They held hands as they walked into the café. Valorie felt her heart melt. She’d always loved him. Now she found herself nervous being around him. As she said, Christmas was her favorite time of year.
The waitress seated them, Liam pulled out her chair.
“Thanks.” Her independence had always been important to her, but she knew Liam wasn’t trying to take that away from her.
He sat down across from her. “I hope they have good food.”
“Me too. It seems nice enough.” Valorie glanced around; the décor seemed to be of the old west. Pictures from cowboys, horses, and pioneer women graced the walls.
The menu was barbeque beef, chicken, and pork. She decided on a grilled chicken salad, Liam ordered a steak. After the waitress left, she started their conversation, “So tell me about what you did after college.”
“Seriously, Valorie, why do you want to know about my boring life? I want to know what made you change your career. I remember you were doing generals before deciding if you, eventually, wanted to become a lawyer. Now you’re an architect? What gives there?”
She shook her head. “You first then me.”
“Nope, mine’s too boring, you first.” He tilted his head and his smile drove her crazy. Her pussy reacted as it did back in college. Instantly wet and ready for him. They had a connection she could never describe and it was back full force. Her hormones messed up she had no idea how to survive the next few minutes, especially if she had to talk about herself.
His nostril flared and she knew immediately he could scent her erotic excitement. She wanted him with her whole being. He reached out and took her hand. “Valorie?”
“What?” She smiled. Shifting in her seat helped a little ease some of the tension building in her lower extremities. She wanted to take him home and let him take her any way he wanted.
She covered her mouth and giggled slightly, “Liam, stop. I want to know everything there is to know about you. Especially all the time we’ve been away from each other.”
“Okay, but I want to know why you changed your path in school?” His finger rubbed the inside of her palm and the sexual tension only increased with every stroke he did. “Okay, let’s make a deal.” She pulled her hand away from him.
He frowned. She raised her brow and smiled, “Once I tell you everything then you have to promise to tell me what you did?” She lifted her eyes glancing at him across the table. “I’ll tell you about me.” She let out a sigh and began, “I switched careers because the lawyer thing was my dad’s idea, not mine. Once I finished with my generals, I found I liked to draw as well as design houses and other buildings, so the decision was easy for me.”
The waitress arrived with their food.
As Valorie took a bite of her grilled chicken, she moaned. “Oh, this is good.”
Both dived in eating their food.
After they finished, they decided on splitting a piece of peach pie. Liam fed her every other bite with his fork. After he fed her the last bit, she leaned back, stretching her legs out under the table. Rubbing her tummy, she groaned. “Oh, my goodness, I’m stuffed. That was good.”
“I have to say the same. The food was amazing.”
“So, Liam, you certainly avoided talking about yourself.” She smiled but didn’t press him.
Liam grinned at her. Yes, he had. He knew he would need to tell her someday. He just didn’t know how much he should tell her. He went to the register paying for their food, not having any food in the house, he’d been worried about feeding Valorie. He was rarely home, so cooking hadn’t been a priority for him.
After he took the receipt, he walked back to the table. “You ready?” he asked her.
“Yes, I am.” She stood up and reached for her coat.
“Here let me.” He took it from her, holding it to help her put it on.
“Thank you, kind sir.” Her smile broadened in approval.
“It’s still snowing, even more now.” She dipped down and grabbed a handful of the heavy snow.
He watched her shape it into a snowball. “You better not throw that at me.”
A secret smile softened her lips. She threw it right at him hitting him directly in the chest. “Oh, you are so going to regret that.”
Liam grabbed a handful and threw one at her, missing her as she slid to the side. She seemed to be really good at this game. “You must have brothers.”
She nodded as she focused on the process of making her fourth snowball when she slid and landed on her butt. Peals of laughter escaped her mouth.
Liam stalked her as a lion would his dinner.
When he reached her, she scooted back. “No, no, you can’t, don’t throw that one, I’m down, done, I quit!”
Her laughter was so contagious he couldn’t help himself…he started laughing. He hadn’t been this happy, well—ever.
Valorie pushed herself up off the ground.
He took her offered hand, pulling her the rest of the way up. “You okay?” He brushed off her pants.
The sudden change of her expression warned him too late. She pulled a snowball from behind her back and threw it, hitting him square in the chest.
