Kate Hoffmann - Liam

But could the same be said for Ronald Pettibone? Not for one instant did Liam believe his appearance in Boston was coincidental. He’d come to her for a reason and either it was the money they’d both stolen or it was Ellie herself. Whichever it turned out to be, Liam wasn’t going to be a happy man.

“Maybe you should call him back,” Liam suggested.

“Now?”

“Not this minute. But after you get out of the tub.”

Ellie slowly swirled her hand around in the water. “It’s all over between Ronald and me. I don’t want you to think that-”

“I don’t,” Liam interrupted, already learning to hate the guy’s name. Ronald. Ronald was the name of the weaselly kid who was the tattletale in grade school. Ronald was the name of the brainiac in high school who always got a better grade in English. And Ronald was the kind of guy you just wanted to punch in the nose.

Liam grabbed the mug and began to rinse the soap out of Ellie’s hair. For a long time they didn’t speak. He wasn’t sure what to say. Hell, he knew Ellie had a past with men, far fewer than the number of women he’d had in his life. But Ronald Pettibone wasn’t just any old boyfriend. If he and Ellie had pulled off a crime together, then they shared a connection a little deeper than just physical attraction.

He bit back a curse, stood and grabbed a towel from the stand next to the sink. “The water is getting cold,” he said.

Ellie stared at him for a long moment, as if she were trying to read his expression. Then she slowly stood, the water sluicing off her naked body. Liam quickly wrapped her in the towel, unwilling to tempt himself any further. He was this close to dragging her down to the bathroom floor to really make love to her.

“You’re not angry that he called, are you?”

“Why would you think that?” Liam asked, tucking the towel tight around her breasts.

“You just seemed a little…perturbed.”

It wouldn’t do to have Ellie suspicious, Liam mused. But he wasn’t about to deny his feelings. “Maybe I am, a little. But that shouldn’t stop you from seeing him. He said something about banks. Maybe he can help you find a new job.”

A slow smile curved Ellie’s lips. “I never thought about that. He said he had some contacts here in Boston. Maybe he can give me a few leads. In fact, that’s probably what he wants to talk to me about.”

“Why don’t you finish drying off and I’ll go get us some lunch?” Liam said. “I’ll pick up a couple of sandwiches and we’ll just relax.”

“The sun’s come out,” Ellie said. “Maybe we should go out to lunch and then go sight-seeing. I’m feeling much better now. And the fresh air and exercise will do me good.”

In truth, Liam was anxious to get out of the apartment so he could give Sean the news. Ronald Pettibone was in town and Liam knew exactly where to find him. If things went well, Liam would have answers to all his questions soon. And then he’d finally know exactly where he stood with Ellie Thorpe.

THE BAPTISM BRUNCH was already in full swing by the time Sean arrived. Liam watched him walk through the door of Conor and Olivia’s apartment. In truth, Liam hadn’t expected his brother to show up since Fiona was going to be in attendance. When he’d left their flat, Sean had been lying on the sofa, watching a basketball game.

The relationship between Liam’s long-lost mother and her son had grown more and more strained since she’d come back into their lives, and Sean avoided her presence whenever he could. Liam hadn’t minded that Sean might not show up. He had been hoping to get at least a little break from his brother’s constant concern about their case.

Liam glanced over at Ellie. She was standing near the baby-buggy-shaped cake, chatting with Brendan’s fiancée, Amy. He had wondered how Ellie would get along at a Quinn family gathering, considering that his family could be a bit overwhelming at times. And he almost hadn’t asked her to come. But then he’d decided it would be easier to keep an eye on her if he just kept her close.

Bringing a date to a family function had caused more than a few raised eyebrows, but no one commented out loud. Liam’s sister, Keely, had come up first, introducing herself to Ellie, then motioning her husband, Rafe, over to join the conversation. It had been a year since their wedding and though Rafe and the Quinns had had issues in the past, everyone could see that he made Keely very happy. Along with Olivia, Meggie and Amy, Rafe had become part of the ever-expanding Quinn clan.

Olivia and Conor wandered among the guests, introducing their son, Conor smiling from ear to ear and Olivia looking more beautiful than ever. They came up to Amy and Ellie, and a moment later Ellie had the baby in her arms. Liam’s breath caught in his throat as he saw her smile sweetly at Riley, then kiss the soft dusting of hair on his head.

No matter how much time had passed, Liam was still amazed by the circumstances that had brought them together. Had he seen her sipping a drink at Quinn’s Pub or walking along any sidewalk in Boston, he probably wouldn’t have given Ellie a second look. But something had happened to him when she’d hit him over the head with that lamp, something that had jarred loose in his brain, and by the end of that night he’d become completely smitten.

“Will you look at this?” Brendan muttered, walking up behind Liam. “Sean decided to put in an appearance. Conor told me he wasn’t coming.”

Sean stopped short when Fiona approached, then deftly turned and headed toward the table. But he was halted again, this time by someone Sean hadn’t expected-Ellie Thorpe. Liam winced and knew that he was about to catch holy hell.

“Maybe you should introduce him to your new girlfriend,” Brendan suggested.

“She’s not my girlfriend. Besides-”

“What the hell is she doing here?” Sean murmured under his breath as he approached Liam.

Liam grabbed Brendan’s plate. “Looks like you could use a little more to eat, Bren,” he said. “I’ll just go get us a few of those sandwiches.” He headed for the tiny kitchen, but Sean just followed him, cornering Liam at the refrigerator.

“Answer my question,” Sean demanded.

Liam snatched up two sandwiches and shoved one at Sean. “Have something to eat and relax,” he muttered.

