Kate Hoffmann - Liam

She saw Liam’s reflection in the mirror, his shoulder braced against the doorjamb of her bedroom. “What do you think?” Ellie asked. “I think it will do the trick, don’t you?”

“Aren’t you a little…exposed?” Liam snapped.

Ellie slowly turned to look at him. He was jealous. She smiled inwardly, taking a secret pleasure in that fact. “I want to entice Ronald, to show him that I’m not just some meek little wallflower. I need to appear confident and sexy, the kind of woman who would stand up for herself, who’d be willing to do anything to get what she wants.”

“And you can’t do that in a different dress?”

Ellie frowned. “What’s wrong? You want this to work, don’t you?”

Liam cursed, then turned on his heel and walked back to the living room. Ellie followed him. But as she caught up to him, she realized why he was so surly. “Are you upset because my dress is too sexy? Or because Ronald is going to see more of me than you think is proper?”

He turned on her, his jaw tight, his eyes icy. “You don’t know what Ronald Pettibone is capable of. He tried to kill you more than once. I don’t think it’s wise to provoke him.”

“But…but you’re going to be here to protect me if anything goes wrong. And Sean is watching from across the street. I’m not afraid. I’m just worried that I might mess up.”

“You know what we agreed on, right? If at anytime you feel unsafe, then you say the word ‘hungry.’ Ask Ronald if he’s hungry. I’ll be out of that bedroom in less than a second.”

“All right. But what if he wants to go get the key right away?”

“Just tell him that the music box is in another safe-deposit box with your other valuables. And you can’t get it until tomorrow morning. You’ll get it and meet him at his bank tomorrow to pick up the money.”

“And that’s when we’ll catch him in the act, right?”

“Right. Sean has talked to Intertel and they’ve called the authorities and told them that Ronald is here. They’ll pick him up when he takes the money from the bank.”

Ellie nodded. “And what about me?”

“You’re going to have to tell your story,” Liam said. “But I think it’s pretty obvious that you didn’t have anything to do with this. That Ronald was planning to use you as a scapegoat if things fell apart.” He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “You can do this, Ellie.”

“I have to,” she said, staring down at their intertwined fingers. It felt so good to have him touch her again. Since he’d kissed her a few nights ago at the pub, they’d maintained an uneasy distance. Ellie still stung over the fact that he had deceived her. As for Liam, he seemed to want her to forget all his transgressions and pick up where they’d left off.

Ellie sucked in a deep breath and the knots in her stomach tightened. After this was all over she had vowed to make another fresh start, to find a new place to live, a new job, to put this all behind her. But when she thought about life without Liam, the pain moved from her stomach to her heart.

The buzzer sounded on the security panel and Ellie jumped. “That’s Ronald,” she said, glancing at her watch. “He’s early.”

“I’m going to be in the bedroom. I’ll be able to hear everything he says.”

“What if he wants to go in the bedroom? I mean, what if I have to-”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “If he wants that, then you just get him out of this apartment. Under no circumstance are you to-”

“No! I meant, what if he wants to see my apartment?”

He tipped his head back and sighed. “Just try to avoid that. If he does, then I’ll hide in the closet.”

She nodded, then reached over to the security panel and buzzed him in. Liam grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, then lifted it to his mouth and placed a kiss on her wrist. “Remember the word?”

“Hungry,” Ellie repeated.

She waited until Liam was safely in the bedroom, then opened the front door, stepping out onto the landing. When she saw Ronald climbing the stairs, she pasted a smile on her face and tried to appear as nonchalant as possible. “Hello, Ronald,” she said.

He gave her a smile, the same smile he’d given her hundreds of times before. But she’d never really noticed how smarmy it was. “Hello, beautiful.”

“Come on in. Sit down.”

He did as he was told, sauntering inside with a cock-sure attitude. “Nice place,” he said.

Ellie gritted her teeth. As if he’d never seen it before! “Thanks. Can I get you something to drink? I have a nice bottle of wine.”

“Sure.”

She escaped to the kitchen, giving herself a moment to breathe and to compose herself. So far so good. “Are you-” Ellie stopped herself. “Interested in something to eat? I have cheese and crackers.” She’d almost said the secret word! “Focus,” she murmured to herself.

“No,” Ronald replied. “Just the wine.”

When she returned to the living room, she found Ronald standing at her bookshelves, carefully examining the knickknacks she had on display. She held out the glass of wine.

“Thanks,” he said. “I was just noticing. You don’t have that music box that I gave you.”

“Funny you should mention that,” Ellie said.

“Why is that?”

Ellie sent him a shrewd look. “Sit down, Ronald. We need to talk.” When he was settled on the sofa, Ellie took a tiny sip of her wine, marshaled all her resolve and jumped in. “About a week ago, I spoke with someone from the bank. Dana. Do you remember her?” She waved her hand. “It doesn’t make any difference if you do or you don’t. The point is, she told me that you’d left your job. And she also told me that someone had embezzled a quarter-million dollars from the bank. Can you believe that?”

Ronald shook his head, an uneasy expression crossing his face. “That’s terrible.”

“It is. What’s even more terrible is that they have two suspects.”

“How could that be terrible?”

“Because one of the suspects is me. And the other is you. Now, I know I didn’t do this, so that leads me to only one conclusion-that you did.”

“Ellie, I can’t believe that you’d believe that I-”

“Save it, Ronald. I found the key in the music box. I know what you’re trying to do. You broke into my apartment a few weeks ago, looking for the music box. You tried to run me down on the street and to kill me with a falling brick, probably thinking that if you put me in the hospital you’d have more time to search my things. And when that didn’t work, you broke in a second time and ransacked my apartment.”