The ball flew apart, snow went down his shirt and it was cold. “You…”
“Hey, all is fair in love and war.” She brushed him off.
“Woman, you are driving me crazy.” He grabbed her throwing her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
“Put me down, Liam. Come on. I can walk. You’re just being a sore loser!” She kept laughing as he made his way to his pickup.
Once reaching the passenger side, he opened the door, lifted her light body and set her up in the passenger seat. Valorie was an amazing woman and he felt more than happy he’d found her after all these years. He walked around to the driver’s side. As he pulled open the door he looked over at Valorie, her face had gone white as snow. “Hey, what’s going on?”
She’d been staring down at her phone. “Here.” She handed it over to him.
A text had been sent. The phone number appeared to be someone she didn’t have in her contacts. It had a six five one area code so it was local.
I see you. It read.
Valorie was so tense Liam was afraid to touch her. It appeared she was barely holding it together.
A chilly black silence surrounded them as they sat in his truck trying to sort through the emotions. Liam had never been close to someone who was going through something like this. Sure, he handled clients who were victims of stalking but that was professional. He cared deeply for Valorie, so it made it a lot more personal. “I’m going to make a phone call quick.” He looked in his contacts and pulled up Gabriel’s number, he hit send.
“Hey, Liam, what’s up?”
“I need you to run a phone number for me. Tell me who it belongs to.”
“Yes, sir.” Gabriel ended the call.
“I just want you safe, Valorie. So, I’m going to involve my entire team. We need to figure this out now. This person is a crazy who is just toying with you. But I will not let it go too far.”
She nodded but wouldn’t look at him. He reached over and touched her chin. He gently guided her to turn toward him. She bit at her lip to control the tears.
He pulled her into his arms. The truck made it difficult because of the center console but Liam made it possible. He pulled her over it and into his arms. She laid her head on his chest letting the tears flow. As the sobbing started, Liam felt helpless. He rubbed her back and comforted her.
“I feel so stupid. Why am I letting this fool scare—me?” Her voice broke miserably.
“Don’t ever feel that way. This isn’t your fault. I want you to stay strong for me, Valorie. Please, it’s breaking my heart to see you like this. Where is my warrior who was just out there slaughtering me with snowballs?”
She wiped her tears from her eyes—a difficult effort but she smiled slightly.
“That’s good enough for me. Don’t worry, we’re going to catch this creep. He’s going to make a mistake and we’ll get him.” Liam comforted her as best he knew how to.
He certainly wasn’t well versed on how to soothe a woman. He hadn’t had many in his life. After recovering from his cancer, he finished school and worked on himself mainly. No time for women. So Valorie was his first love and now he was wondering if she would be his only. She was growing on him and his heart seemed to be bursting with happiness just knowing she was here with him. “Come on, beautiful one. Let’s get you in your seat and belted in. Then we are going to go and get that tree you want,” he said, successfully disarming her with his smile.
Valorie scooted over to her side of the truck. She took the seatbelt and wrapped it around her body. Liam took hold of it snapping her in. “Well thank you. I never had a man do that before.”
He knew he’d just knocked her off her guard. Her award-winning smile gave him comfort.
On the way to the tree lot, Valorie watched the road as they drove down the freeway. The white of the snow had a beauty that nothing compared to.
She really didn’t know how to feel. She felt upset and angry with the faceless person who wouldn’t stop trying to terrorize her. She didn’t want to face the fact she truly had a stalker in her life. The messages had been so simple but enough to send chills racing through her. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing and she was having trouble concentrating on her evening.
Then a thought occurred to her…if this hadn’t been happening to her, she wondered if he would even be sitting next to her driving them to buy a Christmas tree. She doubted herself and relationships with men. She’d never had any luck with either of them.
Liam pulled into the parking area for the trees. “Let’s do this. Do you have any idea what kind of tree you have in mind?”
“A spruce or a fir tree would be my two choices.” Valorie felt pleased he asked her opinion. Most men just took it for granted they knew what trees to buy. “Despite what has been happening with—the trouble I’m having, this has been one of the best days of my life. Thank you.” She put her arm around his back as they walked into the fenced in area.
“Why do you say that?” He stared at her, baffled.
“No man has ever asked my opinion on everything we’ve done. Liam, you’re so considerate of my opinions.”
