La Cosa Nostra, This Thing of Ours Page 13

  "Oh God, Liam," I scream. It hits me and I feel my center tighten around his cock.

  "Yes, yes, yes," he yells as he comes seconds after me. I fall onto his chest with my ear flat against his heaving body and feel the thump of his heart beating rapidly. I lie with my head on him for a while as his fingers run up and down my back.

  "Are you going to ask me what my father was talking about?"

  "You'll tell me when you're ready," I murmur, lifting my head to see his eyes.

  "I don't deserve you, Petal," he sighs, cupping my face he pulls me to his lips.

  Chapter 21

  Two weeks later, after finals.

  "Guess what?" I use Liam's back as an anchor as I stretch my hamstrings. We just finished a 5 mile run around Lincoln Park. I had just checked my phone.

  "What?" He wipes the sweat from his brow, looking over his shoulder at me. I run my hand down his chiseled back before I break contact. He turns to face me, his body glistening in sweat. I show him what is on the screen of my phone. I passed all my exams with flying colors.

  "I passed them all!" I beam at him. He wraps one arm around my waist and lifts me in the air, swinging me in a circle.

  "Of course you did, Petal. I never doubted you wouldn't." He kisses my lips then takes my phone with his free hand. "Look at that, 99%, 97%, 98%, oh and another 99%. I have me one smart girl." He expresses with another kiss, this one longer.

  "I need to get home and packed before we celebrate tonight," I say after he has kissed me thoroughly.

  "I still can't believe I'm not going to see you for a whole week." His face grows sullen immediately.

  "I know, but I haven't been home in a while." We have already argued about this. Basically, if I wasn't studying on Liam's couch these past two weeks, we were in bed. We have had a lot of late night pillow talk. He doesn't want me going, and right now I don't want to introduce him to my family. Everything is still so up in the air with me not knowing where I'm going to school.

  Even though I trust him, there is something that he is not telling me. He apparently thinks it will send me screaming so he skirts around his past. Even when I ask him about his mother, he clams up. I keep telling myself he will tell me when he's ready, but even in my wildest imagination I can't think what would be so bad.

  "Okay, but do you have to go for a whole week?" he whines, pushing out his lower lip, pouting. He finally sets me down, and we start walking to his car.

  "Yes, baby, my brothers are already complaining I won't be home long enough." I go to grab at his lip, but he moves before I can reach it. "Besides, you said you have a ton of work you need to get done." I laugh at him when he sticks his tongue out at me. He has been neglecting his job the past few weeks. Plus he's still really pissed at his father, which is not helping their family situation.

  "Well, if I don't get to have you for a whole week, tonight you are getting fucked so thoroughly you will be sore until you get back." His eyebrows shoot up at the thought.

  "Promise?" I raise one eyebrow at him and take off running to the car. He catches me in an instant and throws me over his shoulder like a caveman. We get tons of looks as he carries me to his car that way. I'm laughing so hard I don't even care.

  Liam drops me off so I can pack and get ready for our night out on the town. I hadn't been home in a few days and my mailbox full. I throw the pile of mail on the bed and hop in the shower.

  After I shower and dress I sit on the bed to go through the mountain of mail. Most of it is junk or bills when the University of Illinois Emblem catches my eye. I rip the sucker open and gasp at what I see.

  Dear Ms. Troy,

  A work study spot has opened up. We are pleased to announce you have been accepted to the University of Illinois, School of Veterinarian Medicine......

  Holy shit! I'm so excited I start jumping up and down squealing to myself. I pick up my cell phone and call the first person I want to tell.

  "Hello," a woman answers Liam's phone.

  "Ummm, hello ... is this Liam's phone?" I ask the woman who is answering my boyfriend's phone.

  "Yes, it is," she says.

  "Who is this?" I ask, as my heart drops into my stomach.

  "This is his wife, Chelsea." If words could kill, those just did it. My head starts spinning as I feel like I am being cut to shreds.

