Ruined With You Page 12

  “But I’m not there.” I shoot a frantic look at Liam. “I don’t want to go back there. If they’re watching it—”

  “You won’t,” Liam says calmly. “You’re staying with me.”

  “Tonight,” Ryan amends, “she’s staying with Emma.”

  “But—”

  He holds up a hand, silencing Liam. “Let me finish.”

  I glance at Liam, who’s looking warily at his boss and friend. But he’s letting Ryan continue without argument. For now, anyway.

  “Go on,” I say.

  “I want you to call Ellie. From your phone,” he adds, sliding my phone across the table to me. The SSA already gave me another to use while this nightmare is in play, and now I don’t even want to touch my old one, in case Noyce and his men really have been tracking me with it. “Not from here. And don’t turn it back on yet. Liam can take you to the beach later before he drops you at Emma’s. Find a dive where you might have grabbed something to eat, understand?”

  I look at Liam and nod.

  “Then call Ellie. Thank her for the cabin and tell her what happened—don’t mention that you know who’s behind it. But tell her that you need to get out of LA since they’ll be looking for you there. Tell her you’re—”

  “Going to Paris?” With Liam, I silently add.

  I’m being silly, of course. I don’t even have a passport, although I bet the SSA could manufacture one for me if need be…

  “Seattle,” he says.

  “Oh. It’s not Paris, but that’s cool. I’ve never been there.”

  “And you aren’t going now.” Once again, Ryan is making my head spin. “Tell her you know where you’re going to hole up, and you’ll call her when you get there. Meanwhile, Liam, you call Ellie, too, and tell her to mention the call and Xena’s plans to someone on her staff she’d normally confide in. But to do it near some other crew members. Where she can be overheard.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  “You told me that no one followed you to Ella’s cabin,” Liam says. “That means someone told them you were there. Which means if they aren’t monitoring your phone, hopefully the information that you’ve left LA will get to them through their mole.”

  I frown. “There aren’t that many people who know about the cabin. Rye, but he’d never hurt Ella, and hurting me would hurt her. Ella’s attorney and accountant know, but they’re both as sweet as can be. And her producer at the label, but he wasn’t there. That’s it. That’s everybody who knows about it.”

  “You think,” Liam adds, and I don’t have a response to that.

  “Okay, fine. But why am I going to Seattle? And why are we sending them after me?”

  “You’re not,” Leah says. “That’s the point of the ditch and switch. I become you.”

  I shake my head. “No. No way.”

  Leah waves a hand. “Oh, please. This is what I do.”

  “Go around the country pretending to be an ex-prostitute who some dangerous sex traffickers are after? What?” I add, in response to Liam’s dark look. “That’s what I am.”

  “No. That’s what you were forced to do to survive. And you dug yourself out. You’re still digging, and we’re here to help you. Let us help you.”

  “At the risk of her getting whacked?”

  “I’ll be fine,” Leah assures me. “I’ll go to Seattle and send her a text from there. From your phone, of course. Then Ella spreads the word on her end.”

  “Let’s record Xena saying she’s there with static,” Mario suggests. “You can call Ellie and play it, but on the recording she can say she’s going to text because the connection is so bad.”

  Leah nods. “Excellent. That way we’ll get them whether they’re monitoring phone, text, or Ellie’s conversations.”

  “And then?” I ask Leah.

  “And then I buy a return ticket in my own name. I come home, and Xena Morgan stays behind in Seattle.”

  I glance around the table at all of them. “This will work?”

  “It will,” Liam says firmly. “All we’re doing is buying time and safety.”

  “What have you got for me?” Quince asks.

  “I was hoping you’d go overseas and meet with Enrique in person. The task force does good work, but I want your eyes on their information, and he’s willing to let you interrogate some of the men they already have in custody.”

  “My favorite European pastime—interrogating deviant wankers.”

  “And if anyone can get more details from a prisoner, it’s you,” Ryan adds.

  “A dubious honor,” Quince says. “But true.”