“My mother taught me right from wrong. I was raised to honor and respect any woman in my life.” The warmth of his smile echoed in his voice.
“Well good, because you’re a special man.” She meant every word. Every time his gaze met hers, her heart turned over in response.
He stopped walking as they reached a row of trees and gathered her in his arms.
It just seemed so natural to allow him to touch her like he did. All evening, her body had been craving him. Valorie let him lift her up, and as he guided her, he surrounded her with heat. She felt her pulse suddenly leap with excitement. Parting her lips, she raised herself to meet his kiss. As his mouth covered hers hungrily, her pulse quickened as her heart beat faster against her chest. The blood pounded in her brain, leapt from her heart, and made her knees tremble. Valorie thanked her lucky stars Liam was holding her up, or she would have collapsed from the sheer pleasure of his kiss.
Liam reluctantly released her from his arms. He wanted to take this woman and bury himself deep within her. He couldn’t think that way. Dammit, he respected Valorie. He forced himself to calm down. She deserved more than a casual toss in his bed. Setting her back onto the ground was difficult to the point of being almost impossible. His phone rang, now he had no choice but to let her go. “Hello,” he answered.
“Hey, Liam, yeah that phone number,” Gabriel greeted. “It was a burner phone. Person paid cash. No trace. I have a few of the numbers that were called from that phone. Valorie was only one, the other was her office.”
“How did you find her office number?”
“I searched her number, made some calls. She works for Pantent and Sons, correct?”
“That’s an affirmative.”
“No other leads from that angle. Sorry, boss, hoped for more answers than that,” Gabriel said.
Liam had no worries with Gabriel; he’d been careful and very thorough. It was the reason he’d hired him. The man was a genius with the computer skills to match, he could find anyone if they could be found. “Thanks. I’ll be in touch.” He hadn’t let Valorie go yet. He shoved the phone back in his pocket, hugging her to him.
“And?” Valorie looked up at him, her eyes piercing into his.
“The phone number from the text was a dead end. It was a burner.” Liam hadn’t expected anything else. Whoever this person was, they were smart and careful. He knew it would take some time and patience for him to make a mistake. He needed to change the subject and make sure she enjoyed the rest of her evening. They were standing near the entrance to the trees. He wanted to brighten up her life. He tightened his hand squeezing hers. “Come on, let’s go find us a tree,” Liam sang. He now felt relieved he’d worn his work boots; they were keeping his feet dry and warm.
Valorie had on her snow boots, so she was equally comfortable. They walked the entire lot until she squealed. “Liam, I found it. This one is perfect.”
A beautiful six or eight-foot spruce stood out. He had to admit it was gorgeous. “So you want this one, do you?” He grinned.
“Yep. That’s the one.”
If he’d had been picking one out for himself, this would have been the one. “Okay, let’s put our tag on it.” He tied the name tag that had been given to them at the gate. Then Liam held her hand as they paid and arranged for the vendor to bring the tree up to his truck.
“While we wait, do you want a cup of hot chocolate?” Valorie asked, pointing to the lady in the warming house selling different hot drinks and food.
“Sure, sounds great.” Liam took her by the hand and walked over to the vendor. He ordered two cups of hot chocolate for them. He handed the first cup to her.
Valorie took it and held it between her mittens keeping her hands warm. She sipped at the hot liquid. “Yummy,” she murmured.
He smiled at her as he got his change and took his cup in his hands, leading them over to a picnic table. When they finished the hot chocolate, their tree was leaning next to his truck. Liam picked it up with little to no effort and tied it in the back of his truck. “You ready to go to my house?”
Valorie nodded. It was a little after nine pm and she did feel exhausted.
They quickly arrived at his house. He was correct when he said the trees were right by his place, only a few blocks. She was pleasantly surprised. He lived in a small cul-de-sac in a moderate neighborhood.
His home looked beautiful. A large front yard was covered with a white blanket of snow. Tall trees could be found throughout the property. Pulling into the driveway, he clicked the garage door opener.
In one of the three stalls sat a GT Mustang, blue and white in color. Valorie whistled. “Wow, Liam, nice stang. It’s my favorite kind of car.” She didn’t wait for him to pull into the garage, instead she squealed, “Let me out.”
He stopped his truck as he started to laugh. She jumped out and ran to the car. She touched and stroked the car at the same time.
