For not the first time since he'd been recruited by his estranged brothers on that cold Chicago afternoon, Liam Oliver Jones Thompson wondered why the hell he'd said yes.
He was clearly way out of his league. This heist was above his pay grade and the petty jobs he was comfortable pulling. He was good at tailing people and being invisible, yes, but he wasn't at the level required to hit a major casino and walk away clean. Everyone in the room was at the top of their field.
He wasn't.
He was only here because of the last name he carried and his half-brothers' misplaced sense of guilt. As if they were responsible for the mess that LJ's childhood had been, with an absentee father and an alcoholic mother who couldn't hold onto any job she'd had. With the parade of boyfriends that never quite stayed long enough to make a difference in LJ's life. None of that was the fault of the two men who came looking for him, carrying promises of a family bond and forging a name of his own.
A promise that only Killian had delivered on so far. Because here he was, sidelined again by his namesake. Liam had taken off with Henry and Milah, sparing him a brief side glance as he commanded LJ to stay put in the van. And as he listened to Ariel and Eric's flirty banter move from cute to slightly TMI, there was one thing Liam Oliver Jones Thompson knew above anything else.
He simply couldn't stay in that van any longer.
Taking a deep breath, he cursed Liam for not trusting in him. He cursed Killian for his hopeful speeches that made him believe he could be a part of something. And, moreover, he cursed himself for still caring what a blasted Jones thought of him. First it had been Brennan and now it was Liam.
Fuck them all to hell, he thought as he got out of the van and reached to make sure his lockpick set was still tucked in his back pocket. He was going to show his older brother exactly what he was capable of.
/-/
It was too good to be true.
Of bloody course it was. For the past few years, nothing in his life had gone according to plan, so why would he think he'd ever get a fucking break in this?
"What do you mean you don't know where he is?!" Liam sighed, running his hand through his hair. Henry, Milah and him had pulled a crisp, tight burglary, in and out from the building in the blink of an eye with that ridiculous pinch. They had loaded it at the back of the van and were ready to go.
But they couldn't, because his fucking baby brother was missing.
"He was just there!" Eric waved his hand at the empty space that was the backseat of the van, as if LJ would materialize out of thin air at any moment.
"Clearly, he is not anymore." Liam pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting the headache that was threatening to overtake him. He should have gotten an honest job.
Yeah, right.
"Hey… now, listen-" Eric started but Ariel cut him off.
"Maybe if you would have let him be part of the job he wouldn't have run away."
"What?"
She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly unimpressed by his attempt at a booming voice. Not that he could blame her, he wasn't Nemo. No matter how many year's Liam spent with the man, he hadn't yet managed to pull that one off.
"Oh please Liam, don't play dumb. You've been sidelining him from day one, assigning him nothing but tedious lookout jobs and invisible tailing. You've been ghosting him every step of the plan."
"You two do tedious lookout and don't feel ghosted."
"That's because that is what we're here for, remember? That," Ariel paused and swept her finger between herself and Eric, "is what we do. But him, he's a pickpocket with a very sharp mind and you're wasting his talent." She shook her head as if Liam were a lost cause. "Well, if you all would excuse me, I am going to find that poor kid before he gets himself arrested." She stalked off and Eric followed close behind, but she shooed him away. "Wait here and have the van running!"
Eric returned, plopping himself in the driver's seat and turning on the ignition. Henry whistled, adjusting his baseball cap over his eyes as he took a seat in the back and closed his eyes. Liam just stood there, watching Ariel's as she entered the building.
"You know, she is right. You're not giving LJ a chance to do anything." Milah picked at a piece of lint on her blouse and flicked it to the floor before meeting his eyes. "He's not going to mess up."
He cocked an eyebrow at her, pointing at the building behind him. "He just did."
Milah shook his head, her lips in a tight line. "No, you messed up. He reacted because you haven't allowed him to do anything approaching interesting since he's gotten to Vegas. I've talked to the kid, he's quite smart."
As if Liam didn't know how smart LJ was. Or how good that little fucking charmer could be at this. Better than him, for sure, and almost as good as Killian. "I know that." He sighed, the weight of this entire ordeal pressing on his shoulders. "Look is not that I don't' trust him-" Liam paused not sure if he wanted to give voice to his deepest fears.
