Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

Chapter 87

Chapter 87

I should hand over the file.

K 91% #

Liam is watching me. Waiting. His fingers tap an impatient rhythm against his desk, but he doesn't say anything. Doesn't push. He's giving me a chance to do the right thing, or the wrong thing-depends on which side of the moral fence you're

1. on.

It's just a file. It's just information. It's just words on a goddamn page.

Except it isn't.

I feel it in my gut, twisting, gnawing at the edges of my resolve like a starving animal.

If I hand this over, I get access to the Imperial Archives. A golden fucking ticket to everything I've been searching for. Every answer. Every secret buried under years of corruption and power struggles. My parents. My pack. The truth about what happened to them.

But when my fingers tighten around the file, I don't see words or pages. I see Enoch's hands. The way they held my face like I was something breakable. The way they pinned me down, firm, steady, unshakable. I hear his laugh-low, unguarded, meant only for me.

Maldives. The way he looked at me under the moonlight, his gaze soft, almost fragile, like he was terrified of losing me.

That same fucker left me.

I swallow hard and rip myself from the memory. Not the time, Taryn.

I need to decide. Now.

Liam exhales sharply, the sound pulling me back into his office. His brows lift, but he still doesn't say anything. He's waiting for me to crack first. Smart man.

I force my shoulders to straighten and meet his gaze. "I'll think about it."

Liam's expression doesn't change. His fingers stop drumming against the desk. Just for a second. Barely noticeable. But I see it. A flicker of something-suspicion, calculation, patience wearing thin.

Then, just as quickly, his mouth twitches into something that resembles a smirk but doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Think fast," he says. "Opportunities don't wait forever."

No shit.'

I nod, gripping the file tighter before turning toward the door. But before I can step

out, Liam's voice cuts through the space between us.

"Taryn."

I pause. Don't turn around.

"You remember what you came here for, right?" His voice is smooth. Controlled. Deadly.

My throat tightens.

Yeah. I remember.

I just don't know if I can do it.

12:43 Thu, 3 Apr

Chapter 87

Not yet

Not like this.

manicured nails clack against her phone screen as she types furiously, probably making

into my chair. "You're either abandoning me for another Italian, or you're

in the Maldives, remember? Luau night? Hot as fuck, barely speaks English but knows how to say bellissima like a goddamn poet?" She fans herself dramatically, eyes gleaming with pure, unrepentant thirst. "Tonight's the

fucking God, if Zoe talks about one more Italian man, I'm reporting her to

my head,

still caught up on the mystery Lycan? Or maybe- she leans in, waggling her

choke on my

her chair as she leans closer. "So...

him. If I had a dollar for every time he sighed in my

I shrug. "Nope."

squints. "No way. Liam Calloway didn't get on your ass for once?

to murder me in my sleep," I

bitch. Anyway, I have a huge

Here we go.

her chair closer, eyes gleaming with excitement. "So, I kinda-okay, no, I totally-need you to

a hand. "Fine, I'll cover for

She blinks. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah."

volunteer for overtime. What's the

catch. Go have

“Uh-huh. That's why you're so

because I get off on stress and unpaid

thinking about

die

2/4

91%

Chapter 87

via sex-induced cardiac arrest."

you do, put

me a kiss before disappearing

And then I'm alone.

clock out, until the last

I smile. "I won't."

Liar.

by the occasional creak of the old building settling. A few more final

Then silence.

push away from

This is it.

heels and move quietly, my sock-covered feet soundless

the secretary's desk. My pulse ticks faster. My hands already know what to do-search the drawers, flip through papers, check the

Liam's office keys.

drawers, flipping through files, searching for the

is fucking annoying. But

fingers brush against

Bingo.

breath, and head

easy. Almost too

a deep breath, steady my nerves, and slowly

is dark, the air thick with the scent of ink,

clean, something expensive

neat, but I know better-Liam's not the kind of