by Paula Cox
No, Cliff wouldn’t shoot anybody. She trusted him. She loved him. And he would do what he needed to save all of them.
Then Cliff’s eyes slid right over her to Amos, who was leaned up against her side on the pavement. The bandage on his leg was already stained with brownish blood, but he had assured her in whispers that he would live. That didn’t stop Liana from worrying—especially since his whispers were becoming increasingly slurred.
“I need to say goodbye to Amos,” Cliff announced. “And then he’s all yours.”
Amos, if he was listening, made no sign of it. His head lolled on Liana’s shoulder. She glanced up at Cliff, eyes wide. His return expression was stony and cold.
“Go on then,” Colin urged. “Say it.”
“It’s personal. I don’t want to be overheard.”
Colin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’ll give you fifteen seconds. Starting now.”
Cliff didn’t hesitate. He stepped over to Amos and Liana and squatted down, placing a gentle hand on Amos’ shoulder.
“Ready to do something crazy?” Cliff whispered.
Amos lifted his head off Liana’s shoulder. “Always.”
“Marry us. Quick.”
Amos moved faster than Liana thought him able to. In retrospect, she realized he was probably either pretending to be more damaged than he was, or he’d been saving his strength in case of a moment like this. He clasped one of Cliff and Liana’s hands in each of his bloody palms. “Liana Caterina and Cliff Aurello, by the power vested in me I now pronounce you man and wife.”
“NO!” Colin bellowed. He raced forward; gun-wielding hand leveled on their clasped hands.
Liana released a shriek, realizing his intent was to shoot them at close range. He must have associated their clasped hands as a physical representation of their spiritual bond. And he was going to destroy it.
She tried to pull her hand back, but Cliff held on tight. Liana looked over at him. He wasn’t wearing panic the same way she was. Cliff was watching Colin’s approach with the unwavering gaze of a hunter stalking his prey. Just as Colin got within range, Cliff reached under the hem of his pant leg and pulled out a small knife. With lightning fast reflexes, he jammed the knife into Colin’s outstretched arm.
Colin wailed. The gun clattered to the ground, where Julian quickly recovered it. Where had he snuck up from? Ellis came up behind Colin and twisted his uninjured arm behind his back with enough force that something cracked sickeningly.
And then the suitcase, which Liana had completely forgotten about, began beeping faster.
“That’s the thirty-second countdown,” Colin gloated.
Julian pressed the gun to Colin’s forehead. “Disarm it.”
“No.” Colin spat on the ground, narrowly missing Julian’s feet. “I’d rather die.”
“That can be arranged.” Julian cocked the gun. His eyes were empty, emotionless. The jubilant man Liana knew and loved was gone. A monster had taken his place.
Before Liana knew what was happening, Cliff had grabbed the suitcase and was running for the entrance to the alley.
“Where are you going?” she called after him. Liana jumped to her feet, muscles screaming at her for being cramped up for so long. “Cliff! No!’
But Cliff was gone. The alley was no longer filled with electronic beeping. Now the only noise was Colin’s low, rolling laugh.
***
Cliff pushed himself as hard as he could go. A current of pure adrenaline had been spiking through his limbs since the moment Colin first called on them to go outside, and now it propelled him far away. Hopefully far enough. Cliff had no idea what kind of bomb was in this suitcase. Would he be able to make it a safe enough distance away?
The incessant beeping may as well have been the clanging bells of doom. Cliff pushed harder, counting down the seconds in his head. He didn’t know the precise countdown, but he didn’t need to know that to save their lives.
He shoved through a group of tourists and turned down the nearest alleyway as his internal count neared zero. He needed to get the thing away from people. If it took him down, so be it.
As long as Liana was safe.
The alley was unoccupied. Good. Cliff reeled back and tossed the briefcase just as it began screeching. His time was up. Cliff didn’t have time to run, but he turned his back to the case and covered the back of his neck with his arms. Any second now he would find out just how powerful the explosive was.
The beeping stopped.
Cliff gritted his teeth.
***
“Let me go!” Liana screamed. “I’m going after him!”
Ellis, for the first time all day, had come to life. He was somehow managing to hold her, even though she was struggling with fierce determination. Cliff had disappeared around the corner of the alley only moments before. She still had a chance to get to him.
“It’s too dangerous,” Ellis growled. “Cliff would kill me if I let you run after him like that.”
“Cliff’s a fucking hypocrite!” she retorted. “Let me go now, or I will scream bloody murder!”
“You’re already screaming bloody murder,” Julian reminded.
“And nobody has come to save you yet,” Ellis added.
Flashing blue and red lights filled the alley. Liana looked up from her efforts to free herself. The cops had come. Too late. The cops had come too late.
