Chasing Shadows (First Wives #3)(75)

“No. Not entirely. You know where he isn’t. We know he isn’t in jail. What did I say about Homeless Men Three and Four?”

Avery had to think for a minute. “That they would buy drugs until they hit rock bottom or die.” Jesus . . . was she chasing a dead man?

“We stop searching clubs and start searching rehabs and morgues.”

Avery held a staring contest with Sasha. “You knew all of this before we sat down to eat, didn’t you?”

“I suspected. Between what you’ve told me and what the police have found . . . or more importantly, haven’t found, I’ve drawn my conclusions.”

“Then why waste time with all of this?” Avery waved her hands around her, as if including the entire city in her argument.

Sasha stepped closer, her face nothing but harsh lines of sobriety. “Because you need to learn who this man is on your own so you can accept whatever it is that we find. Me telling you who we are looking for will always raise doubt in your head.”

Avery sighed, ran the back of her hand against her chin. God, she was tired. With a deep breath, she asked, “Okay. Where do we start?”

Sasha stepped back. “Tomorrow.”

“But—”

“You need to eat again and sleep. Warriors only enter a battle rested and fed.”

Avery glanced at the tattoo on her arm and resigned. “Okay.”

Sasha glanced behind Avery. “Take her back to the hotel. I will call on you in the morning.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Avery turned around so fast her head spun. “Liam.”





Chapter Twenty-Nine

Liam had to force a smile to his face.

He’d been tracking Sasha’s location via Reed since he landed. He dropped a bag off at Avery’s hotel and taxied to Times Square. Having never been to New York before, he found himself turned around more than once while GPS tangled with the tall buildings and sometimes had him on the wrong side of the street.

The two of them walked into his line of sight, and Liam stopped behind Avery right as Sasha described Avery’s attacker. Even though he stood right there, Sasha’s eyes never left Avery.

Slowly, as Sasha’s conclusion settled in Avery’s head, Liam noticed her entire posture sink. For a brief moment, he thought she might just slump to the ground right in the middle of Times Square.

Now Avery was staring at him, and they were the clog of traffic as people walked by.

Eyes hollow, lips swollen . . . Liam reached out and traced a hand to the bruise on her cheek. His simple touch and she closed the gap between them and pressed her face to his chest.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out.

Liam wrapped his arms around her and buried his head in her hair. “It’s okay.”

“I was such a child.”

“It’s okay, Princess.”

She hugged him tighter.

Liam closed his eyes and held her. “I’ll get her back—” He glanced up and Sasha was gone.

Avery disengaged long enough to look around.

“Where did she go?”

Avery shook her head. “I’m sure she’ll be back.”

Liam brushed a hair behind her ear and cradled her cheek in his hand. So many words needed to be said . . . instead, he brushed his lips against hers.

She kissed him back with a sigh.

“C’mon. Let’s get you back to the hotel.”

Liam kept an arm around her and signaled for a taxi.

Thirty minutes later they were in her room and he’d ordered room service.

“I had to come to New York,” Avery started.

“I know that. You have me now, you didn’t need to come alone.”

A small dining table stood on one end of the suite. The two of them sat across from each other. Liam kept both her hands in his as they talked.

“It’s hard for me to depend on other people.”

“I put that together,” he said with a slight smile. “Here is the beauty of a truly committed relationship. You’re allowed to depend on someone else. When you’re hurting, they hurt, so it’s on both your radars to fix the problem. Just because you zone out doesn’t stop the other from caring.”

“The last thing I wanted was to hurt you.”

He squeezed her hands, saw her eyes glisten with unshed tears. “Finding out that your girlfriend is three thousand miles away chasing this Spider guy all by herself wasn’t painful, it made me feel helpless. I’m here. You don’t have to do any of this alone.”

“I see that now. I’ll try.”

“Do or don’t do. There is no try.” His words were there to make her grin. They succeeded.

“You’re quoting Yoda?”

“Whatever it takes to make you smile.”

She brushed away a tear. “I’m so tired.”

He summoned her with a crook of his finger, and she slid out of her chair and onto his lap. His hands traveled once again to the bruise on her cheek. “How many more scars am I going to find when I undress you?”

She rocked her head back and forth. “A few.”

He somehow thought that meant a dozen.

The thought of anyone hitting her made him boil. He downplayed her bruises so that he could keep from losing his shit. “You let them get close enough to punch you?”