Indebted (6 page)

From my spot in the passenger seat, I watch Liam from the corner of my eye. He looks pissed. His jaw is clenched with a muscle ticcing, and his arms are tense, showing off the definition. It’s making desire rocket through me, and I can feel myself starting to harden. I have to rip my eyes away from him to look out the window.

What if he’s mad at you? What if he thinks you made a pass at this Jeremy guy? Oh shit! I bet that’s it. You better keep walking on eggshells.

I don’t want him mad at me. I like how he treated me during my first time, and that surprised me. I thought I was in for rough handling, but he made sure I was ready to take him. By the time he was done prepping me, I was more than ready. I never imagined it could be so overwhelming. The way he made my body react and feel, I didn’t want it to end.

You acted like a little slut.
I can’t believe I told him I like his cock in me!
You did like it, though….
Yeah, but I didn’t have to tell him that.
You have no self-respect.
Sighing heavily, I roll down the window a little to cool off my overworked brain. A few minutes later, we pull up to a house in not the most desirable of neighborhoods.

Beside me, Liam takes a deep breath and looks over at me. “Aaron, I want you to stay in the car, no matter what you hear. You understand?”

Not wanting to piss him off by arguing, I reply, “I will.”

I watch as they step out of the car to meet up with two others. One is a good-looking, lanky blond. The other is also blond, but of a stockier build. Neither of them is the type of person I’d want to meet in a dark alley, that’s for sure.

Through the open window, I hear Liam greet the smaller one. “Hey, Tristan, you ready to do this shit?”

So that is Tristan. The other one must be Luke.

“Yeah, I was headed toward the house when my woman called. I’m in the mood to kick some ass now,” Tristan replies.

“I know exactly how you feel,” Liam says, glancing back my way. Tristan looks over to where Liam’s eyes have gone and raises an eyebrow to him. Liam says, “Dude! So not any of your business.”

Tristan huffs, “Just sayin.’ Inquiring minds want to know.”

The Luke guy pipes in. “Well, I don’t. Can we get this show on the road? You two are worse than a couple of women.”

“Fuck you, Luke,” they both say in unison. Jeremy has been silent the whole time. I guess he’s still sulking.

I watch them walk up to the door and bang on it—apparently this isn’t a social visit. The door opens to reveal a very large Native American man. From the way he’s holding himself, they aren’t expected or welcome.

The big guy says, “What do you want?”

“Sam, we’re here to give you a message from Thomas, since you ignored the first,” Liam grunts while pulling himself up to his full height.

Sam answers in a dismissive tone, “Do you think I give a shit what Thomas has to say?”

Tristan steps forward slightly, and I see metal glint in the sun. “We’re here to make sure you care, asshole. Now, why don’t we step inside and have a nice, friendly chat?”

Sam looks around him and then steps back into his house. He tries to close the door, but Liam keeps it open with his foot and they force their way inside, shutting the door behind them.

Fuck! I hope I’m not a witness to murder now.
Eh, they’ll kill you if you are, anyway.
Yeah, that’s real comforting—thanks, brain. It’s not good when your brain betrays you.
Why not? Your ass and dick already have.

The thought of Liam being mad at me over Jeremy and a possible murder going on right in front of me has me beyond frazzled. My head starts hurting, so I close my eyes and relax against the seat.

My rest doesn’t last long, though. A tapping on the window disturbs me. When I look up, I’m staring at my worst nightmare—the barrel of a gun. I freeze, not knowing what to do, and the air sucks right out of my lungs, making it hard to breathe.

“Get out of the car.” Fumbling, I try to get the door open, but in my panicked state, I don’t realize the car is still locked and it won’t budge. The man outside growls, “Get the fuck out here, now!”

I finally discover the reason for it not opening. As I do, I’m dragged out, and the man pins me facedown on the side of the car. Grabbing my arm, he starts twisting it behind my back. Immediately, burning, shooting pains running down the length of my upper body assault me. I cry out as the man shoves his elbow into the crevice between my neck and shoulder.

I feel his breath next to my ear. “Why are you sitting here in front of Sam’s house? Where’s the driver?”

I can barely talk due to the pressure on my throat. “Not doing anything… waiting for… waiting for Liam… he’s inside.”