  I glance at Liam, who nods. I lean back, a little stunned that the seemingly gentle Brit is some sort of master interrogator. Then again, this whole operation stuns me.

  “I’ll head over tomorrow and take Eliza with me. I’ve been promising her a trip to London and Paris.”

  “Nothing like espionage to spice up a girl’s vacation,” Leah says.

  “I bet they’ll spice it up other ways, too,” Trevor puts in.

  Quince grins. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”

  Leah rolls her eyes. “When do you want me to head out?”

  “Tomorrow morning,” Ryan says.

  “Oh, good. I was afraid you’d say tonight, and I don’t want to miss girls’ night.”

  Ryan nods. “Which is why you’re not leaving until tomorrow. You’re all meeting at Emma’s house, right?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Because I want Xena there, too.”

  “Whoa,” Liam says. “She’s with me, and while I wouldn’t feel emasculated joining girls’ night, I don’t think the women want me there.”

  “Which is why it’s good that it’s at Emma’s house. Do you really doubt she’d be safe?”

  “Um, hello?” Leah says.

  “You’re skills are amazing,” Ryan says. “Emma’s are better. And her house is a fucking fortress.”

  “Emma?” I ask, wondering what kind of badassery the woman has at her disposal. “She told me she’s a PI.”

  “She’s a hell of a lot more than a PI,” Liam says, and my imagination churns. “Who else will be there?”

  Leah counts the guests off on her fingers. “Me, Emma, Eliza, Cass, Jamie. Maybe Sylvia. With Denny and Nikki out of town, I think that’s it.”

  “I keep telling them to invite me,” Trevor says, winking at me. “But so far, no luck.”

  “Jamie and Eliza will be there,” Mario points out to Liam, and I remember someone telling me that Ryan’s wife is named Jamie. And I know that Eliza and Quince are together. “If Ryan and Quince aren’t shutting this thing down, I think you can assume your girl is safe.”

  I wait for Liam to deny that I’m ‘his girl,’ but all he does is nod. “Fine. If they think Xena’s in LA, they’ll either look for her at her own apartment or mine. It makes sense that she’d be with me since I was with her at the cabin.”

  “Exactly,” Ryan says.

  “What’s girls’ night?” I ask.

  “We drink. Talk. Usually watch a movie. Most nights we break up around midnight. But I’m thinking tonight needs to be a slumber party.”

  “Right,” I say, wondering not only what I’m supposed to wear to sleep in, but how the hell I’m supposed to act. I’ve hung out with Ella before, but I’ve never done sleepovers. Or girls’ nights. Or anything like that. Not ever. Not even in high school.

  I reach over and take Liam’s hand, squeezing hard. Because right now, the prospect of spending casual time with a group of women scares me even more than Edward Noyce and his well-armed cretins.

  It takes about forty-seven seconds for my nervousness to fade after Emma welcomes me into her cute little house in Venice Beach. A home which, according to Liam, is a hell of a lot more than the adorable bungalow it appears to be.

  “I’ve done a lot of work,” Emma says vaguely when I ask her as much. And although I really want to pry for details, I have a feeling that it’s an I c
ould tell you, but then I’d have to kill you situation.

  I’m the last to arrive, now decked out in a pair of Denny’s jeans and my newly washed tank top, and armed with a promise from Liam that we can hit a department store tomorrow. I’d asked to swing by my apartment to get my own clothes, but I hadn’t been surprised when he’d quickly shut that suggestion down.

  I don’t know if Liam told someone that I don’t drink, but I’m thrilled to see that in addition to several bottles of wine and an impressive selection of hard liquor, the kitchen island that is currently serving as drinks-central also has a variety of sodas and flavored sparkling waters. I help myself to a raspberry flavored water and follow Emma into the living area. Cass comes over to give me a hug, telling me she’s thrilled I’m joining the fun, and I notice that she switches places when she sits back down, leaving a pretty woman with pixie-styled brown hair to go sit by Emma.