Ellis finally released Liana. She wasn’t sure whether it was because he thought she wouldn’t run with the cops there, or if he simply wanted to avoid having a gun shoved at his forehead for trying to restrain her. Either way, she was outta there.
Liana sprinted for the road. Both officers got out of the car at the same time and leveled their guns at her. “Freeze!” one of them yelled.
“I’m the victim!” she cried, but they didn’t lower their weapons.
She didn’t have time for this! Though she hadn’t heard an explosion, it was near impossible to hear anything outside the alley with all the street noise. What if the bomb had gone off and Cliff was lying somewhere, injured and vulnerable? What if he was dead?
Oh God. She couldn’t let herself think that. He needed to be alive. He needed to be alive!
“Ma’am, please get on the ground.”
Tears welled in Liana’s eyes. “Please!” she crowed. “My husband… I need to get to my husband!”
Would she ever get to call him that to his face? Liana’s limbs turned to jelly. Without meaning to, she sunk onto her knees. The tears flowed freely now, and she barely noticed as the cops from the car and several others swarmed the area, barking commands at them.
There was no way she would make it to him. Cliff could be dying right now, and she would never get to tell him she loved him before he did. He would die alone. In pain. With nobody to hold his hand and cry for him. With nobody to remind him how much he means to the world. To Liana.
She kept crying, pleading with the faceless men who, only moments before, she would have been too happy to see. “Please… my husband… I need to get to him.”
The day’s events hung heavy on Liana. Heavier, even, than the steel handcuffs they shackled around her wrists. She could feel herself weakening from them. Too much stress. Too much pain. But the nightmare continued. It wasn’t over. Colin had been captured, but at what cost? Where was Cliff? If he was able to disarm the bomb somehow, or if he’d been clear of the explosion when it happened, he would be back by now.
Liana glanced back toward Colin. He was facedown on the pavement, his hands cuffed behind him. Julian and Ellis were cuffed too. Somebody was kneeling over Amos’ injured leg.
Someone was speaking to her. Liana looked up. “… tell us what happened here?”
“Could you repeat that?” Liana asked in a tired voice that didn’t really sound like her own.
“In your own words, could you tell us what happened here?” the officer repeated. He was young, with brown curls flopping out under his hat. He had a kind face, but that meant nothing. Onc
e upon a time she’d thought Colin had a kind face. It was really a mask. One that did a poor job of hiding the monster underneath.
“It’s a long story,” Liana replied.
The officer raised a brow at her and poised his pen over the pad in his hand. “I’m sure you’ll have all night to get down the facts and figures with an interviewer,” he replied. “Right now, just sum it up for me. Tell me what you think happened.”
“Hooper!” one of the other cops called.
The officer questioning Liana looked over her shoulder toward the sound. “What?”
Liana glance back too, curious. Ellis and Julian were out of cuffs. They were standing next to the officer who called for Hooper.
“She’s fine. Let her out of the cuffs.”
Hooper didn’t seem too pleased about the turn of events, but he didn’t hesitate to do as he was told. Moments later, Liana was massaging her aching and likely bruised wrists.
She moved toward Ellis and Julian, who were now joking with the officer who’d freed her. She was about to ask how they knew each other when somebody called her name from behind.
“Liana!”
Liana’s heart jumped into her throat, and she spun on her heel. “Cliff!” She raced toward him, tackling him in a massive hug. He picked her up and swung her around, pressing dozens of little kisses into the side of her face.
“You’re okay,” she sobbed. “Oh my God, I thought you were dead.”
He chuckled and set her on her feet. “For a few seconds, I thought I was going to be dead too.”
“What happened?”
Cliff shook the briefcase in his hand. In her glee, Liana had completely forgotten it existed. And she definitely hadn’t realized he was still holding it.
“Why do you still have that?” Liana screeched. “Drop it!”
Cliff laughed and pressed a chaste kiss to Liam's lips. “It’s not a bomb.”
“What?” Liana blinked and cast a dubious glance toward the suitcase. “It was beeping.”
Cliff let go of Liana and stepped back, bringing up the suitcase, so it was between them. Liana held her breath as she watched him undo the clasps. But when he flipped it open, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“It’s… not a bomb,” she murmured.
“I told you.”
Liana reached a tentative hand into the case, picking up a photo from the top of the pile. There were dozens of them, stacked freely throughout the case. The one in her hand featured two young boys, smiling at the cameras with their arms around each others’ backs.
“Is this you?” Liana asked, pointing to the darker haired boy on the right. He had Cliff’s straight nose and steel eyes. He was adorable.
“Yes,” Cliff said. “And the little one beside me is Colin.”
Liana craned her neck to look back at Colin. Still on the ground, an officer was patting him down for weapons. She looked back at Cliff.
