!” Maddie stared wide-eyed at the plane’s interior while being carefully lowered from Liam’s shoulders.

The jet’s spacious—and very expensive looking—cabin was impressive to say the least. Leather seats, a large, flat-screen TV mounted high on the wall to her right… There was even a couch toward the back, along with a small kitchenette area and a door she assume led to the aircraft’s restroom.

“So?” Liam’s attention was still on Maddie. “What do you think? You like it?”

The mesmerized little girl stared with a gaping jaw and braided pigtails that were rising and falling in time to her overzealous nod.

“I have one more surprise for you before we take off.”

“Really?” Her daughter turned her big eyes his way. “What?”

Before Liam could answer, another man’s deep rumble sounded from somewhere close behind.

“I’m guessing that would be me.”

Allison jumped with a start, her heart kicking hard against her ribs as she spun around to face the man who’d unexpectedly stepped out of the cockpit.

“Allison Gallo, meet Jagger Brooks,” Liam introduced the other man. “Jagger’s a member of Delta and a certified pilot.”

“Oh. Um…hi.” She held out an offered hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

The two shook as Allison took in the man’s features. Jagger was tall, dark, and every bit as good looking as his teammate. Even so, there was no immediate spark or jolt of energy racing through her system like there’d been the first time she met Liam.

“Nice meetin’ you, too,” Jagger drawled, giving her hand a quick shake. Glancing down, flashed a smile Maddie’s way. “And you must be Maddie. I’m Jagger.”

“Hi, Jagger.” The two shook hands. “Are you going to fly us to Seattle?”

“I am. But there’s just one problem, Maddie. Something I’m hopin’ you can help me with.”

“Me?”

“Uh, huh. You see, my co-pilot wasn’t able to make it, so I was thinking maybe you would like to fill in for him today.”

“Me?”

“Yep.”

“But I don’t know how to fly a plane.”

“Eh, it’s super easy.” He waved her concern off as if it were meaningless. “Come on. You can sit up front with me.” Jagger lifted his dark brown gaze Allison’s way. “That is, as long as it’s okay with your mom?”

“Please, Mom. Please, can I sit up front with Jagger?”

Like I can say no to that.

“As long as he doesn’t mind,” she agreed. “Just…don’t touch anything. Okay?”

“I won’t,” Maddie promised.

With her hand in Jagger’s, the two happily left to find their designated seats inside the cockpit. Allison appreciated the fact that the door had intentionally been left open, but that still didn’t calm her nerves.

They were only on this plane because she’d insisted they accompany Liam to Seattle. If anything happened on the way there or back…if, God forbid, something went wrong with the plane?—

“Don’t worry,” Liam rumbled low just over Allison’s left shoulder. As if the man could read minds, he added a comforting, “Jag’s the best pilot I know.”

Without taking her eyes off the part of the cockpit she could see, she had to ask, “And you’re sure it’s okay for her to be in there…with him?”

A mother can never be too careful.

Liam’s expression grew as serious as she’d ever seen it. “Jagger Brooks isn’t just an awesome pilot. He’s also one of the most honorable and trustworthy men I know. He’s a smartass, and he likes to joke around, but he’d die before he ever let anything happen to your little girl.”

“Okay.” She gave him a slight nod, even going so far as to let her lips curve into a smile. But deep down, Allison felt a stirring of sorts. An uncertainty simmering just below the surface.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Liam’s claims about his teammate. She had no doubt what he’d said was true.

In fact, the more she was around him, the easier it was to trust whatever fell from the man’s lips. And that was the crux of the problem.

Trusting Liam Cutler had become far too easy. An immediate reaction driven by a desperate need to have someone in her corner.

It had been years since she’d had someone else right there, by her side. Years since a man had treated her and her daughter with the kindness and respect they both deserved. But Liam did.

He was protective and understanding. Respectful and kind. Patient and fun-loving whenever he interacted with Maddie.

Allison believed Liam was everything he appeared to be. And that belief scared her almost as much as Tommy.

“Good morning, ladies and gentleman.” Jagger’s boisterous voice filled every speaker in the cabin. “Welcome to Air Brooks. We’re preparing to take off, so if you’d kindly choose your seats and buckle yourselves in tight, we’ll get this bird in the air in just a few short minutes.”

“Guess that’s our cue.” Liam motioned toward the array of empty seats. “Ladies first.”

She shifted the purse strap that had started to fall off her shoulder as she made her way to the middle of the plane. Choosing a window seat that faced the cockpit, Allison settled herself against the buttery leather before securing the seatbelt across her lap.

The light scent of Liam’s woodsy cologne filled her nostrils as he sat down beside her. She denied herself the urge to close her eyes and draw in the deepest of breaths and instead schooled her expression.

A part of her had hoped he’d pick one of the jet’s many other available seats. The other part, however…a part that was buried deep, deep inside…was secretly glad he hadn’t.

