“You like what you see?” he drawled, cocky, as my eyes lingered on his form.
“I’m pretty sure any woman with a heartbeat would like this sight. Hell, probably even a few without.”
He grinned.
“Where were you?” I pouted, reaching out to caress his abs.
“Getting this.” He held up a large manila envelope with a red bow on it. I looked at it, surprised, and Liam chuckled.
“You didn’t even notice it, did you?”
“You expect me to see anything but you when you walk around almost naked?”
“Fair enough.” He allowed. Swiftly, he reached out and tugged down the sheet covering my bare chest.
“Hey!” I said as cool air brushed over my breasts.
“It’s only fair.”
“Not really. I don’t make as pleasing of a sight as you.”
He smacked the envelope on the bed to plant his hands on his hips. It only served to draw attention to the sharply defined V that trailed beneath the waistband of his boxers.
“There is no sight on this planet more beautiful than you sitting in my bed with rumpled hair, naked breasts, and my baby on full display.”
I felt my cheeks heat as his eyes appraised me. The urge to cover myself was pretty strong, but I liked the intensity in his stare. I liked the way his expression totally proved his words.
“What is that?” I asked, pointing at the envelope.
“Your wedding present.”
“You got me a house.”
“I got you some land to put a house on.” He corrected.
“Same thing,” I retorted and stuck out my tongue.
He swooped forward and sucked it into his mouth, making me melt toward the mattress. A strong arm wound around my back and supported me, holding me in place so he could suck and tease the tongue I’d threatened him with.
When he was done, he pulled back and smirked, completely proud.
“I really wish you hadn’t,” I said, indicating the packet.
“I don’t think you will say that once you see what it is.”
I was curious, sure. But I felt incredibly guilty and a little undeserving. “I didn’t get you anything.”
Liam reached out and caressed my stomach. “Yes, you did.”
“You might say different when you’re changing a diaper at three a.m.”
He spread his hands in invitation. “Bring it on.”
“It doesn’t feel right. You giving me all these things.”
He picked up the envelope and slid it in front of me. “I didn’t buy this. I just made a call.”
Curiosity won out. Did you really expect it not to? I pulled open the flap and glanced inside. There appeared to be several documents inside.
Wrinkling my brow, I looked up.
He nodded for me to keep going.
I slipped everything out and put it in my lap. Liam grasped the envelope, pulled it open, and held it upside down until a small card fluttered out and landed face down on the top.
I picked it up, turning it over, and gasped.
I glanced between him and the card, surprised. “How…?”
“You deserved this.”
“But the FBI said it wasn’t possible!” Tucking the card close in my lap, I lifted the papers and read the one on top.
The FBI said they couldn’t give you your name back. The one you were born with. That’s not what that is.” He pointed to the line with my new legal name.
“It’s better,” I whispered, eyes becoming blurry.
Bellamy Michelle Mattison, the official documents proclaimed. I picked up the new social security card with the same name printed on it.
No more Bella Lane. No more being someone I wasn’t. No more hiding and pretending.
“You were gonna have to change it anyway, with the wedding. So I called them. They agreed to put it through with your real first and middle name, adding my name at the end.”
I flung myself at him, the papers trapped between our bodies.
“This means so much to me,” I cried, hugging him tight. “I can finally just be me.”
“You were always you, sweetheart. Now it’s just legal.”
I pulled back, tears falling. “I have your name.”
He made a sound. “‘Bout time.”
“How did you get them to do all this without me.”
“Frost owes me. He owes us both.” He reached down between us and pulled out one of the papers beneath the top. “It’s technically not official… You have to sign this first.”
“I need a pen!” I exclaimed, pushing at his shoulder so I could get up and find one.
He reached behind him and pulled one out.
“Was that in your underwear?” I asked, widening my eyes.
“Lucky pen,” he quipped.
I snatched it with a giggle and scrawled my signature across the document.
“It’s official,” I proclaimed, smiling wide.
Liam tucked some hair behind my ear and smiled. “Mrs. Mattison,” he murmured before leaning down to kiss me.
I tried to pull him closer, but he wouldn’t let me. “Hold that thought,” he said, reaching for another document. “I need you to sign this, too.”
I took the paper and glanced over it and smiled. “You already signed it,” I observed, running my finger over his signature.
“I’m not playing around,” he said. “You’re mine.”
“Right here?” I asked, pointing.
He nodded, and I signed the bottom of our marriage certificate, making that official, too.
He gathered them up, carefully placing them back in the envelope as though they were sacred and he was afraid they might get misplaced. “We have to get these filed today.”
“We do?”
“I want it done as soon as possible.”
My heart rose into my throat, and speaking was impossible.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked, bending to look into my eyes while swiping away a tear.
I swallowed my heart, forcing it back into my chest, and nodded. “Perfect.”
Liam kissed my forehead.
“Want me to get dressed so we can go?”
