Liam
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents depicted in this work are of the author’s imagination or have been used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locations, or events is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2014 Madison Stevens
No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.
Liam (Allen Securities #3)
by
Madison Stevens
Meg Allen traveled to London to learn new skills for her brother’s security firm and try and bury her feelings for a certain sexy co-worker, Liam. A summer away in London hasn’t cooled the flames of passion. Equipped with a defiant attitude and a new hairdo, she has to face the man she’s pined after while also dealing with an unknown enemy targeting her home.
Liam Grant is still coming to terms with his deepened and shocking connections to the Irish mob. He has to make a choice of either his blood family or the Allen family and his career at their security firm. With Meg threatened, he pushes aside his own concerns to focus on the investigation. Though he tells himself that his family connections are just another danger to Meg, his passion risks burning away his objectivity and could blind him to the truth of who is actually targeting the woman he desires.
Chapter One
Meg sighed as she stepped out of the jetway into the terminal. She really didn’t mind flying at all, but being stuck next to Mr. Chatty Pants hadn’t really been her idea of fun. In truth, she was hoping to get a little shuteye. She knew the flight back home to the US from London would be dull and long and that she was going to be missing out on prime sleeping hours. Stupidly, she had opened her mouth about her lovable mastiff, Harley, to her seatmate when she noticed he was reading a dog magazine. That was all the incentive he needed.
Her seatmate from the plane smiled and waved at her excitedly as he entered the terminal. His well-groomed hair sat perfectly on his head, and she wondered how much gel he used.
She gave a halfhearted smile and a small wave.
“Crap,” she mumbled when he started her way. Not wasting time, she ducked into a nearby bathroom and groaned. Such encounters had been happening more and more since her recent makeover, even without discussions of her dog. She’d always kept her dark brown hair about chin length. It worked, and she liked it, but maintaining the status quo wasn’t exactly on the top of her to-do list.
Then, John and Nicolas happened. The few times she had chatted with them online, they had pestered her to grow out her hair and do layers with light brown highlights. “It will add depth,” they claimed.
Meg washed her hands in the sink. As far as she could tell, the only thing her hair had added was general irritation from the number of men who seemed to be interested in her. She grinned in the mirror. She’d bet her ass they wouldn’t be near as interested if they knew she could take most of them out with one blow or a center-mass hit from fifty yards away.
She dried her hands and gathered her things. No more wasting time. She had things to do. Meg went to the door and stopped.
“Oh,” she said. She took a breath and moved through the door. Her new dog-loving admirer was waiting for her. “I thought you’d be on to baggage claim, Lewis.”
He smiled, his teeth just as perfect as his hair. She wondered if he was as meticulous with his dog.
“I thought we could continue our talk about my most recent dog show with Cromwell,” he said.
Meg refrained from rolling her eyes.
“Hmmm,” she said and trudged along the walkway. “That Cromwell really is something.”
She tried not to laugh as Lewis puffed out his chest and smiled broadly. The only thing missing from this picture was a pair of suspenders for him to pop.
“He certainly is.” He nodded. Meg debated asking what product he used to keep things from moving around. “Four best in class and one best in show.” He wrinkled his nose in irritation and looked to her. “Would have been twice for best in show, but Betsy Cook gave her poodle a dye job.”
Meg choked on the laughter that bubbled up.
“Is that really an issue?” she asked. His solemn face surprised her.
“Cheating is a very serious issue,” he said gravely.
“Oh,” Meg said awkwardly.
She fell silent as they passed through the security checkpoint and wondered where Cage was. When her brother had offered to pick her up, she knew it was somewhat of a risk, given his habit of being late, but Meg was desperate. If she didn’t make it to Reed and Olivia’s wedding, there would be hell to pay with the whole Allen family.
Meg scanned the crowd.
“Shit,” she mumbled when she spotted the one man she didn’t want to see, Liam.
“Pardon?” Lewis said.
Meg shook her head and headed toward him. One thing was certain, she was going to strangle Cage. Sending Liam was just a low blow. Cage, above all others, knew her feelings about him.
She tucked her feelings deep down inside and readied herself for the effect he still seemed to have over her. Three months away hadn’t done as much as she would have liked to ebb the flow of emotions. Her time away had only proven this to her.
Just like she remembered him, Liam stood above most other men. He kept his hair buzzed short, making him look far more menacing than she knew him to be. She frowned a little. That wasn’t totally true though. He had his moments when he really could be plenty menacing, but it really depended on who he was talking with.
When he turned in her direction, she could see he had shaved for the day, but the dark circles from over working were harder to hide. Even when she hadn’t wanted to keep up on what he had been doing, everyone still seemed to think it necessary to let her know about his recent work with his cousin Finn, head of the Irish mob family in the area.
His eyes landed on her, and her heart thumped wildly in her chest. For a brief moment, she thought he looked almost happy to see her. Liam’s dark green eyes burned into her, and she struggled to catch her breath.
She watched as his eyes shifted to the side, and his brow pinched in irritation. She might have found the whole things funny if he wasn’t staring daggers at poor Lewis who had, thankfully, stopped his endless talking.
“Hi,” she said quietly.
Liam kept his eyes fixed on Lewis.
