Released (Caged #3)(26)

“What the f*ck?” he muttered.

“It’s not like that!” I snapped back, knowing he had misunderstood. “She just…she needs me to be right…for her and…”

“And?” Michael asked when I didn’t continue.

I shook my head, crawled out from under the sheets, and went to my gym bag on the other side of the room. I opened it up and pulled the fabric-covered book out of it. I turned the page over and showed him what had become of my original list.

Make a list

Clean the apartment

Make appointment with the head shrinker

Get the psycho prescriptions filled

Talk to Mom

Get my shit together

Get Tria back

Get a job

Don’t buy smack

Find a better place to sleep

Michael read over the list, including the few things I had added since being on the streets.

“We can cross these out,” he said as he pointed to the last two items.

I nodded.

“I just need a job,” I finally said. “Yolanda dropped me as a fighter, and I can’t find any other work. I didn’t have the rent money, and now…well, I can’t find another job. I need money for Tria.”

“You said you broke up with her,” Michael reminded me.

“She left,” I corrected.

“I think I’m missing something here,” Michael said. “Why do you need money for Tria if you are no longer together? Are you supposed to pay her to get back with you?”

“No!” I yelled. “She isn’t like that!”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the first time,” he said cynically.

“I don’t have anything, Michael!” I reminded him. “It’s not like Amanda and her grubby little hands trying to get everything for herself!”

“You do, too!” he growled back, ignoring my comment about his daughter-in-law. “You know it, and plenty of other people know it. There’s never been a change to the will, Liam. All of this belongs to you in the end.”

“I don’t want it.”

“Doesn’t stop it from being yours,” Michael replied. “You’ll own a controlling interest in the hotels, too.”

I growled inwardly and rubbed my eyes. I didn’t want to think about all that shit, let alone talk about it.

“I need money for Tria,” I said.

“Why?” Michael asked. He leaned back a little and crossed his arms as he eyed me expectantly.

“She’s pregnant,” I finally said quietly.

Michael’s eyes widened.

“Does she know?” he asked in a hushed voice. “I mean…about…about…”

“Aimee,” I whispered. My stomach tightened, and I leaned forward a bit to try to hold myself together.

Michael’s head tilted forward once in acknowledgement.

“I told her, but it was too late,” I went on. “I’d already f*cked it all up. I have to be able to help her, Michael. Even if she won’t talk to me, she doesn’t have the money or the doctor and vitamins and all that shit. I need to be able to support her so she stays healthy. If anything happens to her…”

I couldn’t say anything else, and Michael nodded solemnly.

“Maybe you should tell me what happened.”

I pulled my knees up to my chest, rested my chin on them, and recounted the last couple of weeks to Michael. I managed to get through it without actually vomiting though I considered it a couple of times.

“So, I gotta have a job,” I finished. “I gotta make enough to be able to support her, and I can’t fight at the moment—not without someone to get the fights lined up and train me and shit.”

“Tria doesn’t like the fighting anyway,” Michael reminded me. “Maybe it’s time for a change.”

I nodded my head slowly as I looked at my uncle.

“I’ll do anything,” I told him.

“You’ve got a job with me,” he said. “I’ll get you set up on the payroll Monday, and you can stay here as long as you like. Has Tria…has she gone to a doctor yet? How far along is she?”

“I don’t know. Shit, Michael, I have no idea!”

The panic I had been fighting for days was dangerously close to overwhelming me again. My hands started shaking, and I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs. I started to get dizzy, and I jumped when Michael’s hand made contact with my skin.

“Whoa, Liam!” Michael’s hand rested on my arm. “Relax—we’re going to work all this out.”

I shook my head again.

“There’s nothing,” I whispered. “Nothing I can do—not now. It’s too late.”

“None of that now,” Michael said gently. “The Liam I’ve known all his life is still in there somewhere, and he never gave up on anything. This ranks up there with the most important things in your life, so you’re not going to give up now. If you were going to, you’d have a needle in your arm instead of a conversation with me.”

Raising my head, I met his gaze, and we looked at each other for a long moment.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said quietly. “Everything is in her hands—I don’t have any choices here.”