Relentless (Option Zero #2) - Christy Reece Page 0,69
have been set free.
Despite Eve’s standoffishness, Aubrey knew that she could talk to her about Liam. She would listen, and she would care. And she would offer counsel.
Why didn’t she do that? Instead of standing here, staring at nothing, worrying about the should-haves and might-have-beens, why not go to a woman who knew him well and voice her suspicions? Eve might even know something about Liam’s time in Syria. Even though that subject seemed to be taboo, she could at least try.
Feeling immensely better, Aubrey finished the dishes in the sink. She would take some coffee into the sitting room and ask Eve to join her.
She opened the cabinet, about to reach for the coffee tin, when an achingly familiar voice behind her said, “Cat.”
Her heart stopped. She carefully shut the cabinet door. Turning slowly, Aubrey faced him. Lion, the man she had dreamed of for years, the man who’d saved her life, was Liam Stryker.
“It is you,” she whispered.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know what to say, how to say it. I wasn’t completely sure. Your voice sounded so much like Lion but I couldn’t be sure. And it was so long ago. I thought you might have recognized me and just didn’t want to say anything. I was so afraid it hadn’t meant as much to you as it did to me.”
He shook his head. “I’ve been looking for you for twelve years.”
“I never really believed I’d ever see you. I thought you were dead.”
They stared at each other with new eyes. He was so strong, so handsome. Everything she’d always dreamed he would be. And he was standing only a few feet away from her. Aubrey’s heart beat so hard that she knew he had to hear it. What now? What would they say to each other? How did they go forward? Or did they?
Liam apparently had no such doubts. Striding forward, he was in front of her within seconds. About a half foot away, he stopped and held his arms open. Overflowing with emotions, a sob of joy breaking free, she ran into them. Breathing in his masculine scent, embraced in his warmth, Aubrey knew she had found her home, her heart.
His voice gruff and filled with emotion, he said, “I never thought I’d get to hold you.”
“I dreamed of you so much. Of those days together. Of your voice. If you hadn’t been there with me, I would have died. I know I would have.”
A noise at the kitchen door caught their attention. They both turned to see Eve and Gideon standing there. Gideon had a huge grin on his face, and Eve’s eyes were suspiciously bright.
“We’re going to take off now,” Gideon said.
Giving them a grateful smile, Aubrey said, “Thank you both.”
“Our pleasure.” Gideon’s gaze went to Liam. “Call us.”
“Will do and thanks.”
She didn’t hear them leave. As she burrowed her face against Liam’s chest, emotions overwhelmed her. He was here. He was actually here.
He breathed into her ear, “You okay?”
“Yes, but could you just hold me for a little longer?”
I’ll hold you forever if you want.
He didn’t say the words aloud. She might not want that. There were a million things they didn’t know about each other. But in the most basic way possible he knew everything he needed to know.
Holding her soft, fragrant body against his, Liam decided it just couldn’t get better than this. After twelve long years of searching, of agonizing over what had happened to her, of not knowing if she was dead or alive and suffering, to be holding her, knowing she was alive and healthy. It was almost more than he could fathom.
A shudder went through her and into him. She was just as overwhelmed as he was.
“Let’s go sit down.”
“Okay.”
His arm around her shoulders, he steered her into the living room. The moment they were seated on the sofa, she went back into his arms.
How long they sat there, he didn’t know. Didn’t matter. They both needed this.
She shuddered out another breath and said, “I thought you were dead. The prison was decimated, and I thought the blast had killed you.”
“No. That happened a day after our escape.”
“How did you get out?”
“My team rescued us.”
“But you were injured, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, we all were. How’d you know that?”
“When we were in Colombia, Jazz asked Serena about your injuries. She replied with what she said was the standard answer: It’s not Syria.”
He snorted a dry laugh. He hadn’t realized how predictable they’d become.