Fighting With Light (The Coldwell Brothers #2)

55. Aelia

55

Aelia

Twelve Hours Later

My sore face against Liam’s bare chest woke me up. I lift my head off of him slowly and try to roll away. It’s still nighttime. I’m almost to the other side of the bed until Liam’s hands come around my hips, and he yanks me back into his chest.

“No, stay here,” he grumbles sleepily.

“You’re like a troll hoarding his gold,” I say over my shoulder.

He chuckles in my neck and kisses it. “You are my treasure,” he says and makes silly snorting noises on my shoulder.

“Ugh, gag me, that’s so corny.”

He groans again, pushing his hips into my behind. “Mmm, gladly, princess.”

I roll my eyes and wiggle around in his arms until I’m facing him. He kisses me and stares at me like I’m more beautiful than any sunset he’s seen.

“Why are you awake?” he asks.

“I don’t want to wait,” I say, ignoring his question.

He sighs. “Wait for what?”

“To get married,” I whisper, as if it’s a secret.

His eyes fly open and land on me. “Baby, I haven’t even had the chance to get you a ring.”

“I don’t care about that.”

He throws his head back and bellows out in laughter. He laughs so hard it vibrates against my body.

“What’s so funny about that? Last time I checked, the point of being engaged is to get married. ”

Liam catches his breath and looks at me with eyes full of amusement. “I love you so much. But I also know you well enough to know that you want a ring, a big one, and I’m sure you want a wedding worthy of Vogue, like Mom did for Cordelia.”

I purse my lips at that…he’s not… wrong. But I’m serious. I don’t want to wait. Life is too short.

“Let me get you a ring first. I haven’t had a lot of time to shop.”

I smile and kiss his chest. He grabs my chin and turns my head back and forth, inspecting the bruise. “This kills me,” he says.

I frown at him because I know I don’t look pretty right now, but it’s healing, and it’s not that bad. It’s faded from purple to a yellowish green.

“Don’t frown, you’re gorgeous. I just hate that you got hurt.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Liam,” I mutter, resting my chin on my arm.

He looks away and his jaw ticks. I realize he blames himself, but I don’t know how to get him to believe that it’s not.

“I used to think that my mother’s depression was my fault.”

He looks at me with a scrunched expression. Dragging my fingertip over his features, I tell him what I have never told another soul. I explain how my father took her light, over time, with other women, the way he treated his kids, and how he hardened to the world.

“I’m the youngest, so I used to think I did something wrong. My brothers were older, and my father was shaping them into younger versions of himself, and I was just there…waiting to be used. My parents didn’t marry for love. It was an arrangement. They just happened to fall in love for a little while. I think it’s why Mom was able to have four kids.

“But the reason I think I caused her depression was because I was acting out at school. The school expelled me, so they sent me home early. I went straight to my mom’s room, and I found her… laying next to a bottle of pills. I was fourteen, so I knew some things about antidepressants and overdoses. It’s like I was on autopilot, I didn’t think, and shoved my fingers down her throat, hoping to God she was still breathing because a part of me knew my father wouldn’t do anything .

“Luckily, I don’t think it had been long enough for all of them to dissolve. I took care of her that night and couldn’t find it in myself to tell her I got expelled. I got one of the maids to fake mom’s signature and sign me up for school online, so I never went back. From that day on, I took her as my responsibility because I thought I was the one that put her there.”

“Aelia,” Liam says.

I shake my head. “No, I know it’s not my fault. Depression isn’t anyone’s fault, it just is, though I am inclined to believe that my father pushed her in that direction. It’s part of the reason I started traveling more. I knew I did everything I could, and my time was limited because I knew a marriage to a man I never met was coming. So I lived it up as hard and as fast as I could.” I take a deep breath and kiss Liam’s heart. “And then you found me.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the one who found me, only I thought you were coming to kill me in my sleep,” he says.

I giggle and shake my head. “I definitely could have, but I wouldn’t have. You’re too pretty to put a bullet through your head.”

He grins. “I told my brothers that, too. They just rolled their eyes. But I have my reasons. I require an open casket.”

