"What? Are you serious?"
Liam stared at Elena, trying to process what she’d just told him.
They were both fully dressed now, sitting in the living room of the lake house.
The afternoon light stread through the large windows, casting soft shadows across the hardwood floors.
Elena wore a sleek black dress that hugged her curves perfectly, the fabric stopping just above her knees.
Her hair fell perfectly into place, and she looked completely put together, like the last few hours of intense activity hadn’t even happened.
Liam was back in his jeans and hoodie, still feeling the lingering warmth and exhaustion from everything they’d just done.
His muscles ached in that pleasant way that ca after physical exertion, and he could still feel the ghost of her touch on his skin.
"I’m not kidding," Elena said, leaning back against the couch with her legs crossed elegantly. "You can use this place whenever you need it. As a hideout, a safe spot, whatever you want."
Liam looked around the room again, taking it all in with fresh eyes.
The open living space with its high ceilings and exposed wooden beams.
The big windows overlooking the calm lake surrounded by trees.
The comfortable furniture that looked both modern and inviting. The stone fireplace that added character to the space.
It was worlds away from his cramped apartnt with its water-stained ceiling and narrow windows that barely let in light.
This place was peaceful. Quiet. Safe.
"This is really cool of you," he said finally, aning it.
Elena waved a hand dismissively, though there was sothing softer in her expression.
"I already had the place. I’m just giving you access to it now." She paused, studying his face carefully like she was gauging his reaction.
"Look, I know things are complicated for you right now. And I can’t get directly involved in certain situations because of... well, you know. Family politics and all that. But this?" She gestured around the house with an elegant sweep of her hand. "This I can do. No one would ever connect you to this place. It’s registered under a shell company—only and one other person even know it exists."
"Wow, you really planned this out," Liam said, caught off guard.
"Of course I did." Elena stood up and smoothed out her dress, her movents graceful and deliberate.
"And if you ever decide you want to move in permanently, that’s an option too. But no pressure. I’m not trying to control your life or anything like that. Just know that it’s here for you whenever you need it."
Liam sat back against the couch cushions, taking it all in. She’d gone out of her way to set this up for him.
Made sure it was secure, private, sowhere he could actually be safe when things got ssy. And based on everything happening lately with Tasha and the people looking for her, ssy seed inevitable.
The gesture ant more than she probably realized.
Most people in her position wouldn’t bother.
They’d offer empty words of support or maybe so cash to help smooth things over. But Elena had given him sothing tangible. Sothing real.
"Thank you," he said quietly, eting her eyes. "Really. This ans a lot."
Elena’s expression softened slightly, and for a brief mont, he saw past the confident exterior to sothing more vulnerable underneath.
"You’re welco." Then she checked her phone, breaking the mont. "Now that we’re done and I can actually think straight again, we should probably get going."
Liam couldn’t help but grin. "Think straight, huh?"
Elena shot him a look, but there was amusent dancing in her golden eyes. "Don’t start."
"I’m just saying," Liam said, standing up and stretching slightly. "You seed pretty focused earlier. Very single-minded, if I rember correctly."
Elena rolled her eyes, but he caught the blush creeping across her cheeks. "Let’s go, Liam."
---
They walked outside together, the afternoon sun warm on their skin as they crossed the gravel driveway.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom was already waiting, its midnight blue paint gleaming in the sunlight.
The driver stood beside it in his black suit, professional and silent as always.
He opened the rear door without a word, and Elena slid in first with practiced ease.
Liam followed, sinking into the plush leather seats as the door closed behind them with that heavy, satisfying thunk that only expensive cars seed to make.
The interior slled like leather and sothing else he couldn’t quite place. Sothing clean and expensive.
The seats were impossibly comfortable, and the ride was so smooth he could barely feel the transition as they pulled out of the driveway and onto the narrow road leading back toward the city.
The drive back was quiet at first.
Liam watched out the window as the scenery changed gradually from trees and open space back to buildings and crowded streets.
