Begin Again novel Chapter 228

Liam headed straight to his study as soon as they got home and spent almost an hour on the phone with his father.

Like he'd expected, Clarke was against the meeting and even more disturbed when he brought up the idea of dropping the charges.

"Are you insane?" His father barked on his end, and if they were in the same room, Liam knew he would have likely throttled him. "We almost lost you. You almost died! How can you even think about this?"

"What other choice do I have, Dad? He's watching Eden. We're getting married in three weeks. I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder. What kind of life will that be for Eden and our children?"

"James told you there's a way to handle this. Aleksei and his brother are dogs. They should be put down."

"And what will that make us?" Liam asked sadly. "I didn't call to ask for your permission. I was simply informing you the meeting with Andrei is happening."

He clicked off before his father could push with his insane proposal.

Liam sat on the edge of his desk and called James, and he was in his study within minutes.

"Arrange a meeting with Andrei," he told him tersely.

James refused outright. "I can't allow you to do that, Sir."

"I'm getting married in three weeks; I want to have a wife, my two kids and my life, James. Andrei wants something from me. I'm guessing he wants his brother out of prison. If dropping the charges means keeping my family safe, I'll do it. Make it happen."

"Your father won't agree to this."

"My father has his family, and I have mine. I have to do what's right for mine."

"Sir—"

"Enough, James!" Liam growled, upending the items on his desk, startling the other man with the level of violence he was displaying.

Since the shooting, he had gravitated between rage and apathy, moments of extreme sadness and agitation. The doctors had said it was all normal signs of PTSD.

Liam, though, didn't think it was PTSD.

It smelled a lot more like fear and helplessness and failure.

He was terrified he would never be able to keep his family safe if he didn't give in to Andrei's demands, whatever they were. And he felt extremely helpless at the lack of control over his own life.

"Get me that meeting, James," he grunted, still gripping the edge of the desk tightly.

Half an hour later, after assuring Eden everything was just dandy, they set off.

"When will it end, James?" Liam asked, his heart burning as much as his bullet wound.

"Tonight, Sir. It ends tonight," the other man replied as he pushed him inside the car, and they headed to the Ivanovs' compound in Linksfield.

The meeting took place in Andrei's study, and they got down to business as soon as they sat down.

Both men had a deep-seated disgust for the other, the hatred between them so thick, one would need a katana sword to slice through it. So niceties were not necessary, and they skipped all pleasantries and handshakes.

Surprisingly though, Andrei's staff was hospitable, offering Liam their most expensive bottle of bourbon.

"No thanks," he pushed the glass away and stretched out his legs in front of him.

"Ouch, I'm offended by your rudeness Anderson," Andrei snickered from his mahogany desk, touching his chest in feigned heartbreak.

"Screw you," Liam growled. There was no way he'd take anything from the Ivanovs. He wouldn't put it past them to lace his drink with cyanide or something equally deadly.

"You sent people to watch my fiancée just to get my fucking attention. So tell me what you want and make it quick!"

"I think there's been a misunderstanding," Andrei said as he poured himself a drink. He took a few sips and waved the glass at him to show him it's not laced with anything.

"I don't understand where all this hostility from you is coming from." Andrei continued as he stood up and paused in front of the massive French windows. They showed a beautiful desert oasis during the day. But at night, there was just desolate darkness, pretty much like how Liam's heart has been over the past couple of weeks.

"I always liked you, Anderson. I even betted on a few of your races. My money was always on you, of course. But you—for some reason, you hate me. Why is that?" Like a whiny little child, Andrei demanded his attention from the window as he turned, fished out a pack of Marlboros and pulled out a cigarette. His guard rushed to his side to light it for him. He took a few puffs and blew out a massive cloud of nicotine.

Liam snorted in disgust. "Your brother fucking torched my depot and burned my trucks. I lost half a billion in revenue because of him, and you 'always liked me'?"

"I had nothing to do with any of that," Andrei held his hand over his heart as if he was making some solemn oath. "You know I was handling things abroad, and when I found out what Aleksei did, I immediately came home to fix things."

"You call stalking my fiancée fixing things?"

"How else was I supposed to get your attention? Be glad it's me and not one of my partners keeping tabs on you." Andrei took another puff.

"I suppose you expect me to thank you?" Liam gritted his teeth.

Andrei ignored him as he crossed the room and sat down in the armchair across from him, throwing him a gentle smile when he finally spoke. "I ran after you like a little bitch for two weeks, Anderson. I was at the hospital daily, but your men kept turning me away."

"I'm sure you can appreciate their reasons."

"Here's the thing," Andrei murmured. "Aleksei told me you were close to signing over twenty percent of Lusso to us when you attacked him."

"I attacked him?" Liam shook his head incredulously. Aleksei had a seriously warped sense of reality. "He almost killed my son!"

"I didn't ask you here to rehash the past," Andrei said as he slid the bloody envelope in his direction.

Liam had tried so hard to ignore it since he sat down, but now he had no choice but to confront the crimson stains, and he wondered whose blood it was. His or Aleksei's?

"I want in!" Andrei announced. "My partners are eager to get to work. Two weeks is a long time to lose money. So let's bury the hatchet."

"Why would I give you a piece of Lusso when your brother tried to kill me? What's in it for me?"