Page 17 of The Gentleman

The metallic tasteof blood lingered in Leo’s mouth. He probed his teeth with his tongue. All present and accounted for, at least.

Kat studied him from the coffee table, her gaze wary. Her skin looked paler than he remembered, making her eyes appear more intensely green, like the deepest fjord under a stormy sky.

Six months since he’d last seen her. Six months of disciplined effort not to recall the exact shade of her hair or the sensuous shape of her mouth when she smiled. Now she was here, three feet away, and he cataloged every detail with a professional detachment that poorly masked his hunger at seeing her.

A small bruise marked her jaw, likely from her escape, and there were shadows under her eyes. Instead of one of the silk blouses he loved to see her in, she wore an oversized T-shirt. One of her brother’s, he guessed, that masked her curves and trim waist.

He wanted to reach out and cradle her face, trace the bruise on her jaw with his thumb, pull her against him until the world stopped trying to hurt her. To tell her that whatever this was, they would solve it together. Instead, he kept his hands flat onthe tabletop, aware that any movement toward her might shatter the fragile truce they’d established.

“You sleep last night?”

She straightened, chin lifting. “I’m fine.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

Her lips pressed together—that stubborn resistance he’d fantasized about kissing away for years. She was still his Katarina, even with her world collapsing around her.

“You reached out to me for a reason, Kat,” he kept his voice low, aware of her brother in the next room. His heart rate was slowing, but it was still high enough to remind him that her safety mattered more than it should.

Her eyes met his, defiant against his scrutiny. “Maybe that was a mistake.”

“You know it wasn’t.” He reached out and took hold of her hand. Now he spotted the red weals around both wrists.

Someone had handcuffed her.Hurt her.

Rage flooded his system, primitive and violent. Someone had put their hands on her. “What the hell happened, Kat?”

She yanked her hand away from him, folding her arms to hide the evidence. She looked away, blinking.

“Kat—” He softened his voice, reining his fury back in. “I’m sorry. I just…seeing you hurt…”

She inhaled sharply, turning her luminous gaze back on him. The composed woman he’d known for so long shimmered in front of him on the edge of shattering. “They’re saying I committed treason, Leo. They planted documents in my house. One of MI6’s most senior officers led the arrest. I panicked. I ran.”

“You did the right thing.” His voice carried absolute conviction. “Your instincts saved you.”

“I think Korolov might be involved.”

Korolov. Raptor. His blood ran cold.Fuck.

“Okay. We need to find out more.” He emphasized thewe,wanting her to understand she wasn’t alone anymore. “Before we bring this to an end once and for all.”

She stood up. “Come through to the kitchen.”

He pushed up and followed, rolling his shoulder against the damage inflicted by her psycho brother. Worth it, if it brought him to her side when she needed him.

The kitchen was unapologetically masculine—stainless steel appliances gleaming like weapons, expensive Japanese knives mounted on the wall. A sleek espresso machine dominated one corner.

Much as his own space would look if it were not for Inga.

In this stark space, her brother pressed a bag of frozen peas against his swelling eye. Leo didn’t regret the flicker of satisfaction that blipped through him at the damage he’d done, followed immediately by a split second of regret. Starting a brawl with Kat’s brother wasn’t the most strategic approach.

“I’m not leaving,” Leo said, as he followed her into the room. “Not until this is sorted.”

She turned to face him, a slight release of tension in her shoulders.

He would help her clear her name. That was all. He couldn’t afford more, and neither could she. The past lay between them like a minefield, each step toward her risking destruction.

Men like him didn’t get second chances, didn’t get to hold something as precious as Kat Landon.

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