Liam and Valorie walked to his pickup, they’d decided to take his vehicle instead of hers. After settling in and putting on their seatbelts, Liam headed over to her office.
“So, I wanted to ask you? Are you completely over your cancer or is it just remission?” Valorie asked.
“Every check-up I’m cancer free. My father hired an amazing team of doctors to find a cure for me. It’s been a godsend and worked very well. If they hadn’t, I would have died.”
She cringed.
“No you don’t.” He reached over and grabbed her hand squeezing.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be. Look at me, do I look sick?”
She leaned back, her eyes going from his toes to his face. She shook her head.
“See? No more worries. Don’t forget the treatment I went through helped me get a little bigger too. It’s an added bonus.” He held up his two fingers measuring an inch.
“You think? You’ve grown several inches and gained at least a hundred pounds.” She tilted her head.
“Actually, it was over one hundred and twenty pounds and twelve inches taller. Once the cancer was gone, I started a protein enriched diet and lots of exercise to gain muscle and weight. It worked, within a year or so, I had become healthy and this size.”
She was amazed at the transformation in him. It was as if he was a super hero. “Did you ever see the movie, Captain America?”
His face lit up his eyes sparkling blue. “Yes I did. My mom and dad always referred me back to that movie when my days were bad. On the good days, I would tell the nurses and doctors I wanted to be just like Captain America.”
She couldn’t control her burst of laughter.
Neither could he maintain the straight face he was tempting to do. He threw back his head and great peals of laughter spilled out.
After they finished laughing with each other, she wiped away the tears from her face. “I haven’t laughed like that in a long time,” she admitted.
“Me neither. Oh and by the way, Captain America was given some special serum.” Maybe that’s how I got better?”
The question lingered in the cab of the pickup. Valorie knew he was joking or was he?
As her and Liam teased each other back and forth, Valorie had to actually stop herself from laughing so hard. She’d forgotten about his sense of humor. He had her in tears from laughing so much. Her stomach ached and she knew her makeup must be a mess.
His driving and road rage had her holding the door handle but kept her mind off her own personal troubles. When Liam pulled his pickup into the parking lot of her office building Valorie felt somewhat better but still worried. Concerned the person who was stalking her would up the ante. “Park right here.” She pointed ahead of them. The sign read, reserved for architecture designer. She paid dearly for the spot but it was worth every penny to not have to walk a mile in the snow. While Liam turned off the motor and reached for his door to get out, she spoke, “You know if you have some place or other things to do I’ll be okay by myself.”
“I don’t think so. I’m here to make sure you’re safe and stay that way. You’re stuck with me. Just relax, sweet cheeks, I have my tablet, laptop, and phone. My office goes everywhere with me.” Liam got out, walked to her side, opening her door, she stepped down on the pavement as he gathered her against his body.
Her stomach clenched from raw emotions careening through her into her most private area. Valorie also felt he had been affected as well which served him right for always touching her. Never before had she felt this way about him or any man for that matter. Liam was a purely sexual male. Something about him seemed almost, wild and savage. This rollercoaster of emotions kept messing with her libido as well as her thoughts.
She wasn’t going to risk losing him again to her own needs or wants. “Come on, big guy, let’s do this then.” She walked ahead of him toward the elevators of her office building.
When they reached the twenty-second floor where her office was located, the doors opened and they stepped out. “Liam, how do I explain you?” She stopped suddenly, he had gathered himself quickly to prevent running her over. She didn’t care, instead she put her hands on his rock hard chest. “So sorry.” Valorie looked up into his stormy blue eyes.
“Stop doing that, warn me first before you press on the brakes, babe.” He frowned.
“Sorry, my mind kicks my ass sometimes.”
“I know the feeling. Just tell everyone I’m in town for the holidays and wanted to come into your office with you. No other explanation needed. Do you have a private office or cubicle?” He ran his hands through his hair.
Valorie felt pleased to show him where and what she did for a living. “Come this way, my friend.”
Passing the other offices some of the staff was there, most were gone and their offices were dark. The day after a holiday most wanted to have a long weekend. She also knew many of their staff had asked for black Friday off.
Valorie had no life so it would be usual for her to come in and work the day away.
Angela Green, her friend, as well as secretary, was on the phone near her own desk which was stationed right in front of Valorie’s office.
