She did not regret asking him to leave, but perhaps she could have handled it with more...civility. The room was quiet.

Austyn's breathing was barely audible.

Kira sat facing him, wondering when he would wake up.

What should she say when he did?

Should she apologise?

But he was the one who should apologise first for disappearing on her.

Besides, she didn't know he had been injured.

If she did, she would never have punched him.

Kira's eyelids grew heavy.

Austyn was by her side.

She was still angry at him, but also reassured by his presence.

A wave of fatigue washed over her.

He Realty Needs A Filter On That Mouth

She lowered her head and drifted off.

Kita was woken up by an itch in her nose.

Che touched it without opening her eyes, thinking it was a fly.

But she felt her own hair.

Kira swept the strand of hair away from her face.

Someone grabbed her hand.

Her eyes shot open.

Austyn was sitting up in bed, staring at her.

'I'll go get the nurse.' Kira stood.

Austyn pulled her back into the chair. 'I'm fine.'

'Let go of me.'

The nurse had asked Kira to keep an eye on the patient and to inform her as soon as Austyn woke up.

'I'm fine,' he repeated. "The nurse was here. She left two minutes ago."

'Really?' Kira blinked away the sleep in her eyes.

She didn't recall hearing anything.

'Really.'

Kira sat down.

She withdrew her hand and looked away.

'Aren't you going to ask how I'm feeling?'

'How are you feeling.' Kira repeated the question in a monotone.

Austyn pursed his lips. 'Say it like you mean it.'

'How are you feeling?'

'I'll survive.'

Kira nodded. 'You sound fine. Then I guess you're ready to answer a couple of questions.'

Austyn braced himself. 'What questions?'

'Let's start with the gunshot wound.'

Austyn narrowed his eyes. 'Who told you it's a gunshot wound? Kai?'

Kira nodded.

'He really needs a filter on that mouth,' Austyn muttered and decided to take away Kai's year-end bonus.

'If it weren't for him, I would still be kept in the dark. Do you plan to hide this from me for the rest of your life?'

'Yes,' Austyn said without hesitation.

Kira stared at him in disbelief.

No wonder he never apologised.

The man didn't think what he did was wrong.

'Why?' Kira had to ask. 'Why do you hide everything from me? Am I that unworthy of your trust?'

His employees knew where he was.

His friends knew where he was.

Only she was excluded from his circle of trust.

What had she done to earn that treatment?

Austyn sighed.

He'd had the entire plane ride to think it over.

No matter how he looked at it, this was not going to be an easy conversation.

He stretched out his hand.

He wanted to touch her when he bared his soul.

Kira struggled, but had to give in when she saw him wince in pain.

She let him draw her into his arms.

He caressed her cheeks.

He Really Needs A Filter On That Mouth

Her eyes were still red.

'Did you cry when I passed out?'

'No.' Kira looked away.

'You weren't worried about me?'

'No, not at all!'

'Hand me my phone.'

'Who are you calling?'

'Giana. She was with you on the ride to the hospital, right? I want to ask her if you are lying.'

Kira bit her lower lip. 'Fine, I cried. There, are you happy now?'

'Kira, how can I be happy to know I'm the one who made you cry?' He sighed. 'I just wanted to make a point.' 'What point?'

Act Fast: Free Bonus Time is Running Out!

ser Of Two Evils

The Lesser Of Two Evils

Austyn said, 'You were so worried when I just fainted. Imagine if something worse happened to-

A covered his mouth with her hand. 'Don't! Don't say it.'

He gently pulled her hand away and held it in his. 'See? That's my point, exactly. You had a meltdown when I just passed out. Imagine-

'I didn't have a meltdown!' Kira protested vehemently.

She was just stunned.

'Let me finish,' Austyn said evenly. 'Imagine how you would feel if I told you I was going after Santoro.'

Kira stared at him in a daze. 'You mean...you didn't tell me because you didn't want me to worry?'

He nodded.

Kira shook her head. 'I don't buy it. Don't you know I'd be just as worried when you disappeared without a word? I thought...I thought...' 'What did you think?'

'I thought you eloped with Deborah!'

When Kira went to the hospital, Deborah had already checked out.

Kira thought Austyn must be with her.

'And how did that make you feel?' he asked.

'I felt... I felt I hated you! I never wanted to see your face again!'

He nodded.

It was what he had expected.

Which was why he didn't call her from the airport.

Having lost his phone was just an excuse.

Kai had a phone, not to mention, the airport had rows of pay phones.

Austyn boarded the plane without calling Kira, part to protect her, part to...run away from her.

He had just learned about the existence of a son less than six hours ago.

