Fighting With Light (The Coldwell Brothers #2)

13. Aelia

13

Aelia

The plane lands and I roll to the bathroom to pee before looking for Liam. After I finish my business, I look at myself in the mirror. I didn’t put makeup on. My hair is in a messy bun. I’m wearing black leggings and a sweatshirt that hangs off my shoulder. I always take my carry-on with a couple of changes of clothes just in case they lose my suitcase. Feeling the sudden urge to look presentable, I go back into a stall to change.

Luckily, I packed a black dress and shorts with a shirt because it’s so warm. I undress, tossing my other clothes in the suitcase, and slip the black dress over my head with buttons running up the front. I unbutton a few at the bottom and the top, then tighten the thin belt in the center. I undo my hair so it looks more like I spent some time at the beach, and then throw on a bit of mascara and blush.

After I’m done, I look for baggage claim. This airport is pretty big, so it takes me a minute to get downstairs to where my suitcase will be.

Finally, I find the escalator because everything is half Portuguese and English and I’m only fluent in English and Italian. I stand on the stairs as they bring me down to the level and find Liam standing there with a sign that says princess on it and my suitcase already next to him.

Unable to hide my smile, I step off the moving stairs and walk over to him. I want to throw myself into his arms, but we aren’t like that, right? We barely know each other, but I feel so drawn to him. I have from the first time I saw him in Bali. He makes me feel weak because I’ve never felt this way towards someone. I don’t enjoy the feeling, but around him, I can’t help it. What he did was a means to protect his family, and I understand it. I’m over it, and maybe I’m just as unhinged as he is.

Whatever the case, I may have met my match in my enemy, who isn’t really my enemy at all.

He stares at me and I meet his perceptive eyes. “Did you get dressed up for me, princess?”

I purse my lips at him. “You’re a creep.”

He chuckles. “I thought I was unhinged.”

“That too,” I mumble.

He opens his arms and gestures down to his chest like I’m already supposed to be there. I hesitate and he grabs my wrist, yanking me into his firm body.

“Hey, partner in crime, how was the flight?”

I lay my head on his chest and breathe his scent of ocean and sunscreen.

“It was fine.”

“Good. This is your bag, right?”

I nod against his chest.

“Come on, we have about an hour in the car.” He drops his arms and holds his hand out while his other hand holds the sign and the handle to my suitcase.

I take it and walk with him out of the sliding doors. The balmy air hits me in the face and I’m glad I changed into a dress.

“You look beautiful, Aelia.”

I smile at my feet.

“Thanks.”

“Did Ben text you back?” Liam asks.

I didn’t even think to look and grab my phone from my purse. There are ten messages and five of them are from Liam.

“Why did you text me if you knew I wouldn’t get it?” I ask him.

He shrugs and clicks his key fob, and the trunk springs open to his Audi. “I don’t know. I figured you had Wi-Fi connected or something.”

“I didn’t because I don’t see the point in paying for it.”

He grins and shakes his head, going to lift my suitcase, grunting with the weight. “What in the world did you pack, woman? Five thousand bikinis? ”

I laugh and slide my carry-on over to him, grabbing my purse before he takes it.

“No, I only packed four thousand and a lot of shoes.”

“You’re funny,” he says, glancing at me before he tosses my carry-on in.

“I know,” I quip and lift my shoulder, going to the passenger side. He unlocks the car and I reach for the door, but his large hand beats me to it as he opens it for me. “Such a gentleman,” I murmur, and he dips his head like he’s tipping his hat.

Once he closes the door to the car, he walks around the front in his white t-shirt and shorts that hug his butt. He folds himself into the car and runs a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face.

He drives us out of the parking lot and I take in the city. “Have you been here before?” I ask him because the GPS isn’t on and he’s driving like he’s lived here for ten years.

“Yep, I’ve been here multiple times. I’ve figured my way around.” He glances at me, takes the car around a traffic circle, and veers to the right, cutting someone off.

“Could you maybe not kill us before we get there?” I say, grabbing onto the handle at the roof of the car.

