He was there somewhere, waiting in silence, wanting her terror to mount. She could feel his anger. The weight of it crushing her, just as it had crushed her when she’d been a helpless child seeking love and approval in his home. She couldn’t afford to be crushed by him. Not now. Not when Eli hung from chains and the three leopard lieutenants had obviously been given carte blanche to torture him. She lifted her chin, inhaled, and knew immediately where he was. She turned away from Eli, hating to lose sight of him, but she had to face Rafe.

The moment her gaze found him, at the opposite end of the porch, standing upright in the shadows, he took a step toward her. He was a big man. Built strong and powerful. His features were cut from the same powerful cloth. His cold stare could stop a grown man in full battle mode from moving an inch toward him—even if they had a gun in their hand. She’d seen it happen more than once. Rafe Cordeau had that kind of power. He was handsome. She’d never really noticed that before. And he had charisma. She had noticed that.

“So you found me again,” she greeted softly.

“I told you I would always find you, Catarina,” he answered, his voice equally as soft.

The tone made her shiver. He never sounded angry. Not like Eli. Rafe didn’t give away emotion. His expression was blank, his eyes cold and his tone low and carrying, but with no inflection one way or the other.

“Rafe, I hope you believe me when I tell you that if you hurt him any more—if you kill him—if you do anything at all to him, I will kill myself. You will never have me. Never have any part of me. I’m done with you ruling my life by hurting others.”

“He touched you. He’s been inside of you. No man lives if he’s been inside of you,” Rafe said.

“Then I won’t live either.” She didn’t raise her voice, or lose control. This was too important. If Rafe had spent all this time and money hunting her down, it was to dispose of her himself, or to take her back. If he wanted her, she had to make him believe he couldn’t keep her alive if he killed another person she cared about. “I can’t live like that. I couldn’t live with you knowing what you’d done to April.”

“I didn’t do that to April, you did. You’ve always known the consequences of running, and you did it anyway.”