  Eliza and Leah both wave in greeting, and the pretty woman comes over, introducing herself as Sylvia. “I started coming to these things because of her,” she says, pointing to Cass. “It’s a nice break from the kids. I love them, but sometimes, you just need adult women.”

  “I can imagine,” I say, although in truth I think I would love to be at home with kids of my own. Such a normal thing, and for so long it was a fantasy I didn’t even let myself think about, because it was just too damn painful.

  I keep my polite smile on, though, because I don’t want to bring the mood down by even hinting that I’m thinking about my past, and if Sylvia notices my moment of melancholy, she’s kind enough not to mention it.

  “You must be Xena,” an absolutely gorgeous raven-haired woman comes from the kitchen, a glass of wine in her hands. “I’m Jamie, Ryan’s wife. Sylvia and I go back a few years. Anyway, it’s great you could make it. We haven’t been doing this for that long, honestly. So you’re getting in on the ground floor.”

  “Cool,” I say as I settle in next to Leah, who has scooted over to make a space for me. I mean it, too, only to remember after I’ve spoken that I may not be hanging around this crowd for long. According to Liam, now that the playing field has narrowed to Noyce, he expects we’ll be able to wrap this up and ensure my safety within a pretty reasonable time frame.

  I’ll still live in LA, of course, and not that far from here in the grand scheme of things, but I doubt that I’d be coming to girls’ night. Not without that connection to Liam.

  A fresh wave of melancholy washes over me and I have to force a smile as Eliza starts to tell everyone about how she and Quince are heading to Europe tomorrow. “He’ll be working during the day, but I’m already planning what museums I want to see. And, of course, we’ll have the nights,” she adds, batting her eyes and humming innocently as the others laugh.

  “I bet he proposes over there,” Leah says.

  “Oh, I don’t think so,” Eliza says. “It hasn’t been that long.”

  “You’re insane,” Emma counters, then glances at the rest of the room. “Raise your hand if you think my sister is insane.”

  Everyone except me raises their hand. “I don’t think I’m qualified,” I say, when Emma raises a brow.

  “Fair enough. But you,” she says to Eliza, “are nuts if you think it hasn’t been that long. It’s been years. And you know damn well you two are perfect for each other.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to—”

  “He will,” Leah says firmly.

  “Fine,” Eliza says. “But I’ll just have to tell him I need time to ponder. Wouldn’t want him to think I’m madly in love with him or anything.”

  They all laugh, and I’m too curious not to ask. “How long have you been together?”

  Eliza makes a face. “That is a more complicated question than you know.”

  “They were all cozy and then motherfucking fate stepped in and pushed them apart,” Emma says. “Hell of a journey back together. Like an epic poem by Homer or something.”

  “Yes,” Eliza says dryly. “My relationship with Quince is exactly like The Odyssey. You are so weird.”

  “Am I weird?” Emma asks, directing the question to Cass.

  “Very.”

  “She’s right,” Eliza says. “Which is probably why I love you so much. And why are we talking about me, anyway?”

  “Exactly,” Leah says. “We should be talking about men.”

  “Ahem,” Cass says, and everyone laughs again.

  “Is Trevor off limits?” Leah asks. “Because I really want to know what we’re going to do about him. I mean, he’s a terrific roommate, but that boy has been single for far too long.”

  “Has he brought anybody home?” Eliza asks.

  “Nope.” Leah raises a shoulder. “He’s stayed out all night a couple of times, but when I ask him about it, he just says he stayed with a friend instead of grabbing an Uber. I’m sad for him. He and Jasper were really good together.”

  “His ex,” Jamie says helpfully to me, though I’ve figured that out on my own.

  The evening continues that way for another half hour or so, with the group commenting on the lives and relationships of their friends, including asking Jamie when she and Ryan are going to start a family—“Um, so not ready!”—and someone asking when Nikki and Damien will be back in the country.

  Nobody knows—apparently the whole family and their nanny are in Europe, combining a tour of Stark properties and businesses with a family vacation.

