Fighting With Light (The Coldwell Brothers #2)

6. Liam

6

Liam

This is bad, this is very bad. Don’t get distracted, Liam. This is why you don’t plan things like Emerson or speak eloquently like Kai.

Keep your head focused on what you need to get from her, like you should have while you were eating, but then she went and kissed you, and you forgot your name or what planet you were on. Good job, bud.

I walk towards the main lobby of the resort and to the front desk. I usually use a Jeep to get around the island when I need to or call a cab. “Hey, can I get a Jeep? Do you have any available?” I ask the guy behind the desk. I don’t recognize him, but I don’t know every single person on this massive resort staff, though I do recognize many. That’s why he sticks out to me.

“Yes, sir, here you go,” he says and hands me the keys. He clearly knows who I am because he doesn’t ask any more questions. With Aelia’s hand still in mine, I lead us to the front and hand the valet the keys so he can go get it. I think she will like the market in town. People sell all kinds of things down there and I know there are women’s clothes, so hopefully that will make her happy. Then maybe she will tell me more.

Last night, I thought about the potential reasons, other than spying on me, for why she’s here. The only other thing I could come up with is she’s scoping something out for her father. But this area isn’t geographically helpful for any form of shipping. It’s out of the way, it’s small, and I’d imagine it costs more to transfer things here than to Italy or somewhere further west. The drug trade isn’t stable, nor are there big producers around, and it would be ridiculous to claim territory here because the customer base is limited .

The mob is a business when it comes down to it. They just sell illegal products and services. From a business perspective, it makes absolutely no sense for the Costas to be anywhere near here, unless she is honestly on vacation. I even considered something involving my father and the government, but nothing has been announced. So there is no logical explanation other than she is here because she wants to be.

The valet pulls up the Jeep and leaves the keys in the ignition. I hand him a tip and open the door for Aelia. She reaches for her side and pauses before getting into the truck. “Oh wait, I don’t have my purse. Let me run and—” she says, taking a step away. I grab her arm gently and smile.

“You don’t need your purse, Aelia, I’ve got it.”

“Okay, thanks, but I just need to go get it. It will take me three minutes.”

I grin and shake my head. “This is still a date, so I still pay,” I tell her. She gives me a look that makes my skin prickle and she hops into the Jeep.

“Fine, then be ready to spend some money, even though I have no idea where we’re going.”

“I already was,” I say, leaning over the door of the Jeep. That beautiful smile shines back on me and I know I’m digging myself a deeper hole. But I don’t know how else to get someone who is a total stranger to tell you things she normally wouldn’t tell people at all.

I speed out of the parking lot and the wind blows through our hair as we drive past large fields of rice.

“Where are we going?” she asks.

I swerve around a man and an elephant walking down the street before getting back on the correct side of the road. Aelia grabs onto my forearm and I try to ignore how good it feels because I can’t feel anything. This is a job as far as I’m concerned. I just really wish I had finished that program for my phone because now would be the perfect moment to grab her information off of it. I glance at her and then at the road. “Into town.”

“Okay,” she says, her tone asking for more.

“Do you like to shop at the places you visit?” I ask her .

“I do,” she says and then pins her lips together. Her hand is still on my forearm.

I look away and back at the road in case something else pops up. “I thought you might like to go to the local market. They have food there, but they have all kinds of clothes and things you might like. Plus, you can really see the town.”

“Have you been before?” I nod and make a right turn.

“Yeah, I know the island pretty well.”

She doesn’t respond. I think maybe I’ve upset her, assuming she would like to shop. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to shop. I just figured you might like to see the island from a different perspective.”

“No, I’d love to. I’m just wondering what I’m going to get my mom.” I nod, wondering why her tone changed. It sounded almost…sad.

“I thought you might like to get some coffee, too. Bali has some of the best I’ve ever had.”

“Is that what we drank this morning?” I grin.

“Yes, it was, but it’s not like what we’re going to get.”

She hums and her nails gently scrape up and down my forearm. I force myself not to pull away, and it’s not because I don’t want her to touch me, it’s because I like it too much. I find a place near the main square of the small town. This resort happens to be somewhat off the beaten path, so it’s not close to the more modern city center. Most of the area here is residential and doesn’t necessarily cater to tourists. The majority of resorts in Bali are further inland and don’t sit on the shore like the one we’re staying at. I’ve always picked this one because it’s easy for me to get out on the water.

We hop out of the car and I lead her towards the outdoor market. I grab her hand, keeping her close because for all of Bali’s beauty, there is also a seedy underworld that I’m sure she’s more than familiar with. Just like any place in this world, everything you see may not be reality for many. Sex trafficking is bad here and Aelia would be a catch for them. Then it hits me.

I glance at her and she has a small smile on her face as she looks at the temple we’re walking past and various street vendors on the street. Buildings line either side of the road as people go about their business .

Maybe it’s not drugs or guns. What if it’s humans?

Is she scoping out the area for her father to start making inroads here? If he and a bunch of other mobsters came, it would definitely draw attention, but not a young, beautiful woman who looks like she’s just here on vacation.

My hand involuntarily squeezes hers while I try to get a hold of my anger. “Are you okay?” she asks, squeezing my hand back. I nod, clearing my throat.

“This way.” I point down the street and still hold her hand. The heat of the day has set in and I unbutton a few of my buttons because I’m sweating through my shirt.