But Milah obviously wasn't going to let him get away with it. "Then what is it?"
"I don't want him to take the hit for this. If this somehow backfires…"
Milah's eyes widened. "You don't want Gold to find out about him and retaliate," she whispered, her fingers moving back and forth across her throat, her eyes shining with regret. "Much like he did with Killian and you."
Oh, fuck.
He tried to backtrack. "Milah, that is not-"
"My fault?" she snorted, tilting her head to the side. "Really, Liam? Killian can pretend he doesn't care or that I am to be waived from all responsibility." Her fingers shook as she trailed them through her hair. "But you're better than that. You and I both know it is my fault - his scarred hand, the failed heist, the trip to Tuscany, your stint in jail, all of it. I'm not oblivious, Liam. I know what price you both - and Nemo - paid for helping me."
There was such pain and regret laced in her voice that Liam couldn't help but reach out and squeeze her arm. "We would never hold that against you. You wanted out and you needed help." He put as much conviction into his words as he could, because for all the mess they made, he would never hold it against Killian for helping her escape Gold.
"Thank you." Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked quickly and shoved them away with her palm. "Maybe things would go better if you told LJ why you're pushing him away from the action."
She had a point, as usual. And Liam knew it was a conversation the two of them needed to have. He spotted two figures quickly making their way down the stairs and he signaled Milah to get into the van. "I will. After I wring his neck over his stupidity."
Three hours and one visit to the ER later, they were finally on their way back to Vegas. The good news was that they got the pinch. The bad news was that Ariel had gotten injured while helping LJ escape, which had triggered Eric's protective streak. Liam had to literally restrain him as he made a beeline to punch LJ, all while Henry tried to talk everyone into calming down.
No one calmed down, not until Milah had threatened to shoot them all if they didn't bloody get their fucking macho male egos in check.
Needless to say, it wasn't a fun ride back to Vegas.
/-/
Killian perched himself over Nemo's side table, his foot tapping against the tiled floor. Nemo himself was pacing back and forth, running a hand over his bald head.
"Would the two of you please stop fidgeting?" Ursula asked from the sofa, rolling her eyes when both turned to glare at her. "They are fine. They got the pinch. They'll be back any minute now."
"Fine might be a little optimistic, darling," Poseidon said, not lifting his eyes from the paper he was perusing. "They are in one piece - mostly."
"Daddy, you're not helping," Ursula chided. She opened her mouth to say something else but her words were cut off by the sound of the front door opening.
Liam stormed in, his forceful steps echoing across the room. Eric and Ariel trailed behind him. She had a bandage wrapped around her forearm and Eric held his arm protectively across her shoulders, guiding her steps. She leaned into him, murmuring something in his ear, and a soft smile played at his lips. Milah and Henry followed after them, both sporting expressions that said they'd rather be anywhere but here at the moment.
And finally, complete with head hung low, shoulders slouched, and hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans, walked LJ. He was the picture of shame personified and Killian's heart ached at the sight. Making his way towards the group, he first gave Ariel's good arm a squeeze before he reached LJ.
"Hey, bro, you ok?" he asked, lowering his head to meet his brother's eyes.
"Never better, hadn't you heard? I'm an all-star." LJ opened his arms, a fake smile on his lips, his eyes betraying the nonchalant pose he was trying to pull off. Killian knew that look, it was almost like looking at himself in the mirror fifteen years ago. It was the same look he wore every time he'd messed up and had to deal with Liam's soft sighs and disappointed stares. He turned around, expecting to see the same look in his older brother's eyes, but all he saw was pure rage. It took him aback, and almost made him stumble at the ferocity in Liam's glare.
"I'm going to say this one time, Junior." LJ flinched next to him and at that moment he despised his older brother for it. "You have to stop pulling shit like this. You got Ariel hurt. Eric almost killed you for getting her hurt. And we almost didn't make it out of there. You pull another stunt like this one and you're out." Liam took two long strides towards them, getting dangerously close to LJ's face. "When are you going to get it through your thick skull that you have nothing to prove?"
It was too much for Killian to take. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to break the mood. "For the love of God, Liam, he's as stubborn as you and I are... let the kid be."
His words were like fuel further igniting Liam's rage. "Killian, stop it with the cool brother act. He almost fucked up this entire operation and coddling him isn't doing him any favors!"
