Liam Takes Manhattan (Elder Races #9.5)(7)

“I need to get to a laptop.” Tossing back the last of his coffee, Liam stood, and Hugh did as well. He paused to give the other man an earnest look. “Thank you. Seriously. I really needed this conversation.”

Hugh’s smile creased his lean cheeks. Hooking an arm around Liam’s neck, Hugh pulled him into a brief, tight hug. “You’re most welcome, sport. I’m glad it helped. I’m going to get some breakfast. Want to join me?”

He shook his head as he returned Hugh’s hug with enthusiasm. “Can’t. I’ve got too much to do.”

Along with a conversation he needed to have with his parents.

“Call if you need anything else.”

“I will,” Liam promised. “Talk to you later?”

“Any time.”

As they parted, Hugh strolled back to the Starbucks line. Liam strode toward the nearby bank of elevators. Then he paused. While his dad probably had too much to do in the aftermath of Constantine’s passing, he would bet money that his mother was spending time in the penthouse, keeping watch for his return.

He still wasn’t ready to talk. Not quite yet.

Digging out his phone, he typed out a text. Hi Mom. I love you.

Almost immediately, his phone pinged in reply. I love you too. How are you doing?

Pretty good. His thumbs moved rapidly across the small screen. I’ve been getting my head sorted out. I have a few things I need to do, but can we talk at noon?

Of course. Do you need anything?

He smiled. No. But thank you.

You’re welcome. You know I’d do anything for you, right? Just say the word.

Yeah. I do know. Talk to you soon.

Once he hit send on the final message, he tucked his phone back into the pocket of his jeans, swiveled and headed out the wide glass doors. The public library would be opening soon. He could use one of their computers to find out more about Glenhaven.

And, just for the hell of it, he might do a little Internet searching on dogs while he was at it.





Chapter Three





Several hours later, right at noon, Liam walked into the penthouse to find his mother and father waiting in the living room.

Dragos sat in an armchair nearest the Christmas tree, reading a book on ancient Egyptian treasure, one ankle hooked over his knee and a cup of aromatic coffee on the nearby table. Pia curled up at one end of the couch, flipping through a magazine. The scene looked peaceful and inviting, and they looked quite calm.

Calm was good. Calm was super good.

Dragos was also present in the middle of a workday, during a highly stressed time, so Liam knew just what a priority his parents had placed on talking to him.

As Liam entered, Dragos laid his book on the table, and Pia straightened to set her magazine aside.

Tucking his hands in his pockets, Liam strolled over to throw himself down on the couch beside Pia.

He said, “Hi.”

“Hi, sweetheart.” She gave him a wry smile. “You know I have to ask it—are you hungry?”

“No, thanks. I picked up a sandwich when I was out.” He returned her smile with a crooked one of his own before he said to Dragos, “I’m sorry to interrupt your workday.”

“It’s no trouble.” Dragos reached for his coffee cup. “You are always going to be one of my highest priorities.”

Yeah, he knew that. Once he could get his dragon side to calm down, he could even feel it. Liam was uneasy with how his dragon bristled when his father got too commanding. Dragos was not just a powerful personality. He was a ruler. Rulers tended to get commanding and dictatorial from time to time.

He said, “I have some things to say.”

Pia laid a hand on his knee. “You can tell us anything. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do.” He squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. “First, I wanted to say thank you, and it’s my turn to apologize. Things haven’t been easy on anybody, but even through that, you guys have been super patient with me, and you’ve given me space when I needed it. I really appreciate it, and I’m sorry if I’ve added to your stress this week.”

Dragos waved that aside. “Don’t concern yourself with that.”

Even though Dragos meant nothing but good, and Liam’s dragon had calmed considerably, it still bristled at his father’s autocratic way of wording things. He choked his reaction down.

Now that he was nearing maturity, would it always feel that way between them? They were two male dragons, both territorial, both possessive.

As much as he’d had to wrestle with himself lately, it would have been handy if he could have split himself in two, because sometimes he simply wanted to put his hands around the neck of his dragon and throttle it.

Pia asked, “The important question is, are you feeling better?”

He nodded. “I flew around all night and did a lot of thinking. Then I talked to a few people and researched some stuff.”

“Who did you talk to?” Dragos asked.

Now it was his turn to wave that away. “That’s not important. The main thing is, it helped.”

“Good.” Dragos said, “What else?”

Here we go.

“Thank you for offering to get me a puppy.” He looked at both of them in turn. “It was really thoughtful of you. I did some thinking about that too, and I’d like to turn your gift into something bigger, if that’s okay.”