Chapter 3

Vancouver, Canada

Alex didn't make it all the way around the nearly fourteen mile Seawall in Vancouver's Stanley Park. She stopped to catch her breath two-thirds of the way through.

Sweat dripped down her neck and her heart pounded from the exertion.

There wasn't another soul on the trail this morning. It was still dark outside; there was a blanket of trees to her right and an equally dark ocean to her left.

Alex took a deep breath and stared out into the Pacific.

She used to be night owl, rarely getting up at the crack of dawn, but the last few months, during which she forced herself to stick to an exercise routine, had changed that. Dawn was her favourite time of day now. She liked that time when the day still felt fresh and new, just before the sun came up and the rest of the world woke up.

Usually gazing out into the ocean gave her a sense of calm, but today the only thing she saw was the image of Dimitri with that woman. The blond, beautiful woman on his arm.

Do you miss me at all?

Lights glimmered in the distance of the vast English Bay. Alex counted twelve. Each of them was a cargo ship patiently waiting to enter the harbour.

She kept staring out into the ocean, taking in the salty smell of the sea and the sound of the waves lapping against the park's rocky edges.

It was a very different climate here from that of Sydney, where she first attempted to run in the mornings. It was colder and harsher here, but rather than defeat her intentions it had the opposite effect. It had spurned her on.

She hadn't survived a youth full of Welsh winters, only to give in the wet, chilly days of Canada's West Coast.

As if to remind her of the challenge, it was starting to drizzle now. A cool, pre-dawn rain sprinkled her face.

"God, no wonder, I'm the only one here."

She probably should've been afraid to jog alone through Vancouver's answer to Central Park in the middle of the night, but after being kidnapped by Faison and thinking she'd lost her mind; a night time forest was rather far down on her list of fears.

Alex moved to sit down on a bench, right at the rim of the forest. The bench was barely visible from the running trail in the dark, but she knew it was there because it wasn't the first time she used it as a rest stop. In fact, it was her favourite spot in this new city that she now called home.

Alex pulled back the sleeve of her sweat shirt to reveal a permanent reminder of her time with Faison. The vile, branded tattoo that no plastic surgeon would be able to remove without transplanting the skin on her entire arm.

Alexandra.

Raindrops fell on every single letter and ran down the length of her arm, dripping onto the ground below.

It was hard to decipher them. The infection she had after the branding had made a mess of Faison's handiwork. The letters blurred into one another now, the 'x' nearly swallowed

the 'a' that followed and the 'r' lost it's upper curve, nearly turning into an 'i'.

At first glance it looked more like Alexndia.

It had taken months for her to work up the nerve to look at it without flinching. Without having it take her back to that day and tormenting her.

"I hear your friends call you Alex. It's too bad I'm not your friend, Alexandra."

But now she could look at it and get angry rather than afraid. It reminded her that Faison was still out there, and that if he knew she was raising his son, he'd do everything he could to take Liam away from her.

"I'll kill you if you try..." she whispered to no one.

Alex knew it was that subconscious, maternal fear that had made her flee as much as anything else. Long before she even decided to keep her baby.

The thought of Faison finding her and Liam still terrified her and because of it she'd kept her small family on the run. Every eight months they would move. She started in Glasgow. Then Sydney. Now Vancouver. All the furthest corners of the world.

What next? Tokyo? Novosibirsk?

"Not bloody likely," she thought with a chuckle. Given her lack of linguistic skills, she knew she had to limit herself to English speaking countries. Preferably members of the Commonwealth, where she'd have an easier time getting in as a British citizen.

"Maybe it's time to stop running. Time to face Faison and let him know I'm not afraid."

Anna and Sean had the means to protect her and Liam. So did Dimitri. If he'd forgive her.

Who are you kidding? Anna couldn't keep her own daughter safe from Faison? What makes you think she could protect Liam from him?

Alex closed her eyes as she remembered another early morning run, in Sydney, when she first staring jogging. When she still dreaded being in her own skin and facing her home at the end of the day. She wanted to run far away from it all.

And she did.

