The minutes tick by, each one a ghastly eternity filling me with a growing, inevitable sense of dread.

Luciano's mansion, a haven of comfort, now feels like a prison, the walls closing in around me.

The mansion owner, and strangely enough, my mother as well, have enough common sense to leave us alone. I am pleasantly surprised they both chose to keep my secret. Surprised and so, so, grateful. Who knew something like that might happen?

Hey, maybe this marriage really did Zerina Martinaj a world of good.

Maybe it is possible to have a happily ever after in the claws of the mafia.

A sudden thought of Sofia interrupts all the others, slashing across my heart like a sharpened steel dagger.

It's just too much, and I can't sit still. I stand up and pace back and forth – a lioness in a cage.

Where the hell could Patrick and Rigena be? It's been an hour already.

Why haven't they contacted us yet?

Fear gnaws at me, like a persistent, ravenous dog clinging to a meaty bone.

Is everything alright?

My mind is racing a hundred miles per hour, thoughts and images invading me at an unbearable speed.

Suddenly, I feel a wave of dizziness wash over me, my vision blurring.

I stumble back towards the couch, my knees buckling beneath me.

A panic attack, a familiar foe that has plagued me since childhood.

Welcome back, my old friend, I think sarcastically.

Liam is there in an instant, his arms wrapping around me, his body a shield against the whole wide world that threatens to swallow me.

He strokes my hair, his touch a grounding force.

"Breathe, Alex," he urges, his voice low and soothing. "You're safe. I'm here. Ye know ye're safe with me, lass."

I try to focus on his words, to calm my galloping heart. But the fear is just too overwhelming, the uncertainty too suffocating.

I can't stop shaking, and my body just won't cooperate with me.

The images of Sofia's third birthday haunt me next.

"Did you like your birthday, darling?"

Sofia smiles drowsily. "Yes. Sleepy, Momma."

"I know you are, angel. It's way past your nap time. Come on... into bed... you can nap in Momma's big bed because this is a big birthday. It's a special day."

Her eyes light up.

"Okay. Momma. Where Sophie's present? Where?"

I find it both cute and oh so endearing how she keeps referring to herself in third person.

"I'll get it, darling." I bring the big china dollbaby from its box where Sofia left it.

Sofia shakes her little head. "The other one." She turns on her stomach and slides down under the eiderdown to the floor, landing with a thump. Then she crawls under the bed. She backs out with a yellow tabby cat in her arms.

"For pity's sake, Sophie, where did that come from?"

"Street." My little girl points shyly outside.

"Give it to me before it scratches you."

Sophie pouts."Will you give it back?"

"Of course, if you want it. But it's a stray cat, baby, it might not want to stay in the house."

"It likes me."

I give in. The cat didn't scratch Sofia, and she looks so happy with it.

I don't even fucking realize I'm kneeling on the floor, letting out tiny wails, my chest heaving with each intake of breath, until I sense Liam's embrace.

He holds me tightly, his hug a warm, comforting cocoon. He whispers words of encouragement and slowly, the intensity of the panic begins to subside, replaced by a lingering sense of unease.

I am safe, for now. But the fear of what might happen to Patrick, to Ri, to Sofia, hangs heavy in the air.

The battle is far from over.

I know it.

Liam's warm, calloused hands massage my arms, my back, and my thighs with vigor. He lands tiny little kisses on my shoulders, my neck, my breasts underneath my nightshirt.

"I hate seeing ye like this, Alexandra." His feverish green eyes wander around my body. "I want to do anything I can to soothe ye. To calm yer nerves until the moment is right fer us to act, sweetheart."

"You..." I whisper through the cracked, dry lips with a sigh. "You are already doing so much, Liam."

"I could do even more." A sensual kind of fire burns in his eyes."Ye of all people should know that orgasms soothe anxiety."

There is something about it, something about this big, rough man being eager to service me that gets me hot all over.

And he is so matter of fact about it that I am not even nervous with him, no matter the weird occasion we are in.

Liam's blunt, straightforward approach appeals to the nurse in me. If he'd tried romance or seduction, I never would've believed it – it just wasn't either time nor place, what with our daughter missing.

But this right now? This is the perfect scenario for me, a way to experience oral sex without any messy emotions clouding my brain.

This would be purely physical, nothing more.

I could be brave. For science.

He arranges himself on his stomach between my legs. Large fingers reach for the waistband of my pajama bottoms. "Off," he orders, his murky green eyes glittering in the low light.

I help him take off the shorts, but leave my panties on. He stares directly at my crotch, his lips curling into a slight smile. "Mamma mia, look at that wet spot."

"Mamma mia?" I smile against my will.

"Hey, we're in Italy. Ye know what they say: "When in Rome..."

His words make me a bit defensive. "I can't control the amount of arousal my body produces."

"If you think it displeases me, you could not be more wrong." Leaning in, Liam presses his nose close to the fabric and inhales. "Mmmm," the sound rumbles deep in his chest. "So sweet."

If Liam Cavanaugh wants to take my mind and my heart off the anxious thoughts I'm drowning in while we wait for the news from Patrick and Rigena...

He is absolutely on the right track.

More blood rushes to my center and my heart pumps madly behind my sternum. I have the sudden urge to drag my fingers through his thick raven hair, to hold him tight to my body.

Madness. Pure madness. I need to get a grip on myself.

Or do I? Perhaps what I need is to lose myself in madness, because there is nothing I can do right now anyway.

I start to take off my glasses. Quick as a whip, Liam grabs my wrist, holding me still.

"No, sweetheart. Leave them on."

He is so close that his breath warms my skin and sends goosebumps all over me. "Why?" I ask, already breathless.

