Page 4 of Royal Bargain (Royals of the Underworld #3)

ANNIKA

T hough I had sent Liam my location in response to his text, I’m still taken aback when he shows up at my door several hours later, a look of determination etched across his face.

“You came,” I whisper, my voice nearly breathless with relief. I step back, allowing him into the cramped apartment that’s been serving as our safehouse. He steps inside and his eyes scan the room, not quite meeting mine.

“I want to see my child,” he says, and I nod, crossing the room to pick Lily up from her bassinet. I cradle her gently to my chest and bring her over to meet her father for the first time.

Every instinct in me wants to hold onto her a little longer—to protect her from whatever storm Liam might bring—but I know I owe them this moment.

“This is Lily Volkov-Brannagan,” I say, carefully placing her into Liam’s arms. The tension in his shoulders bleeds out as he cradles her, staring down at her like she’s the most precious thing in the world.

“She’s really mine?” he asks, his voice cracking at the end as tears fill his eyes. I nod, staring at the two of them together.

Lily stares at him, an almost petulant expression on her face as she realizes that whoever this stranger is, he’s Not Mom.

“Hi, Lily,” Liam says, his voice low. “I’m your daddy. It’s nice to meet you, mo stórín .”

Her little features scrunch up as she takes in the sound of his voice and shift into something akin to a smile. I tell myself it’s probably just a bit of gas, but it still makes my heart ache seeing them together, seeing her look so happy .

Liam continues to rock her gently back and forth for a moment, just taking her in, and as I watch them, I’m struck by how alike they look.

Lily has his dimpled cheeks, his striking blue eyes, and his nose. She has my red hair, but his messy curls. My heart clenches, and I feel a wave of guilt that I kept them from each other for so long. It wasn’t fair of me. It wasn’t right.

“Thank you for coming,” I say, hovering nearby as Lily’s eyes lock on Liam’s and they stare each other down. “I’m glad you’re here.” My lips quirk upward as I watch Lily’s little tongue poking out.

“I came here for her,” he says, glancing at me with a cool expression before turning his gaze back to our daughter, eyes softening.

Nodding, though my heart is breaking inside, I lean against the counter to watch them. Liam has every right to be angry at me for keeping this from him, but hearing that still stings.

Lily begins to fuss after a beat, turning her head to root at his chest.

“Right,” I say, reaching out for her. “I think she’s hungry.” I juggle her as I unbutton my shirt and pull the nursing bra down, bringing Lily to my chest to begin feeding. She latches on immediately, and I settle down on the couch to let her eat.

Liam clears his throat, looking everywhere but at me as Lily nurses, and I sigh.

“This doesn’t need to be awkward, dude,” I say, shaking my head. “It’s only awkward if you make it awkward. Just sit down.”

He rolls his eyes but complies, sitting on the other end of the threadbare couch.

“You can’t stay here,” he says, blurting out what we were both thinking, and I nod.

“I know. It’s only a matter of time before my father’s men find me if I stay. That’s why I was hoping you could help us. We’d be safer with you.”

Liam rubs the back of his head. “Well, let’s pack your shit up and get out of here today, then.”

He studies Lily as her tiny fingers knead against my skin, something fond in his eyes. It reminds me of the way he used to look at me . Before everything fell apart.

“Where am I going to be put?” I ask, curious.

Liam cocks his head, raising an eyebrow. “You’ll move in with me,” he says flatly, as though I’m stupid.

“With you?” I ask, swallowing hard. “In Irish territory?” Suddenly, this plan doesn’t seem as smart as it did a few days ago. “Wouldn’t I be in more danger there?”

“You’ll be safe with me,” Liam says, grabbing his phone. “No one will touch you as long as you’re under my protection.”

“That seems like a bit of a stretch,” I mutter. I doubt that Liam can stay around 24/7, especially if someone from his side finds out I’m there and decides to “pay me a visit”.

But realistically, I have no other choice so when Lily finally finishes feeding, I put her down and begin packing my stuff up.

Liam helps me pack, muttering about the sheer quantity of items I have for Lily, including a comment about how many clothes a baby that small possibly needs.