And that, for Killian, was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. "Please, do not go all holier than thou and pretend as if you haven't risked everything too by sneaking off to fuck Belle! Repeatedly."
There was a collective gasp, followed by the sort of silence where you could hear a pin drop across the parking lot. Liam's eyes widened before he stuttered. "I, I-"
LJ crossed his arms over his chest. "What did you think would happen when you demoted me to lounging around potted plants time and again, big brother? Did you think I wouldn't pick up on the fact that you were getting it on with Gold's girlfriend?"
Ariel was the first one to ask. "Belle? She's here?"
Milah followed on her words. "Gold's girlfriend?"
Liam sighed, turning around and facing each one of his friends. "Aye. On both counts."
Poseidon clenched his jaw, his eyes finding Ursula's. "You've worked there for weeks. Surely you knew about this. You lied to us? To me?"
Ursula looked chagrined, her lower lip twitching as if she were fighting tears. "Yes, I knew. But you have to understand, this is Belle we're talking about. I like Belle." She motioned around the room with her hand. "We all like Belle. She's nice and friendly, she's always treated all of us with kindness and respect. For crying out loud, she's kept tabs on Killian all this time."
That caught Killian by surprise. "She did?" His eyes found Liam's and his brother swallowed before he nodded.
Ursula's eyes scanned the room, daring someone to speak. "So yes, she's my friend and I miss her. I don't want to see her wrapped up in Gold's schemes, so I decided to help Liam talk to her. And I'm not sorry. This is not affecting our heist."
LJ laughed, his voice carrying loudly from the other side of the room. "Oh, but it is. He's juggling pulling off a con while also sleeping with our mark's girlfriend. Even a stupidly green amateur like me knows you don't mix a pair of legs with the job." He gave Killian a side glance. "And he's not the only one."
"What is he talking about?" Henry asked.
Another dreadfully long silence followed as everyone looked at each other, trying to figure out who was sleeping with whom. Ursula cocked an eyebrow at her father.
"Don't look at me," Poseidon gritted his teeth. "Hooking up with scantily clad women is not part of Isaiah's MO."
LJ stole another glance at him and Killian knew that all the progress he'd made with him was going to backtrack if he didn't own to his mistakes right now.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He's talking about me. Emma is here."
There was another collective gasp, but the silence that followed it lasted less time than the last.
"Emma?" Ariel asked, her eyes wide as saucers. "As in yousleptwithmeandleftmestrandedinTuscanywhenIwassupposedtoarrestyou Emma?"
Well, that was one way to put it. Killian ignored the ache in his chest and pushed the words past his lips. "She's the one Gold hired as special security for tomorrow night. She needs something, I don't know what is, and she made a deal with Gold to get it."
"Has she seen you?" Liam asked, and Killian could see him already calculating all the possible outcomes of this.
"She had a knife to his throat a week ago, and then tailed after him on our night out."
At that moment, Killian would have given anything for the ability to obliterate LJ with his eyes.
His little brother shrugged. "What? I thought it was finally family sharing time."
"Oh for fuck's sake." Milah made her way to the side table and grabbed the drink that Nemo held out for her, shaking her head as she took a sip. "I need to know, and I need to know it now. Are we in this for the money, or are the both of you after Gold for getting your women on his side?" She downed the drink and motioned for Nemo to pour her another one. "Because I'm fine either way, but I'd just like to know what it is I'm walking into. And why. The rest of this crew," she stopped and gestured around the room, "they might feel differently though."
Nemo stepped forward and the entire room fell quiet. He pointed at the two of them. "Whatever family or skirt problems you have, they end now. Either all of you get your priorities straight, or I'll pull the plug on this."
"Nemo," Liam started but the other man wasn't having it.
"It's not like you to lose your head in a job over a woman. Neither of you." He stared down at Liam, a sad smile forming at the corner of his mouth. "Liam, I knew she was here and I wasn't naive enough to think she wasn't part of the reason you were going after Gold, but this is bigger than you." He pointed towards the people scattered around the room. "You've asked everyone here to follow you and they have. Now you need to lead, my boy." His eyes moved to Killian. "You both do."
The air thickened for a brief moment as Liam looked around the room. "Aye, you're right. We have a job to do." He finally met LJ's eyes. "I'm sorry."