“It would be my honor, princess.”

I roll my eyes and look in front of me. He’s not breaking, but my feet are breaking as if I’m the one driving.

“You said your friend Violet is from here. Is she here now?” Liam asks and takes another right.

“No, I talked to her. She’s still with her man in Miami,” I sigh. We speed up an on-ramp and merge into traffic, and then he relaxes a little.

“Why do you say it like that?” he asks.

“Because we, uh…we come from the same world. Our lives aren’t conducive to normal relationships.”

“That’s interesting,” he says.

My eyes roll again and I wish I grabbed some coffee or something for our drive. I didn’t realize we’d be in the car this long .

“Why is that?” I ask him and open my phone to check the texts. Ben said he would meet me in Lisbon. I didn’t bother texting him back. I open Liam’s texts next.

Unknown: I realized something. Neither of us are good at just saying what’s on our minds.

Unknown: So I’m going to say it here because you’re on the plane with nowhere to go, on your way to me.

Unknown: Since you aren’t responding, I’m assuming you didn’t get the Wi-Fi on the plane, which is laughable, by the way.

Unknown: I’m going to say it, anyway.

Unknown: You know what? No, I’m not. I’m going to say it to your face when you get here. See you in….three hours.

I look up from my phone and study Liam’s profile. “Did you read them?”

“Yes,” I rasp.

“So then, what are we?” he asks.

“I thought you were going to tell me.”

He chuckles and checks over his shoulder before moving into the next lane. “We’re obviously…teammates, but I told you what I am, Aelia. I want you to tell me what you want .”

“You heard me. I don’t do relationships.”

“That makes two of us,” Liam says, glancing at me and then back at the road.

“So it’s a partnership with…benefits?”

He chuckles. “How about friends with benefits?”

“Have you seen a single rom-com? Someone always gets hurt.”

He purses his lips and looks at me again. But he’s driving and not focused on the road ahead of him. I start to tell him to focus on the road and he glances at it, then looks back at me. “I think I’m willing to get hurt by you, princess. I think the pain will be worth it.”

My eyes widen and he doesn’t see it with his eyes back on the road. My heart flutters in my chest like a hummingbird searching for nectar and I don’t know what to do with that. Except say, “I think I’m willing to get hurt, too.”

He veers to the right and gets off the highway. I’m not paying attention to our direction because I’m staring at him. “I miss those jungle eyes on my skin,” he says quietly, almost like the thought shouldn’t have passed his lips.

The car turns and then comes to a stop. I look up and we’re parked by a group of buildings. “Why did we stop?”

“No one else, Aelia.”

“What?” I ask him.

He grabs my hand, enveloping it in his large palm. “No one else. If we are going to do this, knowing how it will end, then I want you to promise me no one else until we’re done.”

Understanding fills me and the mere thought of being with anyone else makes my stomach hurt. This is not love, but I am an honest woman. I wouldn’t do that to anyone if we were casual for one week or three months.

“No one else,” I repeat back.

“Good, so now I can do this,” he says and grabs my face, smashing his lips to mine.

I sigh into his kiss, and it feels like… no . It’s a toe curling kiss. His tongue thrusts into my mouth and I lean forward further into him to the point I’m on my knees, bracing myself on the armrest. Then he growls and pulls away, resting his forehead against mine. “I thought you might want to do some shopping.”

“Why?” I ask him.

“Because I’m going to take you rock climbing.”

“Liam, I’m not…I can’t do that. You saw me in Bali.” He rubs his head against mine. Our foreheads are pressed together, and I lift my hand and draw my thumb across his lips.

“Yes, you can. I’m going to teach you better than Trick did, if you want to, of course. ”

“Why not,” I sigh.

“Cool,” he says and hops out of the car.

I follow him into an outdoor outfitter and he starts grabbing things. I had to try on some shoes and then harnesses. I found pants that are like the shorts he’s wearing now and grab a pair. We were in there for less than an hour and he dropped two grand so I could go amateur rock climbing.