As he got out, she exclaimed with joy, “This is absolutely amazing. I love your car!”
“Thanks, I bought it a few years ago, it’s fun and all, the only problem is it’s worthless in the winter.”
“I know that’s silly.” Valorie laughed easily, the joy on her face made him happy.
Then suddenly, she stopped and looked over to the other area of the garage. “Liam, I can’t believe this.” She shimmied around the car reaching his motorcycle. “It’s a Yamaha YZF-R superbike. I’ve always wanted one of these,” she purred.
“Do you ride?”
“I do. I only have a Triumph Street Triple. It’s a little lighter weight than this bad boy.” Her face lit up with excitement.
“Can’t wait to ride again, that’s why I hate winter.” He pointed at the bike, chuckling.
“You’re so right and they’re gorgeous.”
“Come on, shorty, let’s get you inside.” He led her to the inside door. Unlocking it with a key, he pushed it open. “Hold on.” Liam disappeared for a minute. After a few beeps sounded in the garage, he appeared before her. “Okay, it’s all clear, had to turn off the alarm.”
They entered the foyer. He reset the alarm, closing and securing the house up for the night. She was impressed. Following his lead, she took off her boots.
“Let me show you around quick.” He led her upstairs into the living room. It looked to be an open area. He had beautiful leather furniture, staged as a model home would be.
“Liam, you don’t use this room much?”
“Nah, my mom helped me decorate. I’d rather use the family room downstairs. My mom thought I would need an area for entertaining so that what’s this is used for. Usually, when I have friends over, we hang out down there.” He pointed his thumb toward the stairs leading down.
Valorie walked into the extremely expensive decorated kitchen. The first thing she noticed was the granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and copper fixtures. Wrinkling her nose up, she spoke her opinion, “This is actually a little too fancy for me.” Her face heated up. “I’m sorry, I spoke out loud.”
“No worries. I got this house at a great price. It was a foreclosure, a bank owned it. The people had all this added as extra. I felt it was foolish money spent. It’s nice though, easy to keep clean.”
“I agree, if it came with the house.” She held up her hand to him.
He slapped it high fiving then continued to lead her through the house, a large bedroom was next to the kitchen. “This is my room.” The large king size bed took up a good portion of the organized and clean room. The bed was made and the pillows neatly arranged.
Valorie picked up one and felt the material. The silk was so soft.
When she set it back down Liam quickly straightened it back where she got it from.
“No way,” Valorie chirped.
“What?” Liam turned to her, his eyes wide.
“Why did you straighten that pillow?” she asked.
Liam’s face turned crimson, he was so adorable when he blushed. Valorie needed him to relax. His tension created more of her own. She shared her own struggles, “You do know I’m sorry for embarrassing you like that. It’s just we have a lot in common. We didn’t talk about this in college, but I’ve got OCD and I would have done the same thing with my own pillows.” A soft tone vibrated in her voice.
“Wow, really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?” he asked.
“I would never to do that. Besides, it makes me feel better I’m not the only one out there like that.” She reached over and took his hand. “Come on, show me the rest of your house, please.”
“I’ve had OCD since I was a little boy. I remember, Mariah used to mess with my toys or shoes.”
Valorie covered he mouth to hide her giggling. “My sister did that to me too.”
Liam laughed with her. “I would get so mad at Mariah. I’d chase her around the house until she’d tattle to my dad or mom, then I got into trouble. It’s not so bad now though. I can handle some chaos in my life.” Liam ran his hand through his hair. “Come on, I’ll show the rest.” They’d been holding hands since walking out of the bedroom. They continued down the hall into another bedroom.
“This is the guest room. You’ll be staying in this room while you’re here.”
The room was moderately furnished with a queen bed and dresser. “Liam, I need to get some of my things. Maybe we could go to my apartment tomorrow or something?”
He nodded. “I already thought of all that.” He walked back to his room. Opening the closet, he pulled out a huge long t-shirt. “Will this work for tonight?”
Powerful relief filled her. “You have thought of everything, haven’t you?”
“Yep. It’s my job.” Liam continued showing her through the house.
“Can you show me downstairs?” Valorie asked.
Liam started down the stairs and she followed him into a large family room. Everything seemed neat and tidy but still looked as if he lived down here. “I see this is where you spend much of your time.” She pointed to the neatly stacked magazines on the table, three remote controllers, and an empty glass.
