Rockwell Agency: Boxset

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “For an army,” Liam said, still standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He had pants on but no shirt, and Hannah carefully avoided looking at his chest. “And with my food.”

  “Sit,” Hannah said, gesturing to the table. “You need all of this to help build your body back up, after what it’s been through. You need to eat most of this yourself.”

  Liam sat, his eyes on her, as she moved about the kitchen, finding a plate to begin dishing the food onto. She ignored his gaze, not looking at him as she worked. “How are you feeling?”

  “Surprisingly well, all things considered,” Liam said. “I’m sore, but I don’t feel close to death’s door at this point. I’m taking that as a win.”

  “You should,” Hannah said. “I’m glad you’re okay. You’ll feel even better after you eat.” She placed a plate of steaming, hot food in front of him and turned away. Getting close to him reminded her of the kiss they had shared, and she wondered if he even remembered it, or if he had been so lightheaded and disoriented that it was just another vague memory for him. There was no doubt that he had kissed any number of women, so surely one late-night kiss with her wasn’t going to stand out as anything special.

  “Hannah?”

  “Mmhmm?” Hannah said, focusing all of her attention on properly dishing up her own omelet.

  “Thank you for saving me last night. I don’t remember all of it, but I remember that you were there, and that you helped me.”

  Hannah sent him a brief smile. “That’s my job. I’m just glad I was with you when it happened.”

  “I have a lot of questions.”

  “Eat first,” Hannah said, taking her own plate and walking over to the table. She set it down, then turned back to the fridge and pulled out orange juice. “I didn’t make coffee because I didn’t see a coffee maker, but this will be better for you anyway.” She poured him a tall glass of juice and set it down in front of him.

  Liam picked up his fork. “I’m going to eat because I’m ravenous, but I want us to talk while we eat. I let you avoid answering last night, and that was fine. I needed to rest, and I feel clear-headed now, but I need to understand. That’s what I do. I understand things. That’s half of what being a lawyer entails—understanding things that nobody else can or wants to.”

  Hannah sat down with her own glass of juice and picked up the salt shaker, lightly sprinkling the grains over her omelet. She couldn’t deny Liam some answers, but those that she would give him were going to be edited. She was firm on that decision. Jordan had reminded her just what to put first—she had a loyalty to Barrett and to the Rockwell Clan that came far ahead of any feelings for or connection to Liam. “What would you like to know?”

  “Was what happened to me last night part of a curse?”

  That was the easiest of the questions that he could have asked, and Hannah breathed a small sigh of relief, as she broke a piece of her bacon off and put it in her mouth. “Yes. A new curse, I would presume. Not the mediocrity one. This one was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. You killed her granddaughter, so she’s going to kill you. And you would have died had someone not been with you. I’m taking this very seriously, and I will be taking steps to put protections around you and to track down this …Winnifred. Whoever she is.”

  “Okay,” Liam said, taking a bite of his own bacon. “How did you combat the curse?”

  “You were bleeding, and it wouldn’t stop,” Hannah said, “so, I cauterized your wounds. Basically, I heated metal and seared your skin with it, so that the blood would clot. It’s a very dangerous method of stopping bleeding, but it’s also effective. We need to get you on antibiotics as soon as possible to combat the infection that may appear in the burns.”

  “You burned me?”

  Hannah nodded, watching his handsome face, his hair all in disarray. “I did.”

  “And your friend? Jordan. She helped me heal?”

  This was where things began to get tricky, and Hannah took a deep breath, deciding to trust Liam—but only slightly. “There’s no denying that she helped you heal, and she will continue to heal you. Jordan has special abilities that way. She’s a healer. I don’t really want to tell you more than that, and I’m only admitting to that much because it’s obvious. There’s no sense in denying it, and I couldn’t deny it without lying to you. I won’t lie to you. But I’m asking you not to ask me more questions about it, Liam. I’m asking you to trust me to know what you need to know, and what you don’t.”

  “My life is on the line, Hannah.”

  “And so is mine,” Hannah said. “If I don’t keep some things to myself, then the people around me will be in danger. I’ll be in danger. That’s just the way it is. You must have clients who you advise not to tell you everything because once you know, there’s no un-knowing.”

  “Do you think I’d ever hurt you?”

  “I don’t,” Hannah said. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s that my loyalty to my secrets must come first. So, I need you not to ask about some things, Liam.”

  “You need me not to ask how you opened cabinets without touching them? How you pulled supplies towards you without moving?”

  Hannah nodded. “That’s right. I need you not to ask that.”

  “Do you put curses on people?”

  Hannah shook her head. “Of course not. I couldn’t if I wanted to.”

  “Did you like kissing me?’

  Hannah’s heart thudded against her chest, and she cleared her throat, her hand tightening around her fork. “Liam …”

  “If you can’t answer the other questions, at least answer that one. Did you enjoy kissing me?”

  Sighing, Hannah met his eyes with her own. “Of course, I did.”

  Liam smiled, much of the sting of being shut out from her secrets easing. “Yeah?”

