Unchosen Ruler by Maggie Cole

16

Hailee

The rideto Liam's is quiet. Gemma sits across from me and keeps giving me nervous looks. Liam possessively has his arm around my shoulders. My body wants to sink into him as if everything is the same. But I'm not sure if it ever will be again. Liam confessed his love for me, and it should have been one of those romantic moments. Instead, we were talking about twisted things. To my surprise, I loved how it all came out. I must be a lunatic for not feeling disgusted. All I keep doing is replaying it in my mind and reprimanding myself for the flutters I keep feeling.

I should also be concerned he revealed he would chain me up if I had known who my father is, but all I feel is my body throbbing over his deranged, obsessive comments. I've already experienced what he's capable of doing to me when he tied me up after our argument over the bus, and my most intimate nerves are pulsing at the thought of him doing it again. The vision of me in chains, at Liam's mercy, keeps popping up, and heat rushes to my face. I hate that every part of me is happy he would do whatever he needed to keep me. So between the revelation about who I am and my thoughts, which keep surprising me, I wish I could close my eyes and pretend this night never happened.

I'm still grappling over everything Gemma revealed. Anger is building in me. My mother hid from us the identity of our father. She always said it was for our protection. Since we remembered living in fear, my sisters and I never pushed her. We were grateful she was strong enough to leave him.

Now, the truth feels deceptive. It appears to have put us in harm's way. We were unaware of what could happen, and now we're left to figure out how to stay safe and free from his grasp. And who is this Orla woman Gemma keeps saying is our sister?

There's so much I don't understand. I've never seen my sister scared like this before. It takes a lot to rock Gemma. The things she revealed tonight make my stomach pitch. I'm not sure how to stay safe or protect anyone in my family.

We pull into Liam's driveway and another car parks behind us. Lights fill the car. The door slams. Liam glances out the window. His lips hit my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "I'll handle this. Take your sister inside."

"Who—"

There's a knock on the windshield and Liam motions to my side of the car.

"Let's go, Gemma." I open the door and get out then reach in to help her.

Gemma says, "Thanks. I—"

"We need to talk, Liam." Nolan's voice hits my ear.

Gemma freezes and turns.

Liam gets out. "Not tonight. We'll talk tomorrow."

"No. I want to know why she said what she did."

"We already know why," Liam claims.

"No. We don't know why. We know what she said, and that's it. I want to know why she said what she did to me," Nolan seethes.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have," Gemma cries out.

"Gemma," I quietly warn. I don't want to rile Nolan up any more than he already is.

"Hales, take your sister inside!" Liam firmly orders.

"Come on." I attempt to guide my sister away, but her eyes don't leave Nolan's.

"Tell me," Nolan says.

Liam tries again. "Nolan—"

"Were you targeting me?" he asks.

"What? Nolan, go home. Don't you dare harass my sister," I bark.

"Stay out of this," Nolan replies.

"Don't talk to my woman like that," Liam warns.

"Your woman is a Bailey," Nolan growls.

"You have a five-second warning and then I'm going to—"

"I'll tell him why!" Gemma belts out.

The air turns silent. Nolan's green eyes seem to glow hotter next to Liam's. Nolan grits out, "Tell me."

My sister shifts on her feet. "Can I tell you without Hailee and Liam?"

"What? Gemma, no!" I insist.

Liam agrees, "Yeah. I don't think—"

"Fine. Get in my car," Nolan orders.

I tug Gemma to me. "No. She's not—"

"Stop!" She shrugs out of my grasp. "He has a right to know. I shouldn't have said it."

"What exactly did you say?" I ask.

"Nothing you need to know." She walks toward Nolan's car, and I stare at her.

I point to Nolan. "If you hurt her—"

Nolan spins toward me. "I don't hurt women. I'm an O'Malley, not a Bailey. You should learn the difference."

"You grabbed my sister's neck," I point out.

Nolan shakes his head. His expression turns cocky. He keeps his eyes on mine and calls out, "Gemma, did I hurt you?"

My sister clears her throat. "No."

"Did you like it?" More arrogance fills his orbs.

I glare at him. "You're an—"

"Yes," my sister announces.

I jerk my head and gape at her. "What is wrong with you?"

"Don't be a hypocrite, Hailee. I'm sure Liam is no saint around you." She opens the door and slides into the car.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

Liam chuckles.

