The "escape" vehicle was moving too slowly.
Aurora sat in the back seat, Ethan curled in her lap, his breath hot against her neck. She was stroking his hair, a repetitive, soothing gesture that was more for her than for him.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw it.
The image of Liam, kneeling in the grass. The image of Ethan, hugging him.
And the image of Liam’s face as he watched them leave.
It wasn't the face of a predator. It was the face of a man who had just discovered a missing piece of his own soul.
He knows.
The text message burned in her pocket. But Vanessa saw. She knows.
He was protecting her. From his own Vice President. From the monster he had unleashed.
"Maman?" Ethan murmured, his voice sleepy. "Why was the lady mean?"
"Which lady, baby?"
"The lady in the red d