Valorie hurried past Angie, Liam directly behind her. She heard Angie clear her throat. “Dang it we almost made it,” she whispered, putting her hand on the door frame.
“Valorie?”
“Yes, Angela?”
“Who do we have here?”
Leaning against the door she tried to gather strength. This woman was her friend. She couldn’t lie to her. Turning slightly, her words stuck in her throat.
Liam took care of it for her. “Hi.” He glanced at the name plate on her desk. “Angela, my name is Liam Livingston. I’m an old friend from Valorie’s college days. I’m in town visiting for the holidays.”
He reached for Angie’s hand lifting it slightly to his lips.
Angie’s mouth widened in a smile, her eyes glossy, she purred, “Oh my…”
Anger greater than she had ever felt, beat its way through Valorie’s mind, jealousy wasn’t something she’d ever felt, she wanted to beat both. She grabbed his hand. “Come on, Casanova.” She pulled him into her office.
“Wait,” Angie jumped up from her desk.
“Yes.” Valorie turned on her, the surprise showing on her assistance’s face.
Liam covered his mouth with his hand, smothering a laugh.
It only infuriated Valorie more. “Really?” she snapped at him. “What do you need?” Valorie asked Angie.
“Wait, how could you keep such a beautiful man hidden away?”
“Well…” Valorie waved the woman away and looked a little lost. “I have nothing.” She walked Angie over to her office door. “I have a lot of work to do, so if you don’t have anything for me or need something, go back to work.”
Angie shook her head, the smile on her face a smoke screen as she didn’t believe a word Valorie was spewing. “You have some explaining to do!” Angie shouted. “Yes, I know and you, mister…have no idea,” she mumbled, walking inside her office and to the desk.
Valorie was tormented by her confusing emotions. What the hell is wrong with you, Thorpe, you act like he’s yours or something? His boisterous laugh helped release the stress Valorie felt, she relaxed letting her giggle overtake her. Thankful for having him back in her life again, she was happy he brought back her smile and the memories of the happiness they’d always shared.
Liam whistled. She’d done well for herself since college. He looked around at an open floor plan office, neat, tidy, and well-organized.
“What?” she questioned.
“Admiring this fancy office, and wishing mine was more like this.” He walked over to the window looking out over the City of Minneapolis.
Liam then turned stared at Valorie who was sitting at her desk, calm and confident. Now he knew differently, this woman, was a pistol, she became feisty as a she-cat quickly. He’d been delighted at the jealously she had exhibited earlier. He wasn’t surprised at the happiness she brought to his life. “I’m impressed.” He slid gracefully into the leather guest chair in front of her desk.
“Excuse me.” She snapped her head up. Her heavy lashes shadowing her cheeks flew up.
“I’m sorry, did I scare you?”
She shook her head, but something about her reaction seemed off. Her face appeared as if she’d seen a ghost. “Oh my God,” her voice lowered to a whisper, as her face went pale.
“What is it?” he asked.
The silence lengthened between them. Liam had always been a dominant male, so he didn’t wait for her; he got up and walked around to her side of the desk. On her computer screen, there was a video playing.
“What the hell?” A sudden thin chill hung on the edge of his words. Liam touched her shoulder and she startled, flinching. When she looked up at him, his heart broke, he hadn’t been there to protect her.
“I just don’t understand?” she pleaded.
As the video played, it had Liam sleeping on the couch, then moved into Valorie’s bedroom where she slept. Her bedding was down below her legs, her t-shirt had ridden high above her abdomen giving the person a sneak peak of her breasts. Her female area covered up by her boy shorts.
“I’m not sure how this could have happened. I barely slept, I’m not a sound sleeper at all. Valorie, this doesn’t make sense to me.” Liam wanted to explain to her about his conversion. The animal blood racing through his veins wouldn’t allow something like this to happen. There was no way someone walked through her apartment filming them.
The video ended quickly. Valorie hit the keys. The screen went black. “What the hell.” She hit the keyboard. Nothing happened. “Angie!” Screaming for her assistant, she smothered a sob with her hand. “Shit, I need to call my dad!” Valorie seemed to be losing any self-control she had gained.
