Begin Again novel Chapter 187

His cousins brought the car around, and Liam gently placed Eden in the back before jumping in beside her.

"How the hell did you ruin this chance?" Matthew asked as they pulled away from the Convention Centre. "I mean, I hand-delivered her to you, in a black dress and sparkly shoes. What more did you need? I thought you wanted to fix things. That's why I invited her?"

"I do," Liam grunted. "But shit's just gotten even more complicated. Take us to Forrest Creek. We have to pick Aiden up."

"Why?" Matthew turned briefly in his seat to look at him. "I thought you planned to meet him when you come back?"

"I did," Liam replied. "But I want them both with me tonight."

His cousin nodded, turned his attention back to the road, and took the off-ramp leading to Eden's neighbourhood.

Julian, sitting in the front with his brother and silent all along, stirred to life with the one question Liam would rather not get into. "Why the hell was Eden so agitated?"

But he answered him anyway as he took off his jacket and loosened his bowtie. "She had a run-in with Ivanov and Laura!"

"Understandable," Julian murmured as he fiddled with the stereo. "I'd be agitated, too, if I had a run-in with those two weirdos."

"Aleksei is a crazy son of a bitch, and well, Laura is a viper. I still don't understand what you ever saw in her." Matthew shuddered behind the wheel.

"She wasn't always like that." Liam defended his ex out of habit as he pulled Eden's glasses away from her face before they could slide off. He peered through the lenses and quickly brought them down when he couldn't make out anything but blurred shadows.

Unbelievable, he thought as he slipped them inside her bag. Eden was practically blind without them judging by their strength.

"She was always a viper," Julian jumped in with his observations. "You were just too pussywhipped to see it."

They were both right, of course. But Liam had long made it a rule to never to speak ill of any of his exes. Laura included.

He pulled out his phone and called James.

"Mr Anderson, we're right behind you." His head of security said on his end.

"I know. I can see you," Liam said. "That's not why I'm calling, though."

James cut him off before he could tell him why he had called him instead of waiting until they get home so they could talk.

Liam didn't know how long five minutes was until he had to sit there and listen to his head of security rant about his irresponsible actions and how he was constantly making their lives difficult with his stubborn insistence not to follow security protocol.

"You didn't follow company protocol, Sir. You were supposed to use the rear exit where a team was waiting for you. And you know damn well we're supposed to take you home, especially since the Ivanovs were there. Do you know how bad things could have turned out tonight?"

Liam knew, of course. There was a shiny bullet with his initials to remind him if he dared to forget. But he didn't tell James this. He'd stressed the other man enough for one night.

"I'm sorry." He said when he was allowed to speak finally. "I had to get Eden out of the venue fast. She wasn't feeling well."

James grunted his displeasure and turned to the reason for his call. "What do you need?"

"A team to be sent to Forrest Creek right now."

"For how long, Sir?"

"Until the dust with the Lusso deal settles, then we can look at a more permanent solution."

"Got it. I'll assign Jace to Paradi—I mean to Ms McBride," James said and clicked off.

Julian had finally settled on dance music, and he cranked up the volume as soon as Liam was done with his call, sending the walls of Matthew's Porsche Panamera shuddering.

"Can you keep it down, please?" Liam barked from the back. "Eden's sleeping."

"Of course," Julian reluctantly lowered the volume and turned around in his seat to glare at him briefly, his eyes flashing with mild annoyance. "Since Her Royal Highness is sleeping, no one must breathe."

"Shut up!"

Her eyes still firmly shut, Eden mumbled intelligibly beside him as a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey," Liam murmured as he gently wiped it away with his thumb. "It's okay, Princess,"

"Is she awake?" Matthew asked.

Liam shook his head. "Nah, still she's out."

"So she talks in her sleep?" Julian asked, his eyes wide with excitement. "Now's your chance to ask her anything you want. They say people who talk in their sleep can't lie."

"Same as drunk people," Matthew added his two cents' worth to his brother's baseless theory.

"Let's ask her something!" Julian was practically bouncing in his seat now. "Ask her how she feels about you! Better yet, ask her to marry you."

"Yeah?"

"Why haven't you come to see Aiden?" She asked softly, her speech slightly slurred, her eyes droopy with sleep. "Why haven't you come to meet him? You said you want him. He likes to read, and he loves the moon so much. And his favourite word is 'more', and he saw your photos on the internet, and for a week after that, his favourite word was 'Dad'."

Liam gawked at her, his heart thudding ever slowly in his chest as he listened to Eden's drunken talk. He pulled her up and held her face in his hands.

"What did you just say?" He asked, searching her eyes. "Tell me what you just said!"

"What?"

"Everything you just said," Liam said softly. "Tell me again, tell me everything Aiden likes."

"He likes PAW Patrol," Eden smiled sweetly, but her eyes were bright with tears. "And he's not a fussy baby at all. Sometimes I think I hit the jackpot. He never cries, only when he's tired or scared."

"He sounds perfect." Liam croaked when he was certain the lump in his throat was gone.

"He is," Eden agreed and closed her eyes again.

"Do you ever tell him about me?" He asked as he kissed her forehead.

"All the time. I have a scrapbook with all your photos."

"Okay," he held her close, their foreheads touching, his heart heavier than it had ever been, and yet he felt peace and calm he hadn't known in a while. "And I do want him, and I want you. I want you both so much the idea of being away from you for three weeks kills me. That's why I didn't come to see Aiden because if I did, I knew I'd never leave. But when I come back, we'll move in together, and we'll be so happy. I love you both so much! So no more dates with the lawyer, okay?"

"No," Eden pushed him away and cried in her hands. "We can't be happy if you're dead, Liam. Next time Aleksei won't send a bullet, and we both know this."

Matthew hit the brakes again and turned on the hazard lights.

"Can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?" He glared at Liam in the rearview mirror. "Did I just hear her correctly?"

"Ivanov threatened you? When?" Julian added, sounding just as agitated as his brother. "Liam, what the hell is she talking about?"

"It's nothing," Liam said a little too casually for someone with a huge bull's eye on his back.

He placed Eden's head on his lap, making sure her hair didn't touch the part of his pants with her vomit before he pulled out the ring box from his jacket and handed it to Julian.