“And maybe not.” His voice went hard, and he rolled off Kim and to his feet. “We find the Collar.”
Kim remained on the floor, staring up at his hard body. He was beautiful—firm muscle, broad shoulders, chest dusted with dark hair, now damp with sweat. His skin was covered with scratches from the fight, but they were healing, even the deepest ones only angry red lines. The worst wound was around his neck, where his Collar had been.
As he forced himself to turn from Kim to look for the Collar, Kim knew that Fergus had never understood just how strong Liam was. He’d made the choice to give up his freedom to stay with his family and help them in their captivity. Fergus had sacrificed others in his cause; Liam was sacrificing himself, just as he had when he’d stepped forward and taken the whipping to spare Connor pain.
Kim got reluctantly to her feet, trying to brush off the worst of the dirt she’d rolled in. Liam was already looking, quick gaze darting everywhere as he skirted the dust in the corner that had been Fergus. He didn’t show much remorse about killing his clan leader, but Fergus had been nuts. Also, she knew the man wouldn’t have gone meekly home, promising to stop his experiments: I’m sorry, Liam, you’re right. I’ve been a bad Shifter.
Kim thought about Fergus’s mates, and the offspring Fergus had mentioned. Would they mourn him? Would they try to exact revenge on Liam or move on with their lives? What would Liam, as clan leader, do to them? Would all of those Shifters down in San Antonio accept him without rancor? This would be interesting to watch—interesting being a euphemism for scary.
Behind her, Liam said, “Here it is.”
She swung back to find Liam holding the thin silver and black chain as if it was a poisonous snake. Kim chewed her lip as he gripped the ends, one plain, one with the Celtic knot, in his white-knuckled fists.
“Will it work?” she asked. “It’s not broken?”
“Once it’s on me again, it should. Justin said that Brian’s experiments let him figure out how to unfuse the Collars from us, not disable the chips inside. He hadn’t got that far, yet.” Liam took a long breath. “This will hurt me, Kim. You should go.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Maybe I just don’t want you seeing me weak and pathetic, love. A Shifter’s got his pride.”
“Liam, I’ve seen you strong, crazed, violent, angry, happy, sad, and far gone in passion. I love every single one of those, especially the last one. Did you know your pupils widen when you come? It’s like you want to take all of me in, forever. It’s very sexy.”
“Is it, now? Well, this won’t be. It wasn’t pretty the first time I put on a Collar, and I don’t imagine this will be much better.”
Kim folded her arms. “I’m not leaving. I’m your mate, remember? In the traditional human wedding ceremony, we promise to stick together for better or worse. That means not just when everything’s pretty, but when it’s bad, very bad.”
“I’m thinking there’s no line in there about watching your Shifter mate take his Collar.”
“Not last time I checked, but the idea is the same.”
Liam looked down at the Collar, chest rising sharply. “I can’t lie to you, Kim. It’s a bit easier knowing you’re near me.” He looked up, his eyes clear, dark blue, full of fear and full of love. “Wish me luck.”
“I love you,” Kim said.
A hint of his warm, wicked smile touched his mouth. “Love you too, sweetheart.”
He studied the Collar a long moment, then took another sharp breath and lifted the chain to his throat.
Liam’s muscles tightened as the Collar settled against his neck. Kim had no idea how the thing fastened, but as he touched the bare end to the Celtic knot, she heard a loud click, and then Liam screamed.
Cords stood out on his neck, and his entire body arched backward. He balled his fists and clenched his teeth, fighting the agony.
Kim rushed to him. Shifters comforted and helped each other with touch—maybe she could ease him a little bit if she could hold him. Liam thrashed as spasms racked his body, his screams becoming hoarse cries.
She reached for him. “Liam.”
Liam focused on her, his eyes white-blue. “No, Kim. Stay back.”
“You need me.” Kim grabbed his wrists, but he snapped them away from her.
“I said stay back.”
“And I said, you need me.”
Kim darted between his hands and slid her arms around his sweating waist. His skin was ice-cold. She rubbed his back, trying to warm him.
“Kim, no.”
“You need me,” she repeated firmly.
Liam drew breath after shuddering breath. He stood stiffly, body shaking at the same time. Then with a cry of agony, he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck.
Chapter Twenty-three
How long they stood like that—arms locked around each other, Liam rocking in pain—Kim didn’t know. She held him while his hot tears dropped to her shoulder, while he kissed her neck and held her as if he’d never let her go.
Kim heard shouting outside. She lifted her head to see that the warehouse had grown darker, the rain still pelting but more softly now, the storm over. Flashlights cut through the gloom, and then the tall forms of Sean and Dylan emerged out of the darkness. Others trailed behind them—Glory, Ellison, Connor, Nate, and Spike.
Dylan played his flashlight on the two of them in the middle of the warehouse, Liam filthy and naked, Kim in rumpled clothes and probably just as filthy.
She called to them, “He put the Collar back on and the pain is tearing him up.”
Dylan approached, but the others hung back. Liam managed to lift his head, his eyes filled with incredible pain. “Dad.”
Dylan stopped just shy of Liam, eyes troubled. “Do you want me, son?”
“Of course he wants you,” Kim said. “You’re his dad.”
“He’s clan leader now,” Dylan said. “And pride leader. He can reject me if he wants.”
“He won’t.” Kim shook her head. “He told me once that he wouldn’t fight you because he loves you.”
“That was before,” Dylan said.
“Doesn’t matter. People’s status might change, but love stays the same.”
Dylan opened his mouth to argue, but Connor jerked away from Ellison, who was trying to hold him back. The lanky boy charged past Dylan and threw his arms around both Liam and Kim. “Damn it, we thought Fergus would kill you,” he sobbed.