  Hannah rolled her eyes at him. “Yes—and don’t push that either. It’s not going to happen again. It was a moment born of emotion and exhaustion and … the need for connection and comfort. That’s all.”

  “And from you looking beautiful in my sweats.”

  His words stirred her desire, and Hannah stabbed at her omelet with her fork. “Liam—don’t. I know that flirtation, and sex, and everything that goes with it is second nature to you. You slide into it easily, and that’s fine. It’s your right, and I don’t begrudge you that right. I don’t know a woman alive who wouldn’t be charmed by your good looks, and your humor, and that smile. And those eyes. And that chest.”

  His smile grew with every attribute she named, then faded when she looked up at him again and undercut it all.

  “But,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “It’s not that way for me. I don’t flirt easily or casually. I’m not saying I’m a prude—I’m not. I’m just saying that my body and my heart are connected, and I can’t give one without risking giving the other. That’s not your style. I have learned well and good to recognize when two people are not romantically compatible, and we’re not. So, as much as I would like to kiss you again—and I would, very much—that’s not going to happen because you would kiss me once or twice and be done, and I wouldn’t be.”

  Liam was watching her carefully, his fork lowered, as he listened. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes, I am,” Hannah said, with no small amount of regret in her voice. “I dated a man for several years. His name was Alex. We didn’t have secrets from each other, Alex and I. At least, I thought we didn’t. He knew everything about me, and I knew everything about him, and I was sure—so sure—that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

  “He broke your heart?”

  “Yes,” Hannah said, “but it wasn’t all his fault. It mostly was—don’t get me wrong. He could have been more upfront with me, and he should have just had the courtesy to walk away from me before he started investing in someone else. But all those years, I just assumed that he must feel the same way about me that I felt about him. I just assumed that even though we never talked about it—a
nd I mean never—that we were going to get married and have kids together. I thought nothing of it when he never asked me to move in with him. Or when he never invited me on family vacations with his parents and siblings. I just knew that we had an understanding, he and I. But we didn’t. He thought we were just having fun. Biding our time. Waiting to find the one. That’s when I learned that I just can’t date casually, even when all the signs are there that all we’re doing is dating casually. I can’t think that way.”

  Liam reached across the table and put his hand on hers. “Speaking from the point of view of a guy who only dates casually, Alex knew what he was doing. He knew he was leading you on, and it was just easier for him that way. A man who respects you, will make his intentions clear, no matter what those intentions are. He’ll tell you he just wants one fun night. Or he’ll tell you that he’s interested in dating, but with no strings attached. He’ll be honest with you. Maybe you assumed too much, but Alex volunteered too little.”

  Smiling slightly, Hannah patted Liam’s hand with her free one. “I know that now. But it doesn’t change anything. I want one thing, and men like Alex and men like you …that’s not what you’re looking for. At least not with me. So, I guard my heart now, and I couldn’t just …kiss. Besides. We have much bigger things to be worrying about, don’t we?”

  Liam nodded. “Yes. We do. But, Hannah?”

  She focused on her plate again, as she made a noncommittal noise, allowing him to proceed. “Mmhmm?”

  “I’ve never kissed anyone like that before.”

  Chapter 12

  Liam

  Liam stood in the bathroom with his back to the mirror. Turning his head, he surveyed his wounds over his shoulder, looking at the deep X that was etched into his skin, darkened by the burns that Hannah had inflicted to save his life. Although he was very aware of his own attractiveness, Liam didn’t consider himself a vain man. He didn’t use a lot of products, and he didn’t coordinate his socks with his pocket squares. He liked his black leather jacket, but that was the only item in his closet that was truly expensive and nice. As he stared at his marred skin, he couldn’t help but wonder whether he would ever walk down a beach shirtless again. It felt as though he had been marked, and he didn’t know how he would explain to a casual acquaintance that he had an X burned into his skin.

  He reached up and pressed the bandages back into place, then slipped on a button-up shirt, turning back to face the mirror as he fastened each button. Liam at stared himself, as he smoothed his shirt down over his jeans and swept his hair into place, the dark waves tumbling over his forehead all the same, despite his efforts. Splashing a bit of water on his face, he sighed and toweled off his hands, then headed back out to his living room, where he saw Hannah sitting at his desk, talking on the phone.

  “Yes,” Hannah was saying. She looked up as he walked in and gave him a gentle smile. His heart flipped over in his chest at the sight of it, and he briefly wondered if someone had put a curse on his emotions as well because he would have sworn he was falling under Hannah’s spell.

  “Yes—no. I know,” Hannah said. “I’m aware that it’s been ruled foul play. What I want to know is the circumstances of the death, and whether there are any leads.”

  Liam sat down carefully, watching her, as he listened.

  “Joe, I know that,” Hannah said, her voice warm and coaxing. “Of course, you can’t discuss cases with anyone—especially one so sensitive. But you and I have worked together before, right? You know that I’m trustworthy, and you know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have a good reason. Anything I find out is yours, remember? I pass all my leads to you.”

  Liam briefly wondered who Joe was, and why Hannah was talking to him in such a friendly way. Did they have a history? No—that guy’s name was Alex. He was going to look up Alex as soon as he figured out his last name.

