Free Liam's Witness Protection (Man On A Mission 4) by Amelia Autin

McKinnon. He came to see me once with Alec.”
    “Yeah, I figured you’d make the connection. McKinnon was clean, but Brooks was dirty. He was secretly a member of the New World Militia. He set a firebomb that almost killed Ryan Callahan—Reilly O’Neill—and the woman who is now Callahan’s wife. They escaped by the skin of their teeth. Then Callahan and another man laid a trap for Pennington—with my help. A trap Pennington walked right into,” he said with satisfaction.
    He didn’t come right out and say it, but Cate guessed from his expression that whatever trap Pennington had walked into, he hadn’t walked out of...ever.
    “Four years ago,” D’Arcy continued, “Pennington’s son, Michael Vishenko—née Pennington—tried to get revenge on the six men he held responsible for what he considered his father’s murder. Ryan Callahan was one of those men. I was another.”
    “My sister was involved in that case,” Liam offered. “She almost died when she stepped in front of a bullet to protect someone else.”
    “Special Agent Keira Jones was—and still is—one of the best agents I have,” D’Arcy agreed. “Although her last name is Walker now.” He pursed his lips, as if debating whether or not to reveal something, then said, “She was instrumental in locating you last year. She made the connection between a name she was asked to investigate by her former partner in the agency—McKinnon—and what seemed to be a totally unrelated case regarding someone the agency had been keeping tabs on for years, Aleksandrov Vishenko.”
    D’Arcy smiled slightly. But it was the kind of smile, Cate realized, that boded ill for whoever was on the receiving end. Not her. Vishenko. D’Arcy went on to explain, “It was the contract he had out on you that tipped her off—a contract whose price was upped from a half million to a million dollars. With the agency’s blessing she helped her brother track you down. He never would have found you without her. Never would have rescued you in time.”
    “Alec’s sister.” She glanced at Liam. “Your sister. Yes, I’ve met her, too. She was very kind to me.” So kind, she remembered now. And not at all judgmental. Just like Alec. Like Angelina.
    “That pretty much brings you up-to-date,” D’Arcy said. “I’ve got deaths on my conscience, the Thurman family among them. But I’ve never lost a witness I was responsible for,” he told her. “I don’t want you to be the first.”
    Cate glanced from him to Liam, then back again. “So what is this new plan?”
    “Callahan,” D’Arcy said. “Nobody knows of his connection to the agency, which is more important than I can explain right now. And he has more lives than a cat. He should have been killed at least a half dozen times I know about—and probably a few I don’t—but somehow he’s cheated death time and again. That’s why I want to put you in his hands, Ms. Mateja—Cate. If anyone can figure out a way to keep you safe until the trial begins, it’s Ryan Callahan.”
    A cold, sinking feeling washed through Cate. And she knew the face she turned to Liam was ashen, her eyes stricken, unable to hide how betrayed she felt—a betrayal she had no business feeling. She knew logically Liam didn’t owe her anything. He’d kept her safe thus far, but only to help his brother. To help salvage the case against Vishenko and the rest of the defendants. Not because he cared what happened to her—twenty-four hours ago he hadn’t even met her.
    Twenty-four hours?
she asked herself, shocked at the answer. Dismayed. Because it seemed as if she’d always known him. Always trusted him to keep her safe.
    The idea of losing Liam’s protection cut her to the bone, and for a fleeting moment she imagined if she looked down she’d see herself bleeding somewhere. Then she carefully wiped all expression from her face, pulling back within her internal borders. She was alone...as she’d always been nearly her entire