Unchosen Ruler by Maggie Cole

21

Hailee

Light tricklesin the bedroom when Liam walks in. He shuts the door, and blackness reappears. I faintly see the outline of his body. I ask, "Baby, are you okay?"

He pauses near the bathroom door. "Yeah. Go back to sleep. I need another shower."

"Another one?" I sit up.

He blows out a big breath of air. "Yeah."

"Where were you when you took a shower?" I ask, suddenly suspicious of what he was doing. Before he called, I spent hours wondering why he wasn't home. I spent the night with his mom, who critiqued my potato soup. She had no problem telling me what was missing and making me take spoonfuls of hers after mine until I agreed with her that mine was lacking whatever ingredient she deemed necessary.

His voice turns firm. "I can't tell you anything about tonight. Don't ask again, Hales."

I get out of bed and step toward him.

He growls, "I said go back to sleep."

"What were you doing that you need a shower? Do you have perfume or something on you? Lipstick maybe?"

He scowls and in a disgusted tone replies, "What? Of course not. Don't be crazy. I had work issues." He goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower.

"Crazy? Me? Liam O'Malley, if you were with another woman and I find out, I'll kill you," I warn.

He spins. A glowing fire ignites in his green eyes. He spits out, "I've had a long day, and I'm exhausted. I've never even looked at another woman since I laid eyes on you. Go back to bed, Hailee." He begins to strip.

I move closer to him. "No. Tell me where and why you would take a shower anywhere but here or the gym. And don't tell me you were working out, Liam. I'm not an idiot."

Red creeps into his cheeks. He crosses his arms. "Are we seriously having this conversation?"

"It's..." I put my hand on my hip and glance around the room, but there's no clock in the bathroom. "Whatever time in the morning, and you stroll in and tell me you showered somewhere else and need another one."

He takes a plastic bag out of his pocket, drops his pants, and starts putting his clothes in it. He barks, "Go to bed, Hailee. I'm not going to tell you again."

"Why are you putting your clothes in there?"

"Jesus," he mutters, and an annoyed sigh comes out of him. He puts his clothes inside the bag, ties it up, then tosses it on the counter. "I'm showering. When you come to your senses, let me know."

I snatch the bag off the counter.

He lunges toward me so quickly, I move against the counter. He yanks it out of my hand. "Do not open this bag. You never open one of these bags, nor do you touch them."

My heart beats in my throat, and I glare at him. "Why? What's on your clothes I can't see?"

He sniffs hard and shakes his head. "How can you possibly think I'd touch any other woman? I'm completely obsessed with you, and you know it."

"Then tell me where you were," I push. Liam cheating on me has never crossed my mind before, but I've had several teacher friends who caught unfaithful husbands or boyfriends. Even Aspen's ex-husband did. They always came home and took showers. I'm not going to sit back and play dumb.

"I'll never tell you where I was tonight. It's O'Malley business, so keep your nose out of it," he sneers.

I'm too angry to think about what he said. I fire back, "Don't talk to me like that."

"Don't accuse me of cheating on you."

I point in his face. It's something I teach my kindergarteners not to do, but the thought of Liam with another woman makes me lose any sense of politeness. "Don't slink on in here and give me visuals of you fucking some other woman in a shower, then tell me you have to take another one to get the rest of her off you!"

Betrayal grows in his expression. He steps back, opens the bag, and holds it to my nose. "Sniff."

I freeze and keep glaring at him.

He lowers his voice and in a firm tone orders, "I said, sniff."

I can't hold my breath any longer and obey. Something resembling a mixture of decay and chemicals fill my nose. I put the back of my hand under my nostrils and cough.

He takes the bag, twists it, then ties it back up. He tosses it on the counter, then demands, "Don't touch the bag. And you should know me better." Hurt floods his face.

Relief it doesn't smell like a woman fills me and also embarrassment I accused him of cheating on me. "What is it?"

