Melting Point

by Pierce, Nicolette

  He smiled, trying not to notice how her figure stretched along beside him, curves accentuated by her languid position.

  “I’m not really a monster, you know.”

  Liam blinked, not sure if he had heard her right. His focus had shifted down her legs, ending at her prettily manicured toes. They were lavender, nearly the same shade as her comforter.

  “I know that some people think I am, but I’m not.” She fell back on the bed to gaze at the ceiling, her functional cotton shirt stretching tightly across her chest. “I just have a lot on my plate. But I like it that way. I’m a proud workaholic.”

  He ripped his eyes away from her. “I am too.”

  “What did you do before you started with us? I didn’t get a chance to read your résumé.”

  Liam rubbed his jaw, trying to remember the information listed. The résumé was accurate, to a point. Only a few details were adjusted to help get his foot in the door. It had worked perfectly. Walter took one look at it and hired him on the spot. There hadn’t even been a position advertised that Liam was aware of. “I had worked at an iron foundry. I started at the bottom and worked my way into the office.”

  “Which foundry? I’ve always wanted to visit one able to cast metal on a large scale. Is it somewhere nearby?”

  She peered at him with curious eyes. He found himself caught in her gaze.

  “Cast Again Foundry.”

  “I’ve heard of that place. It’s not too far from here,” she said. “They mainly use recycled materials, right?”

  Liam nodded. “It’s one of the reasons I started working for them.”

  “Do they give tours?”

  “Not normally,” he answered, suddenly becoming uncomfortable. They actually did give tours.

  When Morgan frowned, Liam wanted to recant. But, as things stood, it’d be a bad idea to have her show up at his company.

  “It’s time for dinner,” Greer called.

  Morgan sat up, swinging her legs off the bed. “Shall we get this over with?”

  Liam stood, thankful for the intrusion. “Ladies first,” he said, gesturing for her to lead.

  “Somehow, I don’t think you’re being chivalrous by letting me go first.”

  He grinned. “Never said I was.”

  Chapter 6

  Liam watched as Greer slyly topped off Morgan’s wine again. He wasn’t sure if Morgan was aware she was drinking a bottomless glass. But by the way she leaned heavily on her propped arm, he didn’t think she was aware of anything anymore.

  If the night continued like this, he’d have his search wrapped up by ten o’clock and no one would be the wiser.

  So, instead of halting the wine flow, he nudged the glass closer to her. He wasn’t proud of himself, but he had a job to do and he preferred taking the simpler route, especially if that route bypassed Morgan.

  “Did you save room for dessert, Liam?” Piper asked, standing to clear the dishes.

  Save room? He was starving. The few bites of dinner he had choked down were not nearly enough. But out of respect for his taste buds, he didn’t dare eat anymore of their pasta ala charred meat. He suppressed a shiver.

  “I’m full,” he said, not willing to try whatever dessert they’d concocted.

  “Are you sure?” Greer asked. “We bought a pie from the bakery near the shop.”

  “They always make the best pies,” Morgan said. A fond smile formed on her lips. “Didjah get the strawberry pie?” she slurred. “That’s my favorite.”

  “I bought it especially for you,” Greer said.

  Morgan narrowed her eyes. “I should be suspicious.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Greer said, waving her off. “Liam, I’ll bring you a slice. If you don’t like it, just slide it over to Morgan.”

  Morgan nodded. “I’ll eat it. I’d eat the whole pie if they let me.” She glanced at Greer, eyes wide. “Will you?”

  Liam laughed. “If it’s as good as you say, I’m sure I’ll eat it.”

  Morgan’s sad face made him chuckle again, but he stopped when Greer looked smugly between him and Morgan. With a sly smile, she trotted off to the kitchen.

  “Stop refilling her glass.” Liam heard Piper’s scolding whisper coming from the kitchen. “She’s already drunk. You know she has a low tolerance since she rarely drinks.”

  “Exactly,” Greer replied. “Morgan’s too stubborn to make a move on Liam sober. She hasn’t had a boyfriend in forever.”

