Liam Devereux
“Cat got your tongue?” I asked sharply, watching as Sophie Evans sat across from me in the car, gawking like she had just seen a ghost.
She had no right to look at me like that.
I knew Sophie. We had history. And if there was anything I despised, it was my past sneaking up on me when I least expected it.
Dragging her into the car had been an instinctive decision, one I wasn’t particularly proud of. If the press had managed to snap a clear picture of her, the headlines would be all over it by morning. The last thing I needed was journalists digging into my past, trying to connect the dots.
And Sophie?
She and her brother, Lucas, were the only two people alive who knew the truth about what happened all those years ago.
Now, she was here, looking like she had nowhere else to go.
I studied her silently as the car sped down the road.
She was different. Stronger, bolder. But her eyes still held that same vulnerability, the same one I had seen years ago when she turned her back on me.
She didn’t say a word. Her lips parted slightly as if she wanted to speak, but nothing came out. That was fine. I wasn’t in the mood for conversation anyway.
I knew she relocated to London. I asked her again what she wanted and she began to stutter.
Just then, we got to a traffic point and I asked James to pull aside. When he did, I opened the door for her and asked her to leave.
“Out!”
Disbelief crossed her expression but I told her to leave again. She didn't move. She didn't look like she would.
I grabbed a face cap, put it on, and a sunshade to hide my eyes before stepping down from the car, then I peeped in and asked her to get down.
Finally, she stepped out and I studied her out of the corner of my eye. There was none of that innocence in her eyes anymore, the one I had once fought to protect. Instead, there was something else. Something guarded.
London must have hardened her.
“So? Are you going to tell me what you want, or are we just going to wait here forever?”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
I smirked. “No? Nothing? Should I just drop you off in the middle of the road then?”
That got a reaction. Her head snapped toward me, eyes blazing. I asked her to leave, trying to step back inside when she blocked my way.
She scoffed. “It’s true you’re a devil incarnate.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me?”
I studied her for a moment, taking in the fire in her eyes, the way she clenched her fists at her sides, the way she stood her ground despite knowing who I had become.
“T-This is a mistake.” She turned to leave, her long, dark hair bouncing with each step.
I moved fast. Grabbing her arm, I spun her around, pressing her back against my chest. She let out a small gasp, her body stiff against mine.
“What do you need?” I murmured against her ear.
She exhaled shakily. “Money.”
I arched a brow, releasing her just enough to look at her face.
Money? After all these years, that was the first thing she asked from me?
I let my gaze sweep over her. She looked tired, desperate. But I wasn’t going to hand her anything on a silver platter. A slow smirk spread across my lips.
“Let’s do a trade by barter, then.”
Her brows furrowed, confused. “What?”
I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice to a whisper, just enough to make her tense. “You want money?” My fingers traced down her wrist, a slow, calculated movement. “Then I want something in return.”