“You afraid of flying?”

The unexpected question had her brows scrunching together in the center. Turning toward him, Allison had to force the breath in her lungs to keep moving when her confused gaze landed on his.

“No.” She gave her head a little shake. “Why do you ask?”

Rather than explaining his question with words, Liam silently dropped his focus down to her hands. Her tightly twisted hands that were currently wound together in two white-knuckled fists.

A nervous laugh escaped the base of Allison’s throat as she jerked her hands apart. “I guess maybe I’m a bit more anxious about going back out west than I realized.”

“Tommy won’t know you’re there,” he quickly assured her. “And even if he did somehow manage to figure it out, it doesn’t matter because I won’t let him get anywhere near you or Maddie.”

Reaching over the armrest between them, she covered one of his hands with hers. “I know you won’t.” The smile she gave him was genuine. “That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

You make me feel things that I really don’t want to feel.

“I, uh…” She cleared her throat and pulled her hand from his. “I just can’t believe that this is my life, that’s all.”

“It won’t be forever.”

“You say that as if you can see the future.”

“Ah, yes.” He arched a playful brow. “I fear I have inadvertently revealed my superpower. But alas, since you now know the truth, I can no longer hide my ability to see what the future holds for you.”

Despite her efforts against it, Allison almost immediately fell victim to her impending smile. At the same time, the floor beneath her feet began to vibrate as the jet’s engines came to life with a deafening wail.

When they were flying steady up high in the air, she looked back over at Liam and grinned. “So tell me, Mr. Fortune Teller. What do you see for my future?”

The intriguing man didn’t miss a beat.

“Well, now, someone’s future is a very technical process.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yes.” He nodded. “Very technical, indeed.”

Though they had more important things to discuss, she decided to play along. Allowing herself the rare moment of nonsensical amusement, Allison said, “I’ll do my best to keep up.”

She expected him to pop off with yet another exaggerated, smartassed retort. Instead, Liam’s humored expression softened as he stared deeply into her eyes.

“I see you and Maddie together.” He smiled.

“You’re laughing and smiling while the two of you play together under the beams of the sun.

In the future, you’re finally free to live without fear of being followed or watched.

There are no more looking over your shoulder everywhere you go.

Just pure, unadulterated happiness and the freedom to love and be loved in the way that you deserve. ”

A sudden rush of emotion struck without warning, and she had to blink quickly to prevent a fresh onslaught of tears from falling.

“That sure would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Allison breathed out a nervous chuckle. “I’ve been looking over my shoulder for so long, I don’t remember what it was like before.”

“I’m sorry.”

She gave her shoulder a shrug. “It’s my own fault. After all, I’m the one who chose to stay.”

“Bullshit,” Liam bit back sharply. “There was no choice, remember? That’s what you said in my office the other day.”

“I know what I said, Liam. But?—”

“But what?” he interrupted. “You were lying when you said that?”

“What? No!” Her face twisted into an incredulous stare. “Of course, I wasn’t lying.”

“You weren’t lying then? Or now?”

“Neither!”

“Well, it’s gotta be one or the other, Al.” His gaze searched hers. “Because you can’t have it both ways.”

Fury burned beneath the surface, and she was about to tell the handsome bodyguard where he could shove his insulting interrogation. But just as Allison opened her mouth to do just that, it finally clicked.

Liam wasn’t being an ass for the sake of being an ass. He was trying to get her to see that what she’d told him before rang true.

She walked away from Tommy and the terrifying life he’d trapped her and Maddie in the first real chance she had. It took time to build the meager savings she’d kept stashed away. Time to build the courage needed to leave everything she’d ever known behind.

“Thank you,” Allison whispered softly.

“For what?”

“You know what.” She smiled.

Liam held her gaze a moment longer before reaching over and taking her hand in his. With a gentle hold, he told her, “You did the best you could with the resources you had. No one can ever fault you for that.”

She glanced down at their joined hands and curled her fingers tightly around his. “That life you described a minute ago,” she started. “The one where Maddie and I are free…”

“What about it?”

“I want that life.” Her eyes lifted to meet his once more.

“Not for me, but for Maddie. She deserves to be happy, Liam. She deserves everything her heart desires. And my biggest fear of all…the thing that scares me even more than the possibility of having to face off with Tommy or his men…is knowing I may never be able to give that to her.”

“Maddie will have that life, Al.” The unpredictable man lifted the hand he was holding before pressing his lips to the skin near her knuckles. “So will you.”

The sweet gesture made Allison’s heart whirl with hope and something else she chose to ignore. With a half-hearted tease, she asked, “And you know this because you can see the future?”

“No, sweetheart.” Liam shook his handsome head slowly from side to side. “I know this because I’m going to do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes. For Maddie…” His intense gaze darkened with a slight pause. “And for you.”