few days. Plans were not going well, not with the firm, and certainly not with Liana. It was as if everything was sl

istraction. I glanced at the screen

inning the phone betwe

hrough, tight and strained. "We've

ed of ice water. "Tell me about it," I drawled, trying to sound as un

. "Private business retreat for tech CEOs. Invitation-only. No p

forged over scotch and thin smiles. It was elite, exclusive and the perfect place for Liana to make her next move. I should have

ed, my voice taut with suspicion,

urity. Her name is definitely on the list. She's starting so

y knuckles cracked. There was a storm br

e low, cutting through the a

arned. "She'll have top security.

avors, bribe someone or better still use our connect

hen Russel's reluctant com

nched around the phone, alre

never find out? She was playing with fire, and it was t

s everything I expected

ial men and women mingled through the grand ballroom, their conversations low but intense, deals being made w

longest while plotting behind the back of everyone. Precisely the kind

usive guest list. I made the cut by title and reputation alone,

background, letting my eyes scan the crowd. Where are y

en I s

ls. She was laughing at something, her posture relaxed, her smile shiny but cold. She was wearing a bl

glint of steel behind her dark eyes. She wasn't the woman who used to walk

y belly. She believed she had won. She b

toni

aking down into a shapeless hum. I walked softly, stalking. I didn't call out to her, not yet. I waited until

y shadow followimg behi

ould feel me there, I called her n

ia

For a moment, she didn't stir.

l; calm, impassive, not so much as a flicker of surprise i

hough I caught the subtle set of her

tance between us in two strides. I could feel

get you? You're using the knowledge you got when we were still

k I used you?" she whispered, her voice cutting through the space

ld you. Anything. Then one day you disappeared and returned with your own little king

eaking through my words. I des

d in all honestly, you actually used me. You wanted someone beautiful on your arm. Someone to smile nicely at your functions

led as if she had stripped away all the lies th

d in a raspy voice, but the words so

nic. You used me as a trinket. A trophy wife. I

s. I wanted to protest. I want

coul

e she

uth shut until the moment was right. To build myself in silence. And when the moment was right

se and sparking like a live wire. "What's your plan, Liana?" I questioned, my voice rough

her eyes. "No," she said, each word calculated

left me

ment. We just stood there, t

finally, my voice low. "You do

er eyes never leaving mine. "A man who's afraid to l

g. I'd thought she was the same woman who'd once

else. Something stronge

I asked, more curious

ey," she breathed. "You'll see it. Your life's gonna play out l

, then turned and walked away with a co

hallway, my hands shaking with a

longer a thor

y worst n

t frigh