Chapter 444

• Liam stood beside a wooden door in the kitchen of the Praetorian house. It led downwards into the basement that ran the length of the main building and it was the door that separated him from her, the woman who had tried to kill him. The sounds of raised voices from the sitting room should have concerned him, but it didn't dent his focus on the sound of the heart beating beneath his feet, the fast rhythm signifying the fear and stress the woman was under.
• He wanted to go to her but they wouldn't let him. Karn had threatened to have six Praetorians sit on him if he tried it and only Lacey's calm intervention had stopped the tension from escalating. They eventually reached a compromise. Liam could guard the only exit from the cells to reassure him no harm came to the woman, and he would stay above ground until the others arrived to discuss the way forward.
• Karn was still angry, venting that anger at anyone who would listen. His voice was the loudest, the others more muted as they answered him. Liam tuned out the words so he could listen to the most wonderful sound in the world, the beat of his mate's heart.