Page 26 of Liam (R.I.S.C. Delta Team #5)

“Holy shit.” Jagger took the words right out of Liam’s mouth.

Liam’s stomach dropped, the pain in his heart exponentially worse than the throbbing in his head. “Is that them?”

A twisted heap of metal that looked like it used to be the same car caught on Liam’s security feed was on its roof in a field several yards from the road. Its spinning tires were facing the sky, and from what he could see, there weren’t any signs of life.

No!

“Ah, hell.” He couldn’t bring himself to think the worst.

But how could he not with everything else that had already happened so far today?

“Keep the faith, brother,” Jagger seemed to read his mind.

He slowed the vehicle way down as they drew closer to the crumpled car. Rather than stop on the side of the road, Jag put the SUV into 4-wheel drive. They traversed the non-existent, offroad trail into the field, toward the wreckage.

Guns in hand, all four men exited their vehicle with caution. Metal was twisted and glass was shattered, but the deployed airbags prevented Liam from being able to see inside.

A shifting of movement came from within the car’s interior, halting his and his teammate’s steps. Using signals they knew by heart from their extensive training, Liam and Jagger took the passenger side while Christian and Brody checked on the driver.

Their footfalls against the soft grass were damn near silent. The only sounds around them were the late morning breeze and an occasional song of a faraway bird.

Another commotion from inside the car stopped Liam dead in his tracks. It sounded a lot like two people engaged in a physical struggle.

“You pathetic piece of trash.” Tommy’s angry growl reached them where they stood. “I’m going to kill you!”

Liam took a step forward, ready to pull the bastard from the car by his fucking throat. And that’s when the shot rang out.

His knees threatened to give out as the echoed gunfire dissipated into the air. Did he just hear Tommy Gallo end Allison’s life? Had he gotten this close to saving her only to have lost her at the very last possible moment?

“Allison!”

Training forgotten, Liam jumped into action. As always, his teammates were right there, beside him.

He did drop to his knees then, but only so he could push away the car’s deflated passenger window airbag. But before he could, someone else began pushing the white lifesaving device aside.

Liam lifted his weapon, his finger not far from the trigger he was more than ready to pull. His heartbeat filled his ears and his pulse raced with adrenaline. He nearly crumbled with relief when a flash of blonde curls came into view.

“Liam?”

“Allison!” He shoved his gun into his holster, carefully helping her climb free through the car’s shattered window.

The second her feet were clear, she fell fully into his arms.

“Oh, my God!” she cried. “I can’t believe you’re here! I thought you were dead!”

“Thought the same about you, darlin’.” He held her as close as he was physically able. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes as he gave silent thanks that she was still very much alive. “How badly are you hurt?” He eased her from his embrace in order to assess any injuries she may have incurred.

“I’m pretty sure a rib’s broken…” She winced. “Maybe two. But I don’t even care because you’re here, and you’re alive, and Tommy…”

Her face threatened to crumble when she looked back toward the car.

From the other side of the wreckage, Christian met Liam’s stare. “Gallo’s dead,” he confirmed. “Bullet to the head.”

Guess Karma’s a real bitch, eh, Tommy boy?

“I had no choice.” Allison’s entire body began to shake. “H-He was going to k-kill me. He took out a life insurance p-policy, and he was going to?—”

“Shh…” Liam brought her back into his arms. “We know, sweetheart. You have nothing to feel guilty about. This is all on him.”

“I know.” She nodded against his shirt. Moisture from her tears soaked the material, but he relished in its feel.

Minutes ago, he didn’t know whether he’d ever see her alive again. But by some miracle—and the woman’s unending strength and incredible will to survive—Allison was still here. She was still alive.

And her nightmare was finally over.

Later that night…

Liam laid in the hotel bed, his body curled up with Allison’s while Maddie lay snuggled up to her mom in the space on the other side of the bed. By some miracle—and his headphones’ awesome noise-cancelling technology—she hadn’t heard a thing.