  “She doesn’t want a boyfriend.”

  “Then she can have a fling. And Liam is perfect.”

  Liam winced. He cast a sidelong glance over to Morgan to see her reaction, but she was oblivious to her sisters’ conversation. From the looks of it, she was oblivious to almost everything.

  “We’ll serve dessert and then make an excuse to leave,” Greer said.

  “But what about Morgan? Maybe she’ll need help getting to bed.”

  “We’ll leave that in Liam’s capable hands.”

  Liam rubbed his forehead. They had no idea who he was and they were leaving their currently defenseless sister with him. It almost made him angry had it not worked in his favor.

  “I don’t know about this,” Piper said warily.

  “Trust me.”

  Both sisters appeared again. One looked determined, the other worried. Unfortunately — or fortunately, for him — the determined Greer ruled. Greer placed a large piece of pie between him and Morgan, along with one fork. She smiled prettily. Had he not overheard their conversation, nor witnessed the flash in her eyes, he would think her innocent.

  She was anything but.

  “Piper and I have to go check on Grandpa,” she said. “He tends to forget to eat if we aren’t around to nag him.”

  Piper chewed nervously on her lower lip but nodded her agreement.

  Liam stood. He wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as if he could escort the ladies to the door. It stood only ten feet away.

  Greer pushed him back into his chair. “You better feed her. She looks like she’s wilting.”

  Liam glanced over at Morgan, who indeed sagged against her chair. “I’ll make you some coffee,” he said, not sure why he wanted to make her better. If he was smart he’d let her pass out at the table. But the way her head listlessly tilted and her eyes crossed stirred something in him. It was almost as if he wanted to protect her. Take care of her.

  Ludicrous.

  The lack of food must be getting to him. It was the only explanation.

  He turned around to ask Greer where the coffee was, but the sisters were gone. He sighed and pushed back from the table. “Can you manage to stay upright until I get back?” he asked Morgan.

  She nodded. A hiccup ricocheted through her body. “Scuse me.”

  Liam walked to the kitchen and spied the coffee maker right away. Thankfully, it was a single serve and the coffee sat right next to it. He opened the cupboard above and pulled out two mugs.

  While he waited a few moments for the coffee to brew, he scanned the pale-yellow kitchen with white tiles. He doubted she would hide anything in here, but he wouldn’t rule it out either.

  It’d help to know what he was looking for. Evidence could come in any shape or form, and the instructions that had been forwarded to him were sadly lacking. Reed promised to get in touch with him but never had. It was frustrating. Liam had a company to run. He didn’t have time to chase after Morgan. On that thought, he took two full mugs and wandered back to the table to find Morgan missing.

  “Morgan?”

  “Wha’?”

  He followed the muffled voice to her bedroom. Damn. She was worse off than he’d thought. He eyed her on the bed, her legs dangling off with one leg out of her jeans. Her hair wrapped around her face in a rioting tangle.

  Silently cursing, he crossed over to her and set the mugs down on the nightstand. He then retrieved the pie from the table. If he didn’t get some food into her, she’d never make it to her flight. He needed her to lead him to information so h
e could go back to work. His work.

  With pie in hand, he sat on the bed next to Morgan. “Can you sit up and eat?” She didn’t budge. “It’s strawberry pie, and I heard it’s really good. If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it.”

  Morgan was slow to pull herself up. She batted her hair out of the way to gaze longingly at the pie. He stifled a groan when she slid closer, her jeans falling to the floor. While her personality left much to be desired, the rest of her was . . . none of his concern.

  Liam focused on the pie. Cutting a piece, he held the fork in front of her. She happily opened her mouth. He watched as the morsel disappeared, her lips sliding from the fork with a satisfied smile.

  He squeezed his eyes shut, reminding himself that she was a criminal. A criminal who would likely see serious jail time.

  There was a movement on the bed. Liam opened his eyes to find Morgan sitting flush against him. Her legs stretched out next to his. The warmth of her body seeped through the one layer of material separating them.