Back on the road, I look out the window at the farm fields on either side of the highway and the small towns we fly past because Liam is driving like a madman.

Eventually, we pull into a large driveway with a sprawling beach house that stands right behind the cliff that drops into the beach and ocean. “Wow, Liam, this is beautiful.”

“I rented it for the month,” he says, unloading my bags from the trunk. I follow him into the quiet house and start looking around. There are far too many rooms for two people, but the house is isolated, with high walls all the way around it going up to the edge of the cliff. On each side of the house there is a sprawling lawn, creating lots of space from anyone else.

We walk through the double-door entry into a stunning foyer that goes off into hallways and sitting rooms. Its white clean lines complement the touches of warmth, reminding me of the California casual style. The massive living room opens to a giant kitchen with a large island and top-of-the-line appliances. On the wall that faces the ocean are multiple double glass doors and beautiful gauzy curtains that hang on either side of the opening.

“What do you think?” Liam asks, coming back from the hallway.

“I think you know how to pick ’em.”

He smiles, running his hand through his hair. “So, I’m on a rest day. I thought we could discuss more details, and lay out a plan. Because I still have competitions and I’m determined to win the world championship.”

“Get you a man that can do both,” I say.

He chuckles. “I’m spectacular at multitasking,” he says and wiggles his eyebrows. “Oh, the chef will be here in about an hour, so we can get started now.”

“You sure know how to spoil a girl, Tarzan.”

“I’ve been told I’m very giving. ”

I chuckle at all the innuendos, but I have to admit I’m cautiously excited that he’s all mine for however long this takes. Then we can hopefully get out of each other’s systems.

***

Liam has his computer set up in the office and I sit in one of the cozy chairs next to the window. I can see out over the cliffs into the ocean and it’s beautiful. Liam is hunched over his desk with his eyebrows scrunched together and his fingers flying faster than I can track. He sits up straight and sets his eyes on me.

“So, we’re friends, and my family thinks I’m seeing someone. Does that mean I have to follow you everywhere?” I ask him.

He looks at me carefully and leans forward. “Yes.” He pauses. “That would make sense.”

I pin my lips together, trying to hide my smile because I want to go everywhere with him. He bleeds adventure and life, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.

“Plus, if we’re going to build a case, then we will have to do some recon.”

“How are you going to manage to surf and do recon?” I ask, making a quote motion with my fingers.

“Well, that’s the point of having a partner, princess,” he says as if I should already know that.

“Assuming you get all the way to the top, where is each competition? Because I don’t know if it’s wise to go to Colombia, anyway. Plus, I don’t think we’re going to find much, seeing as I’m pretty sure the cocaine is made in the middle of nowhere.”

“Hmm, that could prove to be difficult,” he says. “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out, but the code I wrote to find information caught a few things. Some of it is video footage and pictures, which is exactly what we need.”

“Great, then we don’t have to go at all.”

“No, this has to be airtight, so that means we need to put eyes on it and get our own video and photos for it.”

I groan and sink back into the chair. I don’t like this, but I don’t see any other way. “To answer your question, though, if I make it to the next round, we will be going to El Salvador, which would be our opportunity to go to Colombia. After that, the last stop and final competition is in California.”

“Fun,” I mumble.

“Look, the goal is to find my father’s connection to yours, not break down the way the Costa organization works. I will do whatever it takes to find that information to bring my father down. I—” His voice cuts out and I stare at him as something wars behind his eyes. “My father has wreaked so much havoc on my family, he…he shot my mom.”

My jaw drops.

“He tried to kill my pregnant sister-in-law. I can’t keep living, waiting for that phone call that he actually succeeded. I’m many hours away from my family, Aelia. It doesn’t help that I’m constantly on edge, and we all just deserve peace and him in prison.”

My throat is tight, and I’m afraid to ask, yet this is Marco Costa we are talking about. “Did…” I choke on the words. “Is my father responsible for trying to kill your mother or sister?”

