Taken With Trouble (CAUGHT IN CHAOS #2)

34. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Serena

“Cruz?” Agent Harris finds me motionless in the service entrance, cradling the Spartan Box. “What happened? Why did you say Liam’s name in there? Is he here?”

“No, I, uh…” I swallow. “I kind of freaked out for a minute.”

“And you decided to escape through a grate in the service entrance?” he asks, doubt evident in his voice.

“Yep. Great way out,” I say, and head the way Liam disappeared. Maybe I can still catch him.

If he needs this box… that means his grandfather gave me away. I close my eyes, terrified over how they got him to confess. It’s all my fault. I can’t turn this over to the Feds; Liam needs it. So why did he run? We could have figured something out together.

I continue down the dark tunnel.

“Is there a reason we couldn’t go out the front door?” Caleb asks, jumping when a rat scurries past him.

“Yes. We’ve put Eve in trouble. I only meant to take what was in the box but I… I got scared. This way it looks like we stole the box, and it keeps her safe until we can get this all settled. ”

Caleb doesn’t argue, continuing to follow me.

This ‘great way out’ turns out to be terrible. It drops us in an underground sewage line. I’m too stubborn to admit I’m wrong, and I won’t tell Caleb what really happened. No way will I tell him the reckless way I kissed Liam, like it was going to be our last.

So instead, we trek through years of sludge. I don’t even tease Caleb when he throws up. I feel sick myself—sick with the terrible fear that I just killed Liam’s grandfather.

We made it to the safe house after cleaning off as best we could. The taxi driver charged us triple, but we paid it. The whole way back I hoped Liam would meet us. If he hadn’t run off, we could have made a plan. We could have worked something out together. But Liam has to work alone. Until a week ago, I preferred the same thing, but I no longer want to be the only one on my side. It’s so lonely.

“You owe me big for this,” Caleb grunts, shivering in his underwear as Terry sprays him off in the backyard with a hose. Terry refused to let us inside in our filthy state. I thought he was kidding when he told Caleb to strip, but he was completely serious.

My lips twitch. “I could send your girlfriend a picture.”

“Don’t you dare.” A blast of water slaps Caleb’s chest, and he flinches.

I don’t laugh, because it’s my turn next. Thankfully, when the time comes, Terry and Caleb retreat to the house to allow me privacy.

I’m already numb before the water touches my skin.

The world is all wrong right now. I need to help Liam, but I can’t, and I’m being hunted by men intent on killing me. I can’t help thinking the worst is yet to come .

I strip to my underwear then I spray off my body, grateful for the tall hedges to keep me hidden from the neighbors. I finish and wrap in the towel, heading for the upstairs bathroom since Caleb is in the one downstairs. Cranking the water as hot as it can go, I stand under the scalding stream until my skin is red and raw, and I’m sure the dreadful smell is a thing of the past.

I wrap in a fresh towel and step out of the shower. A shiver runs down my spine as a breeze from the window hits my damp body. I don’t remember leaving that op—

I whip around.

“Liam?” He’s sitting on the vanity, leaning against the mirror, arms folded over his chest, eyes closed like he was enjoying an afternoon nap. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk,” he says, eyes still blessedly closed.

“That’s what I wanted to do in the museum. But I meant why are you here, in this bathroom, where I was conveniently showering?”

“That was convenient, wasn’t it?” he asks, his lips curled in a lopsided smile.

“Get out,” I whisper-shout.

“I heard your partner at the museum and didn’t want him to see me. But I need your help.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you before you ran away.”

“And you’ll always be right.” He lifts a shoulder. “I guess I’m just used to running.”

I get that. But there’s something I don’t get. “Why don’t you smell like sewage?”

“I always leave a decoy path. I didn’t know you’d be the one to follow me, or I would have left a different one. By the way, I think you smell lovely now. The second bottle of body wash really did the trick. And that rendition of ‘I Can Do It with a Broken Heart’? Oof.” He slaps a hand on his chest. “I didn’t know you were a Swiftie.”

Oh. My. Gosh. My body is burning now. “I’m going to blind you with this shampoo. Get out!” I toss the bottle at him, and his eyes fly open just in time to catch it .

“I eagerly await my demise, darling, but we need to talk about the box.”