“Who’s this?” Liam asked, his frown deeper than before.
“I’m Lewis,” he responded tightly before Meg could get it out. He raised a brow to Liam. “And you would be?”
She could see the vein in Liam’s neck strain with irritation. “Her ride,” he said through clenched teeth.
“This is Liam.” She smiled sweetly to Lewis and turned back to Liam. “Lewis sat with me on the plane, and we talked about Harley and his dog Cromwell.” She hoped it was enough to smooth the ruffled feathers she was starting to see.
“What the hell kind of name is Cromwell?” Liam asked. His face was just as hard as before, but now he’d turned his stare to her.
Meg groaned as Lewis puffed up his chest. This was not going to end well.
“Cromwell is his family name,” he huffed. “If you must know, he’s Lord Cromwell the Third.”
Meg bit the inside of her cheek. Never in her life had she heard something so ridiculous.
“Well,” she said, stepping between the two of them before it got out of hand. “Maybe we should go pick up our luggage.”
“Yes,” Lewis glared at Liam. “Let’s.”
Lewis turned toward the baggage claim and waited for her to walk with him. Meg sighed. She really should have never cut her hair.
They walked in silence to the conveyor belt. There were only a few pieces left, so it was easy to pick out her extra-large bag. Not that it would have been that hard. It was about as bright a purple as she’d been able to find. She might kick ass, but there was nothing saying she couldn’t do it in style.
Meg reached out to grab the large bag from the belt when she felt Liam’s large body press in beside her. He yanked it off like it was just a purse. She watched the muscles in his arm flex as he shifted the weight of the bag and placed it on the floor. Her mouth dried up at the sight. She found herself far more parched than she had ever been.
“Any more?” he asked gruffly.
Meg shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.
“Looks like I’ve got to go to the counter to pick up Cromwell,” Lewis said, shooting Liam a bitter look.
Meg stuck out her hand, hoping to end things right where they were.
Lewis shifted uncomfortably, and she knew what was coming before it even left his mouth.
“I was thinking, since we both have dogs,” Lewis began. Liam coughed loudly behind her. Lewis stopped talking to glare at Liam. “I thought we could go to the dog park or something.”
Meg opened her mouth, not really sure how she was going to turn him down. He really wasn’t asking for much, but there was no way she was interested in him.
She yelped as she was drawn back by a large arm.
“She’s busy,” Liam said firmly.
Dumbfounded, she turned to look at Liam. He stared at Lewis, clearly giving him the “fuck-off” look. Meg looked back to Lewis, who was staring at him open-mouthed, his face turning red with embarrassment. He crossed his arms and pressed his lips together until they formed a thin line.
“Shouldn’t she be the one telling me that?” He glanced at Meg.
“Fine,” Liam said firmly.
She jumped when he spun her in his arm. Her head still slightly dizzy, she gasped when his mouth came crashing down on her own.
All those months away and times of telling herself she was over him still hadn’t helped. Once again she was back in his arms being kissed like there was no tomorrow. Despite how badly it had ended the last time, she still couldn’t stop herself from leaning into him.
She couldn’t explain it, but there was just something about Liam that drew her in. Meg sighed and gave in completely to temptation. Her arms wrapped tightly around her neck, and she pressed herself firmly into him.
When he pulled back, she blinked her still dreamy eyes back into focus.
Liam pushed her back again and took a hold of her large purple bag.
“That did the trick,” he mumbled and walked swiftly to the automatic doors outside.
Meg looked around and found Lewis had moved on to the other counter. Her face flushed with embarrassment and anger. She swore this was the last time she would let Liam make a fool out of her.
Liam cursed as he walked quickly to the car. He told that asshole Cage it would be a bad idea to come pick her up. All summer he had been so focused on what she was doing in London that it had been nearly impossible for him to concentrate on much else.
Knowing she went to England to live with two men had eaten him up daily. They were young and handsome. He’d seen pictures from her blog of the three of them out together. He really didn’t know what he would do if she had decided to start a relationship with one of them. Not that there was really anything he could do. She was a grown woman, and it would be best if she did start seeing someone. Anyone but him.
Liam reached the car and punched the button on the key to unlock it. He went around back saw she was slowing moving along, likely stunned by his little stunt. He ripped open the back hatch and frowned, thinking of Lewis. The little prick had it coming after acting like he was good enough for her and then questioning Liam.
He hefted up the heavy bag and slipped it into the back. When he shut the door, Liam leaned heavily against the car on his palms.
Kissing her had not been part of the day’s plan. It shouldn’t have been a part of any plan with her. His feelings for Meg weren’t good. Not only was he a good seven years older than her, but there was no way he was letting her into his life. Especially now that he realized just how much his blood tied him to the Irish Mafia.
It had only been a month ago that he learned about his true heritage. All these years he had thought he was just the cousin of the head of the Kelly Clan, only to find out he was actually an illegitimate brother.
With a war waging between his two half-brothers and Liam’s promise to help, there was no way he was bringing her into this mess.
He licked his lips and remembered the way she felt against him and the sweet taste of her lips on his. It was just like he remembered from before, except this time, she wasn’t drunk, and he had been the one making the move. Still the same fireworks.