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‘I don’t take people against their will.’
‘Well, that’s good news for me.’ She felt her breath expand painfully in her chest. ‘Because I won’t be staying here a moment longer to be used as a pawn in your game.’
‘I have been up-front with you from the start. I do not use women.’ He moved forward, pressing his hand to her cheek and forcing her to look into his eyes. ‘Whatever this connection is between us, it is not some kind of ploy. I didn’t plan that kiss.’
Nora blushed, remembering the heat of his mouth on hers, but she pushed the feeling away. ‘That is another reason I can’t stay here.’
‘You can,’ he said softly. ‘You can choose to be a witness in my case and help bring a criminal to justice. You can choose to trust me to protect you.’
She shook her head, hardly believing the words coming out of his mouth. He spoke of trust. What would he do if he knew the truth of her terrible past. Right now, he was assuming that she was an innocent victim, caught in the crossfire of his war. That she could simply go on the witness stand and give evidence without repercussions.
She closed her eyes, thinking of her father and his clever net of spies and his unending power. He would likely pay the judge to throw her in jail while he walked away with a smile on his face. She was simply circling under his net and he was waiting to make his move and catch her. She knew how he operated. She knew that even if he didn’t know about Liam yet, the very thought of his daughter reunited with Duarte Avelar would be enough to tip him over the edge into one of his rages. He would want Duarte dead for sure this time. And he would make sure she watched it happen.
And her son? She shuddered to think of Lionel Cabo using Liam in his games.
Panic edged her voice and she didn’t try to hide it. ‘I can’t be a witness for your case, Duarte. I can’t willingly put myself in danger like that just so you can have your revenge. I have to protect my son. I just want to get away from all of this and raise my child in peace.’
‘Nora, this isn’t about me getting revenge for myself.’ He walked to the window, turning his back to her. ‘Those people almost burnt down a tower block full of apartments with living occupants inside. My tower, that I’d refused to sell to them. They have no morals, no limits when it comes to getting what they want. Those apartments were filled with hundreds of the most vulnerable people in society: elderly couples, people with disabilities and single mothers with their children.’
‘The fire safety scandal...’ She froze, remembering him telling her the reason he’d been in Rio, trying to save his parents’ housing foundation. ‘That was Novos Lideres?’
Duarte nodded. ‘There is proof of a politician’s involvement. A politician who was in Lionel Cabo’s pocket. A friend of mine pursued the evidence and was almost killed as a result. But that politician was our only hope of pinning the crime on Novos Lideres and now he’s dead. Cabo thinks he’s untouchable. One of the
things my business partner Valerio told me about the beatings we endured was that they threatened to kill my sister. They have no respect for human life, Nora.’
His fists pulled tight as he spoke the words and Nora was quiet for a long moment. Up until now her decisions had been solely focused on how to keep herself and her son as far away from this mess as possible. To keep them safe and out of her father’s nefarious clutches. But in walking away would she actually give her father more power? She had evidence that could put him away; she was an eye witness to many of his crimes.
Wrapping her arms around herself, she shuddered out a long breath and stared at the ground. Perhaps if she helped Duarte he might forgive her. More importantly, she might undo some of her own poor choices and finally be able to forgive herself.
Until Duarte, she’d told herself that the effects of her father’s business dealings had only been on the money and power of wealthy men. She had fooled herself into thinking that she wasn’t a true criminal if she wasn’t hurting people. The truth was, every time she’d stolen information before feeding it back to her father it had hurt someone in one way or another. There had been political coups, corporate espionage... But she had never considered that perhaps her father had only ever let her see areas of his business that wouldn’t scare or upset her. She had been unbearably naïve not to realise that her actions had hurt vulnerable people through cause and effect.
Her silence was part of the problem.
When she looked back up Duarte was assessing her with his shrewd gaze. She shivered to think what might be going on in his mind. She was fast realising that keeping her son away from all this was impossible. Perhaps she’d be better off choosing the lesser of two evils and putting her faith in the man in front of her.
‘I don’t want to let them get away with it,’ she said quietly. ‘I don’t want to be afraid any more.’
‘Such a fierce little angel you are.’ His eyes blazed with triumph.
‘I’m far from an angel...’
She heard the hitch in her own voice and felt an urge to tell him everything. Every terrible detail of her sins. She craved his forgiveness. She craved the bond they had once shared—before the reality of her awful family connections had torn it all apart.
‘I have a house a short helicopter ride down the coast. I’ll help you pack now and we can have your nurse flown in for check-ups each day.’
‘Now...?’ she breathed, looking out at the inky blackness of the sky.
‘It’s best if we leave before dawn.’ Duarte’s voice was quiet and filled with sincerity. ‘Let me keep you and your son safe.’
Our son. Something inside her shouted.
She felt a heaviness in her chest in the region of her heart. Tell him, it said. Tell him everything.
But she couldn’t. Not until she was sure of him and of the man he now claimed to be.
An uncomfortable thought flickered in her mind. If he was truly a good man and she had kept his son from him...did that make her a villain all over again?
‘I’m not ready to make any statements yet, Duarte...’ She steeled her voice, trying to muster some strength. ‘But I’ll come with you because I can’t stay here. I want to help you, but I need some time to think about all of this, to make sure my son and I will be safe.’