LJ nodded. And just like that, the air was clear. Everyone jumped back into their tasks and Killian took a deep breath, heading to the door. He needed some time on his own, he needed to think things through.
Smee cleared his throat and Killian turned to find that his friend had followed him towards the door. "Maybe it's not the best time for this," he said quietly, "but I think I found something about Emma."
He should let this go. He knew it. Smee knew it, and yet… Killian tried to convince himself he had to know only because he needed to have the upper hand for the job, but he was grasping at straws and he knew it. "Tell me, Smee."
Smee pulled a tablet out and started flipping through information. "She's an orphan. Found abandoned by the highway, grew up in the foster system-"
"Aye aye, I know that, move forward." He didn't need to relive the confessions Emma had made in the middle of the night.
"She ran away at 16, joined up with a few bad companies and ended up in juvie." Smee swallowed, sadness clear in his eyes. "She - she was pregnant Killian."
Bloody hell. He tried to imagine it: a young Emma, alone and scared, carrying a child behind bars. His heart broke for her. "How long was her stint?"
"Eleven months."
That didn't sound like a happy ending for Emma Swan. "And the baby?"
Smee pointed to the screen. "A boy, given up for adoption. Sealed records."
Killian did the quick mental math. "He'd be around sixteen now."
"Do you think she's looking for him?" Smee asked, powering off his tablet. "That this is the favor she wants from Gold?"
Killian shook his head. At this point, he wasn't sure of anything, but he had to try to figure it out. At least it was a lead. "I don't know, but it might well be. Smee, can you-?" he trailed off, not sure if he could ask for the favor with a steady voice.
"I'm on it, Killian."
"Thank you, mate."
/-/
Emma Swan had never been a big fan of the outdoors. Camping trips, bonfires, and hiking were not her thing. It could be the lack of a family growing up who could have taken her on said trips, or it could be that she simply preferred her outings to entail warm water, indoor plumbing, and comfortable mattresses. Whatever it was, she'd never been one who craved nature and fresh air.
Until now.
Because right now she'd give almost everything she had - and a few things that she didn't - to get out of this hotel. The Baelfire might be the hottest casino in town, with all its gold detailing and Baroque decoration, but for Emma it felt like a prison. The air felt suffocating, the lights were giving her headaches, and she'd kill for fifteen minutes of silence instead of the constant chin-chin-chin noise of the slot machines.
Luckily, most of her time here had been spent shadowing Belle in the silence of the library. Though Emma might have appreciated it a lot more if she didn't feel like she was always on the verge of accidentally knocking into something and ruining a first edition of an obscure and valuable early Renaissance text in the process.
Oh, what she wouldn't give right now for some fresh air and verdant green views, blue skies, a cool breeze. A picnic under the shadow of a tree, under the Tuscan sun. No, not Tuscany, never again Tuscany. Emma tried to shake the images out of her mind, but it was a fruitless attempt. No matter what she did, the memories came back again and again, and in full force, ever since she'd run into Killian again. They haunted her every dream, waking her up with shudders, her body tingling. She could still feel his lips trailing kisses along the column of her neck, his hands grasping her hips, pulling her towards him as he teased along her entrance, making her moan, making her beg for him.
She fisted her hand at her side against the assault the images made on her senses. It wouldn't do her any bit of good to continue remembering Killian in that way. It was in the past and she needed to leave it there. The man was probably up to something against her current employer, and Emma had to focus her entire attention in preventing that from happening.
That, she reminded herself, was what she was here for. And the price she would have to pay if she failed was one she couldn't afford.
"You know, you don't have to babysit me all the time." Emma turned to find Belle smiling at her, pouring tea into a delicate china set. She handed Emma one of the cups, and she closed the distance between them to take it. The tea smelled wonderful and Emma closed her eyes as she took her first sip.
"I'm not babysitting you, Belle," she said softly, not meeting the other woman's eyes.
"Please, I know he doesn't need extra security for this library."
That he didn't. Or at least not for the parts of the library that Belle was aware of. Emma had her doubts about what else might be hidden in these shelves that had nothing to do with books, but it wasn't her place to look into it. She was hired to secure, not to find out.
"Fine, you got me." Emma sighed and ran her fingers through her hair as she sat in one of the leather chairs. "I'm supposed to keep you safe the night of the event."
