Chapter 56

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& tell the Devil that he can go back from where he came

His fiery arrows drew their bead in vain

& when the hardest part is over, we'll be here

Our dreams will break the boundaries of our fear

-Crossfire by Brandon Flowers

DELILAH

I straightened my hair for the first time without being in a hurry. Now sixteen weeks pregnant, my energy was coming back so I didn't mind waking up early to get dolled up for work. The baby moved and then my stomach growled reminding me that it was time to eat. 

"Hang on, little one. I'm almost done with my hair," I mumbled. 

The water in the shower stopped running, and Liam stepped out. I had to stop myself from drooling when I saw him, water dripping down his body, a perfect smirk on his lips and his muscles flexing as wrapped the towel around his waist. With twenty minutes to spare I was sure we could-

"You don't have to just stare," he said with amusement.

I bit my lip as he placed an arm on each side of me, cornering me in while he nuzzled my neck. 

"We have a few minutes to get rid of those 'hormonal' issues you're having... if you want," he whispered. 

What came out my mouth was supposed to be a yes, but instead it came out more like a moan. He lifted me up to the counter and sure enough, got rid of my issues fairly quick. 

*****

"Come on, bud," I said to Adrian who was taking his time putting on his shoes. "We've got to go or you'll be late to school."

Liam chuckled, coming around and placing a kiss on my forehead. 

"I'm leaving, baby. I have to get to the shop early."

I nodded, flashing him a smile. He returned it except it looked forced; it didn't meet his eyes. I knew he wasn't mad at me, especially not after our little encounter in the restroom. But something was definitely going on.

"What is it?" I asked when Adrian went back to his bedroom for his backpack.

"I'm meeting Caleb today."

I felt my heart drop. Sensing it, Liam cradled my face in his hands, attempting to soothe me. It had been two weeks since we heard from Caleb, or so I thought, but now with the news that Liam would be meeting with him I felt overwhelmed. I looked away, feeling like it was the last time I'd be seeing Liam. 

"It's going to be okay," he whispered.

I shook my head, scoffing in disbelief. "You can't do this, Liam. You don't know what he has planned and-"

"I know, Delilah. It'll be fine though. We're meeting in a public place. I just want to hear what he has to say. I need you to be safe."

"How can you do this?" I whimpered, once again looking away. "It feels as if you're saying goodbye to me."

His gaze softened, pulling me in for a hug and kiss. "It's not a goodbye, love," he murmured. "Tonight, I'll come home to you, I promise."

I nodded, not really sure that I believed him and watched him say goodbye to Adrian, lingering a bit longer than usual; hugging him tighter. And then he kissed me again, deeper than before and whispering how much he loved me. 

*****

I stared down at the Chinese food I'd bought for Jo and I. Typically, I would have eaten it without much trouble, but after the morning events I had no appetite. I missed Liam, and the thought of missing him for the rest of my life was too much to bear. 

"Girl, you have to eat," Jo said with a smile. 

"Can't," I breathed, placing my face in my hands. "This day is dragging on. I can't wait to get home, see Liam, Adrian... Know that they're safe."

"Of course they're safe," she said, placing her hand on my arm. I nodded, praying to God that it was true. 

I couldn't focus on much of anything, not with the thought of the impending doom awaiting us. Thankfully, it was a bit of a slow day and there wasn't many clients, allowing Jo and I to talk a bit freely about the situation with Caleb.

It helped mentioning it to her and getting a fresh perspective. She too, believed that Liam was crazy for even trying to talk to Caleb on his own, but she trusted his judgement. Perhaps I should have trusted him too. It was hard when there was so much at risk. 

After the salon closed, we cleaned up, well aware that Chris was supposed to pick up Adrian today. My feet where tired and aching, and I was looking forward to getting home to, hopefully, a very much alive Liam. 

As I was about to lock the door of the salon, I saw Chris and Adrian approaching. Though Chris was smiling I could see the tension in the way he walked. He either had bad news, or he didn't have any news at all. 

"Hey," I said, opening my arms to receive Adrian. He hugged me and then ran off to Jo, who didn't get a chance to greet Chris how she wanted. 

"Hey, Lilah," Chris said. "How was your day?"

"Is Liam with Caleb now?"

Chris gave me a small smile and nodded. "I'm actually here to pick you up. He doesn't want you to drive back home on your own today."

I pressed my lips together to stop me from lashing out. Liam was afraid something would happen to us, but I couldn't possibly live like this. In fear of something happening to us all the time, dreading the moment that someone would hurt us. 

My eyes were closed the whole ride home, thinking of all possible scenarios. 

When two hours passed and Liam still hadn't gotten home, my nerves increased; I couldn't sit still. What if he didn't make it back home?

"Calm down," Chris said. 

I snorted. He was tapping his feet impatiently on the floor, unable to hide his worries. "What did he say today? What else did he say he was going to do?"

"He didn't tell me anything."

"Bullshit."

