SimplyIrresistible (22 page)

“Will do, bro. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything
crazy. I’m too busy riding the wave.”

Still stunned by Cam’s amazing instant success and wishing
he could share his pride and awe with Tiana, he was jolted back to the here and
now by an incoming call from Willis. “Everything okay?”

“No problems, we’re heading for the station so Tiana can
give her statement.”

“Good, let me talk to her.”

“Here you go, boss.”

A crackle marked the exchange then Tiana said, “Hi.”

“Hi yourself.” His voice deepened with pleasure.

Hers fuzzed with static and grew faint. “Liam?”

The call dropped and he glared at the lack of bars on his
cell.

Darkness shrouded the SUV as they entered the first I-90
tunnel going east toward Sterling Falls.

* * * * *

Tiana barely registered Kramer’s Fuel Depot when they
cruised past. She continued fretting over the lost call from Liam and Jen’s
nausea.

Willis pulled into the library’s parking lot, turned off the
ignition and faced her. “Ready to give your statement?”

“I guess.” She wiped her damp palms on her jeans. “I’ve
never done this before.”

“Nothing to it, the chief is a pro. You’ll be fine.” Willis
wiggled his ears, easing her nerves and making her smile. He walked her over to
the police station and waited outside the chief’s office when she was invited
to enter.

The chief of police pulled out a chair for her. “Sit down,
please. Would you like coffee or a soft drink?”

“No, thank you.” Stu’s ready smile had already helped quell
her nervousness. She sat on a lightly padded visitor’s chair. “I’m not certain
what happens next.”

“It’s pretty straightforward. I start by establishing time,
place and identifying the participants—you and me.”

“The recording then becomes evidence?”

Stu leaned back, making his swivel chair squeak. “Not
necessarily, it will be part of the police file for this case.”

“Do I need to take an oath?”

The chief shook his head. “No. The statement is your
recollection of events, not sworn testimony.”

“I don’t know much about the shootings. I can’t imagine my
account will help, but I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all anyone could ask.” His eyes crinkled with kindly
amusement, but his tone stayed grave.

Aside from an unexpected detour covering Tiana’s trip from
town to the farm, her account was as simple as the chief had described. His
interest in the Jeep, which passed Tiana during her ride home shortly after the
first shot had been fired, surprised her.

After reflecting, Tiana wondered if Ashley had been driving.
Perhaps not, she might have loaned her car to her brother. Travis could have
roared around Tiana’s truck as easily as his sister. If so, then the wrong
sibling stood accused of attempted murder. She rubbed away a sudden rash of
chill bumps.

Once the brief statement was complete, Tiana was more than
ready to leave.

Willis held the door for her as she hurried from the
station.

Movement caught her eye as she approached his car.

Ashley stormed toward Tiana. Trouble radiated from Liam’s ex
with all the subtlety of rolling thunderclouds. Her ample curves were encased
in a frothy pink dress and fragile white sandals more suitable for high tea
than a confrontation.

Tiana took a step backward before she caught herself and
held her position. She jumped very large horses for fun. Ashley was big, but
Tiana was betting she wasn’t fast. Tiana wasn’t about to let the plump, unarmed
blonde intimidate her.

“You need to stay away from Liam Sterling.” Ashley actually
hissed.

Maybe it was the totally excess-drama hiss, or that Tiana
had survived a sadistic Master and pushy ex-subs couldn’t compete, but for
whatever reason the last traces of fear evaporated.

Liam didn’t belong with a manipulative bitch and Tiana had
no intention of leaving him to the sick blonde’s nonexistent mercy. “Get over
yourself. Liam is an adult and totally capable of making his own choices.”

For a second or two Tiana froze, numbed by the echo of her
own unfiltered thoughts. There was never a do-over on the spoken word, so she
mentally shrugged and decided not to regret speaking the truth. Ashley clearly
needed a reality check and no one else had seen fit to provide one.

Ashley flipped her blonde curls. “I’m trying to save you the
humiliation of being dumped. I’ve decided to give Liam another chance.” She wet
her lips suggestively. “He’s never been able to say no to me.”

No freaking way
.
“Lie to yourself if you need
to, but don’t you dare lie to me. Liam is not interested in you and we both
know why.”

