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Tim put his coat on. She clasped his good hand in hers and left the clinic. John let out a long breath, standing at the clinic’s front door to make sure they made it safely to her car. He had a bad feeling that their time working together had been increased tenfold by the addition of Cassie’s vulnerable son to the situation. How could he take out his hatred at Cassie if it put her kid in jeopardy? He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. It was that simple. Cassie was in his life now, and he was going to have to find a way to live with it.
    ****
    He followed Cassie for weeks. He soon discovered her secret life. She had men coming onto her like flies buzzing around rotten food. Cassie didn’t look the part of the whore, and he had been surprised to find out that she was. He’d spent months learning her routine, watching her go home with unknown men, night after night. The only break in her routine—the men’s faces.
    What he could see, and none of those men could understand, was the sadness in Cassie. She hated herself for what she did. And she drank to soothe her guilt. And that made her vulnerable. To him.
    He found her intensely interesting, and his own sexual awareness had increased the more he’d imagined what she was doing in all those different places with all those different men.
    It had been easy to observe her, follow her, and intimately get to know her routine. He’d learned her mannerisms, her schedule, how little she talked to anyone, and that, other than the one night stands, she lived a solitary life. She’d been perfect for him. Unhappy, seeking to change, but with no luck. And no one close in her life. Except for him.
    There was only one thing that was unforeseeable to anyone, even someone as intelligent as him. Who could have predicted how Cassie would take to Tim? Marcus Timothy Leary, had been thrilled at first when his son was born, so much so, he’d even given the kid his name.
    But that’s when it all went wrong. After the child was born, Cassie had changed. She’d done as the doctor instructed and stayed clear of alcohol, thereby managing to sober up. From there she had too easily taken to mothering the baby.
    No matter what he said or did, he couldn’t get her attention focused back on him. He couldn’t make her see how desperately she needed him. He couldn’t get her under his control again. And that made him angry. Very, very angry.
    And now his wife had outmaneuvered him. She’d been quicker and more cunning than he’d given her credit for. Who’d have guessed Cassie would hide his son from him ? It was wrong. Marcus knew better than anyone what was right and what was wrong. And a wife taking a son away from his father was wrong. His wife was going to have to pay for running away from him. Along with all her other sins.
    There was only one person Cassie had in the world to turn to, the woman Marcus hated nearly as much as Cassie herself, her sister, Kelly Reeves.

Chapter Three
    John locked his office and stepped into the nearly empty reception area. Empty except for Cassie, who sat with her back to him, not moving. What the hell was she still doing here?
    “The job’s so hard you have to work late?”
    She jumped, then swiveled around in her chair. “Oh! You startled me.”
    “Who were you expecting?”
    Her face was ashen. She held a white card board box gripped tightly in her hands. Sticking out from the opening was a cheap vase with a half dozen pink roses.
    “Who are those from?”
    “They were delivered. No card.”
    John shrugged. “Estelle orders flowers to decorate the office. She hates for it to feel too clinical.”
    She swung her gaze back toward the flowers. “He used to send pink roses to me.” Cassie slammed the box down on her desk and pushed it away.
    “Is there a note?”
    “No.” She bit her lip. Then she whispered, “What if they are from him?”
    “Who? Your ex? They aren’t from him. If there’s no note, then they are from Estelle.”
    “Pink