"I'm done with this conversation. I told you it's O'Malley business. I'll never tell you where I was or what I was doing. It's for your protection. Everything I do regarding you, I think about your safety. I assumed you knew that. Now go back to bed." He walks into the shower and steps under the water.

I watch him diligently scrub his skin with the soap, and another thought pops into my mind. Did he kill someone? A chill runs through my body, cooling the hot rage I was previously feeling. He washes every part of his body, including between his fingers and toes. He tries to get his back, but he can only reach so far. After several minutes of trying, he puts his forearm on the wall, head against it, then positions the top of the soap bottle near his nose while taking several deep breaths.

I'm such a fool.

I pull my T-shirt over my head and toss it on the counter then step behind him. I wrap my arm around his waist and put my palm up. "Let me get your back where you couldn't reach."

An anxious breath comes out of his mouth. He doesn't move. In a betrayed voice, he asks, "How could you ever think I would do that to you?"

"I'm sorry. I have friends who got cheated on, and their men always took showers when they came home. It just set something off in me," I admit, tightening my arm around him.

He puts the soap down and spins. It hits me how bloodshot his eyes are. He says, "We aren't ordinary people, Hales. Everything you thought you were and the life you would lead died the day you met me. It happened before you ever knew you were a Bailey."

My pulse increases. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. What he says is true, but I've tried to push away the thoughts of anything being different than the life or person I thought I was all these years.

He slides his hands through my hair, and his thumbs stroke my cheeks. Our eyes lock, and he declares, "It's you and me forever. No one else. The sooner you come to terms with who you are and what being with me means, the easier it'll be for both of us."

My heart pounds harder, and my stomach flips. I blink fast and stare at his chest. The water begins to turn colder and beats on my back. I shiver and admit what I've been trying to hide from myself and him since learning who my father is. "I don't know how to do that or who I am anymore."

He spins me so I'm against the wall and forces me to look at him. "You're mine to protect and take care of, little lamb. The same amazing person you've always been but not the naive woman others see you as. And that's one of your greatest weapons. Others will underestimate you. At some point in time, you'll understand all that you possess. God help anyone who tries to hurt you or come between us. You and I apart are dangerous enough. But we aren't individuals anymore, are we? We're twisted together. And do you know what happens when you twist anything together?"

I quietly blurt out, "It gets stronger."

"That's right. You can't break it. Even if it frays, it's still intact. So get all the thoughts of me fucking any other woman out of your head. It's not happening now or ever. When I come home like this, I'm trying to get death off me so it doesn't touch you. And I'll never tell you the details. So dig deep, little lamb. The trust we both require from the other isn't anything like what your friends define as trust. What others have is surface level, and that will never be us."

I only nod, since I'm afraid I might start crying. There isn't any doubt our love and relationship has too many elements other couples don't have to deal with. And everything about Liam is intense. Who he is as a person and in the O'Malley clan. What he has to do to fulfill the responsibilities of his family. How he will protect me and us at any and all costs. I've tried not to analyze the blood that runs through my veins, but I keep wondering if I have any of Liam's intensity. There's nothing hidden about the Baileys and their wrath. I can't deny they have to possess many of the same traits as Liam. Does that mean somewhere deep in me I do, too? If so, what does that mean?

He studies me. "You're scared of who you might be, aren't you?"

I whisper, "Yes."

His eyes turn gentle but are full of tension. I don't know if anyone besides me ever sees them like that. "It's okay, little lamb. Sometimes, if I overthink about the future and my place in my family, I go down the rabbit hole, too."

"You do?" I ask, surprised he questions anything about leading the O'Malleys.

"Yeah. I worry I'm going to screw up the lives of anyone I care about."

I blurt out, "You won't. You can't."

He lets out a short laugh. "Oh, but I can. Most people are placing bets that I will. But if I ruin yours, I'll never forgive myself."

"The only way you would ruin me is if you left me, Liam. You're right, I'm no longer just me. We're part of each other, and I couldn't exist without you."