The lake disappeared behind them, replaced by houses that grew closer together as they approached the city limits.
Then ca the comrcial districts with their storefronts and restaurants, followed by the older neighborhoods with their mix of architecture styles.
The further they got from the lake house, the more familiar everything beca. More lived-in. More real.
---
They were maybe four or five blocks away from his apartnt when Liam spotted it.
A hot dog cart on the corner, the vendor leaning against it casually while he waited for custors.
The cart had a faded red and yellow umbrella over it, and even from inside the car, Liam could see the steam rising from the grill.
His stomach growled audibly, loud enough that Elena probably heard it.
"Could we stop here, sir?" Liam asked, leaning forward slightly toward the driver.
The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror but kept driving, probably not sure if he should take orders from the passenger or wait for Elena’s confirmation.
Elena turned to look at Liam with raised eyebrows. "Stop here? What for?"
"There’s a hot dog stand back there," Liam said, pointing behind them through the rear window. "I haven’t eaten anything all day."
Elena blinked at him like she was trying to figure out if he was being serious. "You want a hot dog?"
"Yeah."
"Liam," she said slowly, like she was explaining sothing to a child, "if you were hungry, you should’ve said sothing earlier. I could’ve taken you sowhere proper to eat instead of stopping at so random street cart."
"I know," Liam admitted honestly. "But I wasn’t really thinking about food until just now. Saw the cart and my stomach just kind of... woke up, I guess. Now I’m starving."
Elena stared at him for a mont longer, her expression sowhere between exasperated and amused.
Finally, she let out a sigh and shook her head like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "I can’t argue with that logic." She leaned forward and tapped the driver’s shoulder lightly. "Turn around and stop at that hot dog stand we just passed."
"Yes, ma’am," the driver said, his tone professional and even as always.
He made a smooth U-turn at the next intersection, the Phantom handling the maneuver with surprising ease for such a large vehicle.
A minute later, they were pulling up directly in front of the cart, the car easing to a stop with barely a whisper of sound.
The mont the Phantom ca to a complete stop, people on the sidewalk started turning their heads.
A young woman walking her dog stopped mid-stride to stare.
Two teenagers on skateboards nearly collided with each other as they craned their necks to get a better look. An older man sitting on a bench lowered his newspaper, his eyes widening slightly behind his glasses.
A sleek black Rolls-Royce Phantom was not a common sight in this neighborhood. Or any neighborhood, really. But especially not here.
Liam opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, imdiately feeling several pairs of eyes on him.
A few people nearby were openly staring now, probably trying to figure out who he was or what soone driving a car like that was doing in this part of town.
He turned back to look at Elena through the open door. "I can walk from here. My place is only a few blocks away."
Elena looked at him for a mont, her expression unreadable, then nodded slowly. "Alright." She leaned back in her seat and gave him a small smile that seed genuine. "I had fun today."
"Yeah," Liam said, unable to keep the grin off his face. " too."
"Good." Elena’s smile widened slightly, reaching her eyes this ti. Then she tapped the driver’s shoulder again. "Let’s go."
The door closed smoothly, sealing her back inside the luxury vehicle.
The Phantom pulled away from the curb with barely a sound, gliding down the street like it was floating rather than driving. Within seconds, it had disappeared around the corner, leaving only a few lingering stares in its wake.
Liam stood there for a mont, watching the space where it had been, before turning toward the hot dog cart.
The vendor was an older man, probably in his late fifties or early sixties.
He had graying hair that was thinning on top and a thick mustache that was still mostly dark.
He wore a faded apron over a plain white t-shirt and was wiping down the tal surface of his cart with a damp cloth when Liam walked up.
"Afternoon," Liam said politely.
"Afternoon," the man replied with a friendly nod, setting down his cloth. "What can I get you?"
"One hot dog, please. Everything on it."
"You got it, son."
The man worked with practiced efficiency, pulling a bun from the warr and placing it on a small piece of wax paper.
