Blaze & Bind (Surrender to Them 10)

“Nah man, I just had a couple. I was trying to hit them up for money.” He waved me off.

“Any luck?” I leaned forward, hoping for good news.

“No.” Liam sighed. “This is stupid. People aren’t just going to give us money…”

“My parents wrote me a check, but it’s a drop in the bucket.” I shrugged and exhaled sharply. “Yeah, this is fucking stupid.”

“Maybe we should just do what Billy did and get the fuck out of here. We could be firefighters anywhere.” Liam leaned back in his chair. “It’s not like we have any reason to stay.”

“I guess I could take Rachel and go…” I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Take her?” Liam's voice had a slight growl to it. “I thought that was over. You said the ship had sailed.”

“It has—but… Fuck, I don’t know. I regret what happened. I wish I would have just told Billy—and I shouldn’t have just ignored her.” I sighed again and shook my head.

“Well, in the interest of not having another awkward situation—I kissed her last night.” Liam’s throaty-growl got even more noticeable.

“You what!?” My eyes flew open. “What the fuck, man?”

“Yeah.” Liam stood. “So, think about that before you start planning your fucking wedding with the girl you blew off.”

“Hold on.” I jumped to my feet as Liam walked towards the hallway. “You knew I had a history with her.”

“Yeah, and I asked you if you were planning to get back together—you said you weren’t.” He turned back towards me.

“We don’t date each other’s girls…” My voice trailed off for a second.

“We don’t fuck our best friend’s sister either—but I guess it’s only okay if you do it?” His eyes narrowed.

“Don’t give me that shit.” I took a step towards him and balled my fists.

“Oh, you’re going to hit me now?” Liam’s shoulders squared up, and his fists balled as well. “She wasn’t good enough for you two years ago, but now you’re going to punch your best friend because I kissed her?”

“It wasn’t because she wasn’t good enough!” My words came out in a roar. “Fuck!”

I didn’t have a right to be angry at anyone, but Liam certainly didn’t deserve my wrath. Every bit of anger that I felt should have been directed at the man I used to be—the pathetic excuse for one that didn’t have the balls to take what he wanted. Instead of swinging at Liam, I just walked away. I grabbed my coat, stormed out the front door, and slammed it behind me. I needed to get drunk—really drunk—drunker than I had been in years. I hated myself for what I had done. I let those memories fade, but seeing Rachel again was bringing everything back like a punch in the gut that I wanted to throw and receive at the same.

So what if Liam kissed her? At least he had a heart—he knew what it was like to have it broken. He would cherish her—treat her the way she deserved to be treated. He’d do the one thing I didn’t do, and that made me hate myself even more. The emotions from seeing Rachel again were fucking with me—I just needed to let that go. We had a much bigger problem to worry about anyway, and I had no idea how we were going to pay Robert Townsend before he sent one of his goons to collect the debt that was owed.

9

Rachel

“Are you okay?” Liam had a scowl on his face and a beer in his hand when I got back to the apartment after my shift.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He lifted the beer and practically poured it into his mouth instead of taking a sip. “Just fucking perfect.”

“Is Gerard here?” I looked down the hallway.

“No.” Liam shook his head back and forth. “He’s gone.”

“Enough of this shit.” I walked closer. “What the fuck is going on? You both appear to be

upset about something—you go behind closed doors to talk. You were fine when I left; now you look like someone pissed in your fucking cereal.”

Gerard looked extremely troubled when he left, and I feel like there’s more to this than the history I have with him.

“Fine, we weren’t going to tell you but sit down. I guess you have a right to know the truth.” Liam exhaled sharply and pointed at the couch.