Page 11

Liam is blind, but his reflexes are so damn good, resulting from his primal need to protect himself.
People abruptly stop what they are doing to watch us. I’m too shaken to stand up. They are staring down at me and forming a circle around me and Liam. I might be the only one here who dared touch their King — that fact is enough to divert their attention from the boxing ring, as though what’s happening here is much more interesting.
Liam is still seething in front of me. I have to explain.
Slowly, I stand on my feet. “Sorry that I startled you.”
He frowns. His anger is still very much visible, but I can see a bit of curiosity too from his face.
I swallow. “This might not be the best way to introduce myself.” I scan the crowd around us, who seem to grow more quiet the more seconds pass. Then I return my gaze to Liam. “Do you mind if we talk somewhere else?”
Privately, I beg in my heart. Being the center of attention like this is too much for me.
“Speak now. Here,” Liam says in a commanding tone, leaving me no room to argue.
I have no obligation to obey that kind of command, but I have a feeling that going against him now would lead to more trouble.
I straighten my spine, taking a deep breath. “I’m Emily, your new caregiver. Your brother, Ethan, hired me to take care of you and assist you.”
Ethan must have informed him about me, so he should be expecting me, shouldn’t he?
But then, Liam looks slightly taken aback. It’s not a good sight, especially since I notice the irritated look on his expression. I hear some people trying to muffle their laughter while the others scoff.
My brows furrow in confusion as I wait for Liam’s response. He closes his eyes and shakes his head in disbelief. When those grey eyes return to me, I see the same fury that greeted me a while ago.
“Do you think that I need a f*****g caregiver?” he bites out, making my heart sink. “Do you actually think that I do?”
No one makes any sound, anticipating what he’ll say next. I don’t even know if the fight inside the boxing ring is still happening — it probably isn’t — because the silence that follows after he speaks is excruciating.
“Get lost.” With that said unbearably coldly, Liam turns around and leaves.
F*****g ridiculous.
I never thought that such a liar existed among Eagle Wings members. How the hell did Victor recruit the newcomers?
I storm into my room with my fists clenched tightly on my sides. My chest rises and falls because of my anger.
The fight inside the boxing ring earlier might have calmed me down, but that girl just made me even angrier. She even mentioned Ethan, and that story she made up was insane.
There’s no way that Ethan would hire a caregiver for me.
Emily, her name. Who does she think she is?
F*****g poser.
The sound of my phone ringing on my bed catches my attention, and I instantly scoff because I know who the caller is from the ringtone.
About time, Ethan is calling me. I usually don’t answer his call, but maybe I should now.
I grab my phone, feeling that I might break it because of how hard I’m gripping it. This is f*****g irritating.
The second I answer Ethan’s call, his voice echoes in my ear. “Finally.” He lets out a long sigh. “About damn time you pick up my call.”
I listen closely to any other sound from the other side of the line and only hear faintly Dante ordering food to someone.
No gunshot sound. I feel slightly relieved because no matter how much I hate what Ethan is doing over there in France with the guys, he’s not in danger right now.
I hear a light chuckle. “Wait, have you already met her?” Amusement is now laced in his voice.
I clench my jaw, feeling like I’m going to explode. If it’s actually true about the girl, I’ll be f*****g mad at him.
“No wonder you picked up my call.” Although his tone is joking, I can feel his disappointment. “I had to drag some girl into this for you to pick up your brother’s call, huh?” he throws me a rhetorical question, which annoys me even more.
“I’ll hang up–”
“Wait,” Ethan immediately says, and I hear slight anger in his voice. “Oh My Gosh. Liam, calm the f**k down.”
“You know damn well why I never want to pick up your call,” I say coldly. “If you want to hear my voice that badly, you can drag your a*s back here.”
Ethan lets out a heavy sigh. “Quit being a brat. You know perfectly well why I have to be in France and why you can’t be here.”
I scoff. “Yeah? Because I’m f*****g blind–”
“Liam,” Ethan says to me in a warning tone. “You know why you can’t be in France, and we’re not doing this anymore.”
I almost roll my eyes.
Yeah. Because it’s f*****g dangerous there, and you’re not letting me there because you don’t want me to die. You’re leaving me here with no choice other than to accept that you could die anytime.
“Why did you even hire her?” I ask, not even trying to hide my irritation.
“Because you need her,” Ethan says.
Silence falls.
“What the hell does that mean?” I holler.
Ethan sighs. “Listen, you’re always angry,” he pauses, as though he needs a few seconds to compose himself. “I know that you don’t think you need a caregiver, but I do think that you need one.”
Before I can even interrupt him, he continues, “It’s not that I think you are incapable, but I need someone to look after you while I’m gone.” His voice holds vulnerability, and for a second, I think that my brother is going to break.
I hate this. I f*****g hate a situation in which I can’t do anything to make it better.
“I have looked through some care agencies,” Ethan says. “I just want you to have a friend. Emily is around the same age as you, a bit younger, as I remember. She has a family member who is also blind, so she’s used to taking care of someone blind who is close to her. I know for a fact that she needs money, and I think she’s not the kind of girl that will cost you trouble.”
If Ethan didn’t sound that serious right now, I would laugh out loud because of how ridiculous it was.
I just can’t imagine my brother, Ethan Carter, digging into a care agency and trying to find a girl to take care of me.