  “Family vacations and work are not supposed to be on tonight’s list of acceptable conversational topics,” Sylvia says. “Not when I have kids at home and work spread all over the dining room table.”

  “Then let’s talk sex,” Jamie says. “Or bad television. Or sex.” She turns to me. “Are you and Liam … you know?”

  Across the room, Sylvia gasps. “Jamie!” She turns to me. “You’ll have to forgive her. She has no filters at all.”

  “Oh, I have filters,” Jamie says. “I just usually keep them turned off. More fun that way.”

  “Um,” I say, because I’m really not sure what I should say. I mean, Liam was protecting me. Could he get in trouble if his coworkers learn the truth?

  “Well?” Jamie prods, and I wonder if I could conjure a slight case of Ebola and run to the bathroom.

  I take the more sane approach and pretend to be clueless. “What makes you think that?”

  “Something Leah said earlier. And I saw him walk you in. There was a vibe.”

  “A vibe?”

  “There was definitely a vibe,” Eliza says, and Emma and Cass both nod.

  “I don’t know about that,” I say. And then, because I can’t help myself, I ask, “Did you pick up a vibe from me or from him?”

  Jamie and Sylvia share a grin, my cheeks flame, and everyone starts laughing.

  “Busted,” Jamie says, and even though she’s right, all I can do is laugh. I’ve never done this with other women before. Just hung out and talked and kidded each other and had fun. It’s nice. And a little dangerous, too, because I know I could really get used to this.

  Eliza brings me a fresh water. “Vibe or not, if there is something between you and Liam, I’m glad. He and Quince have been friends for ages, and I know Quince has been hoping he’d get involved with someone again.”

  “Again?”

  She nods, then sits down next to me. “Apparently it was a long time ago. He was involved and I guess it ended badly. Quince doesn’t even know the details. It was before—never mind.”

  “Deliverance?” I ask quietly.

  “You know about that? Interesting…”

  I don’t bother to clarify that he told me in the context of my history and sex trafficking. Instead, I just ask her what happened.

  “That’s the thing,” she says. “I don’t know. Neither does Quince. All he knows is that Liam got burned somehow. And that he doesn’t do relationships.”

  “He’s not doing one with me, either,” I tell her. “In fact, we even talked about the fa
ct that he doesn’t.”

  “And yet there’s a vibe,” she says, then clinks her glass with mine.

  I consider protesting again, but don’t. After all, this night is about gossip and girlfriends and having fun. And as far as I’m concerned, fantasizing about Liam is a very fun pastime.

  Eventually, the conversation turns more rowdy and someone brings out Cards Against Humanity, which has us roaring. And though I’m not sure how it happens, that game leads into lazing on the floor, sofa, and chairs as we watch Guardians of the Galaxy, which I’ve never seen before, and soon I’m laughing so hard I’m crying.

  Not because it’s that emotional—although considering how silly it is, it does pack an emotional punch—but because this whole night has been so amazing.

  And when I eventually do fall asleep on the pullout couch in Emma’s loft, with Leah sleeping on a blowup bed beside me, I can’t help but think that I could definitely get used to this.

  Chapter Seventeen

  For the next few days, I live at Liam’s side.

  I go with him to work, where I scan, file, organize, summarize, and generally make myself useful in this incredibly busy office that definitely does not have enough support staff. It’s interesting work, and I enjoy it. Not only because I feel like I’m contributing and not simply sitting back while others protect me, but because I’m working again, and the work is important.

  While I’m working, of course Liam is, too. For the last two days, he’s been primarily on the phone with Winston or working with Mario on the computer, trying to chase down leads to Noyce’s whereabouts.

  Unfortunately, there’s been little progress on that front, but Liam assures me this is part of the process, and that eventually, I’ll be free of the sword hanging over my head.

  I believe him, and I’m so grateful for everything he and the SSA have done. But every time he assures me that this will all be over soon, my throat thickens and my chest feels tight. Because once I’m free of that sword, doesn’t that mean I’ll be freed from Liam’s shadow, too?