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"Where are you going?" I follow him into my bedroom.
"To pack a bag. I liked it better when you were obedient." He jerks open a drawer, grabbing the contents and tossing them on the bed.
I scoff. "Yeah, I bet you did."
He turns from the second drawer that he’s yanked open to stare at me. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You want your woman subservient. Heaven forbid I have my own goals and dreams. No, I have to do everything that you say. Funny how the minute I spread my legs for you, though, you go running like a coward."
His eyes flare with wild heat as he reaches out and wraps his hand around my upper arm. "I never forced myself on you."
No, he hadn't. I had given myself to him and he'd rejected me.
I pull my arm away from his grasp and go to get a bag to pack my clothes. "I was so wrong about you. It must've been hard for you to pretend to be good and decent when you were in the FBI. It must be a relief that you can be yourself, the cool, uncaring monster."
His jaw tightens, and for a minute I think I see pain in his eyes. But again, I can't be sure.
"Just get your bag packed." He storms out of the room, and for a minute, I consider escaping through my window. Maybe I could go to my neighbors’ and hide, calling Lucy to come and get me.
But I can't be sure that Liam won't find me, and if he does, he’d probably kill my neighbors. So, I pack my bag and grab my toiletries. I take a breath, wishing there were some other way out of this. As I let the breath out, I know there isn’t, so I carry my bag to the living room. Liam is standing looking out my back door, his hands on his hips, and tension is radiating off him in waves.
He turns and stalks toward me, taking the bag from me on his way to the front door. "Let's go."
Reluctantly, I follow him. As he exits, he scans the area and then directs me toward the dark SUV in my driveway.
"Kate? Is everything all right?" Both Liam and I whip around to my neighbor standing in front of his house watching us.
"Is everything okay?" He eyes Liam with suspicion.
I wish I could tell him everything that is going on, but the way Liam takes a step in front of me and his hand moves toward the gun holstered at his side, I know that I can't.
I put my hand on Liam's forearm to keep him from drawing the gun. "Everything's just fine. This is my brother. We’re taking off for a few days.” But will it be a few days? Maybe I should have rented this home instead of buying as this could be the last time I’m here. And what about my store?
My neighbor doesn’t look convinced, but he nods. Liam ushers me into the front seat of his vehicle and tosses my bag into the back. When he gets into the driver’s seat, he turns on the engine and the wheels squeal as he reverses out of my drive and up the street.
“What is going on, Liam?”
"Have you seen this person?" He flicks a photo in front of me, pulling it out of thin air like a magician.
I glance at it and my heart beats hard as I recognize the image. "That's James Babcock."
Liam makes a sound like a game show buzzer. "Wrong. That's Dimitri Babichev." He glances at me for a moment before turning his eyes back on the road. "Clever name, though."
My stomach roils that I was face to face with the man Liam says wants to kill me. "What do you mean?”
"Dimitri is Russian for James." He glances at me again, his gaze drifting to my stomach. He jerks his eyes back on the road. His fingers loosen and then tighten around the wheel until his knuckles turn white. "He's not the father of your baby, is he?"
What? "No." A thought comes to me. "If this is the guy who wants to kill me, why would he be the father?—"
"Because he likes to fuck with me."
I cross my arms over my chest and look out the window. "Right, because the whole world revolves around you."
His jaw tightens.
“Why do you care so much, anyway?”
His hands flex and grip again. "I want to know everything about your interactions with him."