His eyes swept over me. He pushed the length of my hair behind my shoulder. “Not yet,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss my bare shoulder. “We’ve got some time.”
It was time spent deliciously.
Liam
I’d been up for hours when a snowmobile came into view from the halfpipe. Joiner noticed as well, then gestured for me to go again, regardless.
Even though I had a compelling list of worries, I forced those thoughts out to focus. The only way I was able to do it was with practice. I had to condition the mind just as much as the body.
It was part of being a pro athlete. Part of the reason I was once the best snowboarder in the world. When my feet were strapped in, when I was on the pipe, there was nothing else. No one else. Being distracted could get me killed.
I blocked out Alex’s arrival and positioned myself. Pulling the goggles down over my eyes, I blew out a breath and erased my mind. I pushed off, the board making a sound I sometimes heard in my sleep.
It was a solid run. I hit the landings and made the turns. Was it my best ever? Nope.
But it was good. It was progress. And my knee was hanging in.
“Looking good!” Alex yelled, and I started toward him, toting my board with me.
“I’m taking a few,” I told Joiner when I passed him.
“Not too long. Don’t let your muscles get cold.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered and moved on. I was hitting it hard today because I refused to train yesterday. Like I was going to drag my ass out of bed and leave my brand-new wife to pound the powder. It was bad enough I was back at it today.
Joiner was acting as if I’d missed weeks instead of one day. It was going to be interesting to see how my knee was at the end of this all-day session because I had to basically fit two training sessions into one day.
I’d wanted to whisk Bells off on some tropical honeymoon. Trade the snow in for some sand. Ever since I opened the letter from Crone, I was wishing I had. It might be good to get her the hell out of here for a while.
Of course, our problems would still be here when we returned, or worse… They’d follow us just like they’d followed us to our honeymoon suite.
Crone was a bastard.
“Got your message,” Alex said when I was close. “What’s going on?”
I hitched a chin toward the small house. “Inside.”
I left my board and boots by the door, tugged off my gear, and ran a hand through my hair on my way to the small fridge. “You want some coffee or something?”
“Haven’t had any coffee yet,” Alex replied.
I dropped a pod into the machine on the counter and hit the button, then moved by to get a bottle of the specially formulated drink I loaded up on when I was training.
“This is some dedication,” Alex observed, waiting for his coffee to finish pouring. “If I got married the day before yesterday, I’d still be knee deep in my bride.”
I chugged some of the drink and then set it on the counter to reach into my coat and pull out the note Crone sent. “We got a little wedding gift from Crone,” I spat and tossed it beside Alex.
Snatching it up, he read it through quickly, then slammed it down on the counter. “What the fuck?”
“He sent matching shirts… including one for the baby.”
“Oh, fuck no!” Alex roared. “What kind of scumbag threatens a baby?”
“The kind with a death wish,” I replied, cold and calm.
“How’s Bellamy handling this?”
“She doesn’t know.” I admitted.
Alex looked at me as if I’d grown an extra dick right in the middle of my forehead. “She saw the shirts, assumed they were from the staff, and I didn’t correct her. That scumbag has taken enough from her. I wasn’t letting him take her wedding night, too.”
Alex nodded. “I get it. But you’re gonna have to tell her. She has to know.”
I let out a few curses and sat down. “I know.”
“Where’s she at?”
I made a sour face. “Work.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Kill him,” I said honestly.
Alex lifted the coffee and sipped it. “I can help you make that happen.”
Letting out a frustrated growl, I shoved out of my seat and made a call.
“Agent Frost,” he answered on the second ring.
“I need to get back in there.”
“And where is that?” Frost replied, not surprised at all I didn’t bother with a greeting.
He’d get a greeting when he got Crone off our backs.
“I need to see him again. Put me on the list.”
“You can’t see him—” He started to protest.
“He contacted me, threatened Bellamy and the baby.”
Frost’s voice grew a little louder in my ear, as if he sat forward suddenly. “How?”
I told him about the note and the clothes. Then I added, “And he left it on the doorstep of the honeymoon suite we were staying in that no one knew about.”
“Okay, Liam, I need to know exactly what the note said.”
“I’m going back to that prison,” I declared. “And I want his release revoked.” This time I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“You owe us this,” I ground out, angry.
“He’s already been released.”
The words felt like a bullet ripping through flesh and pummeling right into my heart. “What did you just say?”
Alex perked up from where he was lounging.
“All his paperwork went through. He was released yesterday. He’s no longer in custody.”
“And you didn’t think I needed to be made aware!” I yelled.
He cleared his throat. “I tried to call. You didn’t answer.”
Fuck me. Couldn’t a guy get one damn day? “I got married. I was busy.”
“Congratulations,” Frost said, sounding more annoyed than happy.
Like I gave a flying fuck.
“Where is he?” I demanded, spinning around and looking at Alex. He’s out, I mouthed.
Alex whistled low.
