Chapter 75: Let Him Find Out We’re Gone After We’ve Left (Updated)

‘One use left. Don’t waste it.’

The screwdriver moved between them while Liam rose above the ground. Lin stopped beneath him, the sword held across his body as he watched the emerald tool. He had already seen one attack turn against him, and now there was something moving without Liam touching it. That uncertainty finally made him hesitate. Liam used the few seconds to put more distance between them, keeping the screwdriver close instead of sending it toward Lin. He could feel his concentration dividing between the two abilities, and the pressure behind his eyes was returning.

“Who are you?”

“You followed me here. You should have asked that first.”

Lin shifted his grip on the sword but didn’t attack again. His other hand pressed briefly against his ribs before dropping to his side. Liam noticed the movement and lowered himself to the ground, still keeping his distance. He wanted the other system, but he didn’t know how to take it, and using his last Reversal wouldn’t guarantee that Lin stayed down. The memory of the warning returned as he watched the man’s face. Starting his own attack now would mean committing to a fight he had barely prepared for.

“Leave. I have nothing to do with your wife.”

For several seconds, neither moved. Then Lin stepped backward, keeping his eyes on the screwdriver until he was farther away. He didn’t apologize or make another speech. He walked toward a car parked down the road and drove away, leaving Liam standing outside the warehouse with his jacket torn and his hand shaking slightly. Liam waited until the vehicle disappeared before recalling the screwdriver and retracting the cape. When he finally sat in the Bentley, he stayed there for a few minutes, letting the headache settle.

‘Twenty times his own skill, and the bastard could still come at me.’

By the time he reached the apartment, Clara was setting food on the kitchen island. She looked up to greet him, then stopped when she saw the cut in his jacket. Liam took it off and showed her that the blade hadn’t reached his skin, explaining what had happened while she checked him anyway. He told her about Lin following him, the first attack, and how he had used Reversal. There was no reason to hide it when she had been beside him during their first encounter at the bank.

“Did he follow you back?”

“I watched the road. I didn’t see him.”

Clara put the jacket aside and sat beside him. Liam ate while he finished explaining, then sent the warehouse owner a message ending the remaining bookings. Lin already knew that location. Before going back to training, Liam would find somewhere else.

Alexandra returned to Princeton the following afternoon. Liam met her outside her apartment building and took the suitcase from her before she could drag it out of the Flying Spur. She looked tired, with her hair loosely tied behind her head, but the moment he put the suitcase down, she stepped forward and hugged him. Liam held her for a while without asking anything. They had spoken over the phone, but it had been weeks since he had seen her, and she seemed unwilling to let go now that he was actually in front of her.

“How’s your mom?”

“Settled. She told me to stop standing over her and come back.”

Alexandra smiled against his chest before finally stepping away. Her mother was out of the hospital and staying in the place Alexandra had rented in Scranton. She still needed help, but someone would be there while Alexandra was away, and she could drive back whenever she needed to. Liam listened as they carried her things upstairs. She explained the arrangements in detail, occasionally correcting herself when she remembered something she had missed, and he could tell she was still trying to convince herself that leaving for a few days was all right.

Inside, Alexandra opened a window and went straight to the kitchen to check what she had left behind. Liam put her suitcase near the bedroom and helped her throw away the food that hadn’t survived her absence. By the time they finished, she had washed her hands twice and checked her phone three times. On the fourth, Liam took the rubbish bag from her and pointed toward the chair beside the table. She sat down reluctantly, watching him tie the bag before he returned to stand in front of her.

“You arranged everything. If she needs you, they’ll call.”

“I know. I just keep thinking I forgot something.”

“What about your father?”

Alexandra’s expression changed. She looked down at her hands, then told him that her mother hadn’t gone back to the old house. For once, there had been somewhere else to take her, and Alexandra had made the arrangements before leaving the hospital. Her father wasn’t paying for it, and neither woman needed to ask him for anything. Liam nodded and sat beside her. He didn’t interrupt with an offer to send more money. She already had enough, and hearing her explain what she had done with it pleased him more than another thank-you would have.

‘Good. At least that money is doing what it was supposed to.’

She had an appointment with the university the next morning to discuss her studies and what could still be completed after her absence. After that, she wanted to put the apartment in order and return to something resembling a normal schedule. Liam offered to drive her, but she shook her head and reached across the table for his hand. There was nothing she needed him to arrange tonight. The hospital bills were paid, her mother had somewhere safe to stay, and she had already made the calls she had been avoiding.

“Can you just stay for a while?”

“Yeah.”

Alexandra pulled her chair closer and rested against him. Liam put his phone aside and let her talk.

Megan came to Liam’s room carrying her laptop and a small bag. He was sitting at his desk when she entered, and at first he thought she wanted help with something for class. Then she put the laptop in front of him and opened an email containing a flight confirmation. Her name was on the ticket, along with a departure time for the following morning. Liam looked from the screen to her face. She remained standing beside the desk, holding the strap of her bag with both hands.

“Did you book this?”

“Rudolf did. He wants me home.”

Liam pushed his chair back and asked her to sit. Megan explained that Rudolf had called after sending the ticket, telling her that someone from Danuvan would take her to the airport. When she said she had classes, he mentioned Granny again and told her that a short visit wouldn’t hurt. She had tried calling the orphanage afterward and eventually spoken to Granny, who sounded well and knew nothing about the supposed visit. That had relieved Megan until she realized Rudolf hadn’t needed anything to be wrong. He only needed her to worry.

“I don’t want to go to his house.”

“Then don’t.”

“He’ll keep sending them here.”

Liam looked at the ticket again before closing the laptop. Going to California wasn’t the same as agreeing to meet Rudolf, but letting his people collect her would put the whole journey under his control. He asked Megan what she actually wanted, and she answered without hesitation this time. She wanted to see Granny herself. She wanted to know whether the woman who had raised her understood what Rudolf was doing, and whether she would consider leaving. Liam listened until she finished, then reached for his phone.

“We’ll arrange our own flight. You’re not getting in their car.”

Megan watched him search for flights, then pulled her chair closer. They chose a departure together, and Liam booked two seats. Afterward, she contacted the university about the absence while he called Clara and explained what had happened. There was no argument, though Clara wanted to come too. Liam told her he would call when they landed and keep her informed. By evening, his bag was packed, Megan had told Rudolf she wasn’t using his ticket, and neither of them had given him their new travel details.

‘Let him find out we’re gone after we’ve left.’

They reached the airport early the next morning. Megan checked her phone repeatedly while waiting to board, finally showing Liam the messages asking where she was and why she hadn’t answered the man sent to collect her. He handed the phone back without replying for her. She read the messages once more, turned the screen off, and put it inside her bag. When their boarding group was called, she stood beside him immediately, looking more determined than she had outside his room.

“I’m going to see Granny first.”

“Okay.”

Hours later, they landed in Los Angeles and collected their luggage. Liam arranged a car while Megan called the orphanage to ask whether Granny was available for a visit. This time, when she gave the address, she wasn’t explaining a place she was frightened of returning to alone. Liam put both bags in the trunk and opened the passenger door for her.

Granny was waiting near the entrance when they arrived. Megan got out before Liam had finished parking and hurried toward her, leaving her bag on the seat. The old woman caught her in a hug, holding her shoulders afterward to look at her properly. She asked whether Megan had been eating, why she hadn’t mentioned the visit earlier, and who the young man behind her was, barely leaving enough time for an answer. Liam collected Megan’s bag and introduced himself before following them inside, where several children immediately recognized her and came running over.