“Sorry about this. When you called last night, I left without cleaning up my mess.”
“No worries, glad to see you actually know how to walk away from a mess too,” Valorie commented as she went to pick up the glass.
“You can leave that, I’ll clean later.” Liam straightened up the couch pillows and threw away some papers.
“I was actually beginning to think you were a total clean freak. There’s only so far you can go with your OCD before it destroys you. This is better.” Valorie set the glass back down as she sat down on the couch. Stretching out, she commented, “This is nice and comfortable.” She patted the couch by her. “Come sit with me for a minute.”
Liam handed her a remote, it was to a fifty-inch TV he had installed in the wall. “Here, if you want to watch cable.”
“Sure nothing like the present. I could use a shower. You have a really nice house, Liam.”
“Thanks, let me get you a towel and wash cloth.” He sat down next to her.
She followed. He showed her where everything was then he left her to shower. Valorie sat down on the toilet and just thought to herself. Liam was such a nice person. He hadn’t changed his personality at all since college, only his looks and body.
Valorie couldn’t believe how tired she felt. It took all her strength to shower.
After she was done, she donned just the long t-shirt. There was no way she was putting her dirty underwear on after a shower. Wrapping her hair up in the towel, she opened the door. She didn’t see Liam so she assumed he was somewhere in the big house.
She walked into the guest room and crawled into bed. Laying there, her tired body finally relaxed. Valorie knew Liam was going to keep her safe, nothing to worry about tonight, she let her eyes close and within minutes’ darkness took her to a blissful place.
Liam walked upstairs to see if Valorie needed anything. He found the bathroom door wide open, so he checked the bedroom. There snuggled under the covers, sound asleep, was Valorie. The love he felt was stronger than ever before. In college, it was a childhood crush this was a full-blown deep love he had for a woman as a man would. The tiger in him rose to the surface and roared for his mate. He had to get to someone and ask questions to figure out how all this worked. But, somehow, he knew she was his animal’s mate.
He quietly backed out of the room, closing her door. He had a few things he needed to do. He walked into his office, in front of him was some seriously high tech electronic equipment. Gabriel had come and installed everything known to man in his new house. With his dangerous job, in addition to him being part of a billion-dollar company, he was out in the open too much for his comfort, he had to be secure in his own home. Only a few people knew where he even lived. He didn’t think she even realized the compliment she paid him when she jumped for joy in his garage. They had so much in common. He loved his bike and the “stang” as she called it. When she stroked the car with her hands, he’d been wishing it was his body. Bad. Stop thinking about Valorie that way, stupid.
There were going to be people, his father, his unit, who will question his sanity for bringing a stranger into his very private domain. He trusted Valorie all through college, now he had faith and trusted her completely to be part of his private life. Liam intended to protect her or die trying.
When he sat down behind the desk, he peeked at the monitors. Everything in and around the house seemed to be secure. His property was clear, quiet, and safe.
It looked to be quiet in the neighborhood with nobody hanging around. Liam had made sure no one followed them home. But to be on the safe side, he set the alarms outside on his fence as well. No way would anyone get near his house without him knowing it.
Once he had the house in lockdown and secured, he called each of his team members. The calls took him a little over two hours. It was way past midnight, Liam knew he needed to sleep.
Drinking a protein shake then taking his vitamins, he got enough energy to take a quick shower. After drying off, he crawled into his big bed. He thought he was going to have trouble sleeping because all his mind centered on was the beautiful woman in the guest room.
Lying there, he remembered what had happened today at Valorie’s office. He hadn’t been too surprised when the beast had risen to the surface in him.
He wondered now if the elders had known more about his conversion and they weren’t telling him or his father. The shifters had worked with the doctors and scientists during the entire process of his treatments and conversion.
The elders of the wolf pack, prides, and clans voted against converting Liam at first. When they’d met Razan Livingston, they decided to take the chance and gave their permission, especially if his father would give them something in return. An agreement of sorts, was drawn up and signed. Each shifter family owned two shares of stock in the Livingston Agency.
Liam heard all the stories from the younger shifters during training. The wolf pack elder, advisor to the alpha, told Razan they’d witnessed a few human conversions. Some had worked, but most had gone seriously wrong.