Ashley’s mouth gaped. She snapped it closed and took a deep
breath, puffing up her impressive cleavage. “Then why did he mark me last
night?” She shrugged one pale shoulder, revealing an ugly bruise and fresh
sutures on the outer curve of her right breast. “You’re so soft. You’ll never
satisfy his dark side. I like pain. It turns me on.”

For a second, the other woman’s insinuations hit Tiana like
a kick in the belly and actually stole her breath. Then she considered the
vital fact Liam had barely been out of her sight for the past two days. There
was zero chance he was the one who’d hurt the manipulative blonde. Ashley was
lying, a skill that seemed to come naturally.

Tiana had a few doubts of her own about the odds Liam and
she would have a successful long-term relationship, let alone his willingness
to be the forever Master she yearned for, but she knew damn well that he wasn’t
slipping out behind her back to abuse Ashley. She narrowed her gaze at the
Amazon. “Are you so desperate to win him back you’re willing to tell blatant
lies?”

“You don’t know shit about me and Liam.” Ashley made a
sullen moue.

Tiana rolled her eyes. “Tell your story to someone who
doesn’t know you’re a frustrated masochist.” Liam’s gentle firmness even when
he corrected her flickered through her mind. “He didn’t maim your breast.
Hurting women sickens him.”

“Lying slut.” The bigger woman circled her right fist,
gaining momentum and telegraphing her intended punch.

The seconds Ashley spent on warm-up gave Willis plenty of
time to catch her arm and pin it behind her back.

“What the hell?”Ashley sputtered.

“Allow me to introduce Willis. I’m surprised you don’t know
him. He’s part of Liam’s security team, who’s currently on duty as my
bodyguard.”

“You little bitch. I’ll end you in this town.”

Right. You and what army
hovered on Tiana’s lips. She
restrained herself, but Liam was her Master, at least for now. She might want
more from him than he would ever be able to give her, but while they were
together, she definitely wasn’t going to let Ashley get away with lying about
him. “You’ll do nothing of the kind. Think about who matters most to Sterling
Falls, you or Liam. I haven’t known him all that long, but I’m certain he’s my
friend. That means you do not want me for an enemy. Go home, clean up and keep
away from both of us. Maybe then I’ll be willing to forget how badly you’ve
behaved.”

Willis released Ashley.

Ashley swayed then caught her balance. She sidled past
Tiana, muttering, “You and Liam deserve each other. You’re both certifiable.”

Tiana watched her saunter down Main Street, wondering again
if Ashley had let her brother take the blame for her crimes. How desperate was
Ashley? Could she have shot at Liam and ambushed Taylor? Perhaps Travis had
only helped his sister. If so then the wrong Gregg had been charged with
attempted murder.

“She started it. I’m relieved you handled the situation
without violence. A guy who gets involved in a cat fight never wins. Just
sayin’.” Willis wiggled his prominent ears.

An inappropriate giggle erupted from Tiana.

He held the passenger door for her. “Nothing personal, but I
have to call Duncan and report the incident.”

Tiana nodded her understanding while her stomach knotted
over Liam’s reaction. A couple of hours ago, she’d been worried about his
encounter with Travis. As protective as Liam was, he was bound to be upset
about the confrontation with Ashley.

By the time Willis climbed into the driver’s seat, he was
deep in conversation with his boss. “No sir, aside from pinning Ashley’s arm for
a few minutes, I wasn’t involved.” He listened to Duncan for a few seconds
more, before he said, “Tiana didn’t need my help. She held her own.” There was
another pause while his boss must have asked a follow-up question then he said,
“No sir. No injuries except to the other woman’s pride. We’re on our way, sir.”

The bodyguard’s courteous responses reminded Tiana of a
well-trained submissive answering his Master.

She swallowed a sigh, eager to see Liam. By the time she
arrived Duncan would have told Liam about her encounter with Ashley.

Tiana wasn’t worried about his reaction. Even if he were
upset, Liam would never hurt her. He would demand an explanation. If he wasn’t
satisfied he might discipline her. The idea of him doling out punishment sounded
like all kinds of naughty fun.

Willis drove deftly, giving Tiana plenty of time to come up
with the best way to explain how she’d wound up embroiled in an argument with
his ex. Unfortunately, exciting thoughts of Liam in stern-Master mode
interfered with her concentration.