  She’s a criminal, for God’s sake!

  Well, he didn’t actually have proof. Yet.

  Either way, he should not be affected by Morgan. There were lines that one did not cross, and Morgan was a giant, solid line complete with a blinking hazard sign.

  Liam looked at Morgan and found she was staring at him with soft denim eyes. Averting his gaze, he refocused on the plate. She was only looking at him like that because he held her favorite dessert.

  “More pie?” he asked sternly, hoping his voice wouldn’t betray what his body was about to.

  She opened her mouth.

  Liam sighed and cut off a big piece. She barely fit it into her mouth, but at least the pie was half gone. When it was all gone, he scooted from the bed. Morgan tipped over from the sudden movement.

  “Where’s your alarm clock?”

  She snuggled into her pillow. “Dunno. Is there mo’ pie?”

  “No, but there’s coffee.” He pointed to the mugs on the nightstand.

  She shook her head.

  “Where’s your phone? I’ll set the alarm on it.”

  “Dunno.”

  Liam pressed his fingers to his temple. He was supposed to be searching this place, not taking care of her. And certainly not feeding her!

  As long as he didn’t look at her, he could get through this night without embarrassment or regrets . . . or a headache.

  He swiped Morgan’s jeans off the floor and dug through the pockets. No phone. Perhaps it was in her purse. Liam left the room in search of it, finding it near the door. After a quick perusal, he found her phone. Setting her purse back down, he returned to Morgan’s room only to find she was asleep.

  Curled into a ball as if she was cold, he briefly thought to move her under the comforter but tossed the idea out. Touching her would be a bad idea. And he certainly didn’t need a lawsuit from it, no matter how innocent it would have been.

  Instead, he searched the phone to find an alarm. What he found was even better. Her email account. After a quick glance at Morgan to make sure she was still asleep, he quietly exited the room with his coffee and returned to the living room.

  He made himself comfortable on the couch, though he wouldn’t stay long. While he was certain Morgan would sleep until morning, there were no guarantees. The last thing he wanted was to get caught snooping.

  Scanning the list of emails, he ignored all spam and store advertisements. He also ignored anything that looked personal for the time being, though she didn’t have many of those. Whatever she was up to involved the business.

  After twenty minutes of reading work emails that didn’t shed one beam of light, he tossed the phone next to him and let his head fall back on the cushion. If she had received incriminating emails, they were deleted. Morgan wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

  While Liam sat, he wondered if he should even bother searching the house. He had no idea what in the hell he was looking for, no definitive instructions, and a half-dressed woman passed out in the bedroom.

  No, he’d leave for now. The risk wasn’t worth it. He had his company to think about.

  He’d retreat and call his contact. The bastard owed him an explanation.

  * * *

  An hour later, Liam sat behind his desk at Cast Again Foundry, weeding through messages. He should’ve never promised to help his friend collect information on Brennan Metal Works. His company didn’t run itself. He’d missed several important calls already.

  “I thought I’d find you here.”

  Liam looked up to find Reed Taylor, his old friend, standing in the doorway. Although, right now, their friendship was debatable.

  Reed’s normally shaved face had an inch of beard. Auburn hair that was regularly clipped short was now curling at his neck.

  “It’s about time you showed up. I’ve been spinning my wheels over at Brennan.”

  “Sorry, I’ve been out of town.”

  Reed crossed the office and sat in one of the uncomfortable, impractical guest chairs opposite of Liam; a painfully expensive trinket from Liam’s days dating a self-proclaimed decorator whom no one would hire.

  Liam had fallen prey to her pleas and let her decorate his office for her portfolio. He still hadn’t overcome the shock of the tasseled monstrosity that replaced his leather executive chair. He mourned that loss every time he sat in his now-velvet throne.

  Reed curiously scanned the office and its oddities. “You got your foot in the door?”

