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They wouldn’t They would want to be paid for the job, but not for saving a life She knew that deep in her soul

Rafe regarded her seriously “You know them better than you think They asked us to bankroll the rest of their operation, though they did not take pay for themselves They wanted to save as many women as they could Seven women have been reunited with their faer have to wonder what happened to their daughter or sisters”

“They drove a rough bargain,” Kade explained “We not only had to pay for their travel and expenses, but for these wo rehabilitation”

“I would pay arded her somberly “I have never told Cole or Burke this, but we do not consider our debt paid This is soardless One day, we shall repay them You say you do not know these men, but when asked that question, you knew immediately that they wouldn’t do as easy Search your heart Perhaps it is yourself that you do not know”

The door opened, and Burke walked in, rubbing his hands together His face paled when he looked at Jessa “Sweetheart? Why are you crying?”

“We’ll leave you alone now,” Rafe said, gesturing for his brother to leave

Kade followed hi your family to the palace when this is over—or sooner You are alelcome in our country”

They left, slapping Cole on the shoulder as he walked in, his face blank

“The car’s ready, but I’d rather lay low until it’s dark If they’ve got a visual on us, it will be much harder to follow us once the sun is down It’s about six hours from Dallas to Lafayette and another hour to the swaements” Cole spoke, but there was no inflection in his tone He could have been talking about the weather

It was so easy for Cole to shut down He seemed to be a pro at it But ould happen if she broke the barrier down and got to the realwicked and restless washer heart twitch

“Jessa, sweetheart, tell ripped her hand, his eyes seeking hers

Cole crowded in on the other side, looking ready to make demands Her body leapt For whatever reason, she’d always be attuned to theado Their need to keep her safe And to hold her

God, she wanted the comfort they silently offered That connection she felt to the She ached for just one hour of nothing but their reassurance, their touch She wanted to break past Cole’s defenses

But she couldn’t accept their tenderness And couldn’t admit that she wanted them, would probably never want another man They’d construe either as surrender, and she’d have to work twice as hard to convince them to let her out of their lives If she accepted tender kisses and soft words, cutting theht be impossible

But she wanted theain, one last tilanced at the clock It was hours before dark Hours before they would flee She smiled to herself She wanted Burke and Cole now On her terive it to her

Eight months earlier, April 5 – Dallas, Texas

Cole stared at Hilary No way he’d heard her right He didn’t like the woman, but she was smart and ran the office well Still, she had her blondeabout this

“No” Burke shook off Hilary’s touch “I don’t understand”

She put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, her eyes going soft with sympathy When she looked like she was about to repeat herself, he felt his own go cold and dead Exactly like his heart

“That woot married,” she murmured

The words still didn’t seem to compute to Burke, but Cole heard them Loud and clear They echoed in his ears Married To another man Their Jessa No, not their Jessa anymore Less than four months after they had left her with kisses and vows to return, she not only started dating another man, she’d married him, tied her life to him Given him her eternal love

“I a a step back She looked to Cole, her eyes sliding away silently

She always addressed Burke, the gentleman Cole couldn’t reh she was afraid of what she would find there No surprise She viewed him as a violent barbarian

Hilary placed a manila folder on the desk in front of him “I don’t knohat it is about this wo to this report, she’s happily married, so if she’s one of your little projects, you don’t have to worry anymore”

Burke grabbed the report before Cole could He wasn’t sure he wanted to see it anyway If there were pictures of the happy couple, the ie would probably sear itself into his brain Already, he could picture too vividly Jessa with so her body to hi hihter

Cole turned away He didn’t want to see the fucking report He wanted to see Jessa He could be on a plane and in New York in just a couple of hours He could stand in front of her and ask her if they’d everto her He and Burke had loved her Neither one had even thought of touching another woman since they’d left Jessa She’d apparently done a hell of a lot more than think about it Fuck

Burke slammed the folder down

“I really am sorry, Burke,” Hilary said “I didn’t want to send that file to you But I had to be honest Who is she?”

Burke shook his head, his gaze hardening “Apparently, no one special”

No one special Just a woman he would love for the rest of his life His heart ached Though it made him furious, the voice in his head asked: Did you really expect her to wait for you? No one gives a shit about you, least of all a gorgeous, talented creature like her Stupid bastard