He was still in shock.

He wasn't thinking.

By the time the plane landed, he had made up his mind not to tell Kira anything.

If the trip ended with Santoro's capture, Austyn could go home to Kira and share the good news with her.

Then he would take whatever punishment she had in store for him.

But if things didn't go according to plan and Austyn met his end, he'd rather let Kira go on believing he'd eloped with Deborah.

He said so to Kira, 'I'd rather you hate me than worry about me.'

Hatred could be a driving force.

If Austyn never appeared again, Kira would conclude that he'd run away with Deborah.

She would live on with that ineradicable hatred for him.

But she would live on.

On the other hand, if she knew he went after a man as dangerous as Santoro, she would never have a moment of peace.

His death would crush her.

Grief was not a driving force; it was a destructive one.

Broken-heart syndrome was a real thing.

Between letting her worry and letting her grieve, Austyn chose the lesser of two evils.

'If I could choose again,' Austyn said, looking straight at her, 'I would do the same thing. Kira, if I couldn't make it back alive, I'd rather let you believe I disappeared. I don't want to put you through the pain of bereavement. Kira's eyes turned red again.

Never had she met such an obstinate man in her life.

Even now,

,he still didn't think he did anything wrong.

He was apologetic, but for the wrong reason.

He was headstrong, wilful, and...selfish.

He hid the truth from her because he thought it was the better option.

He lied to her to protect her.

KOFTwo Evils

Hethesight she was too weak to handle the ugly, devastating truth if he died.

A knew he was wrong, but at the moment, she couldn't come up with a cogent argument to refute his logic.

She didn't need this kind of protection.

She was not as weak as he thought!

She didn't need someone else making decisions for her!

Kira wanted to grab his shoulders and shake some sense into him, but he had an IV needle in one arm and looked like death warmed up. Kira clenched her fists.

Austyn wasn't as callous as she thought.

He did care about her feelings, but she couldn't accept the way he acted-making the choice for her in the name of protecting her.

She was an adult!

She knew what she could and could not handle!

Kira's chest heaved.This belongs to - ©.

She had to resist the urge to punch out.

He was a patient.

She'd already slapped him once.

There would be time to mete out punishment later.

Right now, she had more important things to do.

Kira was so lost in thought, she didn't notice Austyn's move.

He was planting gentle kisses on the back of her hand, before moving on to her fingers.

When Kira finally realised what he was doing, she pushed his face away and shot to her feet, moving away from him.

Austyn frowned. 'Come here. Give me a hug.'

'No.' Kira sucked in a deep breath. 'I have questions."

'I'm not answering them until you come back here.' He patted the bed.

Kira gritted her teeth. 'Fine, but you can't kiss me.'

'Why can't I kiss my own wife? You're denying me my conjugal rights.

'Austyn McCarthy!"

'All right. I won't kiss you. Won't you at least hold my hand?' He knew she responded more to the soft touch than the hard.

As expected, Kira hesitated before coming over. 'Just one hand, and don't you dare kiss me again!'

Austyn held her hand and played with her fingers.

He had been away from her for so long, he was suffering from touch starvation.

Kira asked, 'Did you and Damian arrest Santoro?'

If Santoro escaped again, she was going to spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder.

Sean Santoro was vindictive and cold-blooded.

He would not let it go until he'd gotten his revenge.

'No.'

Kira felt a chill running down her spine at that single word.

If Santoro was still at large...

Austyn added, 'We didn't arrest him, because he's dead.'

It took Kira a few seconds to process the news.

She punched Austyn's arm. 'Why couldn't you say that first? You almost gave me a heart attack!

How Many More Secrets Does He Have?

Austyn hissed in pain.

'Did I hurt you?' Kira, concerned, leaned forward to check. 'But I didn't hit the arm with the needle..."

'Got you.' Austyn pinched her nose.

Kira rolled her eyes. 'How childish can you be?'

She swatted his hand away and sat back. 'So he's dead? For real?'

'As real as it gets.

Sean Santoro died at the scene.

Damian smoothed things over with the local police and arranged for Santoro's burial.

The drug trafficker's body was cremated on the same day and his ashes were buried in a public cemetery.

Austyn was in the hospital for three days and missed all the fun.

Then Damian told him something that cheered him up-Damian only paid for a year's interment.

Which meant Santoro's grave would be 'repurposed' after the year was up.

Kira was relieved to hear about the scar-faced man's death. 'Did you...kill him?'

'I wanted to, but it wasn't me.'

Damian was the one who fired the fatal shot.

Kira spent some time absorbing the news. 'How did you know he was in Trinidonia?'

