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“Thanks. That’s one less thing to worry about anyway. Talk to you later.” Liam disconnected, then glanced over at Cate, who was standing exactly where she’d been a minute before. And her absolute stillness worried him. “Cate?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I wasn’t thinking.”
He brought his thoughts back to what she’d almost done—reveal their location over the phone. “That’s why you have me.” He smiled to ease her alarm and self-blame. “You’re careful, Cate. And like you told D’Arcy, you stayed alive and on the run for six years, even with a price tag on your head. That takes smarts. But you’re not a professional at this—I am. This is what I do for a living—keeping people alive.”
“You and Alec.”
That little imp of jealousy returned when she spoke his brother’s name, but he fought it off. “Yeah, Alec used to be a bodyguard, too. But not anymore. Now he’s the regional security officer at the US embassy in Drago.”
“Yes, I know.” She breathed deeply all of a sudden. “But he and Angelina were watching over me in Zakhar, making sure I was safe. And Alec told me he’d never forgive himself if anything happened to me because he convinced me to testify.”
“You mentioned before he was the one who got you to testify.” He took her arm and led her to the porch steps, then sat down and drew her down beside him. “But I thought you weren’t supposed to have any contact with Alec before the trial because he’s a witness, too. He didn’t tell me you were living with Angelina and him.”
“I wasn’t. I was living in the royal palace.”
“You’re kidding!”
She shook her head. “No, the king arranged it. It’s kind of an involved story, and I don’t know all of it, but...”
Liam glanced around the clearing. “We appear to have plenty of time. There’s nothing urgent we have to do as far as I know.”
Cate looked at her hands, then at him. “The king had recruited Alec’s assistance in stopping a human trafficking ring that was operating between Zakhar and the US. It also entailed corruption and visa fraud at the US embassy—that’s where Alec came in.”
“That much I know.”
“Yes, well...” She paused to consider her words. “I told you Vishenko was directly involved in trying to assassinate the crown prince, didn’t I?” When Liam nodded she continued. “He’s also suspected of having the king’s cousin murdered in jail.” She shivered, despite the sun’s warmth. “I don’t know where the investigation on that stands. And no one knows just how much involvement Vishenko had in the attempted assassination of the king a few years back, and the woman who is now his queen. But the attempt on the life of the crown prince—responsibility for that has been established beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“One of the shooters confessed, naming Vishenko as the man who supplied the money,” he remembered. “Isn’t that what you said?”
“Yes, but they’ve nailed down the money trail, and it leads right to Vishenko. If they ever get him in a Zakharian courtroom...”
“Yeah, but D’Arcy told me that’s a big ‘if.’”
“I don’t know about that. The king is...” There was admiration in her voice, and an obvious desire to believe the king would not allow Vishenko to escape justice, no matter what he had to do. Then she picked up her story again.
“The king told Alec it mattered just as much to him that Vishenko pay for his role in the human trafficking conspiracy as it did for the part he played in trying to kill the king’s son. When the king learned I had evidence against Vishenko and was willing to testify in court about what I knew, he insisted on providing me with round-the-clock protection—the same protection the royal security details provide for the king, the queen and the crown prince.”
Now it made sense to him that men from the Zakharian National Forces were in the courthouse, guarding Cate as best they could without firearms, but he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to interrupt her.
She smiled softly. “The king was so kind—he said it would be best for me to live in the royal palace while I waited for the conspiracy trial, because it would be easier to protect me there than anywhere else. But of course, every time I came over here—depositions, prepping for the trial, the trial itself—I was guarded by US Marshals.”
And Zakharian agents, he added in his mind.
Her smile faded. “I knew Vishenko would stop at nothing to silence me. I tried to warn everyone, especially the prosecutors. I really did, Liam.” Her eyes beseeched him to believe her.
