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But after his eain, after he’d killed a few men to prove himself still the most powerful, the most ruthless of men in the Bratva, he realized the real truth He wanted to bring her back to hied—because sex without Caterina had lost its zest

Even though he had his pick of the young wo, even though hisblondes for hi theh The tears of the wo for him—he’d craved the hate in Caterina’s eyes The hateand the iave hi herdespite her hatred

But eventuallyafter all these years without herhe’d adjusted The fire to possess her, control her, conquer her, had dimmed Then he’d merely wanted her dead Not just to ensure the evidence she’d stolen never fell into the wrong hands—though that had been a concern—but to have his revenge on her for depriving hiiven him Pleasure he’d never been able to recapture with another woman no matter how hard he tried

What was money, after all? he’d reasoned when he raised the price on her head A means to an end A million dollars orth it Oh yes, Caterina Mateja had been worth a million dollars to himdead

She still was That hadn’t changed With Caterina dead, the case against him would fall apart like a house of cards with one card reed suddenly His men had been so close

Vishenko no more believed in miracles than he believed in God But if he did believe in them, then Caterina’s escape had been one He’d used nearly every tool in his arsenal, had called in markers from a half dozen of his fellow criht the best law enforcement officials his money could buy—the plan should have been foolproof

But at least her near-death experience wouldher mind about that wouldn’t save her life—she still needed to die—but it would buy him a little time

Cate woke late She knew it by the angle of the sun’s rays coh her bedroo to remember where she was Fayetteville, her brain finally supplied Safe house With Liam

Liam She turned over and tucked her hand beneath her cheek as she thought about him He reminded her so much of Alec in the way he looked, the way he talked, even his ious to admit after Alec had rescued her from a life on the run and convinced her she had a purpose in life far greater than just continuing to live—she liked Lia a lot Maybe it had so to do with the fact that Alec had eyes only for her cousin, Angelinabut she didn’t think so Not entirely

There was just so smile, the way his eyes smiled even before his lips did, the flashes of self-deprecating huh he was a serious man in many respects he didn’t take himself too seriously She liked that about him And then there was the way he so carefully didn’t touch her if he could help it, as if he kneell, perhaps he does, she ad of pain Perhaps Alec told him Or perhaps I told him when I flinched away from his hand yesterday He’s a very perceptive ure out I can’t I don’t

She hadn’t wanted him to know Silly, she realized now She couldn’t keep who and what she was a secret from him—he already knew, at least in part And eventually the whole world would know everythingwhen she testified Hadn’t she already had this discussion with herself, when Alec had convinced her to testify? “‘I a herself why she was here Why she was putting herself through this “‘But I am one’”

It was cold cohts of Liaive to be able to come to him—whole, clean—and see where their attraction took theo had never happened But that was stupid If nine years ago hadn’t happened, Liam would never have entered her life She wouldn’t have been in that courthouse yesterdayNo one would have attempted to kill her And Liam wouldn’t have been forced to come to her rescue To save her life

She rose eventually and made her way quietly, cautiously, to the upstairs bathroo with the toothbrush and other essentials the Morgans had given her at the other safe house—the one in Fairfax No one else seemed to be around, so either they were still asleep—not very likely—or they’d all awakened far earlier than she had and were already downstairs