His lips curl up. He dips down and kisses me with the full force of everything he is—a powerful yet vulnerable man that only I get to witness. He pulls away and asks, "Can you scrub my back? This water is freezing, and if you don't, my skin is going to be crawling all day."

I let out a shaky breath. "Yeah. Turn around." I wash his back then we get out of the cold shower and towel off. As soon as we step into the bedroom, my alarm goes off. I groan. "Ugh!"

He chuckles and pats my ass. "Get ready for work. I'll make breakfast. I'm starving."

"Did you eat last night?" I ask.

"No."

I smirk. "Well, your mom left plenty of potato soup."

He pulls me into him. "I'm sorry she just showed up here. I'll talk with her. Which one is yours?"

"I threw mine down the sink when she left," I admit.

He freezes. "Why?"

"It didn't seem good enough after she tore it apart."

He cups my cheeks. "Don't ever do that again, Hales. My mother means well, but no one should ever make you feel bad about anything you do for me." He gives me a chaste kiss. "Go get ready."

I do as he says, eat breakfast with him, then he insists on escorting me to school even though I tell him to stay home and rest. We pull up to the front doors of the building, and I turn to him. "Please tell me you're going to go home and sleep."

He hesitates. "I forgot to tell you Nora's in labor. She's been in it for a long time."

I trace the lines near his eyes. "Keep your ringer on, but get some sleep. You need it, Liam."

He kisses me. "I'll pick you up unless something comes up."

I caress his head. "Keep track of how many hours you sleep."

"Why?"

I wiggle my eyebrows. "I'll give you ten points on your behavior chart for every hour."

He chuckles. "Guess I've got a date with our bed, then."

I kiss him again then go into school. I can't get our conversation out of my head. I wonder how to figure out who I really am now that so much has changed, but there don't seem to be any answers.

* * *

When I getout of school, Liam picks me up. He's grinning.

I softly laugh. "Why do you look so happy?"

He pulls me onto his lap, and the car moves forward. His eyes twinkle, and he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. "One, I'm happy to see you. Two, Nora had the baby."

"She did? Is it a girl?"

"Yes. They named her Shannon after our nana." A brief flicker of sadness passes in his eyes but doesn't last long. "Boris said she's perfect and even has a head full of red hair."

My heart soars. "Do we get to see her?"

"We're going to the hospital now."

I clap. "Yay!" My phone rings, and I dig into my purse and answer it. "Hey, Gemma."

Her voice sounds agitated. "Are you going to the hospital to see the baby?"

"Yes, why?"

"Okay. I need to talk to you when we get there."

My stomach flips. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'll talk to you soon. Bye." She hangs up.

I ask Liam, "Do you know why Gemma needs to talk to me?"

He grimaces. "Sorry, Hales. Things happened back-to-back yesterday. She had a run-in with Orla."

My chest tightens. "When?"

"Two days ago. She went to work out and Orla was in the locker room. She cut her thigh. It wasn't deep and—"

"Cut her?" I cry out.

"Calm down. She's fine. I saw her at the gym yesterday."

"How did Orla even get close to my sister?"

Guilt crosses Liam's face. "My dad is working on changing her security. Nolan isn't letting her go anywhere without him right now."

"What did Orla want?"

Liam shakes his head. "She told Gemma she broke a rule by turning her location services off on her phone."

"So she cut her?"

"Our guys rushed in."

My pulse continues to skyrocket. "Meaning what?"

Liam swallows hard. He stays silent, and horror overtakes my shock.

My insides quiver. A scary thought fills my mind. "Was she going to kill her?"

He pulls me tight to him. "I'm unsure."

An uncomfortable feeling expands in my gut. The image of my sister lying in a pool of blood fills my mind. I fight tears and blurt out, "I want her dead, Liam."

His body stiffens, and he locks eyes with me. I expect him to tell me he'll do it, but he doesn't. He studies me, and his jaw twitches.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I don't kill women."

