Free To Disappear by Natasha Rostova

palomino.’ She glanced at him. ‘Do you ride?’
    He nodded. ‘You can’t ride alone, but you can come with me some time.’
    ‘Really?’ She smiled. ‘Thank you.’
    She returned her attention to the horse, fully aware that Gabriel was watching her with an oddly intent look. She wondered if he knew what Preston had done with her in the drawing room, if he was aroused by the whole scenario. She rubbed her hand over Pirate’s warm, muscled neck.
    ‘Why are you here?’ she asked, her voice low.
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘With Preston. Why are you here?’
    ‘For the same reason you are.’
    Lydia shot him a startled look. ‘The same…?’
    Gabriel moved closer to her, his green eyes shimmering in the waning light. ‘For the need to disappear.’
    Lydia stared at him, her heart suddenly beating hard. ‘What…what did you do?’ she whispered.
    Gabriel leaned his shoulder against the stall and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘Insider trading. I worked with Preston and was on the board of directors for a major electronics company. I received word about the decline of a certain stock and took advantage of it. Unfortunately, I didn’t cover my tracks well enough.’
    Lydia smiled faintly. ‘Neither did I. What about Kruin?’
    His expression darkened. ‘Kruin. He owned a protection services company.’
    ‘You mean bodyguards?’
    Gabriel nodded. ‘He had a contract with Preston and served as his bodyguard for a short time. There was an…incident involving a man whom Preston was blackmailing. The man came to talk to Preston one afternoon. Voices were raised, Kruin lost his temper and…well, the man died.’
    Shock reverberated through Lydia so violently that she grasped the edge of the stall to steady herself. ‘Kruin k-killed him?’
    Gabriel didn’t reply, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes.
    ‘My God,’ Lydia whispered.
    ‘It was his idea. The whole notion of disappearing.’
    Lydia’s hand trembled as she stroked Pirate’s nose. A horrible whisper of intrigue rose in her at the thought that she was subjugated to a man who had taken another life. She pressed her forehead against the horse’s warm neck and closed her eyes, wondering what kind of twisted person she was becoming.
    ‘He’s not dangerous.’ Gabriel’s voice was gentle. ‘He committed an appalling crime, but he will never endanger you. Just the opposite, in fact. I promise you that.’
    Lydia didn’t respond. She felt Gabriel’s hand touch her shoulder.
    ‘Dinner will be served shortly. Let’s go back.’
    She gave Pirate one last stroke before following Gabriel out of the stables. They walked back to the house without speaking, only the noise of crickets and mosquitoes rising around them. Gabriel held the door open for her as they entered the house.
    Preston and Kruin were already seated at the dining table. Lydia gave Kruin a surreptitious glance, her heart thudding again as she recalled what Gabriel had divulged. She was strangely relieved to discover that despite her newfound knowledge, she was no more afraid of him than she had been for the past week. Perhaps she had simply reached the limits of her fear.
    ‘Good evening, Lydia.’ Preston gave her a smile and held out a glass of wine. ‘Come and sit down. You must be hungry after all your exertion.’
    Lydia stiffened with dislike of him, even as she realized he was right. For the past few days, she had been devouring the delicious meals presented at the table, her body craving the innumerable flavors and textures of food just as it was beginning to crave such manifold sexual pleasures.
    With a shiver, she took her place next to Gabriel. She sipped the wine, a white Riesling that tasted like the crisp air of winter. They began dinner with a fresh spinach and walnut salad lightly coated in a vinaigrette dressing, followed by grilled salmon with lemon cream sauce, asparagus tips and roasted baby potatoes dotted with rosemary.
    ‘Mmm.’ Preston lifted a forkful of