Taken With Trouble (CAUGHT IN CHAOS #2)

5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Liam

I step to the right and a very frustrated Serena Cruz flies past me.

I spin, amused, and a little turned on by her pursual of me. She turns, but her body sways to the side. She grabs her head, and her eyes seem to glaze over.

Her complexion is off. She’s about to pass out.

I rush forward, intending to catch her in my arms, but as I reach for her, she snaps to, throwing a fist at my nose and tripping me.

I fall to the ground, the taste of blood coating my mouth. Why would I think we could just hug and talk it out? My mistake.

Cruz leans against the wall, her head in her hands.

I consider offering to get her a glass of water. The effects of chloroform can be intense, but I don’t trust her enough to turn my back on her yet. Or ever. And I don’t particularly like her right now. I’m bleeding on my favorite travel suit.

I stand, grab a kitchen towel, and wait for the apology I know won’t be coming. Serena looks up and walks into the kitchen. I reach into a cabinet and hand her a cup that she fills with water, immediately draining it. Clearly, she’s parched, which would also be my fault.

“I’m not helping you,” she says hoarsely as she refills the glass .

I don’t blame her for not wanting to help, but I’m not above begging. Or coercing. They’re essentially the same. “Admit it. You need this. We can both help each other out.”

Her dark eyes narrow. “I do not need your help, nor do I think you are capable of doing anything altruistic. You’re only ever looking out for yourself.”

I drop my rag, hoping the bleeding has stopped. “You don’t know me, not really.” Nobody does. No one has ever cared to. Not even Scarlett.

“I know more than you think.”

“You only know what I’ve allowed you to see.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Please. This is all I’ve wanted for four years. Just let me return the box and the ring to the Winthrops, and then I’m yours to do with as you please. Think of how impressed your superiors will be when you bring me in. You can even handcuff me to you until then, just to make sure I behave.

Her beautiful eyes darken. “You wish.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “I mean…”

“I need my badge,” she says abruptly.

My lips turn down. Of all the things I took from her pockets while she was asleep—and believe me, there were some interesting things—she wants her badge?

I eye her clenched fists. “Tomorrow.” I need some sort of leverage to keep her from running.

“Now. Give me my badge.” Her voice shakes and a weird feeling hits the place in my chest that’s supposed to hold my heart.

I press my palm to the uncomfortable gnawing.

“Fine.” I walk backward to the toaster, fish out her badge, then toss it to her.

She audibly sighs as she presses it to her chest. Is she hiding something in there? I could have sworn I checked her belongings, but maybe I missed one.

“Now the jewelry box.” She holds out her other hand.

“Excuse me?”

“The jewelry box and the ring. Give them both to me, then I’ll agree. I’ll keep them in my possession until it’s time to turn them over.”

“Why? ”

“I don’t trust you.”

She makes a good point. “I don’t trust you, either.”

“Glad we agree on something.” She’s silent for a long, rather unnerving moment. The woman is intimidation personified. Dark hair and features, and only a few inches shorter than my six foot three inches. All of those attributes serve to make her one of the most beautiful and transfixing women I’ve ever met. An absolute work of art. She could make any man lose his mind. Good thing I’m no average American Joe. But I also need to play nice.

“Fine.” I pull a bag from under the coffee table and hand it to her. “Here you are.”

She snatches it out of my hand, instantly opening it and looking through the contents. When she’s satisfied she looks up. “Tomorrow. We will meet the Winthrops tomorrow. Then I take you in, and I’ll go back home.”

“Way ahead of you, darling.” Way ahead. “The Winthrops live not forty minutes from here. This will be over before you know it.”

She nods, but she seems more tense than before. She reminds me of the version of her I kissed in that bar a month ago. I could tell she was stressed, that losing control worried her, but that’s what I do. I push people to their very edge and convince them to give up first. Because that’s when they’re malleable. But there’s also something different about this version of Serena. Almost like she’s… scared. No. Surely not.

She clears her throat. “My gun and phone now, please?”

Her phone. That’s what I forgot to grab.

“Don’t press your luck, sweetheart.”

She purses her lips, seeming to realize that’s as far as I’m willing to budge. Her eyes scan the kitchen, searching for where I might have hidden her other valuables. But I don’t hide all my ducks in one place now. Or whatever that American saying is.

I pick up the blade portion of the broken knife and carry it to the couch, lying down like I plan to go back to sleep. But I won’t be sleeping as long as the certain obstinate federal agent I kidnapped is in my possession. “Go back to bed, darling. ”

“No.” Her eyes flick to the front door. I really hope she doesn’t make a run for it. She’s bloody fast, and I’m beat from our flight. Plus, carting a coffin around with a live human inside it? Surprisingly harder than it looks. Though, it’s amazing what people are willing to overlook for the right price. Thankfully, Rico was there to meet me at the airport and is discarding of the coffin as we speak.

“Are you scared of the dark?” I ask, dropping my voice to a seductive whisper. “I could join you.”

“I do not want you anywhere near me.”

“Do you always play hard to get? Is that why your love life is in shambles?” It’s a guess, but an accurate one based on the lasers shooting out of her eyes. “You know, if you aren’t going to sleep, perhaps you’d like to turn this little rendezvous into a slumber party and spill all your dirty little secrets.”

“On second thought, I will get some sleep.” She turns on her heel.

“Oh, by the way, the window is welded shut. Sweet dreams.”

“Ugh.” She grunts out an adorable scream and stomps into the room.

She’s quite headstrong and dramatic. In some ways, she reminds me of Scarlett. I used to describe Scarlett as aggressively passionate . Though we didn’t always agree, we had that much in common. We saw what we wanted and took it. Until she died.

Four years later, a pang still hits me in the center of the chest. I cared deeply for her. I’ll be the first to admit we were terrible together. Maybe that’s why I can’t get over what happened. I should have been more mature. Maybe if I hadn’t been upset with her that night, she wouldn’t have fallen prey to Vincent Sawyer. I came up to apologize, but it was too late. Sawyer was leaning over her dead body. The jewelry box and ring were on the floor behind him as he wiped his prints from Scarlett’s body. It was the first time in my life I’d been truly afraid. I tended to take things and knew that between me and the head of Scarlett’s security team, the cops would believe him. I panicked, took the box and the ring before Sawyer saw me, and ran.

Then swiftly lost both when I ran into Amelia Quinn’s parents, and our bags were mistakenly switched. Before I could get it from them, they passed away in a car accident and the box was lost for four years… until Amelia found it last month.

If I had been a better man, I would have stayed the night Scarlett died. I would have come clean. Maybe they would have believed me.

Instead, I isolated myself on an island as a penance for the way I failed Scarlett. But now there’s a chance to make things right. I have to do this, and I need Serena’s help. If I can keep Serena with me, the Winthrops will call off the bounty for my capture; they will think I’m in federal custody. Of course, I’ll never be, but I’ll save that plan for later.