Owned by a Sinner (Sinners 2)

“It’s not that I don’t want to introduce you. I…”

“No need to explain.” It takes effort to stop and watch her walk to the door. She knocks, glancing at me while she fidgets with the oversized shirt.

The door opens, then I hear, “Sweet Jesus, Kiara! What happened?”

When she steps inside the apartment, and the door shuts behind her, I head back down to talk to my men.

Stepping out of the building, I glance up and down the street.

This place is a murder waiting to happen.

“We gonna move the woman soon?” Rowan asks. “Too many things can go wrong here.”

“Can you hold the fort for three days?” I’m fucking asking the impossible.

Rowan narrows his eyes as he glances around us. “Aye.”

Locking eyes with my soldier, I nod. “I’ll have Will set up a place for her.”

Rowan nods.

Pulling out my phone, I dial Will’s number.

“Still snuggling on the couch?” the fucker taunts me.

“Don’t start.” I glance up at the building. “We need to arrange a safer place for Kiara’s mother.”

“I’ll get on it.”

Walking toward the entrance because I need to be closer to Kiara, I say, “I need a team of four men to guard Kiara. Definitely Declan and Waylon.”

“Got it. I’ll pull Ezra and Ryan from the club.”

“Good.” If I’m not with her, Finn won’t get past them. “Send them to the penthouse Monday morning.” Stopping in the hallway, I say, “Thanks for all the help.”

Ending the call, I tuck the device into my pocket then suppress the urge to stalk up and down. My eyes lock on the front door, wondering how things are going in there.

Chapter 24

Kiara

Mom stares at me with horrified eyes, a hand covering her mouth. “My God.”

I’ve come clean, telling her everything that happened with Finn and what Liam’s done for me.

“You should’ve told me sooner, sweetheart.” Her face distorts as she fights a wave of emotion, then she comes to hug me. “Jesus, this will give your father another heart attack.”

Pulling away from her, I say, “That’s why we aren’t going to tell him.”

“But…”

I shake my head. “No, Mom. We don’t tell him anything until he’s stronger. Let’s just wait a couple of months. Okay?”

The last thing I want is for Dad to hear what happened. It will be a death blow.

“Okay.” Her eyes flit over my face. “I can’t believe someone hurt you like this.”

“It looks worse than it feels,” I try to set her at ease.

The worry doesn’t leave her eyes. “Liam helped you?”

“Yes. He’s gone above and beyond to help.” I’ve never kept secrets from my mom, and I don’t want to start now. “He’s arranged security for you until Finn is found and no longer a danger to us.”

Her eyebrows dart up. “Oh?”

When she smiles nervously, I tilt my head and ask, “You know Dad’s a part of the Irish mafia, don’t you?”

Shock flutters over her face. “You know?”

“I found out last week.”

“So, you know who Liam is?”

I nod.

“You have to be careful, Kiara. The mafia’s no place for the likes of us.”

“Liam won’t hurt me,” I say with dead certainty.

“But the world he lives in will.”

I refuse to believe it but answer, “It’s not like we’re dating. Relax, Mom. He’s just helping us out because his stepbrother’s responsible for the mess.”

My words seem to set Mom at ease, then she lifts her hand and brushes it over my cheek. Lowering her eyes, she frowns at the clothes.

“Liam’s,” I explain. “I haven’t had time to change.”

She lifts an eyebrow in warning, and it has me saying, “I’ll be careful.” Not wanting to keep Liam waiting for much longer, I gesture at the door. “Liam’s here. Can you pretend you don’t know who he is? He doesn’t know about Dad.”

“Of course.” She nods. “Yes, don’t let him find out who your father is. That would be a disaster.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I walk to the door but then stop to say, “Please be careful. I’ll ask him to introduce the guards to you. Don’t go anywhere without them.”

She nods quickly. “I’ll be careful.”

Opening the door, I peek into the hallway. Just as I thought, Liam’s standing in the middle of it with his arms crossed over his chest. I gesture for him to come. “My mom wants to meet you.”

When he steps into the doorway, his eyes sweep over the small space, looking just as displeased with it as he did with my apartment.

Can’t blame him. This is why I need to save up enough for us to move.

“Liam, this is my mom, Tara Murphy,” I introduce them. When Mom lifts her hand, I take hold of it, giving her a squeeze. “Liam doesn’t like being touched.”

Mom just stares at him with wide eyes.

“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Liam says, his tone gentle.

“Me too,” Mom murmurs, her fingers curling around mine. “Thank you for all you’ve done for my daughter.”