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CHAPTER FOUR

VICKY could feel her face whiten She was back in the past again, and Theo Theakis was laying into her with his vicious talons, ripping her to shreds with his vituperation She had tried to defend herself but it had been impossible He had allowed her no chance—no quarter

Well, this time she would not even make the attempt She would not stoop that low

But it was hard—much, much harder than she had allowed for—to stand here, face to face, with that overpowering presence in front of her, the full force of his self-righteous anger bearing down on her It was like an intense, overwhel toto destroy her

Her spine steeled She didn’t destroy that easily! She’d survived that first hideous onslaught of his, which had ended their unspeakable farce of alike a leaf before he’d done with her, desperate only to run, run fro limbs would carry her

It ht have served its purpose, but that did not et that brutal scene, his vicious, self-righteous judgement of her

So now, gathering a nerve she had to dig deep to find, she slid her hands into her back pockets, shifted the weight of her leg, and looked across at him, her face a mask Her voice, as she spoke, was cool

‘I’et the ive a toss how our e ended, only that it did—and that you owe me’

As she finished she had the strangest feeling she’d just lit the blue touch paper—but the rocket didn’t go up Instead, so it clear of any expression or emotion She’d seen hi to people but revealing nothing of as going on inside his head It had been a co to her, as well

His tone was smooth suddenly, but with the smoothness of steel ‘We’ve already established that you have no entitlement to it whatsoever However…’ His eyes rested on her, and there was that same concealed characteristic about thee my mind Tell me—’ the question came out of the blue ‘—what do you want the money for?’

Vicky started Auto to tell hi to do hy she wanted the o was too deep for that, and Je to a bull

‘What business is that of yours?’ she countered, still keeping that cool, deliberate voice going

She could see the anger lick through hi his oay—she knew that, to her cost Whatever he wanted, Theo liked to get it

Even when it was personal

Especially when it was personal