“We can do that when I’m dressed. And with Caleb.”

“Pass. He’s too grumpy.”

“He’s my partner, and we need him.”

Liam rolls his eyes and pouts. “Fine. But can we kiss again?”

“Get out.”

“I’ll take that as a maybe.” The glint in his eyes softens as he hops off the vanity. I’m currently blocking the door—the very door he is striding for with purpose. He stops, only inches from me. I had things I wanted to say to him, but the words get swallowed up by the ravenous look in his eyes. He brings a finger to my cheek, tracing a drop of water down my jaw, my neck, stopping at my collarbone. “You are beautiful, and I wish to heaven I never had to let you go again,” he whispers, replacing his fingers with his lips and pressing a kiss to my collarbone. His five o’clock shadow brushes my sensitive skin, and I shudder.

I’ve changed my mind. We can kiss. But before I can make a move, he slips around me and disappears out the door.

I lock it behind him, if only to prevent myself from running after him, then hurry to dress before he can run off. When I emerge, I check the only other room upstairs, but it’s empty which means—

There’s yelling and a series of quick thuds and muffled grunts. Caleb found him. And now he’s beating him up. I race downstairs to find… Caleb in a headlock? Looking very, very pissed.

I can’t help but smile. “Annoying, isn’t it?” I say to Caleb.

He elbows Liam in the side, and Liam flinches, releasing his hold. Caleb’s got his gun on him in a second, and Liam’s hands fly in the air.

“Wait!” I jump in front of Liam.

“Aw, are you trying to protect me, love?” Liam says.

“Shut up,” Caleb and I say at the same time.

“Cruz, move, so I can arrest him.” Caleb’s glare flies right past me and straight at Liam.

“You can’t.” I sigh.

Caleb’s eyes jump to mine. “Excuse me? ”

“It’s my fault. Liam’s grandfather is being held hostage because of me.”

It’s deathly quiet. Caleb is still holding the gun, but he seems to be thinking. Then there’s Liam behind me. A ghost of his hand settles on my back, and I will myself to stand on my own two feet instead of caving into him.

“Explain,” Caleb says.

“Yes, this is an explanation I’d like myself,” Liam chimes in.

I turn away from both of them.

“He was one of only two people who knew where I hid the evidence.”

“You went to my grandfather? He was your help.” Liam asks. “He never told me.”

“Why would he?”

Liam frowns, his cocky confidence nowhere to be seen. He looks genuinely hurt. “Maybe because every summer I asked if you’d returned or if he knew where you went. Because I looked everywhere for you and never stopped. Maybe because he knew how much I cared for you.”

He falls silent. And so does the rest of the room.

Caleb shifts on the couch, the leather making a completely inappropriate noise for the moment.

“But I didn’t know that,” I say. “I knew your grandfather, though. I trusted him. He emailed me every week after my grandmother sent me away, so I knew he’d help me. He was a grandfather to me, too.”

Liam still looks like a petulant child, but he remains silent, clenching his jaw and folding his arms.

“So, you told him where you hid the evidence?” Caleb asks.

“I told him everything. Then he handed me fifty thousand dollars, erased my past, and reached out to a contact he had in the FBI.” I look at Liam. “He saved my life.”

Liam swallows, an even more heartbreaking expression shattering his face. “That’s what he does.”

I look at Caleb. “That’s why I have to save him.”

Caleb scrubs a hand over his face. “Are all the secrets out of the bag now?”

“Let’s assume they are. ”

He sends me a stern look, but it does nothing to make me give him more information.

“Okay, so we arrest Liam after we save his grandfather?” Caleb asks.

“We can’t.” I chew on my bottom lip.

“And why not?” Caleb nearly shouts.

“Because…” I can’t seem to come up with a reasonable excuse. “Because he’s changed.”

“You don’t seriously believe that,” Caleb deadpans. “He pulled a gun on my girlfriend.”

“About that—” Liam says, but he’s cut off when Caleb punches him square across the jaw. Liam falls out of his chair, and the two of them topple to the floor throwing punches. I could step in, but Liam brought this one on himself.

“The safety was on,” Liam says, crossing his arms over his face to protect himself. “And it wasn’t loaded. Or maybe it was, I can’t remember.”

“You terrified her,” Caleb growls.

