"Well, Stacey's on the case. She's going to get as many injunctions as she can, but there's not much we can do. This thing has so much traction, nothing's going to stop these pictures from being plastered all over the internet."
After the whole Anthony Kent debacle, Liam and Angel signed with one of Hollywood's most respected agents, Stacey Savage. She's smart, tough, and has connections everywhere, so if she can't kill the pictures, no one can.
When I refill Liam's glass, he guzzles that one, too. He looks wired.
"I wanted to take you on this trip to avoid crap like this," he says. "Not to drop you in the middle of it with me."
"My parents are going to see those photos," I say, staring at a stain on the carpet. "They'll be so proud."
Liam swears under his breath and rakes his fingers through his hair. "If I ever get my hands on the bastard who did this ..." He's gripping his wine glass so tightly, I'm afraid he'll break it. I pry his fingers loose and put it on the table.
Liam rubs his eyes. "Let's get out of here. We might not be able to outrun this story, but we can sure as hell ignore it. I've organized a security team to sweep the island before we get back. If the bastard who took those photos is still there, they'll find him."
He grabs our shopping bags as I finish my last mouthful of wine and leads me out of the hotel into a cab. Even as we drive away, I can still hear people calling out, "O garanh?o."
We've only been driving for a few minutes when my phone rings. I know without looking that it's Josh.
"Hey."
"Jesus, Lissa, are you and Liam okay? I can't go on the internet or turn on the TV without seeing way more of your two that I'm comfortable with."
I rub my temple. A headache is brewing behind my left eye. "We're fine."
"Well, yeah, that's obvious from the photos. Dayum, girl. Fine as hell!" When I groan, Josh says, "Too soon?"
"Way too soon."
"Sorry. But seriously, do you need anything? Alcohol? Valium? A heat-seeking pap missile?"
"God, yes to that last one." I glance at Liam who's staring stony-faced out the window. "I just hope the police find the guy before Liam does, or he could be up on some major grievous bodily harm charges."
"I tried to call your parents to warn them about what's going on."
"Did you get onto them?"
"Yeah, but I was too late. By the time I spoke with them, they'd been drinking heavily for over an hour."
"Shit." I lean my head back against the seat. "This just keeps getting better and better. I guess Dad will have no choice now but accept that his little girl is no longer a virgin and that Liam and I are more than just good friends."
I feel sick.
Josh tries to make me feel better by telling me that people are saying nice things about my ass, but it doesn't help. When we arrive at the marina I sign off and tell him I'll call him in a few days. Liam has gone quiet, and that's never a good sign.
After paying the cabbie, we head down to where the Elissa May is docked. Liam's in the middle of casting off when he stops dead and stares at the boat.
"What is it?"
He holds up his finger, and I follow his gaze to the cabin windows.
"The lights are on," he whispers. "I turned them all off before we left. That slimy asshole's on my fucking boat." He drops the rope and strides up the gang plank, fists clenched at his side. I follow, and hope like hell I can stop him from killing the guy.
As soon as we climb down the stairs, we hear banging around, as if whoever's there has just realized they've been busted. Liam storms into the master suite and grabs a man dressed in black by his throat before slamming him against the wall so hard, the floor vibrates. Liam's shoulder blocks the man's face from my view, so all I see is a mess of brown hair.
"Wait," the man yells, fear bright in his voice. "Please. Don't hurt me."
Liam slams him into the wall again. "Hurt you?! You're lucky I don't break your goddamn legs for what you've done." Liam grabs something from the man, and I jump as an expensive looking camera smashes to pieces as it hits the tiled floor. "Try to take your photos now, you piece of shit!"
"Liam—" I grab his arm to try and calm him down, but when I get close enough to see the pap clearly, I realize I recognize his face.
"Oh, shit. Scott?"
Liam's snaps his head around. "You know this guy?"
I'm so shocked, I can barely nod. "I ran into him at JFK. Literally. Knocked him over."
Liam turns to glare at Scott's terrified face. "You'd better explain yourself right the fuck now, or I'm going to take you out into the middle of the ocean and leave you for the sharks."
"Alright, alright," Scott says, holding up his hands defensively. "Just calm down, man, okay?"
God, does he have a death wish? Doesn't he know never to tell an enraged Liam to calm down?
Liam slams him into the wall again. "Talk!"
"Okay!" Scott's so scared by now, he's trembling. "My sister works at La Perla on Fifth Avenue. Elissa was in there last week, and she bragged about how she was going on vacation with you. My sister knew I was having a dry spell and needed to land some major pictures, so she passed the information along to me."