  Now that Reed was across the desk from him, Liam noticed a thin line along Reed’s throat. He knew Reed wouldn’t tell him why it looked as if he was millimeters away from getting his throat slit. It was only recently that Liam found out that he was an agent, and that was only because Reed wanted his help.

  At one point in history they had been best friends. But separate colleges ended that rather quickly. He never heard from Reed again . . . until recently. Liam didn’t know why he felt the need to help him. They didn’t owe each other anything.

  “It was easy enough,” Liam said. “The owner hired me. I’ve searched the building and files and came up dry, not that you told me what I’m supposed to look for.”

  Reed smiled in that casual way that was so natural to him, yet was at odds with his chosen profession. “I knew you’d get in.”

  “Did you hear the part about me not finding anything?”

  “I’m sure you will, just keep at it.”

  “No. I’m done.”

  When Reed had first asked for help, Liam was hesitant but was so happy to see Reed that it didn’t take much arm twisting for him to finally agree. Liam even thought it might be a fun change of pace. But after tonight’s episode at Morgan’s house, he wanted out. This wasn’t who he was. He didn’t want to send anyone to jail or ruin a company. He actually liked the people at Brennan, even Morgan, if somewhat grudgingly. Whatever Morgan was up to was her own business. If she was breaking the law, then her crimes would catch up with her eventually.

  Reed sat calmly, staring. “What happened?”

  “Nothing happened. Haven’t you been listening?” Liam crossed his arms. “I didn’t find anything, and I have a company to run. I don’t have time for this.”

  “What about Morgan Brennan?”

  “She’s up to something, but I don’t know what. I checked her emails and couldn’t find anything.”

  Reed nodded slowly. “What’s she been doing that makes you suspect something?”

  “She leaves town for days at a time. She’ll leave again tomorrow morning. No one knows about her activities.” Liam sighed. “Morgan is very secretive. If something is going on, it involves her and her alone. She’s not the type to ask others to do her work.”

  “Where does she go?”

  “Vegas.”

  Reed nodded as if he already knew the answer. “I need you to follow her.”

  “Don’t you have agents for this? Why don’t you follow her?”

  Reed scrubbed his hand over his face.
“I need you on this. I’ve gone dark. No one can know what we’re doing.”

  “What do you mean, ‘dark’?” Liam stamped down the panic squeezing his chest. It was one thing to help an FBI agent; it was a completely different thing to help one on the run.

  Reed pressed his lips into a fine line before saying, “It’s better if you don’t know the entire story. Just think of it as helping a friend.” When Liam shook his head, Reed added, “Following Morgan isn’t illegal. I’d never ask you to do anything that’d land you in jail.” Reed’s smile returned. “You’re too pretty for prison.”

  Liam nearly returned the smile. It had always been this way between them. Reed was the instigator, twisting Liam’s arm with the promise he wouldn’t go to jail. And every time Reed called him a pretty boy, it made Liam want to prove that he was more than just a face.

  But that was the past, the old Liam. Now, he didn’t give a damn what people saw or thought. “I’m not doing it. I want no part of whatever you’re up to.”

  Reed slowly nodded as if understanding that arguing with Liam would only waste their time. As he stood to leave, he said, “I won’t press you, Liam. I appreciate what you’ve done so far.” He crossed over to the door but paused before exiting. “I found out who the next mark is. You might be interested in knowing who.”

  “It’s none of my business,” Liam stated. He returned to his work, trying to ignore the melancholy that blanketed him as he prepared for Reed to walk out of his life again.

  But Reed didn’t leave. He leaned against the doorframe and stared at Liam.

  “What?” Liam asked.

  “Morgan is the next mark.”

  Chapter 7

  Liam sat in his gaudy chair, stunned by Reed’s words. He couldn’t have heard Reed right.

  “Morgan is the next mark,” Reed repeated. “They want her gone.”

  When Liam didn’t respond, Reed turned as if to leave. Liam let him. Morgan wasn’t his responsibility. She was a criminal doing illegal things. If it was her neck on the line, she put it there herself.