“You home, boss?” Don parked his stogie and scraped his
boots.

Liam bit back his first retort, letting the corners of his
mouth quirk at the old coot. “Did you check on the horses?”

“Stopped there before I came in. Barn’s cleaner than my
whistle. Who do I thank?”

Duncan let himself in the back door and nodded to Don on his
way past. “Tiana, she beat me to work this morning.”

“Mystery solved.” Liam hated his underlayer of sulky
resentment, but he understood it. He wanted to take care of Tiana. Her mucking
the stalls made him proud and grated on his last nerve.
Why is it so damn
hard for me to accept her help when she pitches in without my asking?

“Is that right? Little slip of girl like sweet thing
spit-polished the barn?” Don asked.

“She knows horses, probably cleaned more stalls than you
have,” Liam grumbled, still irritated by the idea of her doing manual labor
while he’d slept.

Neither Don nor Duncan bothered to respond to his
grumpiness. Don ambled to the bar and poured himself a shot of rye. Duncan
lounged in the doorway.

It had only been a few hours, but Liam missed her. The
unfamiliar emotion triggered other feelings—powerlessness, being out of
control, and that chapped his ass raw. To take his mind off the prickly
subject, he asked Duncan, “Did Jed call you?”

“Yep. Talked to Willis too.”

“About Tiana?” Liam’s ears perked up like a dog offered a
treat. Pathetic.

Duncan dipped his chin. “Uh-huh, she got into a tiff with
your ex.”

“Ashley?” A lump of dread lodged in Liam’s throat.

“Yep, in living color and surround sound.”

Liam’s gut twisted with unreasoning terror. “Is she okay?”

“Fine, seems their disagreement never came to blows.”

Tiana’s light steps echoed off the mudroom’s tile floor.

Don tipped his head toward her. “Hey there, sweet thing. I
was just telling the boss I sure could use a regular stable hand like you.”

She dismissed his teasing with a flap of her hand.

“How are you? Are you hungry? Thirsty?” She tossed out
questions without waiting for answers as she hurried toward the grizzled old
coot. She spotted Duncan and slowed down. “Do you know Taylor’s been released?
Of course you do. You told Willis.” She wiped her palms on her jeans.

“Slow down, sweet thing.” Don grinned. “We already told the
head honcho everything worth telling. I’m gonna catch a nap before I bring in
the horses. Wouldn’t say no to dinner though, if the offer is open later.”

“Of course, we’d love to have you.” Tiana looked at Liam for
confirmation.

He reluctantly tipped his head.

“Thanks, son.” Don made a quick getaway.

Absolutely amazing how chatty the old coot got when Tiana
was around. Next Duncan would break out his party manners.

The head of ranch security listened to his cell then
pocketed the slim phone. “Puget Sound Energy sent someone to check on the
underground repair. I’m going to show him around. You keepin’ the shotgun
handy?”

Liam angled his chin toward the weapon he’d kept within easy
reach. “Do you really think Travis would be that stupid?”

“No, but extra safe never got anyone killed.” Duncan nodded
to Tiana on his way out the back door.

Something was horribly wrong. He had overreacted to being
apart from Tiana for a few hours. When he’d learned she’d bumped into his ex
he’d been terrified Tiana would be hurt.

This wasn’t him. He was stronger than that. He acted
rationally and always stayed in control. Old memories of the total devastation
of losing his parents flooded back. Endless nights of blaming himself for the
crash, his sick helplessness to stop Cam from crying himself to sleep or
prevent the night terrors that assaulted Ben rushed in, heaping stress on
Liam’s overloaded system.

He muttered an excuse and marched himself to the bathroom.
He washed his hands, slapped cold water on his face and looked up to meet some
pathetic bastard’s frightened eyes. The stark fear staring back belonged to him
and no one else. Owning his panic didn’t make it sit well.

Sex with Tiana was phenomenal, the best he’d ever had.
Ball-draining climaxes weren’t scary. But somehow she’d slipped under his
defenses and become necessary along the same lines as his need for fresh air to
breathe and clean water to drink. This new dependence on a fragile woman had
nothing to do with his eager cock and everything to do with how she filled his
empty places. Reliance on another person, especially someone so breakable, was
an intolerable weakness that left him clinging to the edge of hell.

