Page 59 of Played
Safe.
I feel safe.
And then…
The thought slams into me with the force of a freight train, stealing the breath from my lungs and turning my blood to ice.
What if Daniel decides to hurt Julian?What if he goes after him? What if his obsession with controlling me, with owning me, extends to eliminating anyone who gets in his way?
The terror of that possibility crashes over me like a wave, drowning out the warmth and safety I felt just moments ago.
My breath hitches. Daniel knows about him. Saw the kiss. Has been watching, following,hunting.
What if he—
I imagine all the horrible things Daniel could do to Julian—every violent possibility my mind can conjure. I see him waiting in the shadows outside Julian's place, following him home from a gig. I see fists, blood, worse. My imagination spirals into darker and darker scenarios until I can barely breathe.
And then Colleen's words from earlier echo through my head, sharp and clear as the thunder outside.
"Hey." Julian's fingers trace circles around my belly button. "What's wrong?"
I force a smile into the darkness. "Nothing."
"Liza." He tilts my chin up, searching my face. "Talk to me."
The rain pours. Lightning cracks the sky.
"Just tired," I lie, pressing closer. "Hold me?"
His arms tighten around me, and I squeeze my eyes shut against the images flooding my brain—Julian bleeding, broken, gone.
All because of me.
I wipe down the bar for the third time in twenty minutes. Tuesday afternoons at the pool hall are death—just the hum of the refrigerators and the occasional crack of pool balls from the one table being used by two regulars in the back.
Jenna shifts on her barstool, one hand pressed to her lower back. "God, this one's kicking my ass. I don't remember feeling this awful with Liam."
“It’s because it’s a girl this time." I toss the rag into the sink. "Girls are meaner in the womb."
“You think so, too?” She groans, stretching. "Caine keeps saying that it’ll be a girl, too.”
"So you really don't know?" I grab two glasses and fill them with ice water, sliding one across to her.
"Nope. Caine wants to be surprised." She rolls her eyes but smiles. "Which meansIhave to be surprised, because he'd never let me find out without him."
I laugh, but it feels thin.
Jenna studies me over the rim of her glass, those big eyes of hers narrowing with concern as she takes a slow sip. She setsthe water down carefully, her expression shifting from tired to focused. "Okay, seriously. What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Liza."
I busy myself restocking napkins. "I'm fine."
"You look like you haven't slept in days." She leans forward. "How's staying at Reeves’ going?"
"It's fine. He and Kendra are sweet, letting me crash in the guest room." I shrug. "Liam was there this weekend. Kid's getting so big."
