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

adult life. As she always would be. No one but herself to count on. Liam wasn’t hers, not in any way. Not even in this.
And you’d better accept it,
she told herself harshly. Savagely.
You’re on your own. Again. Still.
    * * *
    If Cate had stabbed Liam she couldn’t have wounded him more than she had with that one stricken expression...followed by that deliberate blankness. As if she thought he was abandoning her. As if she expected it.
    His anger built quickly. What had he done to give her that impression? What kind of a man did she think he was? Then he remembered Alec telling him Cate’s story had literally made him sick, that she’d been Vishenko’s prisoner for two years. Two hellish years. Helpless. At the mercy of a man like Vishenko, who had no mercy in him. Those scars on her wrists told their own story. She’d eventually escaped...on her own. No one had helped her back then. Or all the years since then, except for much of this past year. She’d been on her own and on the run for six years until Alec found her. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to Liam she expected the worst from the men in her life. Except maybe Alec.
    Still...it hurt. Just as it had hurt when she’d shied away from his innocent gesture yesterday. He wanted—perhaps unreasonably—for Cate to trust him, the same way she trusted Alec.
And where did that come from?
he asked himself. He wasn’t sure he was ready for the answer, but he couldn’t pretend it wasn’t there. Couldn’t ignore how he felt.
    “I’m not leaving you, Cate,” he explained, forcing himself to gentleness despite his anger and hurt. “Earlier this morning—before you woke up—D’Arcy was laying out his plan to stash you with Callahan. But that doesn’t mean I’m out of the picture. Not by a long shot.”
    “I don’t understand.” She strove to shield her emotions from him—that was obvious—but Liam thought he saw something in her eyes. Those pale blue eyes looked almost gray—a trick of the light, he knew—and eventually she lost her internal struggle, her eyes beseeching him to explain.
    His dreams of last night came unexpectedly to mind. Dreams of saving Cate, rescuing her from any and every danger that threatened. And all at once he knew it wasn’t just in his dreams he felt that way. He wanted to keep her safe.
Needed
to keep her safe. No matter what he had to do.
    He’d already killed once for her—his protective instincts kicking in even before he knew her, because he couldn’t let anyone be murdered in front of his eyes, not if he could prevent it. But this wasn’t the same thing at all. Now he knew her. Now it was personal. Now he knew just how much she needed him, even though she thought she didn’t. Even though she didn’t believe she could count on his protection.
    I’ll prove her wrong,
he vowed to himself.
She doesn’t know it yet, but she can trust me to keep her safe. Always.

Chapter 6
    D ’Arcy broke the silence when he said abruptly, “Callahan lives in Black Rock, Wyoming—that little town in the middle of nowhere I was telling you about—with his wife and three children. He’s the sheriff there. But he’s also done some covert work for me—nothing you need to know about, but I’ll tell you this—I’d trust him with my life. I can’t make the decision for you, though. I can’t force you to go there. I can only offer you some options, and Callahan is one of them.”
    Cate’s gaze shifted away from Liam’s face, blankness descending again. “What are the other options?”
    D’Arcy’s expression betrayed he didn’t much care for the other options, but he said, “The US Marshals Service is one option, but it’s not a choice I’d make. Not after what happened yesterday. Don’t get me wrong. Those men who were guarding you—”
    “How are they doing?” she asked quickly.
    “They’re going to make it.”
    “Thank God,” Liam interjected, meaning it sincerely. As a bodyguard himself in the DSS, he