“That’s actually quite sad,” she murmured, tossing the picture back into the suitcase.
He nodded. After snapping the case shut, he passed it off to Hooper. Hooper clearly knew Cliff, as he didn’t question him.
Liana embraced Cliff again. “I’m still so happy you’re alive. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!”
Cliff’s arms encircled her and pulled her tight. “It’s over now,” he said. “It’s over.”
They went over to stand by Amos while he waited for an ambulance to come pick him up. The police had told them that they were needed at the precinct for questioning, but that they could take their time getting there. Ellis was full of energy and smiles. Liana’s heart warmed at seeing him that way.
“There’s something I should probably tell you guys,” Amos said.
Liana took a seat on the ground next to him. “What’s that?”
He smiled apologetically. “I’m not really a minister. You guys are definitely not married.”
Liana looked up at Cliff, who was grinning down at Amos. “Is that so?”
Chapter 36
Five months later…
“Liana! Liana!” Josh Beckett wormed his way through the crowd of people backstage. He pushed through and fell forward into her. Janelle darted out and stopped him.
“You’ll ruin her dress!” she chastised.
“Sorry.” Josh pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced down at the clipboard in his hand. “I’m trying to work the numbers from last weekend, but I have a few questions.”
Liana smiled warmly, even though the woman doing her hair was pulling it just a little too often for her liking.
“Josh,” she said. “I understand that this is important stuff, but can it wait until tomorrow?” She gestured around her. “It’s my wedding. I’m not supposed to be working.”
Josh cringed. “I know, and I’m sorry. But do you have a couple of minutes?”
“No, she does not have a couple of minutes!” Janelle argued. “Can’t you see she’s halfway through hair and makeup?”
Liana put a hand up to stop Janelle spitting any further abuse. “It’s fine, Janelle.” She patted her hairstylist on the arm, signaling she was getting up. “I’ll just be a minute.”
She followed Josh, the club’s new manager, through the chaos toward her office. He was good at his job but tended to err on the side of nervous. Liana hoped that in time he would become more confident in his role. Tonight was apparently not the night for that.
They stepped into her office, Liana stopping to close the door behind her. It blocked out most of the noise. But when Liana turned back to face Josh, she wished she’d left the door open.
“I’m so sorry,” Josh squeaked. He was standing between Liana and an older man with eyes like cold stone. “He threatened me.”
The man looked like he’d been born knowing the exact way to threaten someone into doing what he wanted. His salt and pepper beard was trimmed cleanly on his face, his hair swept back with gel. He wore a black tuxedo, which led Liana to believe that either he was one of the guests, or he was pretending to be one of the guests.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“You’ll have to apologize for the theatrics,” the man said with a small smile. “I figured with what you’ve been through, it would be easier to trick you into meeting me when you didn’t expect it.”
“People saw me come back here. They’ll come looking for me if I don’t come back.”
“I know.” The man turned his smile to Josh. Liana was surprised Josh didn’t melt into a puddle on the floor. The stranger’s smile was anything but warm. “You may leave now.”
“I-I’m not leaving her alone with you,” Josh said. Nonetheless, he took a step back.
Liana sighed. “You can go, Josh. I’ll be fine.”
He glanced back at her. “You sure?”
Liana nodded.
“I’m so sorry, Liana.”
“I’m not mad at you, Josh, but we need to work on your nerves.” She waved toward the door. “Go on. It’s all good.”
Josh scurried out of the room and Liana closed the door behind him. Based on the way the stranger acted and dressed, she had an inkling who he might be.
“You’re Muncio Corelli,” she said.
He laughed. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard.
“You’re smart as a whip,” he said. “It’s no wonder he likes you so much.”
Liana raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. “If you’re here to break up the wedding, scarier people have tried and failed.”
Muncio hadn’t been happy when Cliff told him he was leaving the mob. He hadn’t retaliated, but Liana had always worried he would. Now it looked like her worry was reaching fruition.
“Sheathe your claws, kitten,” Muncio drawled. “I’m not here to hurt you. Or Cliff.” He took a few steps toward her, stopping a foot away. “I just wanted to see you for myself.”
Still scowling, Liana did a little twirl. “And?”
Muncio smiled. “And I think I’m beginning to
understand,” he said. “I wasn’t sure there was a kind of girl in existence who would be good enough to betray your family for, but I think I see your appeal.”
“I think that was a compliment?” Liana pursed her lips, studying him. “I’m still not sure whether this is the part where you strangle me or not.”
He shook his head slowly. “Not going to strangle you.” He grasped her chin in his hand.
Liana let him, though she readied herself to strike him if she needed to. But all he did was look at her face with a thoughtful expression.