For two days she kept walking along the coast. Until sunburnt, exhausted and dehydrated she finally had the good sense to take a bus back home to her son and Maria.

The old Spanish woman had been frantic and tearful. Wanting to call the police but knowing it wasn't an option. She'd hugged her and yelled at her, and, in the end, she'd taken care of her as though Alex was her daughter.

The thought brought another bittersweet smile to Alex's face. My own mother would never have done what you did, Maria.

Things were different now.

She wasn't terrified of being herself anymore. She wanted to go home to be with her son. Her funny, charming, beautiful son.

"You also have to go home and work," she reminded herself. She was hoping to finagle her way into joining a research team at the University of British Columbia, in an attempt begin re-establishing a research reputation again. Not as Alexandra Devane, but as the alias she'd been using the past two years, Alexia Merrick.

Alex Devane would have had no trouble getting access to the best research labs in the country and her papers wouldn't be rejected by the best medical journals, but Alex Merrick had to find ways of getting access to third rate labs and she needed to be persistent and pushy to get something published in publications that barely anyone read.

The truth was her financial reserves were running dangerously low. Over a year of not working while supporting three people had all but depleted her savings.

That too, was a new world for her.

While she might have lacked a lot of things in her life, money was never one of them. Not while she was a practising physician and certainly not while being married to one of Europe's richest men.

"You still are..." she reminded herself. "Married to him."

She glanced down at her exquisite wedding band. At the tiny diamonds that ran along the inside of it. It was one thing she hadn't thought to purge from her past life, even when she wanted to throw away everything else.

She probably should have pawned it to pay for the rusting, used car she bought last week, instead of letting it nearly deplete her account. But she knew she'd sooner make cappuccinos at a coffee chain than do that.

If you won't let go of him, then find a way back to him. Stop living in limbo. He deserves to know you're alive. He deserves that and more. Dimitri and Andrei both do. And so do Anna and Robin.

A month ago, she'd been so close to calling him. But she couldn't go through with it.

Because you're a coward. Because you didn't think you could handle him not forgiving you for what you did.

It was raining harder now and Alex was soaked to her skin.

It wasn't about him forgiving her anymore, she realized. It was about her family deserving the truth. If she lost Dimitri in the process, she'd have to deal with it.

As it stands now, I've already lost him anyway.

Alex stood up, smiling when she saw another lone jogger stop in the exact same spot where she stopped her run earlier. Staring out into the bay, just as she'd done.

It was time to stop hiding in fear. It was time to make her way back into the world of the living.

But not because she was broke.

"First," she mumbled to herself. "You're going to find a way to pay the rent next month."

Kigali, Rwanda

It was almost two in the morning. A fan whirred above his head.

Next to his desktop, the ice cubes had melted in his scotch on the rocks, leaving behind a half glass full of diluted light brown liquor. Half a sandwich also sat untouched on a plate next to it.

He'd been too engrossed on what he was seeing on the computer to notice either of them.

Robert Scorpio had promised Sandrine they'd leave early in the morning to see her sister's family.

Still, he couldn't tear himself away.

For the first time in a long time, he felt that he wasn't following a dead end.

"It makes sense for him to be there."

Faison's primary dealings these past two years had shifted away from Europe and Russia, and towards the Far East. There was a casino in Macau. An import-export company on the island of Hainan. Thoroughbreds in Hong Kong. A brothel in Taipei.

None of them could be directly linked to Cesar Faison of course, but Robert had done enough digging that he'd have bet his life on it that Faison was the puppeteer pulling the strings behind each of them.

Robert could smell the scent of her jasmine perfume, giving her away, before he heard the sound of her bare feet, approaching him from behind. He smiled when he felt her hands massaging his shoulders.

"It makes sense for who to be where?" she asked.

"Faison," Robert told her. He pointed to a map on his computer. "There are two remote island groups in the northern Philippines. The Batan and the Babuyan islands. The population is less than 30,000 on all the islands combined. Life there is pretty simple. We're talking remote fishing outposts, some of which don't even have electricity and running water."

"What does this have to do with Cesar Faison?"