I turn toward him. "Why are you laughing at me?"

"I'll show you." He takes my hand and pulls me into the house. The moment the door shuts, he spins me against the door and puts his hand on my neck the same way Nolan did it to Gemma.

My heart races faster. Blood pounds in my ears. My lungs attempt to take in more air but can't seem to.

He tilts his face in front of mine, staring at me. His lips hit my jaw, and he kisses up to my ear. "I think Gemma knows more about what she likes than you do. I'm going to have to work on showing you."

I don't speak, trying not to think about Liam and his hard body or the way tingles are rushing down my spine. We have a lot to talk about. I need to decipher what all this information means.

"So much makes sense about you now," Liam mumbles.

I hold my breath. "What do you mean?"

He brings his face to mine, giving me one chaste kiss. "You've got some Bailey traits in you, little lamb."

My stomach flips, and I feel sick. I don't know much about the Baileys, but what I do know I don't like. "Don't say that."

He moves his hands to my cheeks. His thumbs graze my lips. "Do you want me to lie to you?"

"I'm not them."

His lips curl. "Oh, but you are. Your blood is theirs. The stubbornness and fight in you come from them. I didn't understand how you could be so fearless of me, but now it all makes sense."

I ask a question I'm scared to know the answer to. "How can you say this, then tell me you hate them and still want to be together?"

His eyes blaze into mine. "I'm not giving you up, little lamb. You may be part of them, but you're also not part of them." He tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. A sinister smile appears in his expression. "And like I stated earlier, I'm a sick bastard. There was no way I was ever letting you go before tonight. This...well, this is better than anything I could ever have done to your father."

My stomach nervously flips. I should run from Liam right now. Everything about this is a blinking red light. I hate my father. It's clear Liam does as well but for different reasons I know nothing about. I'm not sure if I want all the details. Instead of running, I swallow the lump in my throat. "Doesn't this worry you? At the very least, aren't you concerned about what my father may do to my family and me?"

His face falls. "Now that I know who you are, no one will come near you or Gemma."

"What about my mom and other sisters?"

"They all have O'Malleys watching them right now."

My mouth turns dry. I stare at Liam. "Wh-how?"

He drags his finger almost nonchalantly over my jawline. "I take care of what's mine, little lamb. And I told you I had enemies. Your family got my protection the moment we got together. If anyone tries anything, my men will stop them."

The uncomfortable feeling I can't shake intensifies. Liam warned me he had enemies. I could never have imagined they were my blood relatives. There's comfort and uneasiness knowing he already had his men watching over my mother and sisters. Something else pops up in my mind. "How did you not know about Orla if you have O'Malleys trailing Gemma? It's been almost a month since we got together."

Liam's face turns white. "When did she last meet with her?"

I shake my head. "I don't know."

"Then let's—"

The door flies open, and Nolan storms inside. Gemma is close behind him. He holds out his hand. "Give me your phone, Hailee."

"What? No!" I'm still unsure about him after he got so angry with Gemma.

"Hailee, give it to him," Gemma orders with fear in her eyes.

"Why?"

Her eyes widen. She whispers, "Please. And stop talking."

A chill runs down my spine. Her previous admission Orla knew her every move and was in her phone enters my mind. Liam doesn't hesitate. He reaches into my purse and hands my phone to Nolan.

"Code?" Nolan demands and swipes the screen.

"Six-Eight-Two-Nine-One-One," I reply.

He spends five minutes going through it and finally hands it back to me. "It's clean."

"Clean?" I ask.

"They don't have a tracer on you."

I glance at Gemma. "They had one on your phone?"

She nods. "Nolan just removed it. I had the microphone off since I was paranoid, but they were tracking me and had access to my emails and text messages."

My stomach pitches. "Gemma, when did you talk to Orla last?"

She scrunches her face. "She calls me every day, several times."

"Saying what?" Liam asks.

Gemma's eyes fill with fresh tears. "Reminding me that when our father gets out of prison, I have to marry the man he has chosen for me." Her lips tremble harder. Her tears spill on her cheeks. "Telling me your day is coming, and she knows you've betrayed our family by sleeping with an O'Malley."

A wave of cold flows through my body. The look on my sister's face infuses a lifetime of fear into my bones.

