Page 127 of To Catch a Sub

Colette was at a loss for words, because he sounded…like he meant it.

Landon was serious. He’d kill to protect her.

He loved her.

Colette jammed her fingers against her mouth, stifling the sob. He loved her, maybe as much as she loved him.

Some small part of her had been sure that once he, or anyone, knew what she’d been through, they’d look at her different. That pity would wipe out any other feelings, because how could someone love or respect anyone as foolish as her?

“I’ll look through the case file.” Rolf stood. “See if there’s an indication one way or the other if this is just personal, or if Damien knows you took information.”

“Give me the details for your cloud server.” Andrei too pushed to his feet. “I’ll go through it.”

Colette blinked, shocked at the help they were offering. “I…thank you. Thank you both.”

She rattled off the information to Andrei, who typed it into his phone. Rolf had already headed for the door to the spiral staircase. Andrei followed him a moment later.

The door closed, leaving her alone with Landon.

Colette walked past stages with bondage equipment and clusters of couches and chairs to the windows. Everything was gray—the sky, the buildings. It felt almost monochromatic.

Landon’s footsteps echoed in the vast, empty space as he came up behind her.

“I should have told you,” she said, surprising herself. “I should have told you everything.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I was scared.”

“Of Damien?”

“Of you. Scared that you might do the same thing Agent…Novak?”

“Novak,” he confirmed.

“That you’d propose using me as bait like he is. I thought if anyone knew that it was personal for Damien, the temptation to leverage that would be too much to resist.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“I don’t trust Interpol. Not really.”

“I would never have proposed using you like that.”

“Really? It makes logical sense. And what if you set it up to where you were sure I was safe? What about then?” Colette let out a bitter laugh. “The fact that he’s calling me his wife only makes it worse. I can see why Novak would want to use me as bait.” She rubbed her arms with her palms. “But that’s not what he’s proposing, is it?”

Landon didn’t say anything.

“No point in hiding it. I heard you. He doesn’t want to use me as bait. Bait is something you dangle and pull back, but he would let the fish swallow me whole.”

“Colette…”

“How would it work exactly? Am I supposed to just walk back in and say I changed my mind? Do I have to marry him?”

“Stop, Colette. It won’t happen?—”

“Answer the question, Landon. What does the agent in charge want me to do?”

Landon sighed. “His plan was to arrange for one of the bounty hunters to find you. You’d be fitted with a subcutaneous tracker and a state of the art recording implant first.”