Disgusted by the piss and nasty sleeve, Wylie said, “Don’t. Don’t sit on…anything.”
All attention went to Luke as he pulled out a small tool kit from his cargo pants pocket and put on static free gloves before he went to work dismantling the phone.
“Are you sure you want to do that in here?” Liam questioned.
“It’s fine,” Luke replied, never taking his eye off the task at hand. “If there’s anything in here, it’s a low impact micro. A really small amount of micro, and it’d barely take my pinky off if detonated. This thing would serve as a better detonator than bomb casing. Besides, the signal off this phone alone would have already detonated it.”
“No,” the kid said, surprised by Luke’s explanation. “No, it said it could kill me.”
“He was fucking with you,” Luke replied, still focused on the pieces of cell phone he was taking apart, little by little.
“He knows his shit. He wouldn’t do that here if he thought it was going to do any damage or hurt anyone,” Liam added.
Luke pulled a plastic bag from another pocket and filled it with the pieces of phone laid out before him. “It’s all yours, Liam. Nothing here for me. Maybe you can find something, but I doubt it was any more than just a call.”
“Wait, you’re keeping it?” the man’s attitude changed when his life was no longer on the line. “But it’s mine. I just got it.”
“Kid, it doesn’t work,” Luke said, tossing the bag to Liam.
“Because you broke it.” Adrenaline was talking. If he was thinking right, the man would have remembered that half a dozen men with guns on him was a bigger threat than the damn phone.
Luke stepped up to the man, fast and angry. “It stopped working the minute you watered it down with a gallon of piss, all right?”
Liam stepped in front of Luke, now covering his ass, trying to defuse the situation. “Look, go home. I’ll see that you get another phone by the end of the day, delivered to your place. My brother here will walk you home.”
“First,” Liam continued, handing over his own phone to the man, “I need you to check your account, see if the money was deposited.”
The man reluctantly took the phone and confirmed that the deposit had been made. “Should I take this to the police? Have you already called them? I-I can’t keep this…”
“No cops,” Liam interrupted. “Keep it. You earned it. You left yourself wide open though, so I’ll do you a solid and clean up your security, so he can’t get through to you or mess with your accounts. I’ll send you a message with details when it’s done.”
“You said increase my security. How will you reach me?”
“I said he won’t be able to reach you – not me,” Liam assured, keeping his eye on the computer screen in the lobby as he typed away. “Sorry this happened to you. Keep it to yourself though. It’s the only way we can ensure your safety.”
The security gates lifted, and the elevator began to move again while the power flickered and came back on. Liam winked at the man like they had a secret before he went to the elevator and hit the button, calling it to the lobby. Dace tossed Liam an odd look and followed the kid out of the building.
“Ensure his safety?” Declan laughed.
Liam shrugged. “He’s scared shitless. Playing off of it. We don’t want him talking, at least, for now.”
“What do you make of it? Why would he pull a stunt like that? Get someone in here and do nothing?” Wylie asked.
“Better question – how the hell did he get in?” Luke was the protector, more so than the rest of his brothers, and the idea that anyone was that close to his family, in their homes, made him see red.
“The loop.” Liam shrugged as if it were obvious. “I have the firewalls and code running on a loop, constantly changing to protect any backdoors into our system. They’re impossible to keep shut forever because tech is always changing, hence the loop I’m running. To find a way in, he only has a matter of seconds, maybe a minute before the door shuts him out with another wall to break through.”
Luke tossed his head back and crossed his arms. “So, he found a virtual door and walked the kid right through it.”
“Yep. He knew he only had a small window, just like when he took control of my car on the bridge. He’s good. I’m still better.”
“Why didn’t he send the kid upstairs? Why just down here? What was the motivation there?”
“He couldn’t get through anything but the front door, and it probably took him all week just to do that.” Liam laughed like the humor in Wells shortcoming was obvious. “He wants us to believe he’s getting closer – exploit our fears, create insecurities, panic. Truth of the matter is, he doesn’t know any more than he did that day on the bridge. Same tired trick, new shiny look.”
