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I need protection more than ever, now.

Oksana: I'm not emailing them. If you want this evidence, you come get it yourself.

Reyes: Oksana, don't be stupid. Send the files now.

Oksana: I am not sending anything. You fly to Greece and take this phone from my hands. I want the signed immunity papers, the relocation paperwork, and federal protection for me and my baby ready the second I hand this over. I am not staying on this island alone with him after you have the evidence. You get me out the moment it's done.

A long pause follows. One minute. Two minutes. I hear the front door of the villa opening.

Then the dots appear.

Reyes: I'll be there in the morning. Meet me at noon. I'll give you a location. Don't be late.

Heart pounding, I delete the messages and bury my phone in the bottom of my bag hanging off the back of the bathroom door. When I step back out, I hear Cormac calling for me. The moment he walks in and sees me, his expression eases.

"Found it," he says, holding up the glass bottle of lemon soda. "Cold, too. The old woman at the register said it's good for the stomach."

My chest aches so fiercely I can barely breathe. "Thank you," I whisper.

He uncaps the bottle and hands it to me, his fingers brushing mine. "Drink it slowly. Then we'll sit by the pool."

"Okay," I manage.

And every second after that feels like a countdown to an execution.

—

The next morning, it's ridiculously hot out by nine a.m. Cormac is sitting at the outdoor table with his laptop open, his brow furrowed as he works through the files Declan sent him. He's wearing dark sunglasses, a glass of iced tea beside his elbow, completely absorbed in the numbers on the screen. He has no idea that the documents he's reviewing are already sitting in high-resolution photos inside my beach bag.

I stand near the bedroom doorway, wearing a simple white sundress over my swimsuit, my light blonde hair tied back with a silk scarf.

"Cormac?"

He looks up. "What is it?"

"I'm going to go for a walk while you work. I think I saw a shop that had some cute baby things. I'd like to get a memento from here." My chest aches as I speak, every word feeling like a worse and worse betrayal.

A faint, tender smile touches the corner of his mouth. "You want me to walk down with you?"

"No," I say quickly, offering him an easy smile. "You need to finish reviewing those files for Declan, don't you? You said it would take a couple of hours. I'll just browse for a little while. The walk will do me good."

He hesitates. My skin prickles. And then he nods. "Alright. Just be careful."

"I will," I promise. "I'll be back before you know it."

I step over to him, leaning down to press a soft kiss to his cheek. His hand reaches up, his large palm cupping the side of my neck, holding me there for a heartbeat longer than usual. "Be careful, Oksana," he murmurs against my skin. "Keep your phone on."

"I will."

I pull away before my composure shatters, grab my tote bag, and walk out the front door.

I head into the small village on the island, feeling tears prick at my eyes that I constantly have to fight back. I weave through the crowd of tourists and locals, my heart hammering like a trapped bird in my chest. With every step, the weight of the phone in my bag feels heavier. This is the end. In a few minutes, Reyes will have the evidence. Agents will move in Chicago. Someone will be put into motion to handle things here. Cormac will be arrested, or he'll go on the run, and I'll be tucked away into some witness protection program in a state I've never seen, raising his child under a name that isn't mine.

He'll hate me forever.

He will never forgive you, a voice screams in my head. You took his heart, you took his second chance, and you handed him to the feds.

A sob catches in my throat, but I force my feet forward. I had to. I had to protect my family. I have to protect my baby.