Chapter 67

I curve my hands around my own cup, enjoying the warmth between my palms. "How did you survive the explosion?" I ask quietly, holding his gaze.

His mouth twists slightly. "I very nearly didn't. When they saw that they were losing, one of those suicidal motherfuckers set off a bomb. Two of my men and I happened to be near the ladder to the basement, and we dove into the opening at the last minute. A section of the floor collapsed on me, knocking me out and killing one of the men who was with me. Luckily for me, the other one—Lucas—survived and remained conscious. He managed to drag both of us into the drainpipe, and there was enough fresh air coming in from the outside that we didn't die of smoke inhalation."

I draw in a shaky breath. The drainpipe . . . That was the only place I hadn't looked that horrific day when I spent hours combing through the burning ruins of the building. I had been so dazed and shellshocked, it hadn't even occurred to me to check there for survivors.

"By the time Lucas got us both to a hospital, I was in pretty bad shape," Julian continues, looking at me. "I had a cracked skull and several broken bones. The doctors put me in a medically induced coma to deal with the swelling in my brain, and I didn't regain consciousness until a few weeks ago." Lifting his hand, he touches his short hair, and I realize the reason for his new haircut. They must've shaved his head in the hospital.

My hand trembles as I lift my cup to take a sip. He had almost died after all—not that it makes his absence for the past few weeks any more forgivable. "Why didn't you contact me at that point? Why didn't you let me know you were alive?" How could he let my torture continue even a day longer than necessary?

He tilts his head to the side. "And then what?" he asks, his voice dangerously silky. "What would you have done, my pet? Rushed to my side to be with me in Thailand? Or would you have told your pals at the FBI where I could be found, so they could get me while I was weak and helpless?"

I inhale sharply. "I wouldn't have told them—"

"No?" He shoots me a sardonic look. "You think I don't know that you talked to them? That they now have my name and picture?"

"I only spoke to them because I thought you were dead!" I jump to my feet, nearly upending my coffee cup. All of my anger suddenly surfaces. Furious, I grip the edge of the table and glare at him. "I never betrayed you, even though I should have—"

He rises to his feet, unfolding his tall, muscular body with athletic grace. "Yes, you probably should have," he agrees softly, his gaze darkening as we stare at each other across the table. "You should've turned me in at that clinic in the Philippines and run as far and fast as you can, my pet."

I run my tongue over my dry lips. "Would that have helped?"

"No. I would've found you anywhere."

My stomach twists with excitement and a dollop of fear. He's not joking. I can see it on his face. He would've come for me, and no one could've stopped him.