Liam sensed she’d come to the point of breaking. Normally a strong woman, used to being in control. Had none at this point in her life. His own anger masked hers which wasn’t helping. It had become personal for him as well. “What the fuck is this guy doing? I’m going to kill him.” Liam punched the bookcase.
His knuckles bleeding, and a hole the size of a melon shocked Valorie into action. She spun up out of her chair, grabbing Liam’s arm. “Hey wait, I don’t own this stuff.”
Liam took deep breaths to control the beast surfacing in his mind. The white tiger he would become if he wasn’t careful neared the surface. His hands ached and his jaw stretched and he knew his teeth lengthened slightly. Liam pushed his way out of her office. He needed to cool down. “Stay here, excuse me for a second I need to call my dad and arrange a team.” He pulled his cell out of his back pocket and stormed out of her office.
Waiting for the phone to ring, it went to voicemail. Liam left a message then he called Mariah.
She picked up on the first ring. “Hey, big bro, how are you?”
“Mariah, you got to help me.” His voice shook as panic took over.
“Mick!” Mariah yelled in the background.
“Hello. Liam?” Like a bucket of cold water, Liam remembered Mariah and the baby. The change he’d felt in his body started to subside. The panic driving through him slowed to a crawl. He apologized quickly, “Mick, look I’m sorry. Tell Mariah not to worry, it’s cool.”
“What the fuck? You don’t call my wife out of the blue, panic her then fucking tell me you’re fine. What’s going on?” Mick was a force to be reckoned with. Liam knew this about his brother-in-law and should have just explained what happened instead of making excuses. “Sorry, bro, look…”
“I need Mariah or you to call Dr. Herbert. Something happened to me, I’m fucked up. Let me talk to my sister, I’m fine, I won’t upset her, I promise.”
He heard Mariah whispering to Mick. “Let me talk to him. I’m sorry, hon, I’m fine.” The line was fuzzy for a moment then he heard Mariah’s sweet voice. “Liam, you good?” she questioned.
“Yeah, sorry, can you call my doctor? I’m afraid I might be going through something here. I was upset earlier and the animal blood in me is more now. It feels as if something wants to take over or shift my body.”
“Explain to me what you’re feeling so I can tell Dr. Herbert.”
“My jaw and teeth ache, my nails itch and are painful as if I have arthritis in them…” He just couldn’t continue. He was scared for the first time in his life.
He had been unable to shift like the pure bred. He’d only been converted through a blood transfusion and never able to do what the others were capable of.
“Honey, remember, when they used the serum, they weren’t sure what was going to happen. Your organs changed so did your body. You might be as a shifter.” Mariah paused. She’d always been the smart one in the family.
“I know but it’s been three years and nothing. Why now?”
“Your body went through a change. Maybe this is how it is supposed to happen.”
The softness of Mariah’s voice helped soothe the beast, Liam could breathe easier, the pain in his jaw and hands were gone. “Mariah, can you at least call Dr. Herbert? Ask him if it’s even possible. I don’t want to shift and not know it. I could be in a very embarrassing position.”
She giggled.
“It’s not funny, sister.” Liam chuckled. She’d always been able to snap him out of a bitch fit.
“I’ll call him. Come into the clinic later today and let Dr. Herbert look you over?”
Liam shook his head. “Probably not today.”
“Why, Liam, this is your health we’re talking about. I’ll set it up for later today. You’re going, I’m not taking no for an answer.” Mariah hung up.
Liam stood staring down at his phone. “Ugh.” He turned back around and headed into Valorie’s office.
“What…? Oh my God, what the hell happened in here!” Angie ran into the room. She knelt down in front of Valorie. “Breath, baby, please.”
Valorie wasn’t sure how to calm down herself, she was suffering from some sort of panic attack. After Liam had stormed out of her office, it had triggered something deeper in her. Taking in deep breaths, exhaling slowly, it calmed her down a bit. Glancing up at the bookshelf, she couldn’t believe the damage Liam had done with one punch.
“Looks like we need to be replacing a bookshelf?” Angie smiled gently.
Valorie wiped at the tears still wet on her face. She calmed down somewhat, before whispering to Angie, “Can you call my dad, please?”
Angie nodded, standing up, and walking out of her office. She heard her on the phone. “Detective Thorpe, this is Angie. Please hold I have your daughter.”
Valorie choked back a cry, frightened and terrified.
