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Chapter 4 - Liam

“Ma!” Liam called as he opened the front door. “You’ve got to lock this door!”

Sylvia appeared from out of the kitchen, and apron tied around her waist and gloves on her hands. She smiled as she removed the yellow rubber gloves. “Oh, well I figured you would be back.”

“You said the girl is here alone?” Liam asked, leaning against the closed door. He rubbed the back of his head with his hand, a nervous habit he’s had since he was in grade school. He couldn’t get the image of the girl with the bruised cheek out of his head and it made him uncomfortable.

“Yep,” Sylvia said as she plopped down in an arm chair. “She’s running. I take it you noticed her face? Is it bad? She had it caked in makeup when she came in.”

Liam crossed his arms, his hands clenched together in anger again. “Yeah, she must have washed it off but…yeah, you can tell.”

“Poor thing,” his mom said. “She’s scared. Didn’t even want to give me her ID.”

“What’s her name?” Liam asked. He realized he didn’t ask the girl while he was dropping off her food.

“Well, for all intents and purposes, her name is Ellie and she’s from North Dakota,” Sylvia gave Liam a smile and it was obvious she wasn’t going to divulge her real name to him. Liam sighed.

“Alright, well… if someone does come looking for her you call me, okay?” Liam said, standing up from his leaning position. “I’ve got to go talk to Finn. I’m already late.”

“Oh, I gave her some names around town if she was going to stay long enough to look for a job. I included the pawn shop, the bar, and the diner.”

Liam shook his head. His mom was up to something, another people project. He just hoped this girl wouldn’t let her down like all of the other ones did. It was his mom’s biggest flaw and best character trait, she couldn’t just not help someone down on their luck.

“Alright,” he sighed, walking up to Sylvia and placing a kiss on her cheek. “Please, lock your door.”

“Fine, fine,” she said, waving him out of her apartment.

Liam smiled as he walked out and climbed in his truck. As he started the engine, he glanced down toward room five and noticed the blinds sway. She was watching. I’ll have to make sure the guys keep an extra eye out, Liam thought.

He pulled out of the lot and made the short drive to the bar. It was the only bar in town and drew a big crowd when the winter months were over and tourists came through town to see the mountains change with the coming of Spring, so finding a replacement for Connor now was a priority. After a few minutes, Liam pulled his truck to a stop in a nearly empty parking lot next to another truck belonging to his best friend, Finn.

He and Finn grew up together, then served together in Iraq for four years, fighting alongside each other both overseas and at home. When they returned, Liam had gone through a pretty rough period, and Finn and his mom were the only two to notice and kept him from doing something drastic. He was definitely still unstable, to say the least, but Finn and his mom never gave up on him.

As Liam entered the bar, he nodded to the couple of patrons who were there on a Wednesday night. It smelled like any small bar, stale beer and grease from the kitchen. Finn was behind the counter, dressed in a long sleeve white shirt with his leather jacket over it. Finn proudly wore the Vice President patch and he was the best damn VP Liam could ask for. There was no one he trusted more.

“Hey, brother,” Finn said, uncapping a beer and handing it to Liam. They were brothers in every sense of the word, accept appearance. Finn had long blonde hair he wore up in a bun and dark blue eyes. He was built like a fighter with bulky muscle and his arms were both covered in tattoos.

“Hey, man,” Liam said, sitting at the bar stool far enough away from other patrons that he and Finn could have a private conversation. “Thanks for taking the shift last minute. I hope Sami isn’t too angry with me.”

Finn laughed. We had grown up with Sami and when Finn and I got back from Iraq, the two got together, got married, and were expecting their first baby in the next couple of months. “Nah, man. I think she’s happy to have me out so she doesn’t have to share the bed.”

Liam laughed and they clinking their beer bottle together before each taking a long drawl. “So, ma’s going to call Connor and get him to pay the money back.”

“If I were Connor I think I would rather have you come after him,” Finn said. “Better to get your ass kicked physically than fee like s**t after the talking he’s gonna get from mum.”

Liam shook his head. It was true. Sylvia had a way of making you fee like garbage when you did wrong. “But we still need to hire someone soon before busy season.”

“We could always get one of the guys in here? Maybe one of the Probies?”

Liam sighed, “I would prefer to get someone else. The guys have a tendency to help themselves too often and that’s how we lose money”

Finn watched and Liam played with the label on his bottle, his eyes were unfocused, meaning his mind was elsewhere. “What’s got you in your head?”

Liam came to, looking up at Finn. “Ah, Ma took in this girl, she’s running.”

“Running?” Finn questioned.

“Yeah, she’s got a shiner on her cheek and a fat lip,” Liam said. He went back to picking at the label on his bottle. “I dropped off food and she was too scared to open the door all the way bit, she was pretty enough someone’s got to be wanting her back.”

“So, make sure the guys watch the hotel a little more closely?” Finn guessed, finishing his beer and tossing it in the garbage.

“Not all the guys, just me, you, and Jake,” Liam said. He trusted his guys for the most part, but he knew some of them were pigs when it came to women. “Anyway, Ma gave her the number for the bar and the pawn shop. If she calls, vet her. We can give her a chance.”

Finn smiled. “You got it, boss.”

Liam stood, clasped Finn’s hand from across the bar and made his way outside to his truck. He needed to get home and try to get some sleep. No matter if it came easy or not…