I feel the irritation grow, suddenly reminded of why we broke up in the first place. Liam had this way of grating on my nerves, always questioning me at every turn.

“She needs this many clothes because she’s a baby,” I snap, keeping my voice low to prevent waking Lily up. “Babies are messy. Do you even realize how much work it is?”

“I can handle it just fine,” Liam mutters, angrily shoving baby clothes into a suitcase. “Can you?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask, a hand on my hip as I stop in the middle of putting my laptop away.

“Nothing,” Liam says. “Let’s get going. I want to be out of here before dark.”

I let the comment slide as we finish packing up, heading out just as the sun starts to sink below the horizon.

The drive to his place is silent, and my stomach is in knots the whole time, worrying that my father’s men already know where I am and that they’ve been following us. I don’t feel secure until we’ve stepped inside Liam’s place, breathing a sigh of relief.

I’d only been here a handful of times before. We spent most of the time in neutral locations, too afraid to be seen coming and going together for fear of retaliation from our families.

My eyes rake over the space. It’s open and airy, with large windows that take up almost the entirety of one wall.

The furniture is all very square and modern-looking, with a lot of wood accents and a minimalist design.

A set of winding stairs comes off the kitchen, leading up to a lofted bedroom with more floor-to-ceiling windows.

I stand in the kitchen for a moment, breathing in and out as I try to envision Lily and me living here. There’s plenty of space, but it’s not very well suited for a baby.

And the mess.

My skin prickles as I take in the sight of stacks of plates on the coffee table, several half-drunk bottles of water scattered across the dining room table, a pile of laundry strewn across the living room floor, and the bag of trash waiting by the back door.

Even though Liam was being an ass, he was right that mess and I don’t get along very well. I hate when things are disorganized or out of place. It makes my skin crawl, and the itch to tidy up rises inside now that I see it.

“We need to set some ground rules,” Liam says, carrying Lily’s car seat carrier into the building.

I take her from him as he begins the process of setting up her bassinet in the living room. He pushes it over a discarded wrapper, and it crinkles, making me wince.

“Like what?” I ask, sitting down to feed Lily again.

“Well, for one thing, under no circumstances are you to leave this place alone. You and our daughter are to stay put unless absolutely necessary,” he orders. “If it is necessary, you’ll go with me or one of your new bodyguards.”

I prickle at his insinuation that I’d be stupid enough to put myself in danger but nod, unwilling to let him think that I’d put up a fight about something so stupid.

“Fine,” I say. “Anything else?”

He stands in front of the bassinet, arms crossed. “This is about protecting Lily. That’s the only reason you’re here. I’m her father, and it’s my job to keep her safe. I just want to make sure we’re on the same page. That means you and me? We aren’t a thing. You’re my roommate, nothing more.”

“You and I,” I murmur. “Not you and me.”

He groans. “Seriously? This isn’t grammar class.” He rolls his eyes and stomps off to get the rest of the stuff from his car.

This is going to be a disaster. I can already feel it in my bones.

The next few days, as we adjust to our new circumstances, it’s clear that any romantic notion I might have once had about living with Liam back when we were dating was little more than a delusion.

For one, he seems to constantly be tripping over his own sneakers, which he leaves in a heap by the stairs.

He leaves his hair in the sink after he shaves, and his dirty laundry pile never seems to grow any smaller.

We bicker constantly, and Lily’s unpredictable schedule leaves us tired and tense, which doesn’t help.

Living with him is turning into a nightmare.

The worst part is that every single morning, he gets up to leave for his job with Senator Burns and manages to wake both me and the baby every time as he slams doors, trips on things, and drops stuff.

It’s a pain in the ass to get Lily to go back to sleep and by the third morning, I’m ready to strangle him.

Then again, I can tell my presence is wearing on him, too. He’s tense all the time, moody and snappish whenever I’m around. At first, I just chalked it up to the situation, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s just as hard for him to live with me as it is for me to live with him.

“Ana!” Liam thunders, appearing in the doorway of the bathroom just as I’m getting out of the shower. “Why the fuck did you rearrange my cupboards?”

“It was inefficient,” I tell him. “You need more organization. I was tired of not being able to find the cups. And why is all the clean cutlery still in the dishwasher?”