Jerking back, the guy pulls me toward the house. I can barely walk because my knees seem to have turned to Jell-O. He pushes me to walk in front of him, shoving his gun in my back.

As we get inside, I see Sam being held by Luke and Jeremy. Liam is hitting him in the gut, and Sam’s bloody head is down, with spittle making its way out of his mouth. They stop when they hear the door slam against the wall.

The man who has a gun on me yells, “Let him go! Right fuckin’ now!”

My heart is trying to beat its way right out of my chest by this point. My breath is coming out in little pants, making me feel lightheaded. Please, don’t let me pass out
. Might be better if you do.
Somehow, I manage to fight off the haze trying to take over.

Liam replies with a deadly calm voice. “Adam, you let him go, or Sammy boy here takes one for the team.”

With that, he jabs his gun into Sam’s head, and Adam growls, “Fine.”

He shoves me toward Liam, but startled by the sudden move, I stumble and fall to my knees. Adam is still holding a gun on me from a distance, and I kneel, trembling, staying where I’m at.
Don’t make any sudden moves, and maybe the animals won’t hurt you.

Tristan, in a voice that sends shivers up my spine, says, “Drop your gun, Adam. I’m not the joking kind, you should know that.”

I keep my eyes on the ground, not wanting to see anything going on. Then I hear a thud from behind me—the gun, maybe?

Liam speaks again. “Now that that’s settled, I want you to remember this: the next time trash like you decide to better the neighborhood by robbing someone under our protection, we won’t be as friendly—you got me?”

Hearing some shuffling, I’m then tugged up off the floor. I look around again. Thankfully, no one is dead, that I can tell. The Sam guy appears to be beaten to a pulp, but he’s alive.

Liam pulls me toward the door. “Aaron, will you move? I’d like to get the fuck out of here sometime today.”

I start moving better at the thought of getting out of there, but as we are at the door, Adam yells, “This isn’t the end of this!”

Liam’s hand is practically vibrating on my arm now. “Asshole, it is over. With your pathetic operation, it was over before it started. Now, if you’re a smart little boy, you’ll get out of this before you get in too deep.”

Finally, we’re out front, and I’m feeling numb. I think I’m going into shock. This has been one fucked-up day.

Liam shouts, “Hey, Tristan, can you take Jeremy back for me? I need to get Aaron out of here, he’s starting to freak.”

“Sure, man,” he agrees, seeming slightly put out. “Jeremy, put some hustle in it. I want to get home sometime tonight.”

The car ride is quiet, but thick with tension. I have no idea what I’m in for when we get to his place, since I’ve seen much more than I should have. Plus, he’s probably still mad over the Jeremy thing. I’m going to have to smooth things over when we arrive. We aren’t best buddies, but we had an easiness earlier I want to keep.

Walking into Liam’s condo is shocking. The place is huge. Not knowing what to do with myself, I walk over to the windows to see an expanse of prime Chicago view. It’s breathtaking, and seeing it calms me a little. I hear Liam shuffling behind me, so I decide to accept the consequences.

Turning, I start to nervously pull at my sweater. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause trouble with Jeremy. I hope you guys can still work together.”

“Stop right there.” I look up at him to see disbelief written on his face. “How can you possibly think I would blame you for that jackass’s behavior? I know that was all him. Hell, I can barely keep him from humping my leg. One look at you was like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”

“I… I… was afraid you would think I came on to him,” I said, embarrassed to admit it.

He smiles a little at that. “The thought never crossed my mind. Did it cross yours?”

I shudder. “Not in this lifetime.”

For some reason, he finds this hilarious, and starts cackling. I watch, feeling warmth sweep over me because I made him laugh.

Deciding to push forward when he settles, I add, “I wasn’t going to get out of the car, I swear. He had a gun. I’m sorry—”

“For Christ’s sake! That wasn’t your fault either, I know that. I’m not mad at you, so would you stop assuming I am?”

No matter what I say, I keep making things worse. I feel a lump form in my throat, and while trying to swallow it, I look at the floor.

Liam is suddenly right in front of me. I feel his breath on my hair, and reaching down, he puts his fingers under my chin and lifts me to face him. I can’t even fathom the look he’s giving me. We stare at each other for a few moments.

