Page 58 of Their Stolen Obsession

Liv giggled but made a disgusted face. The sound was a symphony. She played the chords on my heart and directed the rhythm. I could listen to her music all damn day.

Liv reached up and trailed her fingertip over my old wound. “He has your scar. Saint’s too. Why?”

God, Liv was damn beautiful. Bruised up, scabbed, and scarred. I wouldn’t have her any other way because she was breathing.

Goddamn it. We had done it. Our girl was alive.

“Zane was held prisoner with us in Iraq,” I explained as I took Liv’s hand in mine and the pad of my thumb caressed her dry skin. “He endured the same torture, brutality, and received the same scar as us. We share a bond no one else can understand.”

“I do,” Liv whispered. Her eyes watered, and she blinked back the tears in an instant.

Our girl was tough. Thick skinned and brave as fuck. Liv had survived through horrific circumstances that no one should have to go through, especially a woman. I feared she had suffered far worse than us, and the very thought had me on the verge of tears.

Fuck.Toughen up, Cruz.If Liv could get through the darkest days of her life, then I would too.

I pushed away from Liv, afraid she’d seen me crack. My hands were clenched at my sides as I cracked my knuckles to ease some tension, and my nails bit into the palms of my hands. Nothing helped, but Preston’s upcoming death might ease the twitch.

I poured Liv a cup of coffee as the smell of roasted hazelnut filled the kitchen and eased the scent of death. She smiled up at me as I brought the mugtoward her, the sweetener in my other hand. The pleasure I experienced at her joy made my stomach ache. I wanted to hate the twinge, but I couldn’t. She was content within this moment with the brew she loved, and seeing her like that made me… grateful. Goddamn it. I was happy. So fucking joyful I wanted to hurl.

“You remembered,” Liv whispered.

I brushed the hair away from her eyes and sat down next to her. “I could never forget.”

Liv’s smile brightened, and her cheeks turned pink. The color stood out over all the dirtiness and made her glow. I couldn’t turn away. Her beauty, breathtaking for a woman rescued from captivity, wasn’t the only thing that made my stomach flutter like a damn butterfly. It was her stubborn will to survive and come back to us.

“You’re staring.” Liv nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I can’t help it,” I whispered and grinned like a goddamn buffoon.

Liv blushed brighter. Crimson. Heat rose to my cheeks, and I didn’t know what the hell had come over me.

Was I fucking blushing like a schoolboy?

Crap. I was.

This was what Liv Valencia had turned me into. A giddy cinnamon roll. A dark man with a touch of light who enjoyed torturing and killing anyone who touched the woman I loved. My entire universe. My little obsession.

Holy fuck.

I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the plan. The need for a distraction was important to keep me in line with what I had to do next because this was all for Liv. She needed an ending to all the mayhem she had lived through because this was her story. Not ours. We had hunted, tortured, and killed all those who led us to her, but it wasn’t only our revenge. She had her own too, and it was time for Liv to take her life back.

I peered around the kitchen, and I saw a table trolley.

Bingo.

I’d get some snacks for the doggies and load them up on the trolley for transport. Piece of cake. In this case, the food of choice was steak.

I crammed all the raw meat I could find onto the table with wheels. Those damn mutt’s would view me as their new master in no time, or that was the idea at least. A true ruler who wasn’t stingy with their next meal, but I had to be careful, or I could be their next bite.

Zane took the trolley from me and wheeled it down the hallway. He whistled a cheerful tune as he went and ran over body parts with the wheels. A fucking delightful sound that had me humming along until he disappeared.

We were alone. Finally, fuck. Took Zane long enough.

“Should we follow him?” Liv questioned with narrowed eyes.

“No. Zane’s a big boy.”

I watched over Liv, and I wanted to ensure her faint state had diminished. She ate in silence and sipped on her coffee. I tried not to stare, but my eyes ended up glancing at her.