They got to Liam’s house in Kelvin’s Range Rover, the SUV pulling up at the entrance of his street where the asphalt started to crack and the streetlights flickered more than they stayed on.
Liam unbuckled his seatbelt but didn’t move to leave yet. He turned to Kelvin, studying his friend’s face in the dim glow from the dashboard. "Are you good?"
Kelvin let out a laugh, but it sounded hollow, like sothing scraped out from the bottom of a barrel. "After everything I saw tonight?" He shook his head slowly. "Man, would you even believe if I said yes?"
Liam’s mouth curved into a smirk. "Maybe not."
"Yeah." Kelvin gripped the steering wheel even though the car was in park, his knuckles going pale. "I need to go ho and just... take all this in first. Process it, you know? Because right now my brain feels like soone put it in a blender."
Liam nodded.
That made sense.
Tonight had been a lot, even for him, and he’d been the one in the ring. For Kelvin, who’d just been there to watch what was supposed to be so entertainnt, seeing soone’s head twisted backwards probably wasn’t on the agenda.
"Alright," Liam said. "Get so rest."
"Will do."
Liam reached for the door handle, but before he could pull it, Kelvin made a sound, sothing between a cough and a laugh.
"Wait, hold up." Kelvin was looking past Liam, staring at sothing down the street. "Isn’t that Elena’s car?"
Liam turned to look.
He didn’t need to strain his eyes because her car was the shiniest and biggest vehicle on the entire street.
A Rolls Royce, gleaming under the streetlights like it had its own gravitational pull. It stood out like a diamond in a pile of rocks, parked right in front of his apartnt building.
Liam sighed. "Yeah. That’s her."
Kelvin let out a tired laugh. "I guessed as much. I’ve gotten enough Seven family vibes today. I’ll leave you to handle this alone. Don’t do what I won’t do."
’I can’t believe I wasted sympathy on this bastard earlier.’
"It’s not like that."
"Sure it’s not." Kelvin grinned, but it was tired around the edges. "Alright, man. I’m out. You take care of yourself."
"You too."
Liam climbed out of the Range Rover and closed the door behind him.
The night air was cool, carrying the faint sll of exhaust and soone’s late dinner cooking sowhere nearby.
He heard Kelvin’s car pull away, the engine fading into the distance as he walked toward the Rolls Royce.
The driver’s side window was down.
The older man sat there.
His hands were folded in his lap, and he looked like he’d been waiting patiently for hours.
"Evening, sir," Liam said, nodding to him.
"Good evening, Sir Liam." The man’s voice was smooth, asured.
He returned the nod with the sa quiet respect.
Liam moved to the back window and knocked on it lightly with his knuckles.
The glass was tinted so dark he could barely make out the shape of soone inside, but he knew she was there.
The window rolled down.
Elena sat in the back seat, and when she saw him, her face lit up in a way that made sothing in
Liam’s chest tighten.
Not the polite smile she wore for strangers or business associates. This was genuine, warm, like she’d been waiting all day just to see him.
"I see you brought the classic?" Liam said, grinning.
Elena laughed, light and easy. "What, you don’t like it?"
"Nah, it fits you. It’s just this neighborhood hasn’t seen anything like it since it was built." Liam gestured at the street around them. "You’re making everyone’s cars look bad."
She tilted her head, still smiling. "Are you saying I should’ve brought sothing less noticeable?"
’I don’t think you own anything that is less noticeable’
"I an, the car’s nice."
"Just nice?" Elena put a hand to her chest in mock offense. "Liam, you wound ."
He couldn’t help but smile back. "Alright, it’s more than nice. Happy?"
"Very." She settled back into her seat, looking relaxed in a way she rarely did. "Sorry if I made you wait. I know I should’ve called first."
"You didn’t make wait. I just got here." Liam paused. "But yeah, you could’ve called."
"Where’s the fun in that?" Elena’s eyes sparkled. "Besides, I missed you. Thought I’d surprise you."
"Well, mission accomplished."
They fell into a comfortable silence for a mont, the kind that didn’t feel awkward or forced.
Elena looked like she wanted to say sothing else, but then her phone buzzed in her lap. She glanced down at it, and Liam saw her expression change.
It was subtle. Just a small shift. But her smile faded slightly, and her eyebrows drew together.
That was unusual.
The only ti he had seen her react like that was when he told her about Tasha. She was always in control, always composed.
"Is everything okay?" Liam asked.
Elena stared at her phone for another second before turning it off completely. When she looked back up at him, the warmth was still there, but there was sothing else underneath it now. Sothing urgent.