People depended on Liam, most importantly his entire family
relied on him. For him to depend on anyone wasn’t practical. He hadn’t counted
on someone else to make him whole since he was a seventeen-year-old kid.
Needing another person was a mistake. He had to end this insane dependency
before it became permanent.

He hitched his pants a bit higher and fortified himself with
a couple more aspirin before he tackled the shitty business of making a clean
break. Ruthlessness was one of his strongest assets, yet he couldn’t bring
himself to toss one compliant woman out of his life.

When Liam returned to the kitchen he studied her before she
noticed his regard. No bruises marred her smooth skin, not a single scratch or
scrape in sight. She stood uninjured, focused on the tile floor. Some of the
clammy fear ebbed away as he absorbed the evidence in front of him. As the
dread left, anger at his failure to protect her rushed in, filling the internal
void. She was too impulsive, foolishly brave and much too fragile. She’d
already seriously eroded his control and damn near destroyed his sanity.

She peered up at him with obvious concern that made him
hesitate to dismiss her.

“Your jaw looks angry. What happened? Did Travis say
something to upset you? Is your shoulder hurting? Do you need a pain reliever?”

“No,” he answered her last question, ignoring the rest. The
harshness in the single ground-out syllable made him soften his refusal with a
sullen, “Thanks.”

From the edge of his vision, Liam caught a glimpse of Duncan
talking to someone in a utility uniform. He refocused on Tiana, drinking in her
beauty and craving her touch, but not trusting his lack of control.

His smart pet eyed him as if he were a ticking bomb. She
backed away until her butt bumped the island. “What’s wrong?”

He schooled his expression to neutral and kept his voice
mild. “What happened with you and Ashley?”

“Oh that.” Her face smoothed and she flapped her hand. “It
wasn’t anything.”

“Tell me about the encounter.”

“Ashley showed me a nasty set of stitches and implied you’d
caused her injury.” Tiana met his gaze with her head high, clearly indignant
over a meaningless lie.

Liam struggled to keep his features stony. “And?”

She swallowed. “I knew you hadn’t hurt her, so I asked her
if she was so desperate she had to resort to lying.”

“How did she react?”

“She swung at me.”

Liam’s eyes closed and he forced himself to take slow, deep
breaths.

“She totally telegraphed the move. Willis pinned her arm
like the pro he is. I was never in any danger.”

What if Willis hadn’t been there, or hadn’t been quick
enough to stop Ashley? “She’s considerably larger than you. Provoking her was reckless.
Don’t ever take such a foolish risk again. Clear?”

She tilted her chin to stubborn. “What about her provoking
me? Do you seriously expect me to ignore slurs about you?”

“I can take care of myself.”

“That’s not the point,” she snapped then paused and softened
her tone. “If someone told you an insulting lie about me, would you let it
pass?”

He clamped his jaw, because he wanted to shake sense into
Tiana. Being so close to losing control scared him more than anything else. “Not
the same thing.”

She flinched then gathered herself, standing a bit
straighter. Her eyes flashed with temper. ”Yes, it is exactly the same. If you
have the right to protect me then I have the right to protect you. That’s what
partners do.”

“We are not partners.”

Her big brown eyes narrowed, pointedly accusing him of being
unreasonable. “What happened to us being equals except for when we’re naked?”

He balled his hands into fists. “Don’t push. I’m close to
losing my temper.”

For a few seconds, they stared at each other, both of them
breathing too fast.

“Fine, I won’t push you since you’ve already lost your mind
and you’re about to lose me. I’m so done trying to please unreasonable men. I
don’t understand why you’re angry with me, but obviously you are.” Tiana
blinked and thumbed away a silent tear.

After a long moment she said, “When you figure out what’s
really bothering you let me know. Maybe I’ll still be willing to listen.”

The razor’s edge of pain underlying her brave words shamed
him. Liam turned away from her.

From behind him, Tiana gasped, “You.”

“Get out of the way, you stupid slut. I have to kill the
usurper first.”

Liam swung around at the unfamiliar man’s voice. A utility
workman stood in his kitchen with an ugly revolver pointed at Liam’s chest.