Chris groaned, running his hands over his face. "He had the meeting with Caleb and was going to see if Carissa's place was empty or not... And he was talking to a lawyer."

My eyes shot over to his. "A lawyer? Why does he need a lawyer?"

"He really didn't tell me that part," he replied. Chris stood up and placed his hands on my shoulders, stopping me from digging a hole through the floor. "Stop it, you need to calm down."

"I can't," I said, running my fingers through my hair. "I don't know if he's okay, I don't know if he's alive."

Just then the door opened and Liam walked in, all four limbs intact, not a bruise on his face. I ran to him, hugging him and he chuckled softly, holding me tight against him. 

"Told you I'd be home," he murmured. 

"You idiot." 

I sniffled and watched the two friends communicate quietly before Christopher left. Liam gave me a small smile and sat down, patting his legs so that I would sit on his lap. I knew there was a reason why he wanted to hold me; things probably didn't go as planned. 

I sat nuzzling his neck while he placed a kiss on my forehead. 

My hands searched for his and yet when I found them and saw the bruising on his knuckles I gasped. "What happened?"

Liam grimaced, for a moment irritated that he didn't hide that from me. "I kind of got angry when I remembered what he did to you and then to Adrian so, eh, it was just a punch or two."

"So you controlled yourself?"

"More like we got kicked out of the restaurant." He gave me an apologetic look, before cupping my face and kissing me. "I love you, Delilah."

"Tell me what happened," I whispered. He hesitated, wanting to keep it to himself until I stood up and began pacing once again. "Do not try to hide anything from me, Liam. I have the right to know what is going on."

He nodded in understanding and let out a long breath before taking hold of a folder I hadn't realized he'd brought in. I took it from his hands, opening it. Inside were several photos of Carissa and Brian together, all dated the same. They were from the same day she tried to pick up Adrian from school.

"Well, we did know that she'd spoken to Brian," I said, handing the folder back to Liam. 

"He said he's not trying to hurt you anymore. And that the pictures taken during the party weren't taken by him."

My heart constricted.

"What about the other photos, from the cell phone Brian showed us?" 

"He did take those."

"Okay, okay," I said taking a deep breath. "Do you really believe he's not trying to hurt us?" 

"I don't think he is, no."

"What type of twisted game is this?" My hands were trembling as I felt the walls closing in on me. "How are we supposed to be safe when we don't even know what's being planned?"

"Calm down, Lilah. He isn't a threat, we just have to find a way to deal with Carissa."

"Why did you go to an attorney?" I asked him. I already knew the answer, I just needed to hear it from him. If he thought something serious was going to happen, I needed to know. 

"I had to settle some paperwork."

"What paperwork? And don't lie to me."

"I don't think it's a good time to talk about this," he said quietly, trying to calm me down. It wasn't working though. All it was doing was feeding my paranoia; increasing the fear and knowledge that Liam did think something bad was going to happen.

"Well, when someone is dead it may be too late to discuss it," I countered. 

Liam stood up, cupping my face in his hands. "No one is going to die."

"Then why are you doing this?" I asked, my voice breaking at the end. "You made a will, didn't you?"

"It was something we had to do sooner or later," he said. "Look, baby, we have a son and a baby on the way, I want to be sure that if anything should happen you will have everything you need to provide for them. Yes, part of the reason I did it was because of what is going on but I need to know you will be okay."

"I don't care about the finance," I hissed. "I care about you being alive, healthy... Why don't we leave the state or the country? We can start over somewhere else, somewhere no one knows us."

Liam gave me a sad smile. "We'll just be worrying about what's going to happen."

"Then what do we do? I can't live like this. I can't go to work thinking that someone will be following me. I can't stand having Adrian at school because I'm terrified someone might try to kidnap him. I can't sleep, I can't breathe. What do we do?"

He frowned at my desperation. There was no other way to feel, though. Carissa was threatening us, we couldn't figure out whether or not Caleb was an issue and there was no one to turn to. I was beginning to feel helpless.

"Call Brian," he said, wiping away a tear that escaped with his thumb. "Tell him to come over. I'll tell him where to find Caleb."

"Really?" 

"Yes, really. One less threat on the streets will make you feel better, won't it? It'll ease your concern?"

I nodded, leaning into his touch. "Thank you."

Picking up my phone, I looked for Brian's contact and dialed. I glanced over at Liam, he was running his hands through his hair, his features contorted in one of pure frustration. He wasn't content with the decision, but he conceded for me. 

"Delilah?" Brian sounded happy to hear from me, I could almost picture a smile on his face.

"Brian, we need to talk to you. Can you come over?"

"Yes, I'll be there in a few."

I closed my eyes and hoped that this was a step in the right direction.

*****

A/N: Okay, I keep saying it but it really is almost over. 

Thoughts on what Caleb said? & Liam finally agreed to get Brian's help once again, maybe now they'll finally work as a team.

Have an awesome day! 

-Luz<3


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