“He wants us to move Felicity and Rage. He knows that’s our one insecurity and the only thing that can make us panic,” Luke said that as a statement, not as a question – he was understanding the game.
“We have something he wants, and he’s willing to take down an entire city to get it. If he could have got on that elevator and got to them, he would have,” Liam admitted. “He’s got to be getting pretty pissed by now. May not seem like it, but we’re winning.
Liam didn’t find anything on the phone. It hadn’t been tampered with. Wells just got the guy’s number and exploited his fears. He had spent several hours improving his arsenal of programs and codes, making it harder for Wells to find those temporary windows into their lives.
He practically high fived himself and yelled checkmate motherfucker when he finalized the code and saw his work in action. Where his brothers wore bullet proof armor and rivaled villains that scary movies were made of through hand to hand combat and blood shed, Liam did the same with his virtual armor and weapons just as threatening and lethal through his keyboard. He was a total badass in his world, one to be feared, the best at what he did, even if it meant he was king of total geekdom.
He protected what he loved just as fiercely as his brothers. He could handle a gun like a pro and hold his own in a fight, but what made him more dangerous than that was his ability to hide in the innerwebs and radio waves, taking down any threat that came his way. His elusiveness and ability to hide in plain sight while watching his prey, undetected from miles and miles away, was his gift. His brothers couldn’t do that.
“What else can we do?” Luke asked, feeling antsy. He was used to gearing up with an arsenal of weapons and explosives and taking down an enemy. The fight from the keyboard thing was wearing on him.
“This is a virtual chase. He wants the prize, and we have it,” Liam answered. “It’s a lot like moving in place.”
“I want to hunt him down and kick his ass then lock him up,” Carter Landry added. He was back from whatever case he had been working and jumped right into the O’Reillys’ case. Not only would he do anything to help them because they were like family, but this Wells guy was a fugitive and wanted for federal crimes. It was Carter’s job to prosecute him and see than he never saw daylight again.
“We are hunting him down, just not the typical way.” Liam understood why this was hard for Carter and his family to understand. It was a completely different world than they were accustomed to, and they didn’t like to sit still. “As long as Felicity and Reagan are under our protection and can’t be used as a bargaining chip, he’s at a standstill.”
“He’s got to be getting pissed. Like a lion standing outside the cage, trying to get in for a change,” Luke added. “We have a big fat juicy steak inside too.”
“Yeah, as weird as that analogy was…you’re right. I’m not letting him in,” Liam explained. “He can move around us all he wants, play with the city lights, but I’ll always be a step ahead.”
“The gate keeper,” Carter joked.
“Damn frickin’ skippy.” Liam laughed, earning raised eyebrows for his choice of words.
“His patience has got to be running thin. We’ve been going rounds with thi
s guy for weeks now.” Luke knew this to be true because his were wearing thin too.
Liam nodded. “That’s what we want. He’ll fuck up, and we nail him. He thinks he can still get the upper hand.”
Carter cocked his head to one side. “So, he’s battling his own ego right now, not us.”
“Exactly. And when he sees that, he’ll lash out, and we’ll be ready for him to screw up.” Liam clapped like this was a locker-room pep talk. It was in a way. He needed to keep his team’s attention. They were getting bored and antsy.
Luke stroked his bearded chin. “He can’t hide forever…”
CHAPTER 19
“You’re sure you want to go through with the party?” Felicity asked Liam. “It’s not too late to cancel or postpone.
“No. She needs this. We need this. The boys and I agree it’s the safest place in town, and there’s no way he can touch those kids,” Liam assured Felicity.
Most people have a traumatic experience such as the bomb wearing, knife toting stranger in their lobby and have nightmares forever. The O’Reillys were used to chaos and mayhem. It was second nature to them – common in their world. Where the guy from the lobby was still probably pissing himself, it was just another day for them.
