BOOK 2

“I was earmarked to die. Just like the other guy.” He heard the soft gasp and took heart. “I didn’t know that, of course. Not until directly after our wedding. The feds took me away.” And after extracting a promise to see the case through, they’d made him stay away from her. “They kept me safe. I went immediately into the Protection Program.”

There was a long moment of silence. “And you disappeared.”

“Yes.” He turned to face the door, then put his palms on it, wishing he was touching her face. “I had to, for your sake, and Devlin’s. You two were all I cared about, and with me around, you would have been in grave danger.”

“You never even contacted me.”

God, the wealth of hurt in her voice twisted his gut. “I couldn’t. It would have put you at risk. But the feds were supposed to. They promised to explain, to tell you what had happened, and I believed they had done so.” All the old anger surged back. “There was a mix-up.” Was it safe to let her out? Would she listen to the rest?

“Why did