Aelia stops and lets go of my hand to look through the garments hanging on racks. There are all kinds of bright colors. Some are embroidered, printed in gold, or have a pattern over them with beautiful workmanship on the edges. Aelia pulls a dress out from the rack and it’s a pretty cherry red, making me think of the way she smells. She turns around, holding it up in front of her. “What do you think?” I stare at the dress a little longer. It looks like it has one strap that ties around your neck and it’s made to drape over the body.

“I like the color,” I tell her and then look away for a moment, looking for the potential friend she brought.

“I think I’d like to get it,” she says. I turn and go over to the woman, fanning herself under the shade of the umbrella. I point to what Aelia is holding and she tells me how much it is. I hand over the bills and she gives me a small cotton bag to put it in. Holding it open, she drops it in the bag as I take Aelia’s hand and keep the bag in my other.

“Thank you,” she says.

I wink. “You’re welcome.”

We stop at a few more stores getting closer to the coffee shop that sells beans that an animal eats, then poops out, but I don’t tell her as we walk in.

She steps into the cool air of the coffee shop and sighs. “It feels so good in here. Why are we getting something hot to drink?”

“Because it tastes amazing.”

She shrugs and follows me to the counter. I pay for our small cups of coffee and then we find a table to sit at. She smells it and then takes a small sip .

“Holy crap, I’ve never tasted something so…smooth.”

I grin and take a sip of mine.

She looks around, probably spotting the palm civets in pictures scattered around the shop. “Why are those animals everywhere?” she asks. I smile again and shrug.

She frowns and sees the explanation of their process explained on the wall next to us. She reads it and I can see the understanding forming on her face. “This is a joke, right? I didn’t just…” She looks at me with fire in her eyes and I chuckle, trying not to choke on my coffee.

“No, princess, it’s not a joke. They eat coffee beans and poop them out.” Her jaw drops and she looks down at her half-gone cup. I take another sip, watching her go from disgusted to curious.

“But how can something so gross…taste…so good?”

I shrug because I honestly don’t know, other than what they say about the fermentation process. It is unusual, but it really is the best coffee I’ve ever had, sitting at a whopping twenty US dollars per eight ounces of coffee.

“I liked it so much I sent a box—” I cut myself off, realizing I shouldn’t tell her about my family members, but I already started. “I sent a box to my family and they loved it. I liked it more because once they figured out the process, they called to yell at me.” I chuckle to myself. Emerson was so mad. I swear he was about to jump on a plane and come over here just to punch me in the face. That was the best video call of my life.

“I think my father would have thrown it out the window,” Aelia says, but there isn’t a fond smile on her face.

“Does your dad not like gifts? Who doesn’t like getting presents?” I ask her, though it wouldn’t surprise me.

She shrugs and takes another sip, surprising me. “What? It’s good and it’s expensive, even I don’t waste money like that.”

I lift my cup to her in silent cheers and take another small sip, tasting the chocolaty notes in the coffee .

“And to answer your question, he associates gifts with favors. So, if I gave him something purely because I wanted to, he would be under the assumption that he now owes me a favor. That’s…” She pauses. “That’s how his world operates.”

“Do you work for him or something?” I ask carefully. If they are planning on exploiting the people here, she either doesn’t like what she has to do or she simply disagrees with it. It still gets me nowhere as to how my family plays into it, unless my father has something to do with customs. She huffs a laugh sarcastically, only it’s heavy, like she’s carrying the weight of the world and no matter how much running she does, she can’t get the weight to come off.

“No, I don’t work for my father,” she says and leaves it at that. I nod, taking the hint that she wants to drop the subject. I’m afraid if I push her harder, she will wonder why I’m asking so much about her dad.

We finish our coffee and walk around some more until I offer to take us back. The ride to the resort is quiet and I can’t tell if she’s tired, or tired of me, or the heat. I pull up under the awning and one of the valet’s opens the door for Aelia. She thanks him and I hand over the keys.

“Let me walk you to your villa,” I offer.

She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes as she leads the way silently down the path outside of the main building.

She reaches the front door and stops, realizing she doesn’t have the key, but she left it unlocked around the back. I follow her around and the breakfast we had earlier is cleaned up, as if it was never here. She opens the door, peeking her head in, knowing she shouldn’t have left it unlocked like she had. I practically yanked her away from here because of the way that kiss made me feel.

This is getting too sticky, even for me. I need to make my move soon, if not tonight because she will either catch onto me or her father’s people will put two and two together. I follow her into the villa, but stay next to the door. She takes the bag from my hand and sits it on the chair in the corner, then plops down on the bed.

“Are you just going to stand there?” she asks. Her voice is laced with smoke and desire, and I know I need to back out now.

“Do you want to do dinner tonight? ”

She looks up from her feet and stares at me for so long it feels like she is seeing through me. “Sure, but let’s have it here at the resort. Is that okay?”

My muscles unknot a little. “Yeah, I’ll come and get you later, around seven.”

She smiles and pads over to me, kissing me on the cheek. “See you then.”

Taking that as my dismissal, I close the door and go back to my villa, but keep an eye out for the man she brought. I know what she wanted last night and it’s clear what she wanted this morning. I think shutting her down made the tension between us tighter and headier. It’s not good for either of us because that tension is about to snap, but not for the reasons she expects.

Aelia is locked up tight. It doesn’t matter how charming or gentlemanly I am. She’s not going to give me the details that I need without a little… coercion .