Liam glances at me and back at his computer. “I don’t think so. We are pretty certain it was our father who called out the hit. But…your father is responsible for my sister-in-law,” he trails off as if he’s trying to say the right words. “Even if it was your father, I would never hold that against you. He is responsible for his actions. You are not.”

“I’m sorry, Liam,” I rasp.

“Thanks.”

I can see the pain of the trauma he experienced flash across his face. Now that I understand where he’s coming from, it replaces my hesitancy to continue this plan with determination. I won’t let him down.

“So, I think my dad is using the guns he gets from Ferreira to continue the gang wars in your father’s district. I’ve heard some things through the grapevine that none of the other gangs, as small as they are, have any legitimate beef with each other. ”

“How do you know that?” Liam asks. I shrug and look back out the window.

“I know people in low places.”

“What does that mean?”

“You can take it or leave it, Liam.”

“Fine,” he grunts. “The cocaine comes from Colombia and you said he’s already in the flesh trade, but looking at expanding it.”

“Yeah, only I think he kept running into issues with it and I’m not sure where he’s…” I pause. The thought of shipping people like they are products, not human beings, makes me want to vomit. “I don’t know where he’s getting the women and men…and sometimes children,” I rasp.

His eyes widen.

“We need to find that out. I asked as much as I could when I was home so I didn’t rouse suspicion, but I don’t believe my brothers know how he’s handling that part of the business.”

“Do you think that’s another place where my dad comes in?” I nod, nibbling on my lower lip.

“I do because I don’t know how else he would make it happen without it costing him triple. My father isn’t stupid. He’s going to do it as quickly as possible with the best and highest payout. So if that means he has to bribe a congressman, soon-to-be governor, then he will.”

“Do you know if my father has a loan with yours?” I look back at Liam.

“I don’t know. Why?”

He shrugs. “There is no other explanation as to where he’s getting his money, and if I hack into his accounts, they are flagged and I won’t be able to see anything. It’s like a deadman’s switch. If anyone touches his accounts, it lights up like the Fourth of July. So I have no way of confirming anything.”

“So you can’t trace the money. But I thought your family was rich?” I ask because he will have to go about this from a different angle.

“No, my mom’s side is. That’s how Dad had the money to campaign, but my mom pulled it all. Aside from his salary, our only answer is that he got a loan from your dad to foot the bill to do everything. ”

“I’d say go through my dad’s, but even I don’t know all the places he stores money, and I don’t know that it will help you much.”

“I already did. The only thing I saw was a consistent cash withdrawal in the same amount, but I have no way of tracking that short of seeing it myself.”

“So then what do you hope to gain by photographing illegal guns you can’t track?” Liam opens his mouth to answer and I hold up my hand. “I wasn’t done. I may not be as smart as you with computers, but I’m pretty sure we have no way of proving illegal guns from the Ferreira mob are tied to our fathers unless we put eyes on the exchange ourselves.” I pause. “Yeah, that sounds right to me.”

“Well, I was hoping you knew more,” he mumbles.

I shrug. “That’s where my knowledge ends. I learned a lot by being a fly on the wall. They didn’t pay attention to me, so I listened.”

Liam’s eyes widen. “That’s hard for me to believe,” he says.

“What is?”

“That they didn’t pay attention to you because you’re hard to ignore.”

“You’re one of the only,” I mumble. He doesn’t answer and goes back to typing. This is all starting to feel insanely impossible. It’s me and Liam. How can we do anything on our own without direct access to information that we need?

“So all we know is that your dad ships guns from here to Boston , coke from Colombia, and humans from… somewhere. We can logically assume he’s funding my dad, so it would make sense that they are working together to get things past border authorities.” He rubs his chin and looks out the same window. “So that means we need to know how the guns get from here to there without anyone knowing and my father’s role in it.” He starts typing again.

The ocean is bright and blue, thrashing against the cliffs, kind of like my heart. “This feels impossible, Liam. Is this a fool’s errand?”

“It’s only a fool’s errand if we gain nothing from it,” he mutters, still looking at the screen.

“Well, then, we better damn well find something.”