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CHAPTER ONE
‘Always stay on the path,’ her grands lurk in the woodsdark things, monsters and wolves’
But Little Red Riding Hood didn’t listen to her grandmother because she didn’t believe in fairy tales Deep down, she knew that the erous stories were the ones we told ourselves
The Truth About Little Red Riding Hood
—Roz Fayrer
IT WAS THE seance, that usually heralded the beginning of Roman Black’s day, not damp earth and tree bark It was the richly carpeted floors of his office that he usually stalked at this hour of the s and leaves
The noise felt overly loud, as if the attempt to be stealthy hadRoht, every move, every action had always held one purpose for Rooal was noithin his grasp
Ahead of hi he had acquired for the express purpose of his visit here to the Occitaine region of France, loped with huge, graceful strides, occasionally stopping to cast a curious glance at its nener, or to ferret out soe tree
Twelve hours ago, Roman had received the vital information that revealed his quarry had left a party on the outskirts of Moscow and returned to France to visit an ailing relative Nine hours ago, he had arrived in France himself and took up residence in a so he’d been interviewing for a canine co shelter—for as lestature
No He had planned for this He had worked out every possible variable He needed to look, at the very least, non-threatening Ad small and fluffy, perfect to lull his prey into a false sense of security But Dorcas had been sitting there in the grey concrete cubicle, watching, as if she had known froet her And whilst an Irish wolfhound was neither small nor fluffy, one look at her and Rolorious creature trapped in a cage If he had been aon his ht have understood his decision better
But as Roh the trees on his first reconnaissance of the woods where he kneould find his prey—ine the moment that victory would be his That finally, after almost twenty years, he would make the old bastard pay for what he had done
It was a sweet feeling, alh hishe’d ever wanted was nearly his, yet could easily be taken away at any ining that Roman first laid eyes on his prey
He stopped short His breath stolen fros
For there she alking through the forest at this ungodly hour of the es of his ed on the black ball gown visible through the opening of a scarlet velvet cloak The hood had fallen back to reveal the creamy swanlike curve of her neck, framed by tendrils of blonde hair
that had escaped a complicated plaited knot She was exquisitely beautiful He’d known that, of course, froraphs and extensive research he’d had his people co her in person
His swift gaze crossed her features back and forth, hunting for a blemish or flaw, but none were detectable beneath the overall ih cheekbones that perfectly fraave as e cornflower-blue eyes Desire wound through him, as unwelcome as it was fierce, and he cursed this unexpected weakness within hiainst her waist looked almost vulnerable and for a moment he debated whether to stop, to turn back But he kneouldn’t
She looked ies that he had been forced to develop by her age of twenty-two years How that had been achieved under the guidance of such a monster as Vladimir Kolikov he simply couldn’t fathom, and as such cast it aside as an impossibility Her beauty, her apparent innocence, was si only
The key to his revenge
Exhaustion had settled deep into her bones and Ella barely knehere her feet were stepping But years of surande had left the path indelibly inked on her rand in her chest like a living thing She had been at a party in Moscohen she’d received the phone call inforrandmother had been found unconscious at the bottoe and taken to hospital Ella’s uardian she didn’t knohat she would have done He’d arranged for a car to retrieve her from the birthday party of the British Ambassador to Russia, a private jet to fly her to an airfield just outside of Limoux, and another car to take her to the hospital