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“For the attempted assassination of the crown prince,” she explained patiently “Don’t you know?” She added a few specifics regarding the assassination atte Crown Prince Raoul’s christening ceremony the year before, an assassination atteelina and Liaets off in this trial, he still has to face justice in Zakhar Alec told me the extradition paperwork has already been processed on Zakhar’s end They’re only waiting for the outco the State Department to turn Vishenko over to them for Zakharian justice”
“Alec didn’t e to Liam’s voice that said he was upset he’d been kept in the dark
Cate put a hand out to touch his arm in commiseration, then drew it back Instead, she said, “At first I asked Alec why I needed to testify Why I needed to risk my life to put Vishenko behind bars in the US when he will be tried in Zakhar for what he nearly did to the crown prince One of the shooters has already confessed, na Vishenko as the man behind the attempt The man who supplied the money” She breathed deeply “But Alec h he is key All the men in the conspiracy must face justice—the Zakharians who lured the trafficked women and the men frouilty as thetheoes down”
Cate was silent for a moment “Whenever I’m afraid—and I’m often afraid—I remind myself that even if Vishenko escapes justice here he will be tried in Zakhar And the courts in Zakhar are much quicker than they are in the US Justice is swift Punishment harsh” Her voice dropped a notch “Even if he kills ht”
“He’s not going to kill you,” Lia to say about it”
Warmth from out of nowhere filled Cate at Liam’s words Not so much the words themselves as the tone of voice in which they were uttered Coolly confident in his own abilities Determined And she knew he meant it She was safe in his hands, as safe as it was hu feeling
They arrived at the new safe house before ht As he’d done at the first safe house, Liam didn’t pull into the drivealk up to the front door and knock He reconnoitered first, driving past the house and around the block slowly, then circling back again It was a little thing, but it emphasized to Cate he wasn’t a novice at this And that extra caution only added to her feeling of safety Vishenkowas possible—but Liam wouldn’t make it easy for him
Just as before, Liam parked on the street a few houses away, and Cate knew he didn’t want to announce to anyone whothem which house they were actually in Not that they’d been followed—Lia before they’d arrived at the safe house Another little detail
So uarded her before and Liauard herself those six years on the run Vishenko’s ht But some of that must have been luck Blind luck
Lia with his left hand He guided her down the sidewalk toward the safe house without actually touching her, his right hand tucked inside his jacket And Cate knehy He’d killed for her before He would again, if necessary And so her afraid of that ruthless side of hiht helped her breathe easier
It was after two in the , and Liam still couldn’t sleep He was exhausted—, adrenaline-packed day capped by a five-hour drive through what seeht And he hadn’t been able to let Cate share the driving for two very good reasons First, she had no ID at all on her, since she’d left her purse behind in the courthouse, so of course she wouldn’t have a driver’s license or other state-issued ID with her And second—more importantly—she didn’t kno to drive
He’d been dumbfounded when she’d adas and he’d asked her if she wanted to take a turn behind the wheel while he rested Except for a few anomalies, such as residents of New York City, what US citizen over the age of sixteen didn’t kno to drive? He’d held back the question with an effort, but then realized he should have known Duh, he’d told himself when she’d flushed with shame at her deficiency Cate wasn’t born and raised here And if she’s been living off the grid for much of the past seven years, what chance would she have to learn to drive? To practice?