"She's not a woman. She's a vile monster who's out to destroy my sister and me."

He nods. "Yes. And she will be taken care of appropriately once we capture her."

Anger builds in my veins. "What are you waiting for?"

He lets out a deep breath. "It's not as easy as you would think. She has protection surrounding her when she appears. Most of the time, she's a ghost."

"Then have your guys shoot her from far away. Blow up her house if you have to," I tell him.

"Hales—"

"Don't Hales me. She's threatening my family and just cut Gemma with a knife. What would you even do to Orla once you capture her if you aren't going to kill her?" I spout.

He slides his hand in my hair. "Once again, I will never answer your questions. This is for your safety."

My lips quiver. "It's them or us, Liam. I keep thinking that Orla and my father need to die, or my sisters, mom, or I will. Maybe they'll even get to all of us."

He positions my face in front of his. "They won't get to any of you, little lamb. We will take them down, but until your father is out of prison, he's untouchable. My men are doing their best to track Orla right now."

I ask, "How did she get to Gemma?"

"We're looking into it, but it won't happen again. I spoke with my father before I picked you up. Two of our top guys are working in Michigan. He called them back to Chicago. They'll take over Gemma's security."

The car stops moving, and Liam releases me. "Let's go inside. This is a happy occasion. Too much of life isn't. Let's not let the Baileys ruin it for us, okay?"

I inhale deeply. He's right. Life should be happy, and lately, too many things are scary and uncertain. Every day, I see the stress on Liam's face and how he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. Nora is the sister he never had, and he's been so excited for the baby to arrive. I don't want to put a damper on this occasion. I kiss him. "I hope the baby looks like you."

He raises his eyebrows. "Me?"

"Yeah. You got all the O'Malley good looks."

He chuckles, opens the door, and gets out. He reaches in and helps me out then leads me into the hospital. The waiting room is a mix of Ivanovs and O'Malleys, and everyone is in a cheerful mood.

Aspen, Kora, and Skylar are there. We all embrace and take turns holding Shannon. Gemma and Nolan arrive. The minute she sees me, she drags me over to the corner.

I give her a big hug, squeezing her tighter than I usually would. "Are you okay? Liam just told me Orla cut you?"

She furrows her forehead. Her blue eyes dart between me and everyone else. "I'm fine. But I need to know something."

The hairs on my arms rise, and chills race down my spine. "Okay. What is it?"

She lowers her voice. "Did Mom say anything to you about Orla's mother, Riona?"

I shake my head. Guilt fills me. "No. She's not said anything else besides what she revealed when we all met with her. I've not exactly been taking her calls, either. I blew her off again last night with an I'm busy text. Why do you ask?"

Gemma bites on her cheek and glances behind her shoulder. "Orla said something to me before the O'Malleys got to the locker room."

"About disabling the location services on your phone?"

Gemma nervously glances behind her again. "No."

More dread curls in the pit of my stomach. In a firm voice, I reply, "Gemma, what did she say?"

"I-I didn't tell Nolan or Liam."

"You didn't tell them what?"

Her breath hitches. "What she really said."

The air thickens as my chest tightens. "You lied to them?"

Gemma's eyes fill with tears, and she stares at the wall and blinks hard. She puts her hand over her mouth.

I wrap my arms around her. In her ear, I quietly demand, "Just tell me. We'll figure out what to do with the information, together."

Her hot breath hits my ear. In a whisper, she says, "I-I-I researched it. I think Orla is telling the truth."

I tighten my hold on her. "About what?"

"She told me she's going to destroy all of us. You, Ciara, Ella, and me. Only after the four of us suffer is she going to take Mom out."

My insides quiver so hard, I struggle not to get sick. I don't let Gemma go. "Why?"

Gemma's body trembles. "Everything matches, Hailee. The dates we left North Carolina line up perfectly."

I do my best to stay calm. "What matches?"

"The date her mother died. Orla..." Gemma grips my hand. "She-she said our mother killed hers."