I stormed into Hawke Corp. I stomped my way to the elevator, pressing the button to the top floor with excessive force. When I was finally on the floor to Liam’s office, he was standing there, waiting for the elevator. He started, clearly surprised to see me. He titled his head at my pissed expression
“Yvonne?” I pushed by him, and there she sat. A smirk was on her face as she looked at me. In vengeance, I raced toward her and hit her right in the nose. Immediate pain shot from my clenched fist and up my arm, but I didn’t feel it. I punched her over and over.
Kate was a b—h, but she didn’t deserved to be murdered. And poor Levi was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He hadn’t deserved to be put in a coma.
Suddenly strong arms were around my waist, pulling me off of Gretchen. Now that I was focused, I could see that Gretchen’s desk chair was toppled over and the papers on her desk scattered. She stood up, her face bloodied and bruised. Liam was holding me close to him, his arms restraining me as I struggled to wiggle out of his grip.
“You b—h,” she shrieked, trying to lunge at me, but Lucas was suddenly there, his face impassive as he held her back.
“You killed Kate!” I shouted. She looked shocked, her face going red as she snuck a glance at Liam.
“No, I didn’t,” she finally shouted back.
“You’re a f—–g liar!” I was pissed, my whole body trembling. I was aching to hit her again.
“Yvonne, love,” Liam said quietly in my ear. “How do you know Gretchen was the one who did this.”
“Levi’s awake,” I snapped, not taking my eyes off of Gretchen. “He told me what he saw. You framed Kate. I don’t know what your planning, but I’m gonna make you regret it.” And I shrugged Liam’s arms off of me, storming away. I waited for the elevator door to open. When it did I went inside and was surprised to see Liam coming to stand beside me. I sniffed. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying. His arms were around me in an instant. I pulled myself together before the elevator doors could open and leaned back to look up at him.
“I’m sorry for kicking a hoe’s ass at your job,” I apologized. Liam chuckled.
“No need. You look sexy as hell kicking ass.” He winked. My face warmed and I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Liam to put me in a good mood again. We were finally out of the elevator and walking hand in hand out of Hawke Corp. The women looked on in envy as we walked by. I remembered something.
“Hey, Liam,” I began.
“Hey, Yvonne,” he said sarcastically, holding the door open for me.
“Ha ha,” I responded, pulling my coat around me as the December chill hit me. “When I came to kick Gretchen’s ass you were leaving. Where were you going?”Liam looked at me and sighed.
“I guess the only way to protect you is to tell you. But Yvonne, what I’m going to tell you…it may effect you…” The look on his face as he said that was so serious, his blue eyes icy and not at all the warm pools of blue I was used to. And it only made me want to know more. I nodded. His lips tightened as Paul pulled the car around. He opened the door and tilted his head, gesturing for me to go first. When he was in the car beside me and had told Paul where to go, he looked at me.
“Ryan told you we were kidnapped and trained by assassins, am I correct?” he asked. I nodded, wondering if Ryan had told him about our conversation. “What he didn’t tell you was the who kidnapped us were Chauncey, my father, my sister, Ryan’s aunt and your father.” It was like someone had poured water all over me and then sat me outside in ten degree weather. Liam had a sister? My father had kidnapped Liam and Lucas and Ryan? Chauncey and Liam’s own father had kidnapped them? This made no sense. Liam smiled thinly at my confusion.
“The William Hawke you met is not the real William Hawke. The real William Hawke was a ruthless man, he hit my mother and abused me. It was a man who bore a striking resemblance to my father who kidnapped us. The man had his older daughter with him and his old friend name Chauncey. They were very kind to us. It wasn’t until a woman and a man entered that we knew there were more of them. It was Ryan’s aunt and your father. However Lucas recognized the man as his father.” Liam looked at me.
My head was spinning. Lucas-Liam’s best friend who was oddly identical to my brother Lucas-was actually my half brother? I guess that explained why they acted so similar. I swallowed my now dry throat and nodded for Liam to continue. Liam hesitated before moving on.
“They had asked for millions of dollars from my real father. He told them no. He said they could kill me if they wanted. He was still young enough to produce another heir and they could do whatever the hell they wanted with us.” Liam scoffed in disgust, his jaw clenching. “They were appalled that such a man could own a multimillion dollar company. Taking pity on us, they took us in and treated us as their own. We asked them to teach us their ways and they did.
When we excelled and I returned home to find my father was as ruthless as ever. He was beating my mother worse and no matter how much I fought him and how much I bruised him, he wouldn’t leave her be.” Liam closed his eyes, remembering.
“I had a plan. To kidnap my real father and put him away on an island far away and switch him for the man who had trained me. My mother, beaten and brokenhearted, agreed. That’s where he is now. My mother and my new father are deeply in love.” I nodded, glad there was a happy ending.
Liam’s real father sounded like a monster. I was so glad that Liam was nothing like him. The car came to a stop and we got out. I was still reeling. Lucas was my brother. Chauncey and Liam’s father—who wasn’t Liam’s actual father—were both kick ass assassins.We were standing outside of a house. A tiny, warm looking place that seemed to radiate love out of every corner.