  Hannah was writing furiously on the scrap of paper that was sitting on the desk. “Right—no, I’m with you. Mmhmm. Of course. Wow—really?” She paused for a long time, still scribbling. “No, I’ll stay out of the way, of course. This is great. I’m going to approach the family, just so you know. What kind of reception do you think I’m going to get?”

  Liam’s eyebrows lifted. He couldn’t imagine Winnifred giving them a warm reception at all. In fact, he thought approaching her sounded like a terrible idea.

  “The parents are devastated, of course,” Hannah said. “Joe, you know that I’ll be sensitive. No—I won’t mention your name. I owe you. Thanks. Call you later.”

  Hannah hung up and turned to Liam, holding up her piece of paper. “So, I’ve got the basics of what happened. Trinity Calhoun was found in her home, alone—a fatal stab wound in her gut.”

  “God,” Liam said, shaking his head. “How was that not immediately foul play, then?”

  “They hedge their bets at first,” Hannah said. “She could have, theoretically, stabbed herself, or had an accident, or it could have been something someone else did to her accidentally. They’ve ruled all of that out right now. They haven’t narrowed down any suspects, but they do have a number of people that they are interested in interviewing. And …your name is on that list.”

  Liam was hardly surprised. “Apparently everyone thinks that I’m much more connected to Trinity than I was.”

  “Well, it’s interesting,” Hannah said, tapping her pen against the edge of the desk. “I don’t think that your name would have come from the family if Winnifred, the grandmother, intended to kill you with a curse. Why would they send the police looking for you, only to find you already dead?”

  Liam nodded. “Okay, that makes sense. So, there’s something, then, that exists independently of the family that leads to me. Do I need a lawyer?”

  Hannah sat back in her chair, crossing her legs. She was wearing his sweats still, given that she had no other clothing, but even with the bulky sweatpants’ material, her legs still looked enticing, with one crossed over the other. And her bare foot, which wiggled with energy, was just about the sweetest thing he’d ever seen.

  “That’s up to you,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “I can’t advise you about that. You would know much more than I would, whether or not that’s necessary. What I can tell you is that I’m confident there are aspects of this case that a lawyer is not going to be prepared to handle. For instance, how do you protect your interests when someone puts a curse on you, cutting an X into your back, so that you’ll bleed to death?”

  “You don’t,” Liam said, shaking his head. “I would walk a client straight out of my office, if they came to me with a story like that. Speaking of my office—I really don’t want them to know about any of this. I need to call in and take some personal time, which will be fine. There’s a new associate who can take over a lot of my caseload because she hasn’t built her own yet. But if the police are investigating me, then it’s only going to be a matter of time before they contact my place of employment.”

  “You’re only a person of interest right now,” Hannah said. “They’re going to reach out and talk to you. I did not mention you or my association with you. If they knew that I was working with you, then you’d be bumped up the list. The Rockwell Agency has an interesting relationship with the police here in Baton Rouge. They will often work with us because we will pass along what we find out—at least some of what we find out—like I just promised Joe. But at the same time, they often resent our …meddling, as it were. If the police were to find out that you sought me out, and that I’m working with you and asking questions about Trinity’s death …well, you’d become a lot more interesting to them really fast.”

  “Then they need to not find out,” Liam said. “And presumably I can’t just go down there and offer to give a statement, because they’ll wonder how I know that I’m on their list.”

  Hannah nodded. “Exactly. The only thing you can do in that regard is wait until they contact you and then cooperate fully and proactively. Until then—you and I will do our own investigati
on. But, I think that the best way to keep you safe is for you to lie low.”

  Liam shook his head. “I knew you were going to say that, and it’s completely logical, but I can’t do it. I get it. If Winnifred thinks she’s killed me, then she won’t come after me again. But I swear, Hannah, if I have to sit in this house and pretend to be dead while you go out and investigate, I’m going to go crazy. One of the reasons that I became a lawyer was because I need to stay busy. I need a challenge. I need actions, and answers, and arguments. If you tell me to sit in this house and wait, it won’t go well.”

  Hannah let him talk without interrupting him, but he could tell from the look on her face that she didn’t like what he was saying. “Liam …”

  “I can’t do it.”

  “Of course, you can,” Hannah said, still speaking gently but firmly at the same time. “You can do exactly that. It won’t kill you. You’re saying you don’t want to.”

  Liam shook his head. “No. I don’t want to sit here and wait for you to find answers. I want to be a part of it, even if it puts me at a greater risk. I need that.”

  Hannah sighed and swept her hair back from her face. It was falling in chestnut-brown waves, almost down to her waist, and it was gorgeous. He wanted to run his fingers through it and trace the tips of his fingers along the arc of her neck. In fact, the desire to do that was so strong that he could barely stand to sit where he was and keep his hands to himself. But he forced himself not to move.

  “I don’t usually have my clients with me when I investigate,” Hannah said. “Remember we talked about how some things …they have to stay private? Well, it’s easier for those things to stay private if you hire me. I investigate, and then I give you answers.”

  Liam shook his head again. “I’m sorry. I can’t do it that way.”