He grabbed a hot dog from the grill with his tongs, the at still sizzling slightly, and nestled it into the bun.
Then ca the toppings: a zigzag of bright yellow mustard, a matching pattern of red ketchup, a generous scoop of relish, a handful of diced onions, and finally a healthy squirt of mayo.
As he wrapped it neatly in foil, he glanced past Liam toward where the Rolls-Royce had been parked just monts ago.
"That your girl?" the man asked casually as Liam pulled out his wallet.
Liam paused mid-reach for his cash, caught off guard by the question. "Uh... it’s not really like that."
The man chuckled knowingly, the sound warm and genuine, as he took Liam’s five-dollar bill and counted out his change. "Sure it’s not. I wasn’t born yesterday, kid. I know what I saw."
Liam shook his head but couldn’t help smiling as he pocketed his change and took the wrapped hot dog. "Thanks."
"Enjoy," the man said with a wave, already turning back to his grill.
Liam stepped away from the cart and carefully unwrapped the foil slightly, revealing the hot dog inside loaded with toppings exactly the way he liked it.
The sll hit him imdiately, making his mouth water and his stomach growl even louder than before.
’Haven’t eaten anything all morning. Actually, co to think of it, I haven’t eaten since last night. The only reason I’m not completely dead right now is probably because of that sexual resilience thing from the system. Otherwise I’d have passed out halfway through round two.’
He almost laughed at the thought.
’Spent the whole morning fucking instead of eating. Priorities, I guess.’
He brought it up toward his mouth, already anticipating that first perfect bite.
Just as his teeth were about to sink into the bun, he heard rapid footsteps approaching fast from his left.
The impact was sudden and jarring.
His arms jerked out instinctively, trying to catch his balance, but it was too late.
The hot dog flew out of his hand, launched into the air like a greasy missile. It tumbled end over end in what felt like slow motion before gravity finally won and it landed on the pavent with a wet splat.
Mustard and ketchup exploded outward on impact.
The bun split open, sending onions and relish scattering across the dirty sidewalk.
The hot dog itself rolled a few feet before coming to rest against the curb.
"Hey!" Liam shouted after them, his voice sharp with frustration.
But they were already gone.
Three guys sprinting down the sidewalk like their lives depended on it.
They were wearing hoodies and jeans.
They shoved past an elderly couple, nearly knocking the woman over, and vaulted over a fire hydrant before disappearing around the corner at full speed.
Liam looked down at his ruined hot dog lying on the ground, toppings scattered across the dirty pavent like the aftermath of a tiny food explosion.
’Are you kidding right now?’
He stood there for a mont, just staring at it in disbelief. He’d been so close. So damn close to finally eating sothing.
He let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his hair, trying to let go of his irritation.
"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.
The hot dog vendor looked over from his cart, having witnessed the whole thing. He shook his head sympathetically, his mustache twitching with amusent. "Want another one? On the house."
Liam opened his mouth to answer, already reaching for his wallet again, when sothing hit him from behind.
Hard.
Much harder than the first collision.
"Whoa!" The word ca out more as a shout than an exclamation as his entire body lurched forward. His hands shot out instinctively, trying to catch himself as he lost his balance completely.
But instead of hitting pavent or grabbing onto empty air, his hands pressed into sothing soft.
Really soft
Warm and round beneath fabric.
His fingers sank in slightly, the sensation registering in his brain even as he tried desperately to regain his footing.
’Wait...’
Liam’s brain caught up to what was happening half a second too late.
The realization hit him like cold water.
His hands squeezed reflexively as he tried to steady himself, his palms molding around the curves beneath them.
’Soft...’
"Excuse ?"
The voice was sharp and ca from directly in front of him. Not angry yet, but definitely heading in that direction.
Liam’s head snapped up, and he found himself staring at a woman who looked decidedly less than pleased with the current situation.
She was wearing a police uniform.
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