His gaze dropped to the hand he was holding, which Lisa—wild as a banshee—struggled to pull out of his grip. Struggled so much, Liam didn’t think she even heard the vital part of the story.
“Let me go,” Lisa hissed.
Liam turned her arm over and pulled up the sleeve of her Gucci shirt all the way to the elbow. He ran his fingers over the skin at the bend of the arm. No tracks. None on the back of her hand either.
“Let me go, you asshole!”
Her hand curled into a fist. Liam forced it open and pried the fingers apart. His stomach clenched as he stared at the telltale marks of injections. Shit.
He released her hand, and Lisa yanked it back.
“Does Mom know?” Liam demanded.
“It’s not what you think. It’s from a doctor.”
Holy fucking shit. Stupid. How had he been so fucking stupid. “How long?” He sank back into his chair, a void opening beneath him. “More than a year? More than five?”
“Mind your own damn business. No wonder that cunt walked away from you. Who’d want someone so fucking controlling in their life?” With a swish of satin skirts, Lisa strode out of Liam’s office.
34
Jaz
“Hey, hey, hey, climbing girl.” Sebastian wrapped his arms around Jaz, pressing her into his shoulder. “It’s going to be all right. We’re going to get you unpacked and wash the ass-that-shall-not-be-named out of your clothes. Leave it to me, girl. You focus on the climb, and by the time you’re back, your apartment will look like you never left. Though you should have taken the asshole’s check.”
“Bastian—”
“And then used it to order a cockroach farm to be delivered to his penthouse.”
Jaz squeezed Sebastian back, a small smile managing to sneak through the heaviness weighing down on her soul. She’d bared everything to Liam, and he’d walked all over it in combat boots. But she couldn’t focus on that now. She had to move forward. “I’m not unpacking any of these.” She waved her hand around the things Liam’s people had carefully packaged and brought over at lightning speed. “Whatever happens day after tomorrow at the Clash of the Titans, I’m not coming back to Denton Valley.”
Sebastian pushed Jaz away from him and held her at arm’s length. He was looking better now, almost back to his old self again, except for the limp, which the doctors couldn’t promise would ever go away. “I wish I could go with you.”
“Me too,” Jaz whispered. But that was impossible. Sebastian wasn’t strong enough for the competition now.
“How did Vector Ascent take the news?”
Jaz cringed. “Badly. They’re fed up with all the issues. Between the car accident and then the explosion and Trident Security pulling out, it’s a lot more press juggling than they signed up for. I was told to just show up and they’ll have a partner for me. Period. No consultation and certainly no opinions on my part. I think if I wasn’t already ahead in having won the first round, they’d have pulled out altogether.”
“But you did win the first round,” said Sebastian. “Your routes will be used. That gives you an edge on the others.”
“An edge that will be totally offset by the fact I’ll be climbing with someone I’ve never met before. We’re going to waste time on signals and explanations and the lack of experience working together.”
“Uh-huh.” Sebastian walked over to the fridge and pulled out two pints of Phish Food ice cream that he’d brought over and a couple of spoons. Tossing a pint and a spoon to Jaz, he leaned his tall frame against one of the boxes. “So are we going to talk about the elephant in the room, or should I keep pretending this is all just a professional inconvenience?”
Putting down the ice cream, Jaz wrapped her arms around herself. “Can we just keep pretending it’s professional?”
“Not a chance.”
Jaz sighed. “I guess the worst part of everything is that it’s a repeat performance. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me kind of thing. Gullible, starstruck Jaz trusts a man who every shred of common sense tells her she shouldn’t, and then acts surprised when said man has his own agenda. How can I be so damn stupid?”
“Don’t tell me you’re lumping Liam Rowen into the same category as that Females of the Future git?”
“Doesn’t look so different from where I’m standing. I believed in a lie both times, relied on someone else with my heart and soul. But that’s over now. I’m doing what I should have been doing from the start—relying on myself.” She opened the ice cream and took a confident scoop, gesturing with the spoon as she spoke. “No more self-pity. I’m flying out to California tomorrow, and I’m winning this thing. And when it’s all done—however it’s done—I’m heading to Seattle.”
“Seattle?” Sebastian’s brows climbed. “What’s in Seattle?”
“Mount Rainier. Rain. No state income tax. There’s an outpost near Diablo Lake where I can work for room and board. I did get the security deposit from the apartment back, and it’s going to pay the packers and movers. Can you do me the biggest favor in the world and make sure my stuff gets picked up for storage?”
“What do you mean my bag isn’t lost? It isn’t here.” Holding the phone between her shoulder and ear, Jaz navigated the passengers flocking around the rotating baggage carousel and eyed the line stretching toward in-person customer care. An hour wait for counter service at minimum. At least somebody had answered the phone when she called the airline. “I’m standing at baggage claim at Los Angeles Airport right now. The bag carousel doesn’t have my bag. Hence lost. Can you help?”
“Okay. I understand.” On the other end, the representative sounded like he was typing something into a computer. “Please, don’t worry. I’m very sorry for the inconvenience that you’re experiencing. I’m here to help and will get this resolved for you. Can you please spell your full name and address for me?”
She did.
“And are you a frequent flier with American Airlines?”
“How does that help locate my bag? No. Never mind.” Jaz looked up her number and quickly provided it.
“Thank you so much for that information, Ms. Keasley. Am I pronouncing your name correctly?”
“Yes. Great job.” Jaz looked at her watch. Someone from the Clash of the Titans competition committee was due to pick her up from the airport in an hour, and her gear—her climbing gear—had gone missing. “Is it possible some of the luggage was diverted to a different baggage carousel? Or is it still in Denver, where I had a layover?”
“Please tell me the flight you come in on?”
She gave him the number, explaining there’d been a layover in Denver.
“I see. And where are you now?”
Seriously? “The LA airport. Baggage claim. Should I get in line for in-person assistance?”
“Okay, I understand. I know getting your luggage on time is very important and it’s a great inconvenience to have it unavailable at your destination. But please don’t worry. You have the right place. You don’t need to divert to in-person customer service as I am here to assist you with this important matter. Can I put you on a brief hold while I process this information?”