Blood Legacy

17

"No, absolutely not." His words were a little too hasty, and he averted his eyes to the ground as the faint smell of rotting eggs filled the air.

He was lying and acting guilty. That was the worst overreaction I'd ever seen. Even toddlers could do better than that.

"You mean Simon, Micah, and the council weren't able to get any information from them?" Liam crossed his arms and arched his eyebrow. "I have a very hard time believing that, especially with Mr.

Rafferty involved."

The one time I'd seen Evan's father was during a football game. It had been when Liam was fighting our bond and I'd gone there on a date with Kai. Liam was messing up left and right on the field because he was more focused on me than the game, so I snuck off to the bathroom. That was when I saw Mr. Rafferty physically attack Evan, demanding that he steal the spotlight from Liam while he was distracted. So, I had to agree with Liam. His dad would've beat the s**t out of them to get any answers he wanted.

"Are you calling me a liar?" His dad's blue eyes iced over.

"Well, there is still time." Liam pointed at me. "She was clearly the target, and no one had learned about our relationship yet, so you can't blame it on that."

"Who knows." Mr. Hale waved it off. "She's here obviously, and they died before we could get clear answers."

"All three of them?" Liam's shocked voice spoke volumes. "That's a little extreme."

My breath suddenly felt like it was knocked out of me. Yes, those three people had kidnapped me, but they weren't malicious, and the older guy was nervous the whole time. They were desperate to protect their family and friends, and now they were dead.

"As you suggested, Mr. Rafferty kept asking who hired them." Mr. Hale shrugged. "They kept insisting it was us, so he used more force. It wasn't our fault that they couldn't survive. They should've known better than to falsely accuse us, especially when we were the ones interrogating them."

"Yeah." Liam's voice was indifferent. It sounded similar to the cold Liam I'd known when we first met.

"Look, fall break is next week." His dad's eyes glowed as he tried forcing the alpha will on him. "You'll be going to visit several cities, starting Monday, with all the heirs. It'll give you time to feel better about her situation before you go." "Okay." Liam nodded his head.

"Good." His dad blew out a breath he'd been holding in. "I had thought you'd be unreasonable and still fight me on this." He nodded his head, and I could feel his eyes land on me. "It's still not too late to change your mind."

"It's not happening." Liam's voice was deep, clear, and menacing. "If you mention it one more time, I won't be the well-behaved son you've always treasured."

"You know how I feel about threats." Mr. Hale narrowed his eyes at his son. "Just be ready to leave first thing Monday morning." He turned and headed out the door, slamming it behind him.

Liam turned around and met my eyes. "I'm sorry. Did he wake you?"

"No." I took a deep breath and winced, waiting for the mind-numbing pain. Only, it didn't come. It still hurt, but not like it had been. My body ached from lying on the couch on my side for so long, and

I had to use the bathroom. "Do you think you could help me up?"

"Of course." He rushed over to me, holding me by my sides, and gently helped me sit up. "Are you sure you're up for this?"

I groaned as I sat, but once I got settled, it wasn't any worse than lying down. I glanced down at

the couch and realized my blood coated it. It was hard to see since the couch was the same red color, but it was thick and a little darker. "I'm so sorry." I didn't mean to mess anything up.

"For what?" His eyes followed mine. "There is absolutely nothing for you to be sorry over. Dammit, Mia, you were shot.'’

"But that's a lot of blood." Damn, no wonder I had been so dizzy and out of it. "It might not come out."

"Then we buy a new couch." He sat next to me on the side without any blood and touched the top of my shoulder. "Can I see?"

He made it sound like buying a new couch wasn't a big deal. "Yeah, sure." I turned so he could see it.

As he moved my shirt, he had to cautiously peel it away from my skin. The blood had dried, causing the material to become stuck to my body.

"I think I need a shower." I felt gross and was hoping a shower might make me feel a little bit better. I was stiff all over. It had to be from sitting chained in that chair for days and then sleeping overnight on the couch.

"We need to be careful, but okay." He took my hand and led me to the hallway on the left of the couch. It wasn't long before we entered his room, which looked exactly like mine. The same bedding and everything. I sat on the bed, and his scent engulfed me.

He walked over to his closet and came out with a pair of my pajamas before heading straight to the shower to turn it on for me.

"How did you get those?" I asked as I pointed to the clothing and started moving ever so slowly into the huge marble bathroom.

"Evan snuck into your dorm and took a change of clothes for you." He put the clothes to the side of the large sink and grabbed two towels before stepping over to me. "Here, let me help you."

It didn’t take long for him to help pull the clothes from my body, and I stepped into a warm shower, letting it wash over me. Liam followed a few seconds later, naked.

“What are you doing?” Despite my injury, my heart picked up its pace. He was so damn sexy, and how he’d been nursing me made my heart feel things that were well beyond the mate bond. At this point, even if he wasn’t my mate, I’d have fallen in love with him anyway.

“Helping you get clean.” He grabbed the bar of soap and stood close. “You aren’t going to be able to move well.”

He was right, and he was the only person I felt comfortable seeing me this fragile. My spirit had been stripped down, revealing how weak I was.

I kept my injured shoulder out of the direct spray. Honestly, even with Liam’s help, it took a while for me to get clean, but soon I was stepping out.

Liam now focused on my body, and his eyes clouded over when he saw me. "You're so damn gorgeous." He reached down and picked up a clean white cotton wrap that was large enough to cover my bullet wound.