"I've been trying to track his cyber activity, and I've been finding that much of it traces back to an island so small it's not even on a map. An island that's part of the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines. Consistent cyber activity from a region that's barely inhabited or supplied with electricity? That made me take a second look."

"You think he set up his new headquarters there?" Sandrine yawned and pulled up a chair next to him. "Two months ago you were convinced he was in Kazakhstan..."

"Kyrgyzstan," he corrected her, cringing at the thought of that futile trip. The number of dead end leads on that mission had turned it into the ultimate wild goose chase. "In hindsight, I should have realized that Kyrgyzstan made no sense. But given where all his latest business ventures are, the northern Philippines makes a lot of sense. Having your own private island within a hop, skip and jump from both Hong Kong and Taipei, is pretty ideal. Aside from the occasional typhoon, the climate is ideal too, and unlike in the 'stans there's no political chaos to contend with."

Sandrine frowned. "So this means you are going to the Philippines to find him now?"

Robert smiled and kissed her forehead. "Well, I didn't exactly book a flight yet."

Her frown deepened. "It's not funny. The last time you took off to kill him, he almost killed you instead."

"Russia was different. I went to rescue someone, not kill Faison." He pulled her towards him. "This time I'll return the favour by doing more than almost killing him."

Sandrine lowered her head, unwilling to meet his eyes.

He lifted her chin with hand. "Hey...you know I have to do this."

Her expression was sullen. "Yes, you were always honest with me about your obsession with him. I accept it and put up with it because I love you. But that doesn't mean I have to agree with it, or even like it."

Robert moved to turn off the computer. He had a feeling he wouldn't get any more work done tonight. It was too late anyway. He finished the rest of his diluted drink and sighed. "Fair enough."

"It's not just about keeping you around for me anymore, you know," she added, still pouting.

Robert smiled and gently ran his hand over her pregnant belly. It awed him all over again each time he did. Sandrine was due in less than three months now. "I have one more reason to end this forever," he said softly. "The best reason of all. I need to know that my little girl will be safe from him."

Finally Sandrine managed a smile. "Stop calling our son a girl."

Robert was convinced it was going to be a girl, and Sandrine was equally convinced that it would be a boy. Both of them preferred to argue about it rather than have an amniocentesis give them the answer.

"I need to know that there's no chance that psychopath will one day decide to come back into my life in order to take away that which means the most to me. Because he's done it before."

"So you're going to kill him as a pre-emptive measure? That's illegal you know."

"So is killing for revenge." Robert shrugged. "But either one will do for me."

Sandrine's smile was gone. "All this talk of killing makes me scared and sad. It doesn't sound like the man I love. I wish you could just..."

Robert put an index finger on her lips. This was one argument he wasn't geared for tonight. Not after making his biggest find in months. "You wish I would just shut up and come to bed with you? But not before I bring you a glass of warm milk and rub your tired feet?"

Sandrine's eyes smiled. "You think it is so easy to change the subject with me?"

"How about some warm milk, a foot massage and a romantic movie? I'll even suffer through a late night viewing of Casablanca if you let me off the hook?"

Sandrine laughed. "No movie. Early morning visit to Marie-Therese, remember?"

Robert groaned. "Right, how could I forget..."

He wrapped his arms around her growing waist, glad that she stopped grilling him about Faison.

Vancouver, Canada

Alex was still soaked by the time she got back to the townhouse.

She hoped that Maria might have gone back to bed and that she could sneak into the shower without her noticing.

No such luck.

The old woman was sitting in the living room, her wrinkled hands wrapped around a large mug of coffee, and the relief on her face was painfully obvious, even though she tried to look at Alex as if she wasn't the least bit surprised to see her back.

"Were you the only mujer loca running in the woods, in the middle of the night, during the pouring rain?"

Alex held back a smile. "No. There was at least one other one." She was getting better at deciphering the Spanish that Maria always threw into her conversation. Occasionally Alex could even reply with a word or two in Spanish of her own.

"Go take a hot shower, get some dry clothes before you catch pneumonia, and I will make you another coffee."