“Why are we here?” I asked, feeling beyond confused.
“We’ve been working on a plan. My father, your father, Chauncey, Lucas, Ryan, Daniel and I. It was a plan to keep you safe from Gretchen. But after you gave Gretchen a much needed punch in the nose, I’m afraid I don’t know what move she’ll make anymore.” He frowned. I shuddered as I caught the underlying message in Liam’s words. Gretchen was unpredictable now.
“However, one of the lessons my biological father taught me was to always stay one step ahead of the enemy.” He knocked on the front door. Almost immediately a beautiful, curvy blonde opened the door. Her eyes twinkled as she pulled Liam into a hug.
“You idiot,” she said, grinning. “Why haven’t you come visit me more often?”
“I’ve been busy, Anna,” he rolled his eyes as if he were annoyed, but there was a smile on his face.
“Of course you have,” she said, fixing her blue eyes on mine. A color the exact shade and hue of Liam’s.
“Anna, this is my girlfriend Yvonne. Yvonne, meet my sister Anna.”
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★★★
Gretchen wiped away the last of the blood on the corner of her lips. She looked at herself in the mirror, anger immediately taking over. Her nose was broken and her lip was busted. She looked like hell. She grumbled under her breath, pissed. That b—h had made a big mistake, she thought, opening the drawer and pulling out her spare gun. She marched to her father’s office. He turned in surprise and came face to face with a gun his daughter was pointing at him.
“Gretchen?” He was shocked and horrified.
“I tried to give you the choice of whether you want to help me or not, but you chose wrong.” Her voice was quiet, dangerous. “Now we’re gonna do things my way.”
★★★
“Liam’s told me a lot about you,” Anna told me warmly. We were finally inside her house. Her house was warm and Christmasy. Her Christmas tree was elegant and beautiful like her. She had two sons who greeted Liam as uncle Will. Liam was off in the yard joking around with the boys.
“Liam never talks about me because I’m in hiding,” she explained gently, answering my unspoken question. I looked at her in surprise, thinking about how—even though she and Liam weren’t biologically related—they looked so much alike. The same beautiful blonde hair and the same mesmerizing blue eyes. Though her features were softer than his, there was definitely similarity there.
“In hiding?” I asked.
“Gretchen thought Liam and I had a thing,” Anna laughed as if that were the most hilarious thing in the world. “She came after me, not knowing what I was capable. Needless to say I kicked her ass—much like you did today.” She smiled at me. “She sent her father after me, but they didn’t come for me. They came for John, my sons’ father.” She looked heartbroken.
“I’m sorry,” I said wholeheartedly. She smiled wistfully.
“That’s why I jumped at the chance to help Liam protect you,” she told me, her eyes got this far away look in them.
“I want to protect my brother from the pain I had to suffer when I lost John.”
“You and Liam really are like brother and sister,” I observed. I could tell Anna really did care for Liam in a sisterly way and it made me smile.
“Of course,” she said, smiling at me. “When Liam and I met we were very young. I was twelve and he was ten. My father was training me to be one of the best fighters—better than the boys. It was lonely. And then came Liam.” She chuckled.
“He was so earnest and honest and adorable. He was like the little brother I never had. And we trained together. He’s the only one who can kick my ass.” I laughed because that sounded like Liam. At that moment as Anna and I laughed together, Liam came stumbling in with the two blonde boys attached to his back. He looked from me to Anna and back again, smiling widely.
“Okay, why don’t you boys ease off of Uncle Will,” Liam groaned as the boys giggled and hopped off of Liam’s back. One of the boys named John—after his father I now realized—came over to me, grinning and showing his dimples.
“You’re pwetty,” he said innocently, his lisp was adorable.
“Thank you,” I said, grinning at him. He blushed and grinned back.
“I want you to be my girlfriend,” he said, bluntly. Liam chuckled, Anna shook her head and looked up at the ceiling as if she was thinking, I don’t know what I’m gonna do with him when he’s older. I just smiled widely, trying to suppress my laughter.
“Actually Yvonne is my girlfriend,” Liam spoke up, humor dancing in his eyes.
“Not anymore, she’s my girlfriend now.” His glare was too adorable to be taken seriously.
“Go off and play with your brother, John,” Anna told him, shooing him off. “You and Uncle Will can argue over the lovely Yvonne another time.” John reluctantly headed off to join his brother, glancing at me before he left.
“Okay, so what do you want me to do, Liam?” Liam sat down beside me, across from Anna. He seemed to be very deep in thought.
“Are you still in contact with Johnson?” He asked her, tilting his head like he already knew the answer.
“Of course. You of all people know how much he loves his grandkids.” Liam nodded.
“Can you have him meet me tomorrow?” Anna nodded.
“I’ll try,” was all she said, but it was enough to lead me to believe something was strained in the relationship between Liam and this man named Johnson.
TBC