“In New York, at his home. He’s being monitored. We have people in place to make sure he stays put.”
“Spare me the shit. We both know it’s not good enough.”
“We’re doing everything within the law.”
I snorted. “That’s the problem. You jack-offs are doing everything by the book while he has no rules.”
“I did everything I could, Liam. The Bureau did everything we could. My hands were tied.”
“Well, mine aren’t,” I inflected dangerously.
“I don’t like the way that sounds, Mattison.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like worrying that my pregnant wife is going to be killed by some animal you let out of prison!”
“I’ll send some agents out. I’m going to need that note.”
“What the hell for? So you can say you tried to do something when shit hits the fan again?”
“I know you are frustrated—”
“You have no idea,” I growled.
“Please, Mattison. Let me do my job.”
“Do it fast,” I replied and disconnected the call. “What an asshat,” I said, tossing the cell on the counter.
“You’re right, you know. They’re bound by a bunch of boundaries and laws. Crone isn’t,” Alex remarked.
“The only way this is going to be over is if I take him out.”
“Killing a man changes you,” Alex said, matter-of-fact.
“So does standing by and letting the same man kill your family.”
Alex inclined his head. “I just want you to think about what you’re doing.”
I cocked my head to the side. “You think I would regret it?”
Her pursed his lips and rubbed a hand over his jaw. “No.”
“Then why are we having this conversation?”
“Because it’s my job to be your conscience just like it’s yours to be mine.”
I appreciated that. I really did. Alex was the best friend I would ever have. “You’ve kept me straight more times than I care to admit.”
“Same. It’s what we do.”
I nodded, then asked, “What choice do I have?”
“You don’t.” Alex asserted. “If I was in your position, I would do the same.”
It wasn’t lost on me that we were standing around talking about killing a man like we sometimes talked about the weather.
This is what life had become.
This was the man I’d become.
No. This was the man Crone was forcing me to become.
Bellamy
My last day at The Inn was uneventful. Which was good. I liked uneventful. Not enough things in life seemed to be as of late. However, it would have been nice to see a little bit of a sendoff. Someone to acknowledge I’d done my job well.
No such luck.
Instead, all I got was the air tinged with the collective feeling of relief from everyone. Including Chef D’alessio.
It just proved my exit from this kitchen was for the best. I loved cooking and I loved working in the culinary arts field, but doing it in a place where no one liked me was far from a dream.
I still liked to think that perhaps I wasn’t disliked, rather than the connections I had.
I caught a few people staring at the large diamond ring on my finger, nestled against the diamond band beside it. I knew people wanted to ask. They were so curious.
But it was hard to ask a personal question of someone you made very clear they were not your friend.
I didn’t volunteer the info either. Let them wonder. Word was likely spreading around the entire resort like wildfire anyway. It was petty, I supposed, but it gave me a little satisfaction t
o know I had information they wanted and didn’t give up.
I finished all my work an hour early, and instead of offering to help a few of the others with the jobs they seemed behind on, I didn’t. I took off my chef’s coat, made sure the station I’d been working in was pristine, and then turned in everything I had that belonged to the kitchen.
I clocked out early, aware the chef was standing in the doorway behind me, quietly watching. After I pulled my bag over my shoulder, I turned. “I just wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to work here at The Inn. I know it wasn’t ideal accepting a hire you didn’t have any say in, but working with you has taught me a lot.”
Like how not to run a kitchen.
He straightened, a little surprise and, dare I say, embarrassment flashed over his features.
“Also, it will always mean something that my late father-in-law believed in me enough to let me work in his best kitchen.” While what I said before was mostly out of politeness, this last part I said with heart and truth. I meant that. Ren gave me a chance when he didn’t have to. When, honestly, it would have been better for him if he hadn’t.
I would never forget that. And I would make sure his namesake didn’t either.
Embarrassment did flush his face then. I guess feeling like you’d somehow let down the late and great Renshaw Mattison was an unpleasant reminder.
Chef cleared his throat. “I’m sorry this didn’t work out. You do have many talents in the kitchen.”
I didn’t know if he actually meant that or not, and to be honest, his opinion of me didn’t matter.
How freeing it was to realize that. To know with absolute truth that I just didn’t care. I had a full, happy life, and it was okay to let this part go. It wasn’t a failure so much as a lesson.
“Good luck,” I bid and left the kitchen.
I knew luck wouldn’t help him. As soon as this season was over, he was out. Liam was already quietly looking for a replacement. I didn’t feel bad about it either, because this resort could do much better.
I knew the job could be mine, but truthfully, I didn’t want it.
I had no desire to go to a place filled with people who resented me and would only do what I said because Liam would intimidate them. I still hoped for a career in food prep, but I didn’t think a place like The Inn was the right fit for me. I wanted something a little more casual, something closer to the heart of the resort and the people who vacationed here.
Frostbite (BearPaw Resort Book 3) Page 24
