Chapter 101: Settled
Liam woke up late.
The new room was quiet. Sunlight pushed weakly through the thin curtains and cut a pale line across the floor.
He lay still for a moment, testing his body out of habit. No pain. No stiffness. Vital Restoration had left him clean.
He sat up, rolled his shoulders once, and reached for the second phone on the nightstand. He typed a short message to Rowena.
Liam: Drop the investigation. Everything is settled. Meet me in an hour. Her reply came within a minute.
Rowena: Location.
He sent the address of a quiet diner two districts over, then stood and walked to the bathroom.
The shower was quick. Hot water, no lingering. He dried off, dressed in dark jeans and a plain black shirt, and checked the room one last time before leaving. Side stairs. Different direction. No pattern.
The diner was half-empty when he arrived. Old booths. Faded menus. The smell of coffee and fried food hung in the air.
Rowena was already there, corner table, back to the wall. A cup of coffee sat in front of her, untouched. She watched him approach and sit without speaking at first.
"You look better than the last time I saw you," she said.
"I am." She studied his face for a moment longer, then nodded once. "Talk."
Liam kept it simple. He told her the men who came after Claire were never after her directly. Her cousin Ben had stolen a shipment worth millions and disappeared.
They used her as pressure to force him out of hiding. He had settled it with the man in charge. Claire was off-limits now. Permanently. No more teams. No more accidents. No contact.
Rowena listened without interrupting. Her expression stayed neutral, but her eyes stayed sharp. When he finished, she turned her cup slowly on the saucer.
"You’re certain the agreement will hold?"
"Yes." And the cousin? "Not my problem. They can hunt him. I made it clear Claire stays out of it."
Rowena was quiet for a while. She glanced once toward the window, then back at him.
"You’ve been moving carefully since the alley. Changing rooms. No patterns. That part was smart. But if the agreement is real, you can stop living like someone is about to put a bullet in you every time you sleep."
"I’ll stop when I’m sure." A thin smile touched her mouth. "Fair."
They spoke a little longer. She asked about the men from the alley how many, how organized, whether they seemed local or brought in from outside.
He gave her what he could without naming Dexter or the parking garage. She asked if he needed anything else from her side. He told her no. For now the matter was closed.
Rowena finished her coffee in two short swallows and stood. "I’ll pull my people off. If anything changes, you know how to reach me."
"I do." She left first, moving through the diner without drawing attention. Liam stayed a few extra minutes, paid the bill in cash, and stepped outside.
The street was busier than when he arrived. He walked half a block, scanning out of habit, before his phone vibrated.
Victoria.He answered on the second ring. "Liam? Are you free right now?" Yes.
"I’m at a restaurant near the old market. Can you come? I just... I wanted to ask about Claire." He checked the street again, then replied, "Send the address."
The location came through a few seconds later. He flagged a taxi, gave the driver the name of the place, and sat back for the short ride.
Victoria had only learned what happened afterward.
Victoria was seated by the window when he arrived. Neatly dressed. She stood when she saw him, then sat again once he took the chair across from her.
"Thank you for coming," she said."You asked about Claire."
Victoria nodded. "I’ve been trying to reach her. She answers, but she sounds... distant. I know something happened after the party.
She wouldn’t give me details. I thought maybe you would." Liam kept his voice even. "She’s fine. Shaken, but fine. Some people tried to use her to get to someone else. It’s been handled."
Victoria searched his face. "Handled how?" It’s nothing everything has been settled.
She sat with that for a moment. The restaurant noise filled the space between them low conversation from other tables.
"She doesn’t have many people she trusts. When she went quiet after that night, I got worried. I kept thinking something was still wrong."
"She’s processing. Give her time." Victoria nodded slowly. "You were with her that night right." mm
"I was."
She didn’t push further. She simply looked at him for a few seconds longer, then glanced down at her hands resting on the table. "Thank you for telling me. I just needed to know she wasn’t still in danger."
"She’s not."
Victoria checked the time on her phone, then reached for her bag. "I should go. I have to pick up my daughter soon."
He stood when she did.
"Please talk to her," Victoria said, "and lemme know when she’s feeling okay and ready to talk. "I’ll keep that in mind."
She gave a small nod, slipped her bag over her shoulder, and left through the front door. Liam watched her step out onto the street and disappear into the afternoon crowd. He waited another full minute before leaving through a different exit.
Outside, the light had shifted. He walked two blocks without direction, scanning the reflections in shop windows out of habit, then flagged another taxi and gave the driver an address on the far side of the city.
The mission still sat at zero. Two days and some hours left. The tools were ready. The deadline was clear.
But for now, the day had been about closing one door and answering another.
Claire was safe. Rowena was off the investigation. Liam leaned back in the seat and watched the city move past the window.
Tomorrow he would start using the new abilities. Today had been for settling the old ones.