“But he got stranger today. He threatened to kill a man’s family and planted him in our lobby with a faux bomb,” Felicity defended. She was used to Brother’s Keeper business. It was dangerous on its best day, lethal on its worst. But this was different; it happened in their building.
“It was only the front door, and that had to have taken him a week or better to bust through. Getting on the elevator, then off on any of the floors? Whole new ballgame. He showed me all his cards. It’s the same hand he’s been playing. I out played him. He can’t get to anyone in this building.”
“I know, and if you are confident, I am too.” She smiled. “Oh! Before I forget, Reagan brought this home the other day. I think she’s hesitating to give it to you.”
Liam looked at the yellow sheet of paper. “Father-daughter dance?”
“I know she’d love to go, but I think she’s afraid to ask.”
“Afraid? Why?” The concern in Liam’s voice told her that he was afraid he wasn’t making the progress he thought he had.
“Things…haven’t been easy. Last year she threw the paper away and pretended to be sick that day so she’d have an excuse for her friends,” Felicity said. “Things are so much better, but we’re all still adjusting. I think… I think maybe if it came from you?”
“She’d know we were okay,” he finished her thought. “How do you know she wants to go though? What if she just doesn’t want to?”
“Um… She’s been looking at party dresses online.” Felicity laughed.
“She doesn’t wear dresses,” He argued.
“That’s how I know she really wants to go with you. She has one picked out, Liam.”
He leaned forward with his elbows to his knees and rested his head in his hands. “Man, I’ve really screwed things up. She should have gone last year. Should have done a lot of things.”
“It’s not too late, Liam.”
“God, I hope not. I don’t know how to make up for so many lost years.”
Felicity smiled and rested a hand on his shoulder. “You just learn from those years and move on. She loves you more than anything. You’re her hero.”
“I think she loves you more than that,” he teased. “How did you get so good at this, anyway?”
“Well, I adore her, so it makes it all easy.” Felicity paused, and searched his eyes for any hint that he was in a bad place. “I promised to always be there for her. I promised Cassidy, no matter what, I would be there. I wasn’t able to protect Lainey, not the way I wanted to. Reagan is my second chance, I guess.”
Liam pulled her in for a sweet kiss then rested his forehead to hers. “How did we get so lucky? How did I get so damn lucky?”
For a moment they were still, quiet, reflecting on their words. They really were lucky. Liam recalled Cassidy’s mention of getting a second chance, and he understood that now. This was his second chance, and he was going to live it the way Cass wanted him to. Happy.
“So, how do I bring it up, or should I like…ask her?” Liam broke the silence, looking for direction on how to get his daughter to the dance.
“Get creative. You’ll think of something. But don’t do it if you think my crap with Wells will put anyone in harm’s way.”
“I made that school a fortress, and they don’t even know it,” he replied, cupping her face in his hands and pulling her closer. “I won’t let anything happen to you or Reagan. I mean it, Felicity. I will protect you both with everything I have.”
He leaned in and kissed her softly, sweetly, and full of every promise he made. He tried to reassure her, but despite his efforts, there was still a look of apprehension lingering in her expression.
“Between the school’s new top-notch security,” Liam added, “and a few musclehead uncles that can man the doors…we’ll be fine.”
“Muscleheads, huh?” She laughed.
“Yeah, in case you haven’t noticed, they flex their muscles a lot.” He laughed.
Felicity leaned in, stealing a taste of his mouth. “There’s only one O’Reilly that I notice.”
“Really?” he teased, taking his own taste.
“Shhh, the movie’s starting!” she said, pulling away abruptly before she playfully tossed a small handful of popcorn at him from the bowl she’d been hugging.
Liam sat back with his arms out, in disbelief, looking at the popcorn in his lap. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
Felicity covered her mouth to muffle the giggle he caused. With her eyes wide, she backed away, ever so slightly. “I can totally believe I just did that. It really bothers you, doesn’t it, Mr. Neat and Tidy?”
