He froze as he stared at her. "Sera—"
"Where is he?" Her voice was a little shrill.
Liam stared at her in dismay. Shit, this was all going wrong. The rapid beating of her heart told him she’d seen something in his eyes when he'd turned to look at her. How much she glimpsed, he didn't know. "He had a knife."
"So you killed him?"
"It was an accident."
"Why didn't you call the police?"
"Sera, please calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down!" she screamed.
"I panicked all right," he said. "I just panicked."
"You seemed pretty calm to me."
"I didn't know what to do." He took another step toward her. "It was an accident."
That was a lie, he'd meant to kill Jacob, and he’d enjoyed every second of it. But he couldn't tell her that. She was already looking at him like he was a monster. If she knew the truth, she would run screaming into the woods and never look back.
"Then we'll go to the police now," she whispered.
"Sera, I can't do that."
"Why not? If it was an accident—"
"They'll say I tried to cover it up, they won't believe me," he said.
"They'll understand it was an accident. They'll know you stabbed him in self-defense; he had a knife, he was attacking me, and you stabbed him."
He moved a step closer to her. "Sera, I can't do that."
She lifted her eyes to meet his. They were full of despair as she gazed at him in confusion. He wanted to ease the sorrow in her gaze and make her forget everything that happened tonight, everything she’d seen. "My life would be over. I'd go to jail. Everything I've worked for would be gone."
He stopped before her and gripped her arm. A sudden spark rolled through her eyes, an acknowledgment that made his stomach heave, and his heart hammer. She stared at him in dawning horror. "Sera," he whispered.
"If you stabbed him," she whispered. "Then where's the blood? My sheets are clean."
He tried to grab her, but she took a step away from him as her hand flew to her mouth. Liam closed his eyes against the revulsion and trepidation in her gaze. "Sera—"
"My God," she whispered. "What are you?" His eyes flew to hers. His arms fell limply to his sides. Her eyes searched his face pleadingly, but he made no move toward her. "Liam—"
"Let's go."
Her gaze flew to Mike. He stood with his arms folded over his chest as he stared at her in resignation. It felt as if a sledgehammer slammed into her stomach as the breath rushed out of her. Mike knew what was going on, what Liam had done. He had helped him afterward; that was why he was here. He would be no help to her.
Her legs turned to Jell-O. She panted as she hung her head and fought desperately against passing out. Hands clasped hold of her and lifted her up. She couldn't offer a protest as Liam swung her into his arms and carried her down the steps of the gazebo. She was confident she was being taken to her death, but she couldn't find the strength to fight against him.
Chapter Ten
Mike opened the door to Liam's room and stepped back to let him enter. Liam carried Sera swiftly inside. Her body was unyielding against his; her hands curled into fists in her lap. He shifted his hold on her to pull the blankets on the bed back. Sliding her in, he pulled the covers up around her as she lay unmoving. "Just get some sleep," he whispered. "We'll talk in the morning, all right?"
Her eyes were dull and glazed as she looked at him before turning away to look out the window. She hadn't spoken a word to him since the gazebo. He didn't know what to say or do. He naively thought he could avoid all this.
It wasn't the kind of a secret you could keep from someone who was as close to him as Sera was. Deep inside, he knew that. He just never wanted to acknowledge it. Now it was slapping him in the face.
He turned away from her. Mike stood in the doorway, his gaze intense as he studied Liam. "We need to talk."
"Tomorrow."
"Liam—"
"Tomorrow, Mike!" he barked.
Mike's gaze was intense and irate as he studied him. His eyes closed as he nodded briskly and left the room. Liam stood in the quiet room, unsure what to do. Finally, he strode across the room and slid tiredly into the easy chair. He watched as she continued to stare out the window, hoping she wasn’t afraid of him, certain she was. How could she not be?
"You're safe here," he told her.
"Am I?" she muttered.
He winced at the words. "Yes, you are."
He turned to look out the window, unable to stand the revulsion in her gaze any longer. The moon had finally risen; its pale light spilled in to illuminate the room. He looked back at her as she lay motionless. He watched her for a long time as her breathing steadied. He knew she was still awake.
Liam woke with a start and nearly toppled out of the chair. His neck and back ached, he felt as stiff as a board. He groaned as he straightened his aching joints, and opened his eyes. The sun was just touching the horizon. His bones cracked as he walked over to shut the blinds before it woke Sera. She was sleeping on the bed, her head buried beneath the blankets. His heart and body longed to hold her as he watched her for a minute.
He forced himself to turn away and head for the door. He opened it cautiously, stepped into the hall, and made his way to Mike's room where he pounded on the door. "What?" Mike yelled.
"Open up," Liam grated.
He listened as Mike stormed over to the door and swung it open. Mike glared at him from bloodshot eyes. "When I want to talk you tell me to go away, but it's