Liam pulls me tighter to him. "She's not coming near Hales, nor you. When did you see her last?"

Gemma pauses for a moment. "Maybe a month ago. She was following me all the time. At least a few days a week, she'd appear. The last time I saw her was a few days before my mom and I ran into you and Hailee at breakfast. Since then, she only calls. But I also stopped going out of the house. If I'm not with Mom or coming to see you, I don't leave."

"What about your job?" I ask.

Guilt fills Gemma's face. "I quit. I-I kept making mistakes. She would show up or send one of her thugs to surprise me at work. I just wanted it to stop."

I gape at her, speechless. Gemma had her dream job, working for one of the top advertising agencies in the country. She spent years working her way up the ladder and was only a promotion away from a vice president position.

She glances at the ceiling, and shame fills her face.

I step forward and pull her into my arms. I quietly ask, "Did you tell your boss, Gavin, why you were quitting?"

She pulls back. "No. What would I say? My psycho half-sister is stalking me and my incarcerated father is getting out soon and wants me to marry one of his mob thugs? She will stop at nothing to destroy my life. I couldn't continue making rookie mistakes at work. It wasn't fair to my team, but I couldn't pull it together. Her people were everywhere—the delivery guys, the food cart employee, the Uber or taxi drivers. Anywhere I went, they showed up. It became easier to stay home at Mom's. I'm going stir crazy, but at least I don't have to see them."

Guilt eats at me. I wish she would have told me what's going on. She begged to stay with me, and I didn't let her. I blurt out, "I'm sorry I told you no. You can move in with me."

"No," Liam states.

I spin to him. "I'm not—"

"Neither of you are living on your own. You'll both move in here. I'll watch over you."

I point to the mattress in the corner of the open space from the walls that came down a few days ago. "There isn't even one bedroom right now."

"Gemma's coming with me," Nolan states.

I turn to him in shock. "What are you talking about?"

He crosses his arms. "She knows a lot more than what she's disclosing right now. She's going to tell me everything she knows about anyone associated with the Baileys."

"You aren't kidnapping my sister," I claim.

Nolan's eyes turn to slits. "The attitude toward me is getting old."

"Don't talk to my woman like that," Liam barks.

Nolan focuses on him. "Don't let your dick cloud your judgment. They're Baileys. We're at more risk because of your relationship. Whatever she knows, she needs to disclose."

Liam steps toward him. "I said—"

"I'll go with him," Gemma blurts out.

"What? No!" I exclaim.

"He's right." Gemma turns to Nolan. "If I go with you, nothing will happen to me? You'll protect me from them?"

"As long as you don't lie to me. If you utter one untruth and I find out, I'll throw you to the wolves like a piece of raw meat," Nolan threatens.

"Jesus. You are not going with him. Liam," I say, looking at him for help.

"I don't lie. It won't be a problem. Let's go. I'm tired," Gemma interjects.

"Liam—"

"Let her go. Nolan, if she lies, you bring her to me, not the Baileys," Liam orders.

"I don't lie!" Gemma insists.

"Good. We won't have any issues, then." Nolan opens the door and motions for her to go.

"Gemma!" I try one last time.

She spins. "What do you want me to do? Go back to Mom's? Go to your place? I'm not safe anywhere. At least if I go with Nolan, I'm protected."

"Liam already has O'Malleys watching you. You don't need to go with him," I blurt out.

Betrayal fills Gemma's face. "You allowed him to have people watch me, and you didn't tell me? No wonder why I'm so paranoid. I've got Baileys and O'Malleys following me. You should have told me."

"I only told her before you walked in. Unlike the Baileys, you won't notice them. We aren't trying to scare you. It's only for your protection," Liam informs her.

Gemma shuts her eyes then shakes her head. She opens them and replies, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Hailee."

"Gemma!" I reach for her, but she shrugs out of my grasp.

"Don't! I'm tired. I'm sick of talking. I'll see you tomorrow." She walks out the door and Nolan follows her.

"Nolan, if you hurt my sister—"

He spins, scowling. Anger emanates off him. "I'm not repeating this again. I'm not who you have to worry about. Liam, set your woman straight." He leaves.

Liam shuts the door. "You don't need to worry about Nolan. He won't hurt her. She'll be safe with him."

It's meant to calm me, but I can't shake the thought, how will any of us ever be safe again?