Time accelerated to supersonic speed. The missing puzzle
piece taunting Liam snapped into place. The power had been on right before
Travis shot him. There had been a second man.

Blindly, Liam felt for the shotgun and his fingers closed
around the wooden stock. He lifted the weapon and chambered a round.

Tiana leapt between him and the would-be-killer, spreading
her arms. “No!”

A deafening crack pierced the air.

Tiana fell.

“You fucked up everything!” the shooter shrieked.

Time slowed back to a frame-by-frame crawl as a red splotch
bloomed on the front of her top.

Liam’s arm moved in perfect coordination with his sight as
he zeroed in on the utility inspector. The man’s face contorted with fury as he
squeezed the trigger on the handgun. Nothing happened. Lucky for Liam the
revolver seemed to have jammed. Pity the piece of junk hadn’t failed in time to
save Tiana.

At least he could avenge her death. He strode toward the
maniac, safety off, pumping and firing without conscious aim or thought. The
first shot made a big hole where the bastard used to have vital organs. The
next couple of hits widened the gap in the corpse.

Liam parked the gun. Splinters of his shattered heart lodged
in his throat as he raced to Tiana.

Her shirt had reached the saturation point. Already she lay
in a puddle of her own blood. He knelt beside her too-still form and gently
cupped her neck. A faint pulse fluttered against his palm.

It was too little, too late, but he placed a hand firmly on
center of the blood stain and pressed carefully against her soaked top. A
trickle of liquid warmth slowed beneath his steady pressure.

Don was first through the door. “Air ambulance is on the
way.”

“She’s alive,” Liam croaked. “Check on Duncan.”

His horseman came back with his shoulder tucked under the
security chief’s left arm. He helped Duncan into a chair. “Sucker cold-cocked
him. Anything I can do to help sweet thing?”

Liam shook his head without taking his eyes from Tiana. “Is
he dead?”

“Fucking A, nice shooting, son.” Don craned his neck.
“Jacques is checking the body for clues.”

“Good.” Liam lapsed back into the narrow world of watching
Tiana’s chest rise and fall, keeping pressure on her wound and counting each
beat of her heart.

Eight of the longest minutes of his life ticked by before
the whir of helicopter blades hovered on the front lawn.

* * * * *

A trauma team met them on the hospital roof. Liam ran with
the team only to be shut out when she rolled through the operating room doors.

Jacques was the first to arrive and stayed with him,
providing a silent, steadfast source of comfort. Luke and Willis showed up soon
after and alternated standing watch with keeping everyone caffeinated.

Why the hell did Tiana put herself between him and the
maniac’s bullet?
Regrets and if-onlys pounded through Liam’s head until he
had to speak or go crazy. “Did you find out who he was?”

“Richard fucking Miller.”

Liam digested the gut slam of shock for a few minutes. “At
least this time he’s really dead, right?”

For a split second Jacques’ craggy features twitched almost
as if he wanted to crack a smile. ”Damn straight.”

“She gasped, ‘you’ before he…” Liam’s voice broke along with
his heart. His neck bowed under the weight of his regrets. His head was so
heavy he had to support it with his hands.
I should have been able to
protect her.

He shut down the endless blame loop in his head. Out of
ideas, he prayed to a God he hadn’t spoken to for fifteen years and hoped he
listened.

Pete and Lew arrived a few minutes after Jacques joined him
in the waiting area. The chief of security looked damn near as grim as Liam
felt, but he’d still taken the time to reach out to Liam’s closest friends.

He exchanged back-pounding, fierce hugs with Pete and Lew.
“Thanks for coming.”

“Where else would I be?” Pete squeezed his shoulder.

“Same goes,” Lew added gruffly.

“I hate waiting, not knowing—” Liam sank onto a couch.

He recognized Rob’s voice when he showed up an hour later,
but he couldn’t find the energy to look Tiana’s brother in the eye, let alone
speak.

“What happened?”

Jacques explained the shooting and Richard’s return from the
grave in calm tones with courteous efficiency.

Lew offered Rob coffee. He declined.

Liam heard them, but their voices seemed muffled as if they
were all talking somewhere else a long ways away. He lost all sense of time,
hunched in an agony of fear. Even the low rumble from the other men was drowned
under the inner howl of the soul-crushing agony of losing Tiana.