"Okay, Mom."

Maria narrowed her brows, "Not funny. You should be so lucky to have me fuss over you."

Alex did smile this time. "I am." She was about to walk up the stairs to take a peak into Liam's room, when she heard Maria say something else.

"Alejandra..."

Alex turned around. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry, about before. I was being nosy," she said softly. "I have no right."

"Sure you do."

"No, I don't. Just because act like your mother, doesn't mean that I am... your mother."

Alex sat down on the staircase and brushed a wet strand of hair behind her ears. Her hair had grown long again, after she cut it short on impulse two years ago, not wanting to look like her sister anymore. That is, until she realized it was herself she was running from, not Anna. That she liked her hair long as much as her sister did.

"You asked me a question before I left..."

"You really should get out of your wet clothes," Maria repeated, cutting her off. Letting her know she didn't need to answer.

"The boy riding the horse, the one I always root for... he is my son," she admitted softly. "Your instincts were right. His name is Andrei and I miss him. I miss him a lot."

Maria looked as though her heart might break. "Oh mi hija..."

"I'm not sure how to make my way back to him yet," Alex added. "But I have to...and I will. I just need a little bit more time."

Maria slumped her shoulders. Alex knew she'd have given her a fierce hug if she'd let her.

"Oh Alejandra...if I can help you..."

"You help me every day," she told her. "But things are complicated...and it's not only about me wanting to be with him. It's about keeping Liam safe too."

Later

Alex sat in front of her computer and yawned. Checking her e-mail was a quick affair these days. It was rare that she found more than a message or two in her inbox.

Liam was on her lap and drove a toy car in front of her keyboard.

"Boom!" he announced when it fell off the table edge.

Alex kissed the top of his head, enjoying the smell of baby shampoo and the soft, silkiness of his dark hair against her lips. Simple sensory pleasures that she wouldn't have enjoyed or even picked up on a few months ago. "That's it. No more car for you."

He looked up at her and grinned, as though he couldn't care less. He had a smile that lit up his whole face. One that made it impossible not to smile at him in return.

Alex expected him to jump off her lap and go after the car, but instead he stayed put, lazily draping an arm over hers, entranced by the screen in front of them.

She clicked on a new message, surprised at what she saw. The mail came from a Dr. Levy Rosenberg, whose signature indicated he was a lead researcher at a lab in San Francisco. Unlike the handful of questions she'd gotten from med students who'd read her articles and wanted to verify basic procedural steps, this one offered several thoughts on her theories.

The prospect of discussing stem cell research theories with someone of that calibre suddenly excited her. It felt like a lifetime since she'd interacted with a top level researcher on equal terms.

"If I could get my foot back in the door in that world, I might not have to worry about the rent anymore..." she told Liam, who was pressing down on bunch of letters on the key board now. "Unless I send him an e-mail back with your gibberish."

Even so, as soon as the excitement hit her, so did the fear.

She'd spent so much time making sure she was invisible to Cesar Faison and Charlotte Devane, she had to careful not to let her guard down now.

The thought of either of them having found her, and contacting through these means, sent a shiver up her spine. Liam sensed her tension and he squirmed out of her lap, running after the toy car that was halfway across the room now.

"Let's do some digging first and find out whether this Levy Rosenberg actually exists," Alex mumbled softly.

London, England

The next day

"Can you believe it?" Helen said, after hanging up the phone. "Harry Winston invited me to a marketing forum for Lloyds? I thought he was just blowing hot air when he mentioned it at the races. The chief executive officer of bloody Lloyds!"

She poured herself a glass of cognac from his decanter and raised it, toasting with the air, as Dimitri wasn't having one.

Dimitri smiled. "So you're glad you came along after all?"

"It wasn't just him, Dimi. The people we chatted with that day...it's unbelievable. The Earl of Essex, the chairman of Boots, some Lord from York that flew in from Dubai for the day...I could swear, Dimi, the entire who's who of the United Kingdom was at Ascot yesterday."

Andrei was in the room too and he eyed her. "There were some horse races too."

Dimitri couldn't hold back a chuckle.

