Liz strode away from the house toward the cliff that overlooked the ocean. The moon and the bright lights of Sutton’s great room behind her illuminated the view of the sharp drop to the ocean below. She could see large and small boats sailing in the open ocean beyond, beacons of freedom and the ability to see the world. She’d never had that ability before, but was on the verge of having it now.

The breeze off the ocean was chilly, and she hugged herself for warmth. The rush of emotions had been surprisingly powerful back in that room with all the Navy SEALs and Sutton. The humor was such a welcome relief, but once the mood had settled, she just felt guilty.

Those men were warriors—the elite, the brave, and they were risking everything for her. She was a battered woman without her own real identity besides the beauty of her face, and she had accepted her role as the martyr, but those SEALs had so much to live for. Had she ever in her life done anything good and brave like they seemed to do every day? She could blame James for her lack of opportunity to help others, but right now, it felt like her fault that she hadn’t escaped from him years ago and done something spectacular with her money and her fame. Yet after the first two escape attempts when he’d murdered everyone who tried to assist her, and threatened Ally, she had given up all hope.

“You all right?” Sutton’s voice floated to her. His steps were silent on the lush grass.

She whipped around to face him. “Fine. Is it time to go?”

“Just a few minutes, and we’ll head down to my powerboat that will take us to the yacht.”

“Okay.” She turned away, unable to hold his penetrating gaze. When they were young, he’d always known when she was upset, even though she’d been trained to hide those emotions from toddlerhood on up.

He stepped closer and gently touched her arm. “They didn’t offend you, did they, Liz?”

The tender way he said her name made her chin tremble. “Oh, heavens no. I haven’t laughed like that since …” Had it really been since she and Sutton were together? Twenty-five years without a proper chortle. That was so illuminating. No, Ally had made her laugh many times, at least when James wasn’t around. Even as a young child, Ally had learned to control her humor if her father was in their vicinity.

Liz clenched her jaw and murmured, “I’m very grateful to all of you.”

“I know you are, but something about that lot, including me, makes you uncomfortable.”

She whirled to face him. “Can you blame me? You, those men, you’re impressive, amazing warriors. I’m a pretty face, a false identity that’s never done anything substantial with my life. You shouldn’t be risking so much.”

Sutton studied her in the dim light. A muscle worked in his jaw. He finally said, “Oh, Liz. You’re so much more than your lovely face.”

“Am I?” She jutted out her chin and glared at him. “How do you know? You don’t know me or care about me.”

“That’s not true.” Sutton took a step closer, and his large form overshadowed her. Instead of the intimidation and fear she would’ve felt if James were this close, she felt protected and safe. “I’ve watched you for years. I know how kind you are, and if you’d been in a different circumstance, you’d have more stories than those boys in there about brave and heroic things you’d done. Look at how you’ve protected Ally all these years.”

Liz bit at her cheek to keep her emotions in control. Ally was her weakness and Sutton seemed to know it. Yet he didn’t use it to exploit her like James did. He protected Ally as surely as he was protecting Liz. She didn’t want to talk about herself anymore. Sutton had no clue what a hollow shell she was, and she didn’t want him to know.

“You’re the best man I know.” She stared into his blue eyes, shadowed by the night.

Sutton arched an eyebrow. “You don’t get out much.”

Liz couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Unfortunately, I circulate at all the wrong parties and around all the wrong men.”

His brows drew together in a scowl. “I need you to see that that’s all behind you now.”

Liz was entranced by his gaze, and she shouldn’t have said it, but she did. “Then what’s in front of me?”

His hand tenderly cupped her hip, and Liz let a small gasp escape. Sutton bent down close. She couldn’t focus on anything but his delicious smell and the warm look in his blue eyes.

“Me,” he whispered.

He stopped the descent of his lips inches from hers and stared at her pleadingly. The next move was hers, and she had never wanted anything as badly as she wanted Sutton. Not just his kiss and his arms around her, but all of him. She wanted him in her present and her future.

“I’d take 008,” she whispered back.

Sutton grinned. It was his true, beautiful smile, and it was so bright her world lit up despite the dark night. He still loved her. He wanted to be with her, and he’d missed her as much as she’d missed him.

He wrapped both hands around her lower back and pulled her close. Liz reveled in the feeling of his strength surrounding her, but all other thoughts were obliterated as his lips met hers. Every nerve ending in her lips sang in response, and the dark night around them disappeared. Liz arched up on her tiptoes, clinging to his broad shoulders and giving everything within her to the kiss. Sutton was the love of her life, and she was finally able to show him how much she had yearned for him over the years.

Shouts echoed from the house, and Sutton pulled back. Liz felt bereft of his kiss as she looked toward the great room and saw pandemonium and men rushing out the doors. Zane had picked Agatha clean off her feet and was running with her to the patio by the pool area.

“Get down!” Zane hollered at them.

