Page 24 of Liam (R.I.S.C. Delta Team #5)

“Hang on a sec,” Knox spoke directly to them before shifting his attention to whoever had just joined him. “What are you talking about?”

Listening intently, Allison and Liam paid close attention to the conversation between their new detective pal and a woman they could only assume was the man’s colleague. Her heart raced and she was filled with nauseating fear.

If Tommy really was in Chicago, it was only a matter of time before?—

“We just flipped Borelli,” the woman they could hear through the phone announced with pride. “He agreed to a deal, and he’s singing like a freaking sparrow.”

Unable to keep quiet, Allison had to be clear on what they were discussing. “You said he knows where we are?”

After a moment of pause—presumably so Knox could give the other woman the green light to discuss the case with them—she told them the devastating news.

“Borelli said the security guard overheard Sloane talking with Mrs. Gallo the other night on the phone. From what our guy says, the guard stood outside the office and listened to the conversation. When he heard you were holed up with a guy named Cutler, the guard went straight to Tommy Gallo with the news.”

“Oh, Bruce.” Allison put a hand over her mouth as more tears rushed to the surface in waves.

Maddie loved you so much. How could you?

“And you’re sure he knows where we are?” Liam asked next.

“I assumed Detective Knox would want proof, as did I,’ the woman shared. “So I got him to give up the address. Tell me if this is you.”

Allison’s heart sank like a ball of lead as she rattled off Liam’s home address.

“Liam?” She looked to him for guidance. “H-He found us.”

Again.

The man she was falling for looked like he was ready to kill as he told the others on the phone, “I gotta go.”

“Cutler, wait!” Knox hollered out his name.

But Liam had already ended the call.

“We have to leave.” Liam shoved his phone into the back pocket of his jeans and took Allison’s hand in his. Pulling her toward the door, he gave orders as they moved. “Grab your purse and leave everything else. I’ll get my laptop and go-bag, and then we’ll get Maddie and get the hell out of here.”

Allison didn’t even consider arguing with the plan as they began making a mad dash around the house to gather their things.

Liam went to his office first, swiftly retrieving his computer.

While he switched gears to go back to his closet for his go-bag, she went into the living room to grab her purse.

With the strap positioned so the bag was in crossover mode, she turned to go get Maddie. She made it all of two steps before a loud banging sound reached her ears. On reflex, Allison screamed and spun around to see what had happened.

She regretted the decision the moment she saw him.

Dust swirled in the sunlit air from the damage Tommy had done to Liam’s front door. She wasn’t sure if he’d kicked it in or used some sort of device, but whatever he’d done, it had left the door half-hanging from one hinge.

Rather than trying to reason with the unstable man, Allison turned back around and started to run.

“Liam!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Meaty hands she recognized all too well grabbed her from behind.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Tommy growled. “You’re coming with me.”

“No!” She began kicking and scratching at him with all her might.

Surprisingly, the twisting motion worked, and she managed to get free. Allison pushed both palms against his chest as hard as she could in hopes she could throw him off balance to buy her time to get away.

Unfortunately for her, Tommy held his footing with ease.

“You stupid bitch.”

She didn’t see the fist coming her way until it was too late. Pain exploded in her left eye and cheek as the forceful blow sent her flying. She landed on the carpet with a hard thud just as she heard Liam shouting out her name.

“Allison!” He came rushing toward her, gun in hand. “You son of a?—”

A deafening bang stole Allison’s hearing as she lay on the floor, doing all she could to ease the dizziness in her head. Through tear-filled eyes, she looked up to where Liam had just been standing.

She cried out when she saw him laying a few feet away. He was face down on the floor, and he wasn’t moving. A pool of blood rapidly began to form beneath his head.

“Liam!” Allison screamed his name, praying he was still alive. She pushed the shock and pain aside and began climbing back up to her feet.

Fire exploded in her scalp as Tommy filled his fist with the hair at the back of her head. He yanked her up, uncaring that she could barely stand for the overwhelming dizziness doing its best to take over. If anything, he seemed annoyed by the effort he had to put in to keep her from falling.

