Hook (A Hitman's Bait 2)

“Sullivan.”

“Hmm?” I dragged my gaze away from a sleeping Kit and turned to Liam. He’d been by earlier with the personal items he’d packed for Kit, and they’d even chatted for a few minutes before he went off to take care of “business.” I had been too occupied with Kit to think about where Liam had gone.

“How’s he? Any changes?” he asked.

“No, he’s doing better.” I sighed and sat back in my chair. “I’m relieved.”

“He doesn’t remember who took him or what happened?”

“No. The doctor said not to expect him to recover those memories.”

“Too bad. We could know for sure what went down and what that guy really wanted.”

“Isn’t it obvious what he tried to do?”

Liam shrugged. “Look, man, I’m not taking anything for granted. He took Kit to Grimaldo territory after all.”

“In a secluded area to…” I shook my head, unable to voice the words. “Fuck.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “How the hell did we end up here, Liam? Everything’s getting screwed up. All these unrelated events happening all at once. Are they really unrelated?”

“I don’t know.”

I dropped my hand. “Where were you just now?”

“I had to meet someone.”

“Business?”

His face turned crimson. “Personal.”

Weird. Earlier he’d said he was leaving on business. Did I believe Liam could betray me? Not in the least. I’d seen him worry about Kit last night. But he was hiding something from me. Why would he deliberately keep secrets? He knew all of mine.

“Anyway, Pinelli tried to reach you, but when you didn’t answer, he contacted me directly. You’re late for your meeting.”

I glanced at Kit. “I can’t leave him.”

“He’s fine, Sully. This meeting is important, or don’t you want the time off you talked about? You might need it now more than ever to keep close to Kit.”

I took Kit’s hand and rubbed the back of it with my thumb. “I promised him I wouldn’t leave him alone.”

“He won’t be alone. I’ll be here with him all the time. If you skip this meeting with Pinelli, you’ll piss him off, and you know he’ll spitefully deny you any time off you ask for.”

Fuck. Liam was right.

I sighed and released Kit’s hand. “You can’t leave his side, Liam.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry about him. You know I won’t let anything happen to him. Besides, when I updated Tack this morning on Kit’s condition, he said he was dropping by. He’ll be able to distract Kit if you don’t get back before he wakes up.”

“Let him know I’ll be back soon.”

I went home first to take a shower and change. When I parked, I texted Liam.

Sully: Is Kit awake?

Liam: No, but Tack is here. He’ll stay with Kit.

Sully: Be nice. Now isn’t the time for hostility.

Liam: I’m always nice.