William Thompson studied them for a long moment, his expression darkening with displeasure.
How dare Liam Williams show up in the back alley without a single bodyguard?
That took some nerve.
"I've been waiting for you, Mr. Williams. I thought you might not show," William said, his voice dripping with provocation.
"Why would I miss it? You said you had a gift for me, so I came straight over to see what it was." Liam's tone was casual as he let his gaze drift over the man standing beside William.
He already knew what William was up to. "Isn't this the guy I roughed up yesterday? Weren't you saying he was in the hospital? What's he doing here, then?"
"Sharp eyes, Mr. Williams. This is Kai Rodriguez—the fool who was blind enough to offend your wife yesterday. He's the gift I promised you."
William rose from the sofa and shoved the man called Kai forward until he stumbled to Liam's feet. "I heard you were looking into this. Normally, it's none of my business, but as you might know, Kai used to work for me. I fired him a year ago for crossing the line. I was worried you might get the wrong idea, so I decided to hand him over myself."
Liam had expected every word out of William's mouth. By doing this, William was trying to wash his hands of any connection to Kai.
Even if Liam dug deeper into the whole mess, he wouldn't be able to pin anything on William.
William was still a master at burning bridges.
"Mr. Williams, I'm sorry—I'm really sorry! I didn't know who I was messing with. Please, forgive me!" Kai dropped to his knees, begging.
Liam gave him a cold glance and ignored him completely. "Mr. Thompson, I appreciate the gesture. But I'll pass on this gift. Since he used to work for you, I'll let it slide out of respect for you."
Liam knew better than anyone that William had already shifted all the blame onto Kai. If he pushed any further, he'd get nothing out of it.
So why waste the energy?
His answer caught William off guard.
Knowing Liam's explosive temper, he'd expected Liam to tear Kai apart.
William started to wonder what game Liam was playing.
Playing nice?
"Mr. Williams, you're too generous. But since I promised you a gift, I won't let you leave empty-handed," William said with a smirk.
He stepped closer, studying Emma Johnson carefully. "I've heard a lot about you, Miss Johnson. What do you think?"
Was he talking to her?
Emma froze. What did he mean?
She had no idea what William was getting at.
"I... I'll go along with whatever my husband says," she stammered, flustered.
Liam's heart tightened. This silly woman.
William had been asking what she wanted done with Kai. Why did she have to say that?
He sighed inwardly. As clueless as she was, the coldness on his face softened when he heard her words.
"Ha! Mr. Williams, you're a lucky man. Marrying such a beautiful woman—congratulations. I'll be waiting for that wedding invitation," William said, clapping his hands.
The people around him joined in.
It sounded like praise, but coming from William's mouth, every word grated on Liam's nerves. "Mr. Thompson, if there's nothing else, we'll be on our way. I'll come back another day."
He'd seen the gift. He'd said what needed to be said.
The only thing Liam wanted now was to get Emma out of this place.
But William wasn't about to let them go that easily.
"What about this man? If you're worried about dirtying your hands, Mr. Williams, I can take care of him for you."
Christopher Martin shifted uneasily at the words, his fingers twitching.
Anyone with half a brain could see William was deliberately picking a fight.
"Do whatever you want with him. I told you—I'm not pursuing this," Liam said, his patience wearing thin.
"Fine. Since it's my man who offended you, I'll clean house myself. I'll take care of this dog for you. Come on—gouge out his eyes. They're useless anyway if he dares to provoke Mrs. Williams..." William pointed at Kai, his voice dripping with anger.
What?
Gouge out his eyes?
Emma felt the blood rush to her head.
Why did everyone keep talking about gouging out eyes? Even if he was cleaning house, did he have to be so brutal?
She reached out and gently tugged at the corner of Liam's coat, shaking her head nervously.
"Liam, say something. He was just drunk. Isn't this too harsh?"
But Liam didn't react to her plea. His dark eyes were unreadable.
Kai, still on his knees, scrambled to William's feet. "Brother, I'm sorry—I'm really sorry! Please, for the sake of all the years I worked for you, forgive me!"
"Brother, I don't want to do this to you. But you know how Mr. Williams feels. Be grateful he's not killing you." William never took his eyes off Liam as he spoke.
Liam could see it clearly now. William had gone through all this trouble just to put on a show.
He was playing the part of someone desperate to please Liam, gouging out eyes to prove his loyalty—a chilling, underhanded tactic.
Liam paused, then a cold smile curled his lips. "Well, since Mr. Thompson is so sincere, I'd be rude not to accept. Gouging out his eyes seems a bit much, don't you think?"
William had been waiting for those words. A smug grin spread across his face. "Fine. Then we'll cut off his hands instead. Kai, I heard you slapped Mrs. Williams yesterday. Was it your left hand or your right?"
The scene, the tone—it was straight out of some gangster movie.
Emma swallowed hard, all the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat.
Liam... agreed?
How could they do something so cruel?
Kai, now lying on the ground, was crying in terror. "Brother, I'm sorry! Please, let me go! I'll kowtow to you—just let me go..."
"It's no use, Kai. You've been with me long enough to know my temper. Five seconds. If you don't tell me which hand did it, I'll cut off both. Believe me."