My smile drops and I look away for a moment. I can’t stomach the thought.

“I was just joking, baby, I’m not leaving you any time soon.”

“My point here, Liam, is that my face is not your fault. I knew what I was doing. He had never hit me before, but I wasn’t surprised by it. I was pushing him farther than I ever had, and I knew there were consequences to that. It doesn’t excuse it, but I knew that walking in.”

Liam’s phone goes off, and he ignores it, frowning at me. “Okay. We can get married as soon as you want. Pick a place and a date, and I’ll make it happen.”

I squeal into his chest. “I love you,” I tell him.

“I love you, too, baby.”

His phone goes off again, and we both groan. We’re staying at his mom’s house, so there’s been no funny business, but I’m ready to have some time just for us, and I think Liam is itching for it, too.

He reaches for his phone and curses .

“What?”

“I got a tip from my contact in intelligence who lets me know about anything regarding Fred, and about an hour ago he let me know about a package that was sent to them with…well, it was our package. Anyway, the point is, they tossed it,” he says.

“What do you mean, they tossed it?” I ask. It’s not like they knew it was from us. Emerson went to extra lengths to make sure that didn’t happen.

“They were told to dispose of the information from someone higher up,” he says.

“That doesn’t seem right,” I mutter.

“It means that my father has a reach farther than we thought,” Liam says.

“So that’s it?”

There’s a knock at the door and I answer it. Esmarie looks like she’s seen a ghost. She’s clutching her robe with one hand, and she’s holding her phone like it’s a dead mouse.

Liam leaps from bed. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

Her eyes water and she hands him the phone. He reads what looks like text messages.

“Shit,” he says and runs out of the room.

Still in my pajamas, I glance at Esmarie and take off after Liam. I hear him rummaging around down the hall and pull myself to a stop at the door.

It’s a room full of guns, ammo, and all kinds of weapons. Liam is wearing only his shorts, has a vest strapped over his chest and a belt around his waist. I don’t know what’s going on, but I reach for a pistol.

“Liam.” My voice is tight, and I hardly recognize myself.

“He’s coming. I don’t know how he has anyone to send. Your brother wouldn’t do that…right?” he asks, holding a clip in his hands.

I shake my head.

“Yeah, thought so,” he grunts.

“Mom! Text my brothers! Tell Clarence!” he yells.

I lean back and look down the hall. Esmarie, still white as a sheet, is typing on her phone .

“Liam, what’s going on? Who’s coming?”

He pauses and looks right at me with red-rimmed eyes, and I’ve never seen that look before. It scares me. Of all the things we have faced, he has never looked at me that way.

“We pushed too far,” he says tonelessly.

Then, in the distance, I hear a gun go off. A rush of adrenaline enters my veins as if I pushed the plunger myself. Then the lights go out, submerging us into darkness.

If anyone understands what that means, I do. But that also means we have Fred Coldwell scared. I could call my brother, but there is no way he could send people here fast enough.

Liam flips on a flashlight from the ammo room and points it at me. “I want you and Mom to go to the safe room. You do not come out until I or one of my brothers comes and gets you. Do you understand?” Liam asks, gripping my chin with gentle fingers.

I shake my head in his hold. “Don’t ask me to do that, Liam. Don’t do that to me.”

He takes a shaky inhale. “I can’t lose you, princess.”

I push his hand away and grab the top edge of his vest, yanking me to him. Our lips slam, tongues clash, and teeth click. Then I rip myself away and look him in the eye.

“You know I’m not a sideline woman, Liam. Don’t ask me to become one.”

His jaw ticks and he stares at me. His protective instincts are in overdrive, and I get that. But I’ve been sticking up for myself for a long time. I’m more than capable of fighting with him.

“Fine. But go change. The last thing I need is your boobs to pop out.”

“The same could be said for you, Rambo. Where’s your shirt?” I ask him smugly.

He rolls his eyes. “Fine, wear that, but then I’m going to have to kill everyone or at least blind them.”

I nip at his lip and pull at it. “I love it when you talk dirty to me. ”

Liam curses again and kisses me hard and fast. He pulls away, spins me around, and slaps my butt to hurry.