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 last-minute plans

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

snorts. "Swearing off? Please. I met him 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 night, T. He's getting

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

head, laughing. “You

without missing a beat. "What, still caught up on the

on my water.

vibrating in her chair as she

Liam. The grumpy, soul-sucking boss from hell. The one who acts like my very existence is a personal inconvenience to him. If I had a dollar for every time he sighed in my direction, I'd be

I shrug. "Nope."

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

energy to murder me in my sleep," I say dryly, turning

bitch. Anyway, I have a huge favor to

Here we go.

excitement. "So, I kinda-okay, no, I

a hand. "Fine, I'll

She blinks. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah."

volunteer

Go

“Uh-huh. That's why you're so

I deadpan. "I'm staying late because I get off on

busy thinking about her bellissimo one-night stand to press further. "You're a saint for covering me, T. Love you forever.

die

2/4

91%

Chapter 87

via sex-induced cardiac arrest."

put me

a kiss before disappearing out

And then I'm alone.

clock out, until the last coworker

I smile. "I won't."

Liar.

of computers fades, replaced by the occasional creak of the old building settling. A few more final goodbyes echo in the hallway, followed by the sound

Then silence.

from my desk and

This is it.

and move quietly, my

My pulse ticks faster. My hands already know what to

Liam's office keys.

searching for the

and key, which is fucking annoying. But I've done

brush against a

Bingo.

and head to his door. The lock clicks

easy. Almost too

steady my

of ink, coffee, and something uniquely Liam-probably

clean, something expensive and

better-Liam's not the kind of man who leaves things out