“Is that another one of those stick up my ass kind of comments?” Liam cocked his head and wore a mischievous smirk. “Because I can assure you there’s no stick, and this popcorn mess…doesn’t bother me. At all. Like in the least. It’s…great.”
Laughter escaped her, and her head fell back, fully enjoying his attempt at easy going. “Extra points for the attempt at candor, but…it bothers you.” Felicity tossed another handful of popcorn and said, “How does that feel? Is your skin itching yet?”
Liam tapped on his smart watch and began to laugh then grabbed his own handful of popcorn and tossed it her way. “Does that answer your question?”
“Yes. It absolutely does.” Felicity looked around, leaning forward, scanning the floor. “It bothers you. You’re dying to vacuum it up, but you’re leaving it because I’m guessing you’ve programed that robo-vacuum thing to come by any minute. I saw you tap your watch.”
“What if I said it comes around every night at this time?
“I’d say, I don’t believe you. And that you’re a nerd.” She leaned forward on her hands and knees and kissed him long and hard. “A really…hot…nerd.”
“It takes one to know one,” he said in between kisses.
Felicity pulled back, and snorted, “Only nerds say that.”
Liam was quick to grab the bowl of popcorn from her and tossed the contents, then bowl, in the air. “Happy?”
“Not yet…”
He held her focus as his eyes went dark while he slowly untied the straps of her sundress that hung from each shoulder. Pulling at the hem, he lifted it over her head to reveal a perfectly bare Felicity. Liam let out a deep moan, closed his eyes and smiled. When he opened them, he licked his lips and gave her an appreciative half-cocked smirk before he laid her on her back and covered her with his own body.
“Now I’m happy,” she panted.
“You planned this…” he whispered when he moved from one breast to the other. “You dirty, dirty girl. What am I going to do with you?”
Liam’s hand trailed down her side to her hip then across her leg to the perfect V between her legs.
“That.
” She moaned, at his touch. “Keep doing…that.”
Freeing her breasts from his mouth, he raised up and watched her respond to every stroke. It was hot. She was hot, and watching her was incredible. She arched her back, and he sat up straighter, filling her with his fingers while she rode his hand, crying louder with each stroke until she tightened around him.
Happy he chose comfort and went with sweatpants, he shoved them down before he pulled her on top of him. Still lost in the waves of pleasure coursing through her, she straddled him, taking all of him in one brisk movement. Grabbing the hem of his shirt, she yanked it over his head and threw it so she could feel the friction of skin on skin while she rode him fast and hard.
The hardened peaks of her heavy breasts dragged against the hard ridges of his chiseled physique. It was hot, sultry, and sexy as hell. He held on until he felt her clamp down and cry out his name before he gave in, and they rode the heated waves of euphoric bliss together.
A sounding alert of the emergency broadcast system blared through the television, waking them from their satiated state of sleep. The movie they had set out to watch had long since been over as had several others that followed. They’d spent their evening wrapped up in each other before finally giving in to sleep.
When the television returned to the movie now in play, Felicity smiled. “Darn. We missed the movie.”
Propped on one elbow, Liam leaned down to kiss her and said, “Looks like we’re going to miss the next one too.”
An enthused gasp broke free when she felt his hard length against her hip under the blanket they shared. “I love movie night and sleepovers.”
Liam began to move against her, his mouth trailing her neck when the television briefly went to static then returned to sound. A familiar sound. One of a child’s laughter, so recognizable it sent Liam to his knees.
“Rea…Reagan?” he looked around the space, his daughter nowhere to be found.
He grabbed his shirt from the floor and pulled it over Felicity and wrapped himself around the waist with the blanket. He stood, looked down the hall and to the entry. They were alone. When the sound flowed through the space again, it brought him right back to the living room.
Brother's Keeper II_Liam Page 16