“I just forgot to put it away.” Liam shrugs. “I’ll get to it.”

“I couldn’t find a clean spoon for stirring my tea this morning,” I tell him, tugging my towel tighter around my body, an edge to my tone. “I had to put the silverware away, but half of it was still dirty. You need to rinse them off before you just stick them in.”

“I do!” Liam protests. “It’s that crappy dishwashing liquid you insisted that I order you. I’m sick of your correcting me all the time, Ana,” he says, frowning as he realizes I’m only in a towel and dripping wet.

He shakes his head. “I’ll be upstairs. You can have the downstairs with Lily. I’ll stay out of your way, you stay out of mine.”

I’d been sleeping on the recliner, Lily’s bassinet within easy reach. It was surprisingly comfy, and it meant I didn’t have to constantly bring Lily up and down the stairs. Liam kept his bed upstairs, and we tried to maintain a polite facade, but it’s not working.

Living here with Liam was a mistake. I should never have agreed to this whole thing. Even Lily seems to sense the tension, her constant crying getting worse with every passing day.

Maybe tonight, I’ll finally get a little peace with Liam staying upstairs. She seems to finally be settling in here, and I feel optimistic as she closes her eyes, starting to drift off. I’m hoping she’ll sleep a few extra hours tonight.

But just as I get her put down, she starts whimpering. Hushing her is unsuccessful, and her whimpers turn into sobs, then full-on wails as she kicks up a fuss.

I pace around the living room, rocking her, bouncing her, trying to soothe her cries to no avail. Tears gather in my eyes as I feel close to my breaking point, a meltdown becoming imminent. I can’t handle this anymore!

“Is she okay?” Liam asks, appearing at the top of the stairs.

“No,” I snap, my throat tight from trying to hold back the tears. “Nothing is right. I can’t get her to stop crying! I don’t know why she’s always crying! Nothing I’m doing is working!” My voice finally breaks as the tears pour down my cheeks. “I feel like a bad mother.”

“Has she been evaluated for colic?” Liam asks, his voice low as he approaches, his body language cautious.

“Colic?” I ask, trying to hear him over the sound of Lily’s cries. “No?”

“When my sister-in-law Darcy was pregnant with my nephew, I researched a bunch about babies,” he says, sounding almost sheepish. “It was fascinating to me. She sounds like she might have colic. Can I try something with her?”

My lower lip trembles, and I nod, exhausted enough to let Liam take her. If he can perform a miracle, I just might kiss him.

Liam lays Lily out on the couch, on the blanket, and begins running his hand over her belly in soft, slow strokes.

It’s fascinating to watch and I can’t look away as he manages to get her to slow to a few little whimpers, and then by the time he’s done, she’s stopped crying and is watching him intently.

He bicycles her little feet before pushing them into her belly, and she lets out a comically loud toot, startling all three of us.

“Wow. Bet that feels a lot better, doesn’t it, sweet girl?” Liam asks, a smile on his face. He does it again, and she releases more gas, a little coo escaping her.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of colic,” I mutter as I sit down next to him.

“Not everyone is a research geek like me,” Liam jokes. Lily seems to be a lot more relaxed now that the trapped gas isn’t hurting her belly, and she yawns, a sleepy look in her eyes.

Settling her down in the bassinet, I rub circles into her back to put her to sleep. Once I’m done, I look over to see Liam watching us, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

“You’re not a bad mother,” he says, his voice soft. “You love Lily. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but I’m here, Ana. I can help. Let me help you.”

He’s close now, so much closer than before. His words are washing over me, reminding me of what made me fall for him in the first place. He’s always been charming, but soft. Like a dependable teddy bear, but like… a sexy one.

“I’m sorry I disrupted your life,” I say, dropping my voice low.

Liam’s gaze holds mine as he reaches out to stroke his thumb over the back of my hand. “You didn’t disrupt it. You aren’t a burden for me. I’m glad that you and Lily are here, even if I seem like a big grump. You two deserve the world, Annika.”

His voice is so quiet, like a secret just for me. I don’t even think, just lean forward and press my lips to his. It’s instinct, like gravity. Like breathing.