Belle snorted. "Safe from what?"
Who knows. Whomever is out to get Gold. An image of Killian came to Emma's mind. Could Killian be related to any of this? Could he really be the reason why Gold was so keen on having extra security?
Emma shrugged. "I don't know, Belle. Do you think there would be something or someone that could be a threat to you? An ex-boyfriend perhaps?"
Belle stiffened for a second, which made Emma sit straighter on the couch, her attention now completely focused on the woman across from her. Belle didn't speak, averting her eyes and looking towards the window, and the silence fell heavy between them. Emma let the silence hang in the hair, hoping Belle might rush to fill it when it became too uncomfortable, but instead she seemed to drift off into the distance.
"Someone on your mind?" Emma asked softly.
Belle's lips curved into the hint of a smile that seemed to carry a history behind it. "There was someone, once, long ago."
"Do you think he could be dangerous?"
That seemed to shake Belle. "Liam? Good gracious, no. Not in that way. He would never hurt me." Her tone was firm and collected, the conviction evident in her words. It seemed that she still held that man in high-esteem and not for the first time, Emma wondered what the fuck a woman like Belle was doing with a guy like Gold. She shouldn't pry - she wasn't paid to meddle in these affairs - but she still couldn't ignore the nagging sensation that something was happening. Something that she was missing, and it was right under her nose. Emma knew it - she could feel it - but she still hadn't managed to fit all the puzzle pieces together.
She placed her teacup on the saucer Belle had left on the table, and stood up, pacing back and forth.
"Emma?" Belle asked, concern palpable in her voice. "Are you ok?"
Emma shouldn't say anything, especially to a client - or the girlfriend of the client - but there was something about Belle's disposition that made you want to confide in her.
"Do you ever feel like you're missing something that is right under your nose?"
Belle took a sip of her tea, a smile coming to her lips. "Not usually." She placed her cup on its saucer and arranged the pleats in her skirt. "Don't get me wrong, I know people see me as naive and, in the past, I have been. But if I am missing something, it usually doesn't affect me the way it does you, Emma. Probably because I don't make a living out of it" She shrugged and turned back towards the window.
Emma tilted her head, Belle's words ringing in her ears. "But you have missed something in the past. Something big."
Belle sighed, playing with her skirt again. "Let's just say I did miss something that was right under my nose."
"It was him, right? Liam?" Belle nodded, and Emma could feel her melancholy. "Do you love him still?"
Belle paused and contemplated the question. "A part of me will always love him. I just don't know if I can trust him, or if I can get past what happened."
"I know the feeling." She toyed with her swan necklace, her constant reminder to never trust anyone again, not after doing so when she was just a kid. She had paid that price. After getting her heart broken, she'd vowed not to let anyone in again. And she hadn't. Not until Killian had walked into that trattoria and undid her with a lazy smile and a few heated kisses.
And she'd paid the price again.
"But here's the thing, Emma." Belle met her eyes with such sadness and guilt. "I can't let him completely go either. Yes, he hid part of himself from me and I got my heart broken as a result, but there was this other side of him. The one he showed me each day - the devoted brother, the caring friend, the doting husband. I know that was real too, and it makes it really hard to stop loving that part of him."
"Then don't," Emma said, not sure why she was giving any sort of relationship advice. She should keep her mouth shut. She most definitely shouldn't encourage this woman to continue thinking of someone who clearly wasn't Emma's current employer.
And yet… Emma would never forgive herself if she didn't warn Belle about the current man in her life.
"Belle," she started before hesitating, trying to find the right words. "Gold, he's not what it seems." She sighed, her eyes scanning the room before looking at Belle again. "I know I work for him, but you have to know that not all of his businesses are necessarily on the right side of the law."
Belle's eyes widened for a brief moment. She bit her lip and nodded. "Thank you, Emma."
Emma nodded and stood, hastily exiting the library and heading for her room. Something about Belle's story was nagging at her and Emma needed to follow that hunch before it faded into the recesses of her mind.
Two hours later, she sat in front of her computer, a half-drunk beer in her hand, watching the pieces fall into place. The names, the photographs, the different threads here and there that only led to one man. She reached for her phone, quickly typing out a text, her heart beating frantically in her chest.
Damn you, Killian Jones.