“Look at you,” he taunted. “Can’mt even stand on your own damn feet.” A nasty scoff. “What I ever saw in you, I’ll never understand.”

“Let me go!” Allison shouted before calling out to Liam once again.

“Your precious Liam’s dead.” Tommy held her close. “Just like you will be, soon.”

No!

The single word of denial was so loud throughout her pounding head.

“He’s not dead.” She refused to believe what appeared to be true. “He’s not! ”

“Shut the fuck up!” The cold-hearted man pushed her so hard she fell painfully to her knees. “You think he cares about you? He doesn’t. You’re too pathetic for anyone to give two shits about you.”

Still down on all four, Allison had no warning before the kick came. The toe of Tommy’s boot slammed unforgivingly against her ribs so hard, she flew over onto her back.

Allison would have cried out, but the pain took her scream away. She lay there, doing her best not to pass out. Doing all she could not to let the bastard win.

Maddie. I have to get to Maddie!

Before she could try, Tommy roughly yanked her to her feet with a painful fist wrapped around the top part of her arm.

“Get up!” He sounded more annoyed than mad, as if he wasn’t the reason she’d fallen in the first place.

Unable to hold back a cry of pain, Allison’s hand went to her injured side. She’d had broken ribs before, and knew there wasn’t anything that could be done. All she could do was breathe through the pain.

“I won’t go with you.” Her voice was noticeably strained.

Tommy simply laughed and brought the tip of his nose down to the edge of hers. “You’ll do whatever the hell I tell you to do, bitch. You don’t, I’ll kill her, too.”

Her.

Dear God, no.

Was the deranged man really using the threat of killing Maddie to get her to quit fighting?

“You won’t kill Maddie.” Her chin quivered as she looked evil square in the eye. “Not her. No your own daughter .”

“No?” The sick bastard grinned. “Are you really willing to take that risk? I mean, come on.” He chuckled. “You knew how I felt about having kids.”

It was true, Tommy hadn’t exactly been thrilled with the news that she was expecting. But to even think such horrible, unthinkable things…

Look at his eyes, Al. He’s not just threatening. The murdering son of a bitch would kill Maddie and not lose an ounce of sleep.

“Okay,” she agreed. What other choice did she have? “I’ll go with you as long as you promise never to come after Madeline again.”

He shrugged. “Why would I need her when I have you?”

Allison’s mind raced as her gaze fell back down to Liam’s unmoving form. Tears flooded her eyes and her heart shattered into a million pieces. He was dead because of her. And Maddie…

Please, God. Please don’t make me leave her.

But even as the silent prayer was sent up to the sky, she knew her destiny had come down to this. She’d made plenty of mistakes in her thirty-two years, but even now, Allison couldn’t regret meeting Tommy. If for no other reason than he’d given her the most precious of gifts.

Because of him, she’d been given the most precious of gifts. A daughter she loved more than anything else in the world. And now, as a mother should, Allison was going to willingly sacrifice her own life so that her child would live.

She let Tommy lead her from Liam’s house. Though she wanted to, she didn’t look back. She couldn’t see Liam’s body or the blood another second, especially knowing it was her fault that he was dead.

Maddie would be the one to find him, and the pain from that knowledge was worse than the fear of being killed. But her daughter would be alive, and that was the most important thing. Though the terror of not knowing who’d raise her child was as overwhelming as the loss of the man she loved.

I love him.

The realization struck as Tommy forced her into the passenger seat of his car. Sirens blared in the background as they pulled away from the curb.

A neighbor probably heard the commotion. Someone most likely reported the gunshot.

Hope that her daughter would soon be safe and protective came with a strange sort of peace. Allison’s jumbled thoughts returned to Liam as the houses on his street passed by in a blur.

He’d been shot in the head trying to protect her and her daughter. The man had died a hero’s death. And now, in order to ensure her daughter lived?—

I have to die, too.