Taken With Trouble (CAUGHT IN CHAOS #2)

17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Liam

I catch a flash of blue high up in one of the trees, and for a moment, my pulse slows. Something is off. I’ve felt it ever since I woke up after being drugged by Serena. The woman should come with a warning label.

I can’t decide if I feel anxious simply because I was already caught unaware by Serena, or if something more nefarious is at play. I’ve always had a sixth sense on these kinds of things and have canceled many heists because of the timing and feeling of trepidation in the air.

I sneak around the edges of the trees, careful to move as quietly as possible.

The person in the tree climbs higher and then mutters a very amusing curse.

So that’s where she disappeared to.

I round the tree, standing directly below her, waiting for her to notice me. Instead, she reaches for a knot on the tree. But the movement snaps the branch beneath her weight-bearing foot, and she falls.

I don’t have to think at this point. Saving Serena is like second nature. I catch her flailing, falling body against me, but I underestimate the impact and stumble, hitting my head on a rough branch.

“Ow,” I grumble, righting her in my arms.

“Liam?” She gasps. “What are you doing? ”

“Saving you. Again, I might add.”

“I didn’t need saving.”

“Really? Because you’ve been acting like a real damsel in distress lately.”

“Put me down.”

“Not until you show me what you found.” I nod to her fisted hand. She looks at it as if she forgot what she had in there.

“No way. I found the treasure, and it’s all mine.”

My cheeks pinch. “Really?” Now I’m intrigued. “May I see it?”

“Nope.” She shakes her head and tries to extricate herself from my arms, but I have found a treasure as well, and I don’t plan to give it up, either.

“Could I trade you for a kiss?”

Her eyes betray her, darting to my lips quickly before she shoves away from me. “Unnecessary.”

I release her, just as she opens her hand to reveal… I squint at the small object, then chuckle.

Serena closes her hand again.

“A bullet?”

She swallows, standing taller. “Yes. It is my treasure; I found it, and you cannot have it.” She’s trying to save face, but red is currently climbing her neck and cheeks, making her look absolutely adorable in this fit of obstinance.

“Well, then, I guess I won’t share my treasure.” I tease her. I wasn’t planning on telling her, but now I just admitted it. What is wrong with me when it comes to this woman?

Her eyes whip to mine. “You found something?”

“Maybe.” I turn and start walking up the path to my car.

“Where?” She hobbles along behind me on the gravel path.

“In the bathroom.”

Serena slows. “You’re lying.”

I turn on her. “Why would I lie about getting my hand all nasty from the mold-rotted wood? It’s an excellent place to keep treasure. You can always keep an eye on it. Multiple times a day in fact.”

She screws up her nose. “I didn’t find treasure in your bathroom. ”

I smirk. “Then you didn’t look hard enough.”

“Would you just show me?”

“Fine.” I stop and pull my hand from my pocket, brandishing the key for her.

“A key?” she asks, as if she’s not sure.

“Yes, as in… a key to the treasure.”

“Or just a key someone dropped there by mistake.”

“Dropped behind a tiny cutout perfectly fit for this?” I ask, slipping the key into my pocket.

“Maybe. I told you if there was treasure there, someone already found it and covered their tracks.”

“No.” I continue around the house. “I think I found the correct compartment and a piece of the puzzle, which means I won our earlier bet, and you cannot try to kill me for four hours.”

“Define try?”

I turn on her swiftly, dragging her up against the side of the house with me. “It means no more pushing me around like this,” I murmur, trapping her wrists against the cold stones. “No punching me, kicking me, or cursing me.” I slide my hand up her arm, over her shoulder, and tangle my fingers in her hair. I brush my lips over hers, across her cheek, and stop at her ear. I don’t miss the sharp intake of her breath as I go. I bring my other hand to her neck, my thumb pressing into her pulse point, and I smile in satisfaction. She claims to be so unaffected by me, but her heartbeat tells another story entirely. “You can pin me down if you’d like, though. Seems you enjoy it.”

“Really?” She turns so her cheek hits mine. And this time my heart’s racing. “Like this? Or…”

I blame my delayed response system on the feel of her velvety cheek against mine. One second, I’ve got her. The next, she’s got me.

In a headlock.

And she’s squeezing for dear life.

“You’re breaking…the…rules,” I grunt as her arm squeezes around my neck like a boa constrictor. I get an arm around her waist, then pick her up and toss her over my shoulder. I gulp in air as she squirms, hitting my back to get off .

“Put me down!”

“This is your fault. You couldn’t go two minutes without trying to kill me.”

“Someone is going to see up my dress!” she yells, getting a good pinch on my backside.

I pinch her completely covered backside in return, and she yelps.

“Don’t make me tie you up like a true captive.” I pat her bottom again.

An older man crosses the path in front of us and shoots us a worried look. I placate him with a smile. “She’s really into these games.”

“I hate you,” she mutters at my back.

So I’ve heard.