Liam walked through the door, his face lined with worry. A tense silence enveloped the room.
Angie walked back in. “Valorie, your father is on line one.” Angie grabbed the handset, hit a button, and handed the phone to her. Then Angie spun on her heel and faced Liam. She pointed, “You better not be the one hurting her. Her dad is a cop and will kick your ass!”
“Out!” Liam slammed the door. When he turned back around, Valorie was on the phone.
“Yes, sir. Love you too.” She hung up.
Slowly, he made his way over to her. Calmly, he whispered, “Come here, hon.” He scooped her up and cradled her in his arms. Her feather weight nothing to him as he strolled over to the couch and settled them into the deep green cushions. He couldn’t have put her down to deal with these emotions if he’d tried. His chest constricted with heartache for her. Valorie didn’t deserve this.
Liam just held her to him while she cried softly and he felt helpless. He’d promised to protect her and the creep had walked right in without him knowing it. Still, he couldn’t figure out the how. There was no way a person could do this. Liam did not sleep that deeply. Unless? Nah, there was no way. When he felt Valorie start to stir, he touched her chin pulling her head up. “You okay, Red?”
Valorie hiccupped and moved away to stand. “I’m sorry, Liam, to have dragged you into this.” She walked over to her desk and grabbed a tissue, blew her nose and wiped her eyes. Wadding up the tissue, she tossed it into the trash can. He slowly made his way up to her and encircled her waist. She turned and looked up at him. Pain flashed across hers.
She confessed, “Liam, I usually don’t get scared. What I just watched scared the living daylights out of me. This is serious.”
Liam frowned, “What I don’t understand is how? I’ve never slept sound enough not to hear someone come in and walk around.”
Someone knocked on the door. Liam pushed off the desk he had been leaning against and strode to the door and opened it.
A trembling Angie stood in the doorway. “Can I come in?”
He nodded then moved aside motioning her to enter.
She walked over to Valorie’s desk.
“I’m sorry, Ang, I freaked.”
“Whatever it was, I know it frightened you. I’ve known you for a while now and I’ve never seen you this way. What in the hell is going on with you?”
Valorie pulled her friend in for a hug. “I can’t really talk about it right now. My dad said I needed to stay here. He’s going to call Detective Koski, the guy from last night, he’s also heading in. It’s going to take him a few hours but he’s meeting us here.” Valorie moved next to Liam, taking his hand and holding onto it.
“Is there anything I can do for you, Valorie?”
Angie seemed like such a good friend. Liam wanted to trust her. Maybe she could stay here while he ran down to the clinic. “Valorie, can I please talk to you alone for a minute? Please, Angie, I need your help with this.” Liam touched the assistant’s back guiding her out the door.
“Sure. You know you seem like a great friend. I just wonder why I’ve never heard about you.” Angie nodded.
Liam shut the door behind the woman. “So, how well do you know Angie?” He pointed to the closed door.
“Very, I interviewed her for this position, I believe it was about three years ago. We’ve been friends ever since then. If I’ve got someone in my life I can trust, it is that woman.”
“Did you do a background check on her?” he asked.
“I’m not sure? Usually, the company handles that stuff here.”
He wiped his face with his hand. “I’m going to trust your judgment on that one then.” He stood, grabbed a notebook off her desk and handed it to her. “I want you to write down a list of people who might be a problem for you. You never know who could be upset with you even in your past as far back as kindergarten.” Liam sat down in a chair he’d pulled up to her desk.
Valorie nodded.
Pulling out his own small notebook, he started writing down questions he had and what he wanted Mariah and Gabriel to check on for him. At the top of the list was Angie Green, her assistant. “I will need all the names of exes. I don’t care if they are girls or boys. Then I need to know anyone you got into a fight with grade, junior, high school, and college. Matt goes at the top of the list. Write down your co-workers even from different jobs before this one. You get the picture?” He was writing boxes on the paper and titling each box.
“I have a deadline; can I work on it for a bit? Get my mind off all this crazy business.”
Liam nodded wanted her to take this stalker seriously, but he didn’t have the heart to push her any faster than she was willing to take. “Go ahead. I’ll work on this for a while, make some phone calls and get us some coffee.” Liam stood up and walked toward the door.
“Tell Angie and she’ll make up a pot.”
He nodded and stepped out of the office.