  "Can I speak with Liam?" I am able to finally form words after a couple of seconds.

  "He's in the shower. I'm just about to join him. Do you want me to give him a message?" She giggles into the phone when I hear a door open and what sounds like water running. I hear Liam's voice plain as day in the background. "Chelsea?"

  "Coming, baby," the woman says, and the line goes dead.

  Part 2

  Liam Tarseta.

  I can't seem to wipe the stupid grin off my face. I am so happy. I can't imagine being happier, except for being away from her for a few days. That will be the longest week of my life. She's coming back, she's going to move in with me, and I am going to marry her soon. I haven't asked her yet, but I am already looking at rings.

  I hear my bathroom door open and my heart stops. I had dropped Harper off at her apartment and no one else has a key. Then I hear her voice, the shrill voice I will never forget.

  "Chelsea?" I grab a towel in a hurry wrapping it around myself.

  "Coming, baby," she says. I throw open the shower door to see her standing in my bathroom.

  "What the fuck? How did you get in my apartment?" A thousand questions are running through my head.

  "You know I can sweet talk my way into anywhere," she swoons, coming up to me putting her hand on my chest. I'm holding onto my towel with one hand and grab her wrist with the other.

  "Why are you fucking here?" I grate through my teeth.

  "Well, I missed you. Haven't you missed me?" She yanks her hand away from the tight grip I have on her wrist that's keeping her from touching me.

  I shoot past her and go into my closet, shutting the door. I really need clothes on. After I dress in a hurry, I come out to find her sitting on my bed. It makes me physically sick to see a woman who is not Harper, on my bed.

  "Chelsea, I don't know what fucking game you are playing now, but I swear to God you need to get the fuck out of my apartment," I yell and go to grab her arm to escort her out. She is an old girlfriend, sort of. We fucked for a while, until she sold a story to the tabloids saying I got her pregnant then beat the shit out of her when she told me about the baby. I still don't know where she got the black eye, and don't care. All I know is my father paid her to leave.

  He was so mad at me about the article. He still is by the way he treated Harper. I still don't know why, but my picture in a national tabloid really ticked him off.

  "Not so fast, Liam," she says, twisting her arm out of my grip. She goes to my dresser and picks up the only picture I have of the mother I never knew. "I couldn't help but wonder why your father was so fast to get rid of me. I mean, he paid me a lot of money to leave. I started thinking maybe there was something he was hiding," she says vindictively, running her finger down the frame of the picture.

  "What are you fucking talking about?" I snatch the frame from her hands. I found the picture of my mother in my father's closet when I was a teenager. He allowed me to keep it, but told me never to tell anyone who it was. I still to this day do not know where my mother is or if she is even alive. All my father would ever tell me was that she was gone and that is it. I know he has never loved another woman like he loved my mother. He has also never tried. Whatever happened, it broke his heart forever.

  "Your mother, that is your mother, right?" she asks, motioning to the picture in my hand. I don't know how she would know this. She has never been in any apartment that I have lived in. As far as I know, this would be the first time she would have seen it. The only girl I've ever had in any of my bedrooms is Harper.

  I am speechless as I look from the picture to Chelsea. I get a huge pit in my stomach that something bad is about to hap
pen.

  "I know it is. I also know where she is," Chelsea pipes off then walks out of the bedroom down the hall. I place the frame carefully in the dresser drawer before I chase after Chelsea.

  "What do you think you know?" I am growing madder and madder at this ridiculous game.

  "I suggest you call your father over here, I think he will be very interested in what I am going to tell you." She sits on the couch, crossing her legs and splaying her arms out on the back of the couch. "I think I saw your phone in the bedroom." Her leg that is crossed is moving up and down as she watches me.

  I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I am going to find out. I call Harper first to let her know that I might be a little late. Whatever is happening, I'm sure it is a stupid money scam. Harper's phone goes straight to voicemail, which is weird because I wouldn't think she would have her phone turned off.

  I call my dad next. "Dad, Chelsea Waters is in my apartment claiming to know something about my mother," I tell him when he answers.

