Page 30

Liam couldn’t believe what he saw on his phone after the call ended. A second later, it buzzed and he got a text with the address.
Liam took a big breath and thought about what to do. Nathan and his family were at the hotel, which was good.
He thought about it for a while, then walked inside Ruby’s office and came out a few minutes later.
He got out of the building, got into one of the cars that Ruby had lent him, and went to the location.
Sophie, I’m coming.
He got out of the car and glanced around. There were forests on both sides of the road.
He proceeded into the woods down the narrow route that Blake had informed him about. It led to God knows where.
After walking for about two minutes, they saw a two-story house that seemed like it had been around for a long time. The paint was peeling off the walls. Some of the window glass were cracked, and some were shattered.
And not a single person in sight.
He walked carefully towards it and was too absorbed looking at the home to hear someone coming up behind him.
Something smacked him on the head, and he fell into darkness.
Liam woke up with a terrible headache. His eyes were getting used to the low light and the guy seated in front of him on a chair.
He saw that he was sitting in a chair with his wrists bound behind his back and his feet chained to the chair.
The chair was moved a bit closer to him, and he could see the person’s face. “Hi, Liam,” Blake said with a smile.
“Where’s Sophie?” Liam yelled. “Oh, she’s fine.”
Liam peered around the room for any traces of her, but he couldn’t see anything since it was too dark. The only place that was lit up was where he and Blake were.
Liam snarled, “Blake.” “Where is she?”
“Aww…our lover boy is getting impatient.” He gently got up. And he clapped his hands.
“Let her in.”
He could hear some muffled sobs, and Liam was relieved to see that Sophie was okay. Two big men were holding her hands as she tried to get away from them. Her eyes were swollen, her nose was red, and her hair was down and dishevelled. She didn’t want to wear the clothing Blake gave her, so her t-shirt and pants looked soiled.
She didn’t see him until he spoke gently. “Sophie.”
Sophie stopped fighting and turned her head to his. “Liam!” She started to cry right away. “I didn’t leave you, Liam. I didn’t. He had me taken.”
“That’s enough,” Blake said, stopping her. “Of course you didn’t leave him, or else he wouldn’t have come this far.”
“Why did you take him now?” Sophie yelled. “You wanted me, and here I am.”
Blake didn’t pay attention to her and talked to Liam. “She was pretty sure you would find her.”
Liam wanted to break free and smack that idiotic grin off his face. “Blake, let her go.”
Liam then saw the little television in the corner of the room that showed the outside of this facility. So, that’s how he knew he was coming.
Only those two men had Sophie, and no one else did. Everyone else was facing away from the television.
Liam smiled to himself in his head.
Sophie’s eyes were full of tears because she was scared of what Blake may do to him.
“You should be worried about yourself, Liam. She will be fine, but what about you?”
“Please leave him, Blake. I’ll do what you say. Just leave him,” Sophie begged.
“Sophie. No.” Liam admonished her, and his eyes begged her to be quiet.
“Oh, I’m having fun with this,” Blake said with a chuckle. “You’re both begging the other person to spare them. That’s so sweet. You must really love each other.”
“Please, Blake, don’t hurt him,” Sophie implored.
“Sweetheart, we both know he needs to get out of the way for you to give in to me,” Blake said, and Sophie’s face became pale.
“No, Blake! Please! I’ll do whatever you say. Just leave him!” Liam tried to wriggle out of the chair, but it was no use.
“Will you?” Blake asked. “Will you do everything I say? But then what? You will think about him every day and compare me to him.” Blake gestured to Liam.
“I won’t,” Sophie cried.
Blake shook his head. “No, sweetheart. You can’t be mine until he is alive.”
The two guys who were holding Sophie had let her go a little bit because she had been standing there for so long, but Sophie was too busy pleading for Liam’s life to notice.
Blake took a gun out of his back pocket and loaded it. “No, Blake!” Sophie yelled.
Liam didn’t worry about his own life as long as she was protected. He cocked the rifle and raised it, aiming it right at Liam’s heart.
“No!” she yelled, but it was too late. He had already pulled the trigger, and in a second, the bullet went through his chest and into his heart.
No. No. This can’t happen. She thought.
She pulled away from them, and since it was loose, she was able to get free. She rushed up to Liam, whose face was getting pale, and his eyes were shut as blood poured out of his chest.
She knelt down in front of him and hit him in the face again and over. “No. Liam, please!”
He smiled a little when he saw her, even though she was crying. He assumed she would be safe.
“Please,” she said softly. She didn’t even know what she was attempting to express.
She heard a little murmur when his eyes were barely open. He finally got the words he had wanted to speak to her for so long out of his mouth.
“I love you.”
It made her weep even more. I adore you, too. She wanted to scream, but it was too late since his eyes were closed.
And her heart stopped beating with his.
From Sophie’s point of view:
“Is this ruby?” I questioned Liam, running my finger over the red stone on the ring he gave me.
“Yes,” he said. “Ruby and diamond.”
“Why the hell did you buy such an expensive ring?” I asked him as he sat next to me on the bedsheet we had laid out on his balcony.
He drew me closer by putting his arm around my shoulder. “You’re Liam Whitmore’s fiancée, honey,” he added with a smirk. I struck him on the shoulder, and he laughed as he kissed the side of my head.
I looked up at the sky and felt him looking at me. He called my name in a serious voice after a while. “Sophie…”
I looked at him. “Yes?”
“Did I tell you that you are a blessing to me?” My heart is filled with love. “Nope. You didn’t tell me,” I responded in a humorous way.
He grinned a little. “Well, I’m telling you now. You are a blessing to me. You made this house come to life and took away the loneliness.”
I kissed his cheek as I leaned in. “Thanks.”
He kissed my cheek in reply. “No, thank you.”
“I can lay my life down for you if I have to,” he said firmly, with a commitment that almost made me cry.
“Oh, please do,” I said with a smile. “That way, I could have all your money.”
He thought that was funny. “I’ll make sure I die first so that my beautiful fiancée can have all my money.”
I laughed with him, but when I stopped laughing, I put my hand on top of his. “Liam, please don’t leave me.”
“I wouldn’t even think about it.”
“You better. Because if you ever did, I will hunt you down and kill you with my bare hands.”
He laughed and said, “I’m sure you will.”
I grinned and put my head on his shoulder. He put his head on top of mine, and we both stopped talking.
I enquired after a minute had gone. “Have you come up with any names for the baby?”
“Didn’t you say you would name the child?” “Well…” I responded, feeling embarrassed. “I’m open to ideas.”
He chuckled softly and said something. “I thought of a name for a girl.” “What is it?”
“Lanky.”
“Lanky. Where did you get that? Did you use Google?”