Liam's Witness Protection (Man On A Mission 4) by Amelia Autin Page B

and caught her nod. “Working with Alec for six months guarding Princess Mara—that was a real privilege. I learned a lot from him—from McKinnon too, of course, but—”
    “I’ve met Mr. McKinnon.”
    “Yes, you said that this morning.”
    “He was once your sister’s partner, isn’t that what Mr. D’Arcy said?”
    “Yeah, funny how these things work out sometimes. McKinnon got tapped to guard Princess Mara because he’d once been a US marshal
and
because he spoke Zakharan like a native.”
    “So tell me about Keira. I only met her the one time, but...as I said, she was very sweet to me. And I met her husband, too. He came to the safe house with Alec and Angelina last year.”
    “Keira’s special, too. I didn’t realize just how much she meant to me until we almost lost her a few years back. That Edward Everett Hale quotation—the ‘I am one’ quote you said Alec told you? It applies to all of us, but in slightly different ways. Keira’s interpretation of what it means led her to take a bullet meant for another man, and she almost died as a result. As a matter of fact, the man whose life she saved was Ryan Callahan—the man D’Arcy is sending you to.”
    “No,” Cate said, shaking her head. “That’s too much of a coincidence to be true.”
    “I kid you not. I don’t know the whole story—Keira and her husband would never say exactly what all was involved, and trying to get anything out of McKinnon is like pulling teeth. But it’s true.”
    “You must be very proud of your sister.” The wistfulness was back in her voice, and she suddenly turned away, staring out the window. “I could never be that brave,” she said under her breath.
    “Are you kidding?” The words came out rougher than Liam had intended. “You were walking into a courthouse ready to testify against one of the most depraved, most vicious criminals in this country. A man who has never hesitated to kill witnesses against him. A man who tried to kill you to keep you silent. And you’re still willing to testify. Do you know what kind of guts that takes?”‘
    “But I’m afraid,” she explained, as if that made all the difference. “To do what your sister did, to do what Angelina did when she killed the man who would have killed your brother—I’m not brave that way. I’m not brave at all—I’m a coward. Without Angelina, without Alec, I could never face Vishenko.”
    Liam cursed under his breath at how she was putting herself down, how she was minimizing her own valor. “You think Keira wasn’t afraid? You think your cousin wasn’t afraid?” He wanted to shake some sense into Cate, but knew he couldn’t touch her. Not when anger was spilling through him. “Yesterday morning when we heard the Uzis, you think Alec and I weren’t afraid? Hell yes, we were afraid. What do you think bravery is, Cate? It’s conquering your fear and doing what you have to do in the instant you have to do it. Anyone who says they’re never afraid is a liar, or a fool.”
    The fingers of Cate’s right hand touched her left wrist, and Liam suddenly realized she had a habit of doing that. A habit that betrayed her inner turmoil. He hesitated, then reached over across the aisle and placed his hand on hers. “You’re not a coward, Cate. A coward wouldn’t have these scars.” She averted her face, as if embarrassed, but he wouldn’t let her look away. He caught her chin with his hand and turned her to face him.
    “Do you know how much it tears me up inside to see these scars?” he told her, his voice rasping like sandpaper, but so low he knew he couldn’t be overheard by the men in the front of the plane. “But I’m awed by your courage at the same time. Knowing what these scars mean, knowing what Vishenko did to you, and you’re still willing to face him in spite of everything. That’s courage, Cate. Courage far beyond anything I can claim.”
    The color drained out of her face. “Alec
told
you?” she whispered.
    He shook