The sweet angel had been so sucked into her video game when her father had burst into the house, she hadn’t heard Allison’s scream or the loud blast of the gunshot. According to the cops, she was still playing on his computer when they’d arrived on scene.

It was pure coincidence that Jag and the others had stopped by to see them when they did.

They’d been working a security system check on a business not far from where Liam lived.

The decision to swing by his place had been last-minute, and only to see whether he or the girls needed anything while they were out.

And thank God they’d come when they had. If not?—

Don’t go there, Cutler. They did, and Allison is still with you. Still alive. No sense dwelling on all the what ifs.

The E.R. doctor confirmed two of Allison’s ribs were broken. Liam had wanted to find Tommy’s body and shoot his dead ass again when he found out how the injury had occurred. It was Allison, however, who’d calmly reminded him that her dick of a husband could never hurt her again.

Aside from the ribs, she’d come away damn lucky with only a minor concussion, a few scrapes and some bruises. But she’d been so quiet since they’d left the hospital, he was really starting to worry.

“Hey,” he whispered softly as to not wake Maddie from her restful slumber. “You awake?”

“Mmm hmm.” Allison responded but refused to turn his way.

“Look at me.” When she didn’t, he tried again. “Come on, darlin’. I really need to see those gorgeous blue eyes.” And then he added a softer, “Please?”

Using slow, gentle movements, Allison finally turned to face him. The skin around her eyes was puffy and red from the crying she’d done off-and-on since they’d found her inside that car.

“I’m here.” He needed her to understand what that meant. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Because he knew something about what the struggle she was facing. She’d taken a life. A human life. Bad guy or not, that was never an easy thing to face.

Even so…

“Tommy was an abuser, a thief, and a cold-blooded murderer,” he reminded her about Borello’s confirmation that her now-deceased husband had killed Martin Torres. “And those are just the things we know about.”

“I know,” she whispered softly before giving an adorable sniffle.

“But if I’d said something sooner…or been strong enough to stand up to him before now…

” Her hair swished against the pillow with a slow shake of her head.

“If I’d told someone sooner that I saw Tommy with Marty the night he disappeared, he might still be alive. ”

“You don’t know that,” Liam pointed out quietly. “And let’s not forget that Marty was up to his eyeballs in Tommy’s nefarious dealings.”

“He was still one of Tommy’s victims.” Sadness filled her watery gaze. “But I was his first. Lucky number one,” she spouted with sarcasm.

“Maybe.” Liam shrugged. “That’s something we may never know. But you know what I saw in my living room? What I heard when we came upon that car?” He carefully brushed some hair away from her eye. “I saw a fighter, Al. A fucking warrior. And I couldn’t be more proud.”

A wave of emotion seemed to visible fall upon her as he stared into her precious gaze.

“I love you, Liam.” A tear fell onto her pillow. “I know it’s crazy, and I don’t expect anything, but after today, I just…” Her swallow was audible. “I thought you should know.”

“Ah, baby.” He leaned in for a sweet, chaste kiss. “I love you, too.”

“You do?”

“Oh, yeah.” Another soft kiss. “I’m head over boots in love with you, and that little girl over there?” He glanced across Allison’s curled up form to glance at Maddie. “I love her as if she were my own.”

“You mean that?”

“With all my heart.” Liam looked back at the woman he never wanted to live without. “So what do you say? You think you and Mads could stick around here for a while?”

“Hmm…” She appeared to be deep in thought. “I guess that would depend.”

“On what?”

“On you.” Allison used cautious movements to bring her lips over to his. “And how long you mean by ‘a while’.”

Oh. That.

“Well, since you brought it up, I was thinking maybe…I don’t know. Forty, fifty years.”

Her dimples appeared with the first real smile he’d seen the hours since bringing her and Maddie here, to the hotel.

“Make it sixty, Mr. Cutler,” she countered with a knowing grin. “And you’ve got yourself a deal.”