Liz was frozen in place.

Sutton knocked Liz to the ground, covering her body with his. A deafening boom filled the night, and Liz could feel the concussion of it all through her body. Sutton’s body shuddered against hers. Glass shattered, and bits of Sutton’s home exploded out into the night, backlit by fire. Liz could see very little of it with Sutton cradling her underneath him, but the night was awash in the orange glow. Her legs were exposed and she felt the sting of debris nipping through her thin leggings.

Biting her lip to keep from crying out, she couldn’t stand to think what could be hitting Sutton as he protected her, or the thought of any of his men not having made it to safety. Shouts echoed through the night and blended with the ringing in Liz’s ears. She strained for sounds of pain but heard none. Was everyone okay or were these men so blooming tough they didn’t cry out in agony? She’d been around many security details and the duke’s private security team. They were strong and well-trained, but they weren’t like these men—true warriors who weren’t afraid of anything.

Sutton rolled off of her and gently touched her face. “Are you all right?”

“Just jammy,” she murmured, feeling anything but.

He offered her a small smile then leapt to his feet and lifted her up, keeping one arm around her. “Zane!” he hollered. “Report!”

Zane rushed to their side, dragging Agatha with him, both of them soaking wet. Apparently, Zane had jumped into the pool with her to protect her. “Go, sir. We’ll secure the area and find the perpetrator.”

“All accounted for?” Sutton demanded.

“I don’t know. We’ll report in soon.”

Liz could see other men hurrying their way and some rushing around the outside of the now-burning mansion. All of them seemed to be Sutton’s men, and most now had guns in hand. Was the bomb shot from the sky or planted? Were the duke’s men descending on them even now? Terror raced through Liz. She wanted to lean heavily on Sutton, but she pulled away. “You go,” she said to him and Agatha. “He wants me. He’ll leave you all alone if he gets me back.”

Sutton’s face hardened. “I told you he would never hurt you again.” His tone and expression were so fierce she didn’t dare contradict him. He turned to Zane. “Secure the area. Proceed as planned. Steve!” He yelled over the roar and crackle of the fire.

Another one of his SEALs ran to his side.

“Clear the way for us. Blayze will follow. Zane, get Ike and Patrick to accompany Agatha, Liz, and me.”

Steve nodded and sprinted toward an exterior building. Zane headed the other direction.

“I didn’t sign up for this nonsense,” Agatha said, squeezing water from her brightly-colored shirt.

“Come on, Alfred, you’ve got this.” Sutton nodded to her. He wrapped his arm around Liz’s waist again and took Agatha’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Liz followed his command. She wanted to protest and let the duke have her to protect them, but there was no fighting against Sutton right now. They headed toward the same building Steve had disappeared into. She could see other men racing around the property, and two men she hadn’t seen at dinner raced up to them then stayed a few feet behind them. Blayze brought up the rear, constantly checking over his shoulder. He’d been so kind to her at dinner, and she’d placed him and all of them in danger.

She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut as she caught a glimpse of Sutton’s beautiful home. The roof was blown off, windows and walls decimated, and fire billowed out of every opening. Had anyone been killed? How could James have reached them so quickly?

“Do you think James’ men are here?” she asked Sutton as they pushed through a door and started down a set of well-lit concrete stairs.

“No.” He shook his head shortly. “We would’ve been alerted by our security cameras, the dogs, or my men. There’s no way he took all of them out.” His lips tightened. “This was an inside job.”

Liz’s chest tightened at the pain in his gaze. One of his men had betrayed him. But how did he know it wasn’t the ones who were leaving with them now? “Who can we trust?” she whispered.

He shook his head shortly. “I thought I trusted all of them until five minutes ago. We’ll stick with the plan. Most likely the traitor is running the other direction.”

Liz certainly hoped so, but she hated the thought of any of these men betraying Sutton and trying to kill all of them. If there really was a traitor, James probably knew exactly where they were heading. Despite the warmth of the sheltered stairwell, chills raced through her.

Agatha was huffing and puffing by the time they exited the stairwell. Liz felt bad for the older lady, but they couldn’t slow down. They entered a sheltered boathouse. Steve was waiting, ready to remove the rope holding the boat to the dock.

“All clear, sir,” he said.

“Thank you.” Sutton helped Liz and then Agatha into the boat. It was sleek and black and looked like something off a spy film with gadgets in front of the driver’s seat and big guns mounted at the rear. Liz shivered. James had found her. He would never give up. She glanced over at Sutton, issuing commands to the men who had followed them as everyone loaded up. He took the controls and sped through a short waterway and out into the bay.

Sutton was strong and in charge. He was brilliant. He could give any superstar a run for their money as he maneuvered the boat with ease and took command of everyone around him. Yet no one could win against James. How many more people would have to die before James finally killed Liz and ended it all? If only Sutton would let her give herself up. She had to. No one else could get hurt on her account.