Liam breaks the silence. “Stop worrying so much and go with the flow. As long as you’re not my enemy, you’ve nothing to worry about. Just be yourself this weekend, that’s all I ask.”

I feel lighter. “I can do that, though you may regret it. I’m a big kid when allowed to play.”

I’m smiling like an idiot now, and he reaches up, putting his hand on my face. Slowly, his thumb rubs against my cheek.

He has a small smile on his face as he says, “I like this.”

The feel of his rough skin on my face sets desire loose in me. His gaze turns hungry too, but after a moment, it’s gone.

He steps back and clears his throat. “You’ve got to be starving, I know I am. I, uh, I don’t know how to cook, but I can order a pizza.”

He almost sounds nervous; it’s cute.
Yeah, for a guy who nearly killed someone in front of you.
He said he was protecting someone, that’s a good thing.
Delusional….

The next thing that comes out of my mouth shocks me. “I can cook. You have anything in the kitchen?”

Liam seems pleased at this. “Yeah, I have someone come in and stock the place up.” He shrugs. “Not that it gets used.”

“Do you mind showing me the way?” Damn place is so big. I might have to send up a flare if I go it alone.

“Sure, this way.”

As he leads, I take notice of his ass. I want to reach out and squeeze, and I feel my dick twitch. Averting my eyes from those cheeks doesn’t help much, because he has a strong, wide expanse of shoulders. I start to harden a little.
Aaron! Rein it in.
I reach down and pinch my thigh to cool it down.
Damn, that hurt!

After he shows me the supplies, I decide on quick spaghetti. About forty-five minutes later, the food is done, and we’re seated at the table.

The silence is deafening, so I decide to try to start some conversation. “Soooo? How do you like it?”

Liam pauses, eyes running over me, making heat flush through me down to my toes. Clearing my throat seems to startle him. “Oh, sorry, it’s great. It’s been a while since I’ve had anything home cooked.”

Silence again—great.

I sit there for a minute, watching him through my lashes. Viewing him eat should be illegal. Between the sight of Liam slurping the noodles up and licking the red sauce off his lips, I’m half-hard again.

Do something!
“What do you like to do for fun?”
Well, that was lame.

“Hmmm, I like to shoot pool, and when I get the chance, I like to read,” he answers casually.

I latch on to that like a drowning man to a life preserver. “Really? What do you read?”

Blushing, he looks down. “Gay erotic romance.”

He sits there, appearing like he wants to crawl into a hole, and I can’t help but smile. “Oh, me too. Chloe always says that’s why I’m such a dreamer.”

His eyes dart up to mine. “There’s nothing wrong with dreaming, Aaron. Dreams are what make life tolerable.”

Hey! I know that line. “Fan of the movie
Rudy
, are you?”

He smiles, showing his dimples. “Fuck you, man! That movie’s the best.”

Now I’m giggling like a schoolgirl. “Not making fun, I love it too. Although, I would have pegged you more
The Godfather
type.”

“Oh God, I hate that shit. They try to make it so glamorous.” The light fades from his eyes and a sullen expression takes over where the dimples had been.

Well, shit! Good going, Aaron.

Glancing back up at me, he says, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.” I nod. “I know why you’re really doing this,” he sighs. “I want to say I agree with this Chloe person. Your dad is an asshole for guilting you into this. It wasn’t your fault. He’s made many bad financial decisions.”

How does he know that?

“You listened in on my phone call?” I gasp out.

Now he nods. “I didn’t mean to. I’m not sorry I did, though. At least now I know the real reason you’re here.”

Jumping up, I grab my dishes. “You had no fucking right to listen to that phone call! Our agreement was my body, not my fucking personal life.”

I walk out of the room and take them to the sink, but he follows me with his. “It wasn’t your fault, damn it. Anyone would have had a problem after losing their mom.”

“You don’t know anything!” I brush past him, heading back into the dining room. Being back in there, I don’t know where to go, so I start pacing.

What the fuck are you doing yelling at this man? You’re going to get yourself killed by the end of this weekend.
With that thought, my fears start to overwhelm me.

He walks up to me while I’m giving him the deer-in-the-headlights look. “I wanted you to see that it wasn’t your fault, I see it all the fuckin’ time. Your dad is exactly like someone else I know. He was workin’ you to get what he wanted. He probably doesn’t even blame you. It was just handy.”