Helen didn't seem to hear him. "Tilly's going to be so damn jealous."

Dimitri got up to give her a kiss. "Have a good time with her at the spa."

Helen was still beaming. "I will." She turned to Andrei, "Bye, Andrei. Good seeing you."

"Bye, Helen." Andrei raised his brows after she left. "Did you forget to tell her I was racing?"

"Shh..." Dimitri motioned with his fingers, letting Andrei know she was still within earshot.

Andrei raised his arms in defence. "I know she doesn't care about racing. But yesterday was a big race. She should pretend better," he told him. "Not for me, for you."

"Look, she loved being there," Dimitri added. "That's more than I expected."

Andrei shrugged. "Okay."

Dimitri eyed him. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Nope," he shot back. "Elliott is sick with the flu and he finds no one to take his place." He shrugged again, with a smile this time. "It's too bad for me. I really wanted to do math inside. Instead, I have to go outside in this beautiful day and spend it with Tempus..."

Dimitri snickered. Elliott was Andrei's private tutor and Dimitri wasn't surprised to hear that he was sick. Again. The old man looked more pale, thin and frazzled every time Dimitri saw him. A few more months and hopefully Andrei would have his secondary school equivalency diploma. That is, if Elliott lived to see his prize pupil graduate.

Dimitri had no illusions that Andrei's formal education would continue after that. His son hated school and Dimitri knew that Andrei was only doing it because it had been the condition for being allowed to move from Vadsel to Ascot to train Tempus.

"Have lunch with me then," Dimitri suggested.

"Sorry. I promised Tempus, but I will be here for dinner for sure."

Dimitri didn't doubt it. He would probably bring along an appetite that would impress his cook, as usual. Where Andrei put all the food that he devoured, Dimitri had no idea. Most jockeys had to constantly watch what they ate. Andrei on the other hand, ate like the horses he rode. He was only slightly bigger since he'd adopted him over two years ago, as a small, scrawny sixteen year old. In fact when she first met him Alex thought he was about twelve.

Alex.

Why was it that so many thoughts still came with a memory of her?

"See you, Dad."

"See you tonight."

Dimitri bit his lip. The truth was that he'd hadn't enjoyed Ascot with Helen. She'd missed the end of Andrei's race because she was chatting with someone Dimitri barely knew. Some Earl or Duke or whatever.

And it hurt him. Not that he'd admit it.

It wasn't just that she didn't care less about the race, but about one of his son's biggest victories. Dimitri had taken her along because he didn't want to think about Alex. And instead it made him miss her even more.

"You're blaming Helen for something that's your own damn fault," he admitted aloud. It wasn't her fault that she didn't care for the races. The fact that she missed Andrei crossing the finish line wasn't something she'd done on purpose. She liked Andrei. "You coerced her into coming and now you're upset that she liked the one aspect of it that you don't. The meaningless small talk."

It would've been the same if she'd dragged him to a cricket match and afterwards he told her what he liked most about it was the food at the concession stands. It wasn't her fault that he couldn't make heads or tails of cricket.

But it wasn't about the race, it was about Andrei...

"Stop it..." he chided himself.

Dimitri picked up a local paper and went to the society pages near the end. As expected there was a photo of him and Helen among them. That too had delighted her and she'd shared the news with no less than a dozen friends this morning.

He smiled when he remembered her excitement.

In turn he'd gotten a dozen calls from friends and family, asking him whether their relationship was official. Sure it was, he'd answered. Unlike certain other members of his gender, Dimitri had no problem with commitment. If that was what Helen wished for, he'd be glad to oblige.

Is that what she wants? Have you even asked her, or are you just hoping?

With Alex it had been different. He knew. And Dimitri also knew with one look into her eyes that she wanted it as much as he did.

The thought made him angry again.

"Stop comparing her with the woman who didn't even trust you enough to tell you why she left you, yanking out your heart out in the process..."

He threw down the paper and grabbed his keys.

Tomorrow he was due to fly back to Vadsel for a few days. Maybe there he'd come up with a hobby that would interest the new woman in his life.