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.”