  "Don't let her leave, I'll be there soon," he says abruptly and then hangs up.

  I try Harper again before going back in the living room; still straight to voicemail.

  "Did you get ahold of him?" Chelsea sings, when I walk back into the living room.

  "Yes, what is this about anyway? Trying to get some more money? Whoring it up isn't working anymore?" I dig at her since that is what she did with me, and the reason I about ruined the one good thing to ever happen to me. Chelsea was a waitress at The Guardian. She, of course, is nothing like Harper, but she had quit The Guardian shortly after we started dating, thinking I was going to take care of her. When I didn't, that was when she started causing trouble. Her entire goal was money from the beginning.

  I pace back and forth in the living room avoiding Chelsea and try calling Harper about every five minutes, but each time it goes straight to voicemail.

  Finally my father shows up and he has Matty with him. His face is bright red with anger. When he sees Chelsea on the couch, he goes straight for her. Without even a moment's thought, he has his hand around her neck, holding her to the couch.

  I rush to get him off her, but he has a firm grip.

  "Dad! Stop!" I yell, finally pushing him off. Chelsea is gasping for air, a bright red hand print on her throat. "Fuck, what the hell is going on?" I shout. Matty stands by his brother, saying something to him in Italian. I know some Italian, but I can't make out what he is saying.

  "Chelsea, please come with me into the office. We will discuss your terms," Matty says to a horrified Chelsea, still coughing for air. She follows Matty into my office leaving me with my father.

  Chapter 22

  An hour later my father has told me everything. I sit in silence, the shock of what I’ve just been told still sinking in. Matty and Chelsea come out of the office. She has a smug, satisfied look on her face. My father leaves the apartment and Matty escorts Chelsea out. They are going to pay her off so she will keep her mouth shut. I have no idea how much, and right now I don't care.

  "Oh, Liam, I forgot to tell you. When I came into your apartment earlier your phone was ringing. Someone named Petal, I may have told her a couple of white lies." Chelsea smirks at me. My mind races as it all starts to sink in.

  "What did you say?" I stand clenching my fists. I have never wanted to hit someone so bad in my entire life.

  "That I was your wife, and that I was about to join you in the shower. It was perfect really, you said my name as soon as I walked into the bathroom." Her face is like the devil. I remember what she said after I realized who was in my bathroom, "Coming, baby." That is what Harper heard, me saying Chelsea's name after she had told her she was my wife. Her phone is turned off ... fuck, fuck, fuck!

  "I fucking swear to God, if you have ruined the one good thing in my life, you had better be nowhere near me because I will have nothing to live for." I stare her directly in the eyes as I deliver my warning. I get right in her face, breathing through my nose like a bull ready to charge.

  I would never hit a woman, but Chelsea Waters is not a woman. She is a snake, a liar, a thief, and a con artist.

  "Now, Liam, why so hasty? I'm sure you can get her back," she blurts out. Gaining her composure, she hops up on the kitchen counter in front of me. Seeing her there makes my stomach turn. That is where Petal always sits when I am cooking. The past two weeks have been amazing. When she was studying I was working. I managed to work my magic with U of I vet school paying for another work study spot to open up for her. She wasn't supposed to know it came from me, but she was going to be finding out soon that she was accepted.

  I loved it when she would sit there and watch me cook, because I could nuzzle between her legs and make out with her in between stirring or chopping. She is an angel, the most beautiful woman in the world; her skin, her body, her smell, and that amazing brain of hers. Everything about her turns me on. Thinking about her, I feel so urgent to get to her.

  "All right, Chelsea, you're getting your money. Let's go," Matty says, patting my shoulder before they leave. I run out the door seconds later.

  On my way over to Harper's I call over and over. Each time it's her voicemail. Pulling up I don't see her car. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I still pound on her door for five minutes before I call Tony.

  "Hey," he answers.

  "Let me talk to Tara," I order, skipping all pleasantries.