His brother tossed the sandwich back onto the plate.

“That’s really good chicken salad,” Liam said. “You should try it.”

“I told you to get close to her. But I didn’t mean this close.” He gave Liam a shrewd look. “Are you sleeping with her?”

“Not right now. I’m talking to you and thinking that I might just have a few of those shrimp over there. Con and Olivia really went all out here, didn’t they? This is quite a spread.”

“Do you think this is funny?”

“No,” Liam replied with a low chuckle. “But I didn’t have much choice in the matter. I think someone is trying to kill her.”

Sean gasped, then grabbed Liam’s arm and dragged him out to the small porch off the kitchen. The sky was gray and a light mist hung over the city. “What happened?” he asked.

“A lot of things,” Liam replied, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure no one could overhear. “And all of them pretty strange. First, there was the burglary. Then Ellie told me she nearly got hit on the head by a brick falling off her apartment roof. And then, yesterday, she almost got run down by a car just outside her apartment building. The burglary might have been random, but that car was aiming for her.”

“Did you get a plate on the car?”

“Yeah.” Liam reached into the pocket of his sports jacket and pulled out the two photos he’d developed that morning. “I enlarged these and you can see there’s a rental sticker on the back bumper. I went to the place, but they wouldn’t give me any information about who rented the car.”

“I’ll see what I can find. If they won’t tell me, maybe I can get Conor to give me some help.”

“Listen,” Liam said. “I don’t know who Ellie is or what she’s done, but I do know that if I don’t keep an eye on her, she might just end up dead. So don’t give me any grief, all right?”

“All right,” Sean said. “But from now on I’m keeping an eye on you while you keep an eye on her.”

“Here you are!” Liam and Sean turned to find Ellie in the doorway. The cool breeze ruffled her hair and, at that moment, Liam hadn’t seen anything quite as beautiful as Ellie in his whole life.

“Ellie, this is my brother Sean,” Liam said. “Sean, Ellie Thorpe. She lives over in Charlestown. She’s new to Boston.”

Ellie held out her hand and Sean reluctantly took it. “Pleasure,” he murmured.

“I’m not sure I’m ever going to remember all these names,” she said with a warm smile. “You all look so much alike, the dark hair and the…eyes.”

“Right,” Sean said.

As usual, in the presence of a woman, Sean didn’t have much to say. He shoved his hands into his pockets and watched them both with an uneasy smile. “So, how did you two meet?”

“Liam saved me from a burglar who’d broken into my apartment.”

Sean nodded, as if he were really interested. Then he shrugged. “I gotta go.”

“It was nice to meet you,” Ellie said.

“Nice meeting you.”

They watched him walk back inside the apartment, then Liam turned to Ellie. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a little shy.”

“You mean, not all the Quinns are as charming as you?”

“Sean has his own special way with women. He ignores them and they can’t seem to resist the challenge.” Liam slipped his arm around Ellie’s shoulders. “Are you ready to go? I think I’ve snapped enough photos to fill a few albums. No one can say I shirked my family responsibilities.”

“We don’t have to go. The food looks good. And Olivia was going to show me the gifts she got for the baby.” She held up her champagne flute. “And I’m going to have another mimosa.”

“I’ll get you one,” Liam said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. He was tempted to linger, but knew that they’d already generated enough curiosity without adding more fodder for speculation to the mix. He left Ellie in the kitchen when she offered to help Olivia slice more baked ham for sandwiches. The champagne was on ice in the dining room and he found Sean staring at the cake, a perplexed expression on his face.

“What is this?” he asked.

“A cake.”

“I know it’s a cake.”

“It’s a baby buggy.”

“I thought it was a clam with wheels.”

“Don’t let Olivia hear that. Conor said she spent two days making that.” Liam glanced over at his brother, considering what he was going to say to him next. He’d thought about his options over and over again over the past few days, trying to decide how to handle the situation. “There is one more thing I should tell you,” Liam murmured. “Ronald Pettibone is in town.”

Sean’s head snapped around, his attention focused.

“He’s been in Boston for about a week,” Liam continued. “That was him outside the coffee shop-the guy I mentioned who was arguing with her.”

“How do you know?”

“She told me. He looks different from the photo. He’s not wearing his glasses anymore and he’s changed his hair. It’s lighter. And he has a tan, too. He’s staying at the Bostonian, Room 215. Pretty ritzy digs for a guy who is out of work, don’t you think?”

“How did you find all this out?”

“He left a message on her machine while I was at her apartment.”

“Was she there?”

“Of course she was,” Liam said. “We were…together.”

Sean sent him a suspicious look. “How did she react?”

“It was a little hard to see, since she had her back to me. But I encouraged her to call him back and she said she would. Until then, I think you should keep an eye on the guy. And find out if he rented a black sedan a few days ago.”

“You think he tried to run her down? Then she’s got to be mixed up in this. What motive would he have to kill her? Unless he didn’t want to split the take.”

“He’s her ex-lover. Maybe he’s obsessed,” Liam replied. “Just keep an eye on him.” He paused, wondering about his next move. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “Here.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s the keys to Ellie’s apartment. I put in a new security system for her in case Pettibone came calling again. The code is 3-5-5-4. Make sure you get it right or you’ll set off the alarm.”

“All right,” Sean said. “Three-five-five-four.”

“I’ve got tickets to the Sox home opener on Tuesday. I’m supposed to photograph the mayor doing some pregame presentation and then he’s going to throw out the first pitch. None of their sports guys want to do it, so they hired me. I’m taking Ellie. She should be safe in a stadium full of thirty-six thousand people.”

“Good. That should give me plenty of time.”