“I thought I imagined you were here,” he says, gripping my hand as I sit on the edge of his bed. I’m careful not to move too much as I stare at him.
“I had to be here for you, baby. I was so scared of losing you. It was just…” I choke up. “Too much for me to be so far away.” I swallow down my emotions and wipe more tears away. Liam places his hand on my thigh and squeezes.
“I promised you, Mads. I’ll never break my promises to you,” he tells me. “I love you too damn much.”
I hold back the urge to wrap my arms around him and suck in a deep breath. “I love you. God, I love you.”
Tyler speaks up, interrupting the moment. “Do you remember what happened?”
Liam stares at Tyler for a long while before nodding. “I just remember that asshole stabbed me after I won and then hearing gunshots. That’s it. Everything after that is a blur.”
“I’m still trying to figure out what happened, honestly. It was mass chaos and panic. I was worried,” Tyler admits.
Liam chuckles at his admission. “If I would’ve died, I’d just haunt you the rest of your life.”
“Not funny,” Tyler snaps just as his phone rings. He looks down at it, then steps out of the room as Sophie and Mason walk to the other side of Liam’s bed.
“I’m so happy you’re okay,” Sophie tells him as Mason stands with his arm around her.
“Yeah, we were worried fucking sick,” he says. “If it weren’t for Maddie, we wouldn’t even be here right now.”
Liam glances at me, and I shrug. “Yes, why are you guys here?” he asks. “Not that I’m not happy you are now, but I told you to stay away from this place because it wasn’t safe for you.”
“And you thought she’d listen?” Mason snorts.
“I found your letter,” I admit. “Which I’m really mad at you for writing.” I wipe a tear off my cheek, smiling at him because I’m not really upset about it, but still, it was hard to read.
“Oh, you found that, did you?” He smirks, squeezing my hand.
“What letter?” Sophie asks.
“Basically, an ‘in case I die’ letter,” I deadpan.
“Would you rather I didn’t, and then I really did die?” he counters.
“I wasn’t going to allow that on my watch,” Tyler interjects, entering the room. “Though I couldn’t have predicted the shitstorm that happened tonight. Thank God he didn’t stab you somewhere else or hit a main artery.” His words send a shiver down my spine at the what-ifs. Tyler’s right, Mickey could’ve killed him.
“I’m glad you did write it,” I tell Liam. “I love you with all my heart. And if something worse had happened, I would’ve never forgiven myself for not being here with you.”
“I know,” he says softly. “And I love you too.”
I lean over and gently kiss his cut lips.
“See, this is why I worry about you so much,” he tells me. “You’re stubborn. I should’ve known you’d find your way here, especially since I told you to stay home.”
Sophie giggles, and Mason smiles.
“I’m not denying that one bit. I know I am,” I admit with a smirk. “Have to give you a run for your money, though. Keep you on your toes, Hulk.”
Liam shakes his head as Tyler rounds his bed, coming closer. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he saw a ghost by how pale he looks.
“What is it?” Liam asks, searching his face.
“JJ’s dead,” he says.
With wide eyes, Liam stares at Tyler. “What? Is that why I heard gunshots?”
Tyler nods. “Yep. It was Victoria,” he says. “She found out what JJ had orchestrated between you and her baby daddy. She was pissed and wanted him to—”
Tyler doesn’t even finish, but he doesn’t have to for us to know what he was going to say. Victoria wanted him to pay. We’re all in shock, and I have no words. Liam shakes his head and closes his eyes. “I didn’t want any of this to happen.”
“It’s not your fault,” I offer. “None of this is your fault.”
“I can’t help but feel somewhat responsible. Victoria killed her own brother. How could she do something like that?” he asks, confused like the rest of us.
Tyler sucks in a deep breath and exhales. “Love sometimes makes you do stupid things. Victoria wasn’t exactly stable; look what she put you through. But I guess that means it’s over now, Liam. You’re finally free.”
Liam frowns, shrugging. “But at what cost?” He looks down at his bandaged leg and bruised knuckles. “At what cost?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
LIAM
It’s been two weeks since the fight, and I’m recovering as expected. I was released from the hospital with a pair of crutches but stopped using them yesterday with hopes to find my normal again. Plus, I hated using the damn things.
There have been good and bad days since the fight, and I’m still moving slow, but at least the pain is becoming more bearable. One doctor told me that if I’d been stabbed one inch to the right, I would’ve died before I made it to the emergency room. It’s something that still haunts me. I think about all that’s happened over the past year, and my head is still spinning at the shit I went through. It all started with a poker game and ended with a murder.
I’m still in shock that JJ is dead. I hated the guy, but I didn’t want him killed. Though I’m relieved that I can finally move on and not worry about any of the O’Learys.
I never thought Victoria was capable of killing her brother, but I should’ve known better. She made her own rules in life, and JJ pushed her to the limit by orchestrating one of the dirtiest fights in mob history, hoping I’d kill Mickey DeFranco for him or that he’d end up injured trying to kill me. The rumor is he found out his sister’s babies were DeFranco bastards and lost his mind trying to get his ultimate revenge. He wanted DeFranco dead without causing a bigger war between the families so he planned the fight. I’d been blackmailed into doing his dirty work for everyone to witness and walked right into his trap. If I died, no one would’ve cared because I was just an O’Leary pawn. If I’d won, JJ’s problems were solved, and his enemy was taken care of. Ultimately, he took a risk, but there’s no way he could’ve envisioned Victoria ending it or rather him. She was always a vindictive bitch, though. Even I knew not to cross her at times.
Apparently, she was so enraged that JJ had set up a fight with Mickey that she loaded a gun, drove to the warehouse, and found him. Tyler told me the last thing she said to her brother before killing him was, “You gave me no choice.” After the shots were fired, mass hysteria broke out, and everyone scattered. Victoria won’t go down for murder. Considering she’s Daddy’s little mafia princess, I’m sure she made up some erroneous lie and completely buried the truth with her brother. Manipulation is her middle name.
As I roll out of bed, I can’t deny how happy I am to finally be free from it all. I wasn’t sure if it’d really happen, even if I won the fight. There are days when slivers of doubt randomly creep in, and I still can’t go out in public without looking over my shoulder, but I think it’s going to take time. Dealing with the O’Learys has made me more aware of my surroundings, and I learned a valuable lesson. I won’t be trusting anyone I don’t already know anytime soon.