  "Sure," he says, not asking why.

  "Liam?" Tara's voice is on the phone and she does not sound happy.

  "Do you know where she is?"

  "She called, she was crying so hard I could barely understand her," she says, making my heart ache so hard at what my girl is going through right now. "She was driving. I told her to pull over, but she said she had to get out of Chicago. Now she won't answer her phone." I know Tara knows I've done something, but I don't know if she knows what.

  "I'm really worried, she was hysterical, Liam. What happened?" My girl is driving hysterical, crying her eyes out with a broken heart. Tears prick my eyes and I wipe at them trying to stay strong.

  "Who else would she have called?" I blare into the phone.

  "I don't know, maybe Jax." Fuck, seriously, this just went from horrible to catastrophic.

  "Call him, call him now. Ask him if he's heard from her. Then call me back," I order, hanging up the phone when she's agreed.

  Getting back in my car I hit the steering wheel with the palm of my hand.

  My phone rings seconds later. My heart drops when I see Petal come across the screen.

  "Petal, thank God," I breathe into the phone, dying to hear her voice.

  "No, not Petal." I hear a man's voice instead. I recognize it instantly.

  "Jax, where is she?" I demand into the phone.

  "She's in the bathroom, so I thought I'd give you a call and let you know she is safe and sound with me." He chuckles into the phone. "I will take good care of her, don't you worry."

  "Where are you?" I don't even know what to say. There's no way he's going to tell me.

  "Like I'm going to tell you that, douche-bag. I must thank you, though; she's very vulnerable right now. I think I might actually score with her tonight when we stop at a hotel." I have my hand wrapped around the steering wheel so tight I think it might actually shatter under my fists.

  "You asshole, you wouldn't take advantage of her like that," I grate into the phone, so angry I could spit nails.

  "You know how long I've wanted her?" he yells. "This is like sweet revenge. I get her and there is nothing you can do about it. God, I can't wait until those soft pink lips of hers are wrapped around my cock," he moans into the phone.

  "If you touch one hair on her head–" my words are harsh and annunciated when he interrupts me.

  "I'll have my hands in her hair pushing her face down on my cock." He laughs evilly, making every muscle in my body ache from the anger pulsating through me.

  "I will kill you when I find you. I will find you, mark my words, I will find you,"
I bark into the phone. When the call is ended, I push redial and it goes straight to voicemail. I punch the roof of my car, I punch the steering wheel, and I punch the passenger seat. I'm screaming at the top of my lungs, so helpless and frustrated, when my phone rings again. This time it is Tony.

  "What?" I answer as I speed away from her apartment.

  "He's got her. He's taking her home to Iowa," Tony says fast.

  "Yeah, I fucking know," I yell. "I'm going to Iowa."

  Chapter 23

  It's dark by the time I reach the Illinois/Iowa border. The sinking feeling of Jax stopping at a hotel is too much, making me pull over fast. I just make it out of the car before I am vomiting on the side of the road.

  "Harper!" I yell at the top of my lungs into the night, cars speeding by me on the interstate. I fall to my knees on the side of the road and can't help the tears in my eyes. I've never felt as helpless as I do now. I can't live without Harper Troy; I know this now more than ever. The thought of another man's hands on her sends physical pain through my body. I understand now what my father was going through. Why he has never loved another. Why he has been like he has been. I will not give up. I will never give up until I have my girl back.

  Eldora, Iowa is a very small town. Not much to see when I pull into a small gas station on the outskirts of town. It's early morning when I reach the town. Now I just have to find my Petal. I know she doesn't actually live in the town and her address is not exactly clear. My assistant was able to get it from the school with some fancy talking. I had put the address in GPS, but it didn't recognize it.

  I fill my tank up with gas, getting a lot of stares from passing cars.

  "What kind of car is that?" A twenty-something brunette is on the other side of the pumps. She's very pretty, dressed a lot like Harper always is. Jeans and a t-shirt her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

  "It's a Viper," I answer her politely.