"I have to go," she said softly.
"Right now?"
"Right now." She reached into her bag and pulled out a Red envelope. "But I wanted to give you this first."
’A red envelope?’ His eyebrow quirked upward.
Liam took it from her. The red envelope was thick, heavier than he expected. "What’s this for?"
Elena just smiled, and this ti it was softer, almost shy. "You’ll see."
"That’s not cryptic at all."
"I like keeping you guessing." She looked up at her driver. "We should go."
The engine started, a low purr that seed to vibrate through the air.
Liam stepped back from the car as it pulled away from the curb.
He watched the taillights disappear down the street, red dots fading into the dark.
The envelope felt odd in his hands. He turned it over once, looking at the smooth surface, but didn’t open it. Not yet.
Liam walked back to his apartnt building and climbed the stairs to his floor.
The hallway slled like soone had burned popcorn earlier and the carpet was worn in the middle from years of foot traffic.
When he reached his door, he knocked three tis.
A few seconds passed. Then the door opened.
Tasha stood there in a baggy t-shirt that hung off one shoulder.
She looked at him for a long mont, her expression completely blank, then turned around and walked back to the couch without saying a word.
Liam stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Uh, hello to you too?"
Tasha sat down on the couch, curling her legs underneath her, and picked up her phone. She didn’t look at him.
"Okay, weird," Liam muttered under his breath.
He locked the door and moved further into the room. "So I had kind of a rough day. Well, night really. Kelvin dragged to this thing and it got complicated."
Tasha scrolled through her phone, the screen reflecting in her eyes.
"I didn’t want to go in the first place," Liam continued, sitting down on the arm of the couch. "But you know how Kelvin gets. And then I found out about this whole underground fighting arena thing. Like, actual numbered fighters and everything. Pretty wild."
Nothing. Not even a glance.
Liam frowned. "Is sothing wrong?"
Tasha finally looked up from her phone. "A lady ca by looking for you."
Liam blinked. "What?"
"A lady." Tasha set her phone down on the cushion beside her. "Ca by earlier. Looking for you. She ca in and everything."
"Wait, seriously?" Liam shifted his weight. "What did she look like?"
"Tall. Pretty. Perfect face, perfect hair." Tasha’s voice was flat. She glanced down at her own chest, then back up at Liam. "And really busty and curvy. Like, annoyingly curvy."
Liam felt his stomach drop slightly. "That sounds like Elena."
"Elena." Tasha repeated the na like she was tasting it. "So you do know her."
’Wait, so... Elena ca to inside earlier? Why didn’t she just tell that outside?’
"She didn’t tell "
"I’m telling you now, aren’t I?"
"I an when I first walked in."
Tasha shrugged. "Didn’t feel like it."
Liam ran a hand through his hair. "Look, she’s just a friend. That’s it."
"A friend."
"Yes. A friend."
"Would a friend have a key to your place?"
’Crap, I completely forgot about that.’
Liam opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Elena had made herself a key months ago, just made one to drop gifts at his place and acted like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"That’s..." Liam tried to find the right words. "That’s not really what it looks like."
"So she doesn’t have a key?"
"No, she does, but it’s not because we’re together or anything. She just made one and I didn’t really think to stop her."
Tasha nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah. Okay." She picked her phone back up. "You don’t have to explain anything to , Liam. It’s your life."
The words were calm, matter-of-fact, but sothing about the way she said them made Liam’s chest tighten more than if she’d yelled at him.
"I’m not lying," Liam said anyway. "We’re just friends. She helps out sotis, I help her out. That’s how it works."
"I believe you." Tasha glanced down at his hand, at the envelope he was still holding. "What’s that?"
"This?" Liam looked down at it. "Elena gave it to before she left. I haven’t opened it yet."
"You gonna open it?"
"I was planning to."
Tasha stood up from the couch and stretched. "Well, don’t let stop you."
Liam hesitated. There was sothing in her tone, sothing distant, that made him think opening this envelope right now might not be the best idea.
He started to tear the edge.
"Actually, you know what?" Tasha said quietly. She walked over to his bed and climbed in, pulling the blanket over herself. She turned to face the wall. "I’m tired. Good night, Liam."
"Wait, Tasha."
But she didn’t respond. She just lay there, her back to him, the blanket rising and falling with her breathing.
Liam stood there in the middle of the room, holding the envelope. He looked down at it, turning it over in his hands. Front, then back. The paper was smooth against his fingers.
"What’s in here?" he muttered to himself.
But he didn’t open it. He just stood there, staring at the envelope like it might give him answers he wasn’t sure he wanted.
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