Santoro was a fugitive.

If someone had a lead on his whereabouts, shouldn't they go to the police?

Why would Austyn be the one to receive the tip-off?

This question had puzzled Kira since she talked to Kai.

Austyn paused briefly.

Kira seemed to have mellowed out a little.

News of Santoro's death was a shot in the arm.

But Austyn was about to mention a name that would tick her off again.

'Deborah was working with Santoro. She came back to Stamford under his orders.

Kira's eyes widened. 'That bi-'

Her hand flew to her mouth.

Her reaction amused Austyn.

Was she finally about to let loose the b-word?

'I knew it!' Kira waved a fist in the air. 'I knew the woman couldn't be trusted! I once overheard a call she made. I didn't catch most of the conversation, but she was acting all mysterious and shifty. I knew she was up to something. She must be talking to Santoro back

then!'

Austyn nodded. 'Santoro wanted her to hurt me.'

He skipped over the part about Aiden. 'But she couldn't do it. She decided to come clean. Then I used the intel she offered to set a trap for Santoro.'

'I told you there was something wrong with her!' Kira stabbed a finger at Austyn's arm. 'Yet you refused to believe me!'

'Still holding a grudge over that?' Austyn smiled. 'I knew she was up to no good before you told me. I did believe you.' 'You already knew? How?'

Austyn cleared his throat and looked away.

He didn't want her to know he had installed CCTV cameras in the house Deborah was staying in.

It would make him sound like a voyeur, even though the apartment belonged to him.

'I just found out by chance. I kept it to myself because I didn't want to put her guard up.'

Kira was surprised once again.

It seemed that there was still so much she didn't know.

Just how many more secrets was he hiding from her?

Her eyes came to rest on his chest wound. 'Who shot you? Was it Santoro?'

A shadow flitted across Austyn's face.

He shook his head. 'Not hitn.'

'His accomplice?'

More Secrets Does He Have?

stva thought Santoro would have more men, but it was just him and one other guy.

After he fled the country, Santoro's bank account was frozen.

e no longer had the financial resources to hire a mercenary team.

Later, Damian questioned the guy who was overpowered and tied up by Austyn.

He was a local thug, hired by Santoro just two days ago.

Santoro blew most of his money on drugs.

Besides, Deborah had 'killed' Austyn without informing him.

He was caught short and off guard.

'Then who shot you?' Kira asked.

'I didn't get a look at the shooter's face.'

The shot had come from behind.

After he woke up from the surgery, Damian told him they'd chased after the shooter, but he had disappeared without a trace.

Other than a generic description of 'Male, mid-twenties to early thirties, 1.70m to 1.75m, no visible scar or identifying marks,' they didn't have much to go on. Damian promised to pull some strings with Interpol and keep looking, but Austyn didn't hold out much hope.

He had his suspicions, though.

A cold gleam came into his eyes.

'Liam Cane.' He spat out the name.

'What?' Kira's mouth hung open. 'Him? Are you sure? You said you didn't see the shooter's face, right? Then how can you be sure?'

Kira had come to realise that Liam Cane was a master manipulator who liked to play mind games and toy with people's emotions.

But was he really ruthless enough to put a hit out on Austyn?

'This wasn't his first attempt. He went to you first, remember?'

Kira turned away, looking a little shamefaced. 'I didn't know he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. And I'd kept my distance from him since.

Kira had called Liam a dozen times after Austyn's disappearance.

She thought he must know something, since he was the one who gave her Deborah's hospital room number.

She replayed their conversations in her mind.

Liam Cane just gloated over the phone and offered zero help.

Was it because he knew Austyn wouldn't come back alive?

'I know.' Austyn squeezed her hand. 'I'm not blaming you. I'm just telling you that Liam Cane has a motive. And when I went abroad, he saw his opportunity.' Kira gritted her teeth.

As much as she hated Georgina, she would never want to see her half-sister dead.

Liam and Austyn were brothers.

What kind of profound hatred would drive him to murder his brother?

ks Just As Well As An Advit

A Hug Works Just As Well As An Advil

Kira's face was flushed with anger.

Austyn was pleased by her reaction. 'Don't worry. He didn't kill me last time, and he's not going to succeed in the future.'

Kira thought about it and decided that he was right.

Stamford was Austyn's domain.

Liam couldn't get to him here.

Feeling slightly reassured, Kira looked at Austyn's chest. 'Can I see it?'

He knew what she was talking about, but deliberately misinterpreted her words. 'You want to see me naked?'

'No!' Kira rolled her eyes. 'Your chest.'

Austyn smirked. 'Show me yours, and I'll show your mine.'