“Really, Ellie, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I have the key,” she said. “It must be pretty important-important enough for you to search me out. So if you want the key, then you and I are going to have to make a deal.”

He stared at her for a long moment, obviously evaluating the situation and gauging her determination. “Let’s say I did embezzle that money. What do you expect to get out of this?”

“I could ask for half, since you’ve already made it look like I was the one who did this. But I’m not a greedy person, Ronald. I’d be happy with fifty thousand. Enough to buy me a new start, maybe in San Francisco or Chicago.”

“Do you have the key here?”

“No. It’s in a safe place. If you agree to the deal, I’ll get it and we’ll meet at the bank and you can give me my share.”

Ronald opened his mouth, as if he were about to refuse, then laughed sharply. “I think I underestimated you, Ellie.”

“Most men do. They don’t realize what they had until it’s gone.” She set her wineglass down, then stood. “So, do we have a deal?”

He rose and took a step closer. “I guess we do. And maybe we should seal the deal with a kiss? For old times’ sake.”

Ellie couldn’t think of anything worse than kissing Ronald Pettibone, except maybe dental surgery without anesthesia. But she had a part to play and she didn’t want to arouse his suspicions. She gave him a coy smile. “All right,” she said. “To seal the deal.”

LIAM CURSED SOFTLY, his mind conjuring up images to match what he was hearing through the crack in the door. He should have never allowed Ellie to do this, never put her in such a dangerous position. He wanted to pull the door open and to step into the hallway, curious to see exactly what type of kiss Ellie and Pettibone were sharing. But he knew he couldn’t give away his position. Besides, Sean was watching from across the street. If he felt Ellie was in any danger, he’d been instructed to ring Liam’s cell phone in warning.

Liam tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for them to start speaking again, wondering just how long the kiss would last. And then finally the sounds of their voices drifted down the hall to him.

“Now I know I underestimated you,” Ronald said. “You’ve changed, Eleanor.”

“Maybe I have,” she replied in a teasing tone.

“You know, you and I could have a very comfortable life together.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Ronald. A quarter million doesn’t go far these days.”

“Oh, but I have so much more than that.” He chuckled softly. “Haven’t you wondered why it was so easy, why I got away with it?”

“Well, I have been curious.”

There was a long pause in the conversation and Liam had to admit that now he was curious, as well.

“I’ve done it before. Three times at three different banks. I started small with a bank in Omaha, Nebraska. Then I changed my identity. That’s the key, you know. Doing the job, then disappearing. After Omaha I hit banks in Seattle and in Dallas. With the investments I’ve made over the years, I’ve got two or three million in net worth right now.”

“Ronald…” Ellie paused, “if that is your name, that’s a pretty amazing story.”

“You know what would be even more amazing? If you came with me. We could work together. It’s a simple plan. I usually get an identity off the Internet. I find a banker who’s looking for work and I assume his identity. The bank calls for references and I get the job. Then I set up a few dummy accounts and start moving money around. But here’s the new wrinkle. I wait a month, maybe two, and I hire you.”

“And why would you want me involved when you can just use any old girl at the bank for a scapegoat?”

“Oh, we’d still do that. I’d have to romance someone so I could shift the blame. I figure, between the two of us, we can increase our take.”

“Just tell me one thing,” Ellie murmured.

Liam knew she was touching him. Maybe she’d smoothed her hand over his chest. Or maybe her arm was draped around his neck. But the tone of her voice said it all, that deep, seductive tone she used when she was flirting.

“What would you like to know?”

“Tell me your real name, Ronald.”

He laughed and now Liam could imagine Ronald touching her, slipping his hands around her waist, kissing the curve of her shoulder. Liam fought back the impulse to storm into the living room to place himself between them. This had gone way too far!

“When you tell me you’re in, I’ll tell you my real name.”

“I’m going to have to think about this,” Ellie finally said. “Can I give you my decision in a few days?”

“Or you could just give me your decision tonight. Much later tonight. After we’ve had a chance to get reacquainted.”

This time Liam knew they were kissing. He heard Ronald growl softly and Ellie sigh. Anger bubbled up inside him and he wondered just how far Ellie was going to take this. She and Ronald had already agreed to meet the next day. Was she doing this just to torment Liam, knowing that he was listening to the whole thing?

“I think it would be best if we just took our time,” Ellie said. “This is going to be a big change in my life. I’m going to have to give up a lot.”

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Ronald said, Liam hearing the tension in his voice.

“The money’s not going anywhere, Ronald. And aren’t the best things worth waiting for? Just think of what you’ll be getting. Money…and me.” Liam heard the door open. “I’ll call you, Ronald.”

“Good night, Eleanor.”

The door creaked as it closed and he heard her slide the dead bolt home. Liam waited a few more seconds then stalked out of the bedroom, nearly running into her as she rushed down the hall to the bathroom. He followed her through the door, not waiting for an invitation.

“Aack,” she said, reaching for her toothbrush. “Aack, aack. God, I thought I was going to retch.” She squeezed a healthy portion of toothpaste onto the brush and began to scrub her teeth and tongue.

“What the hell were you doing out there?”

“Did you hear what he said?” she asked, the toothbrush dangling from her mouth.

“Of course I did. I heard every word and every silence.”

She continued brushing, her words garbled. “He’s done this before. Three times. And Ronald Pettibone isn’t even his real name. He wouldn’t tell me what his real name was, but I’d bet we could figure it out from the banks he ripped off. He touched the wineglass. Maybe we could send his fingerprints in and get a match.”