"You look adorable in them. And oh so sexy.

In my part-of-the-disguise glasses? Is he crazy?

I always thought I looked a bit like Zooey Deschanel, but Ri said I looked like a nerdy mushroom with my glasses on. Granted, she was high on edibles at the time, but now I can't look at a morel in quite the same way.

I have no chance to argue, though, because Liam is sliding my panties off.

I tense, worrying my mother or Luciano could show up out of the blue, but I don't stop him.

Instead, I lift my hips and let Liam Cavanaugh remove the last barrier between him and me.

With a deep breath, I kick the cotton panties off my ankle and onto the floor.

The cool dawn air is torture on my overheated flesh. My heart is pounding in my ears. Can I do this?

As if to convince me, he gives me one long swipe of his tongue from my entrance to my clit.

I throw my head back, the bliss echoing in every cell, every pore.

But nothing follows.

I huff, aggravated. "You suck."

"Do it, piccola bambina innocente." Then he begins whispering in Gaelic Irish while kissing the insides of my thighs.

I close my eyes, floating on the incredible sensations, listening to his mostly dirty words and encouragement.

"That's it, Alexandra. Relax. Think of nothing else but me tongue on yer sweet, delectable pussy."

As if I could. The sensations he's bringing up in me are so overwhelming.

Too much. I can't hold out any longer.

"Please, Liam." I drag in a deep breath. "Please, lick me."

"Say it all together."

He flicks the tip of his tongue across my clit once more, and I shout, "Please lick my pussy, Liam."

"You forgot one word."

God, why does it matter? He needs to hear me curse so badly? "Please fucking lick my pussy, Liam."

"Alright, sweetheart," he croons, then draws my clitoris into his mouth and sucks. It's like being plugged into an electric outlet.

My back bows, the muscles in my thighs quaking, and I let out a long moan as I instantly shoot toward the peak.

His tongue lashes across my flesh in his mouth. It's too much.

I hold my breath and clutch at him, my fingers threading through his hair. My hips rock upward, but Liam''s strong hands held onto my hips to keep me still.

I love the feeling. I crave it. To be his to control, his to pleasure.

I am his.

"Oh, god!" I go over the edge, shaking, muscles contracting as the climax sends me flying.

It was so, so good, a thousand times stronger than any orgasm I'd given myself. And it went on and on, his tongue and lips working me over, like he was wringing every drop of pleasure from my body.

It finally ebbs and my body sags into the mattress, spent.

I pant as I try to catch my breath, my skin covered in sweat. I couldn't move if I tried.

Liam doesn't have the same problem, apparently. Eyes locked on my naked crotch, he shoots up to his knees and reaches for his belt buckle.

Before I can ask what he's doing, he reaches inside his briefs and takes out his very hard penis.

I am now staring directly at his erection. It's so large, and thick, as if it hadn't been mere two hours since we last had sex.

He runs his fingers lightly over the shaft, then begins stroking his cock.

"Do you want me to..." I mewl weakly.

Liam shakes his head no.

He wants me to rest.

I can't look away. I had so many questions — about his renewed blooming erection, about his masturbating.

But this is no time to ask.

He grips himself tightly, much tighter than I would've dared, and pumps feverishly with his fist.

"Sweetheart," he mumbles, still looking at my exposed flesh. "This is what ye do to me."

With a grunt, Liam begins orgasming and ropes of thick white liquid shoot onto my thighs. It's warm and wet, and shows no sign of slowing down as the jets keep coming and coming.

It coats his shaft, and runs down into his briefs.

All the while his massive body twitches and shakes, his large chest heaving as he sucks in air.

Wow, performing oral sex on me had really turned him on. I didn't expect him to enjoy it so much, too, without me giving anything back.

I stare at his dick as he touches himself, until his lust subsides entirely and he leans back with a sigh, utterly spent.

The weight of the past few hours seems to lift, replaced by a sense of relief and exhaustion.

We sit huddled together on the couch, our bodies trembling in each other's arms. Tears stream down my face uncontrollably, a silent release of the pent-up emotions.

When I look at him, his cheeks are wet as well.

We both tried to cope with the situation the best we could, but this... This physical release, a cocktail of oxytocin and dopamine can only do so much until the nightmare of reality returns in glorious technicolor.

In the stillness of the break of dawn Liam's phone suddenly buzzes, breaking the fragile peace.

He pulls it out instantly, his fingers hovering over the screen.

"It's Patrick," he whispers.

I sit up straighter, my heart pounding in my chest. "What does he say? Did they find her?" I asked, hating how my voice is all scratchy, and barely audible.

Liam's eyes race across the screen and then he nods, a grateful, pleased smile spreading across his face. "He's got the location. We know where Sofia is. It's the Grotta del Turco cave, near Gaeta. Gaeta is a small town, a little over two hours from here, by car. Then we'd have to rent a boat to approach the cave properly."

Hope ignites within me.

Sofia is alive, and we are one step closer to bringing her home.

"We have to go," I say, my voice filled with a newfound determination. "We have to save her."

Liam nods, but then pauses. "Are ye sure ye should come with me? I can think of at least two reasons why you should not. One: What if that's what Kieran and Enzo want? Ye'd be playing right into their hands. And two: are ye certain ye can handle this emotionally?"

"I..."

She's our daughter.

The words rest on the tip of my tongue but I can't bring myself to actually say them.

We need to present a united front, now more than ever.

But I also need to give him a plausible reason why I have to accompany him.

"I need to be there for Rigena. She was always there for me, in thick and thin. I need to, Liam, please."

A shadow of doubt abandons his graceful features as quickly as it marred them.

"Alright then, sweetheart. As ye wish, Alexandra. Let's go."