After Liam’s conversion, had been a success, they’d told him he probably wouldn’t be able to shift. Because of the agreement Razan signed with the shifters, each family had a vote as to who they sent over to work at Livingston in the states at their corporate offices.
The pack leader, Quinlan Dubourdieu, hand-picked two of their elite special ops members, Iris and Casey, a sister and brother born from Quinlan and his wife, Beatrix. Liam and Razan allowed Quinlan and two elders from their pack to sit in on the interviews they conducted on the rest.
During Liam’s training, he learned about the shifters and their history. Almost, to the point of extinction, each family chose to go into hiding to save their dying race. With that hanging over their heads, each pack, pride or clan had a head honcho.
Liam had always found the packs, prides, and clans interesting. He had asked so many questions, wanting to understand where these people came from. He thought back to meeting Quinlan, an imposing figure. Scared the hell out of Liam.
Quinlan told Razan and Liam to go to the pack in the US. Caleb McKann ran this pack and his father, Jacob, who, to this day, Liam had no idea where the man had his pack hidden.
Joining the Livingston Agency was Rosaline Vendoski and Eli Canter, two of Caleb’s pack members and part of their elite force. It was a great addition to the Agency.
Quinlan led the region of wolf packs around the world. That name could be traced back over four hundred years or more. Quinlan’s pack lived in Ireland on a remote area unpopulated by humans, only wolves. Razan and Liam had to travel to Ireland to Quinlan’s territory to do the interviews. Liam had at first argued with his father, rejecting the idea of traveling to do the interviews. His reasoning had been if a shifter wanted a job with Livingston, they had to come to the States for the interview, just like any other person in the world did.
When his father fought with him for hours, Razan finally laid down the order that they would travel with no questions asked. Liam couldn’t figure out why this specific family had any say to their decision.
After months of negotiations, Liam finally realized the Dubourdieu pack had been a large part of the recovery and breeding programs the Livingston had developed. Casey and Liam had become fast friends.
Danny Boy Petrovich, from a pride, of large cats, mostly Siberian Tigers and lived close to but far enough away from the Dubourdieu pack they didn’t fight. A wolf and tiger wasn’t something you wanted to mix often to one another. Danny Boy had donated the blood to convert Liam and cured the young man of the Leukemia. These two men stayed by his side the entire time his body nearly ripped apart and the pain almost destroyed him as he’d undergone the conversion. The three of them had spent months together in training to help Liam adjust to his body’s recovery and conversion.
The large cat inside him stirred and stretched. He needed Danny Boy. If he couldn’t get ahold of him there was one last chance. He rang Danny Boy’s phone, which went straight to voicemail. He dialed Caleb McKann. “Hello, dammit, Liam, do you know it’s the middle of the night, I’m fucking sleeping?”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’m frustrated and not sure what the hell is going on.” He heard some shuffling and a clank as the phone hit the floor. “Sorry, I’m up. What’s going on?”
“I met an old friend and I have to put her under protection. But, something is wrong with me and this thing inside me won’t calm down? Any ideas?”
“How do you feel… About the girl… I mean are you sexually attracted to her?”
Liam gathered Caleb hated talking about sex with other men. “Yes, on everything you just said.”
“Jesus, Liam dude I think you might have met you mate. Danny Boy’s blood runs strong in you. That’s why you’ve always been a loner and a leader to your team. The tiger blood is there and I believe once you met this? Um, woman, and the mating call is screaming out, I think. Hey get some sleep. You sound tired. In the morning, call me. I’ll talk to Teig and see what he says. If he has no answers we’ll pull Danny Boy out of his undercover work.”
“Okay, sounds good. You think it’s the animal trying to claim his mate or am I going to shift? Nobody knew the answers a while ago when they converted me?”
“Go to bed. I’m tired as hell and have a full day ahead of me. Jem is preforming in Chicago. Old memories are kicking our ass. I’ll call you.”
“Okay, thanks, buddy.” They disconnected.
He laid there for a while longer. If Valorie was his mate, then it made sense. He had seen some of the shifters literally lose their cookies trying to fight the mating call. He prayed for that. It would be amazing to have a mate forever. First though, Caleb was right, he needed sleep. Closing his eyes, he did his deep breathing exercises then exhaustion finally took over.