“Which gave her a reason to keep you around as a bodyguard. You’re welcome.”

Another punch. Why does the man insist on irritating everyone? “Relax, little man.” Another punch. “I texted her last week, and we’re cool. She also sent me a picture of you sleeping with the dogs. Adorable.”

Caleb rears back. “You texted her?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t steal your girl. I’m into brunettes these days.” His eyes fly to mine, so he misses blocking the punch that hits his cheek.

“That’s for kidnapping my partner.” Caleb rears back to punch him again, but I jump in.

“Caleb!” I yell. “That’s enough!”

“A little unfair you get to protect my two favorite women,” Liam says, “but I’m grateful for it.”

Caleb looks stunned. He shakes out his hand and stands. Then walks out of the room .

“I like him.” Liam looks up at me with lazy, semi-swollen eyes. His cheek is bright red and bruised, but he doesn’t seem upset. “Do you really think I’ve changed?”

“Yes,” I say simply. “It helps that I’ve seen you give away at least five hundred thousand dollars in the last week.”

He rubs his shoulder. “Has it really been that much? I may have to slow down.”

I roll my eyes and help him stand, leading him into the kitchen. I grab a steak from the freezer and press it to his cheek. Liam’s hand covers mine as he holds me captive with a look in his eyes I long to decipher.

Caleb comes into the room and clears his throat before plopping on the chair again. I release the steak and take a seat opposite Caleb—two feet away from Liam so I won’t be tempted to touch him again.

“I still vote we take Liam in after we rescue his grandfather,” Caleb says without hesitation.

“No,” I say, at the same time Liam says, “Agreed.”

I look at Liam. “Why did you agree with him?”

His eyes have lost some of the charm, some of the spark that is so innately Liam. “That was the deal, remember?”

“But that was before,” I stutter. “Before your grandfather was kidnapped, before I learned Scarlett was to blame for half of the thefts.”

“Wait, what?” Caleb asks.

“It’s a long story.” I sigh, turning back to Liam. “I’m not turning you in.”

He shrugs. “I’ll just turn myself in. But then you won’t get credit, and all your work to prove yourself to your supervisory agent will have been for naught.”

My cheeks and chest burn, and my heart slows to an uncomfortable crawl. “What?”

“Oh, come on, love. You think I didn’t know before I kidnapped you? You think it was a coincidence Caleb saw me across the street from the restaurant that night?”

Caleb and I exchange a confused glance, but Liam continues .

“I purposely waited until Caleb saw me. I knew he and Amelia were going to be there. And I knew he’d call you first. I had to lure you in. Though, I suppose there was a fifty-fifty chance I could have ended up with the other agent.” He smirks, but something in his eyes is different, darker. “I know what you’ve been trying to prove, trying to gain. And now you will. You’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.” He sits back, his face expressionless, which is so unlike Liam.

My throat threatens to close. Is that why he took me? Why he chose me? Not because I was Seraphina, but because I was hungry to prove myself? It was an act.

Yet somehow it was always real for me. And that realization lands like a bullet in my chest. A kill shot. That’s what he delivered. He lined up everything so perfectly. He used me and manipulated me every step of the way to get what he wanted, painting it as a prize for me. I knew this. I knew it, and I still fell for it.

My heart sinks, falling down a familiar rabbit hole in my chest—the one that knows I won’t get it back anytime soon.

I swallow the lump in my throat, and tear my gaze away from Liam, focusing on Caleb, who is looking at me with nothing short of pity. I hate it so much.

I stand and walk out of the room. The second I close the door behind me, the kitchen erupts into yelling. Mostly Caleb. But I don’t pay attention. Liam used me. Or…

My heart stops beating. Is he conning me right now? Making me think I didn’t matter to him, so he can leave me behind? My heart wants to believe that version of the story, because I can’t handle the other one.

Regardless of whatever Liam is trying to do, it won’t work. I’m in this now and I’m going to save Grandpa Henry whether he wants me to or not.

I pull my badge from my pocket and use the butter knife I stole from the kitchen earlier to pop the gold shield off. There, where I hid it nearly seven years ago, is the key to the Spartan box.

My heart hammers so loudly in my chest I can no longer hear the men outside the door. I slip the box out of my bag and stick the key in. The lock clicks, and I pull open the lid.