Page 149 of Perfect Liar

As the men came in one-by-one, I realized it was the first time for me being in the same room with his entire team assembled at once.

Loyal men. Dangerous soldiers. Men who followed Will to help protect me. Men who I owed more respect than I’d given.

Thomas and John devoted themselves to Will because it was in their blood and because they fiercely loved him.

The other men were loyal of their own free will. And those were the faces I explored now.

The hardened expressions of Ben Scott and Joe Turner.

I studied the lines and creases on the foreheads and around the eyes of Andrew, Colin, Daniel, and Eric. All had once carried the weight of Britain’s protection on their backs.

Uncle Robert came in with the last man.

“Can I be of some assistance?”

From previous conversations with Thomas, I’d gathered that Robert and their father’s relationship had been rocky. That might’ve been the reason for Will’s detachment when it came to his uncle.

“Not in here. Spend your time here at Eastridge with Mum. Help her with her grief.”

Watching Robert leave, I wondered if I was also in Will’s way. Would my presence hinder the conversations he needed to have with his team?

He still had to handle the Green brothers. Were they rogue or connected to the men coming after us? He had to deal with the police as well. And he needed to freely strategize with his team.

Excusing myself might spare him from worrying about what I thought or if I saw him differently. I wouldn’t. But if leaving him to it was one of the few things I could give him, to ease his mind, then I had to go. Everyone knew the scales of our relationship tipped in his favor when it came to giving and sacrifice.

I folded back his sleeves, touched his bare forearms.

“I want to go upstairs, Will. I’ll check on Mary and the girls, then wait for you in your room.”

His shoulders relaxed, then he turned to the guys sitting around the table.

“I’ll be back in a minute. Get started with a detailed rundown. I want every meter of this estate secured. No mistakes. Thomas, put one of your drones up and have a look.”

Will wrapped his strong, tattooed arm around me, and we headed upstairs, stopping outside of Lissie’s bedroom, where they had all gathered.

“You’ve recovered remarkably well tonight,” he said.

He was right. I had found the strength to get myself together, to accept what I couldn’t change. My connection to him…that was where I got my strength.

I smiled and pulled his forehead down to mine.

“You deserve the credit for that, Will.”

Our lips connected softly, and we lingered there for a second.

His tenderness made me high.

Watching him go, I whispered at his back.

“You’ve changed me.”

When Will made it to his room a few hours later, exhausted, he rubbed the back of his neck and cursed to himself.

I sat up in the bed.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.

“You didn’t. I can’t sleep. What is it…what’s wrong?”