Liam

8

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.”

“Sure, I’ll just run the glass down to One Hour Fingerprints and we’ll see what they come up with.”

She looked at his reflection in the mirror, then spit. “You don’t have to be so sarcastic.” Ellie grabbed a glass from the sink, filled it with water, then rinsed her mouth. “I bought us a few days at the most. Do you think Sean got it all on tape? He never even went near the flowers. That was the perfect place to hide the microphone.” She grabbed a towel and wiped her mouth, then turned to him. “I did good, didn’t I? Now Sean can give the evidence to the bank and they can have him arrested.”

“You took too many chances,” Liam said, his voice tight with anger.

“What are you talking about? I got him to admit that he’d pulled other jobs. I got him to admit that he took the money from Intertel-and from three other banks. And now he wants to run away with me so I can help him embezzle even more!”

Liam’s cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. It was Sean.

“Let me talk to Ellie,” Sean said.

Liam handed her the phone and watched as she listened to what Sean said. A wide smile curved her lips and she laughed not once but twice before she thanked Sean and said goodbye.

“He said I did a great job. And that he got everything on tape. And he said you should quit complaining and thank me.”

With a low curse, Liam stalked out of the bathroom. He found the tiny microphone hidden in the flowers and extracted it, then looked directly across the street at the attic window. “Turn this damn thing off right now,” he said. To assure himself that his request had been followed, he tugged the mike off the wire and tossed it on the table. Then he reached for the curtains and yanked them shut.

He turned to find Ellie watching him, her hands hitched on her hips. “What is your problem?”

“You’re my problem,” he muttered, crossing the room to grab his jacket from the sofa.

“I’m your problem? How? How am I your problem? The way I see it, I’m the one who should be angry. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t embezzle a quarter million dollars. I didn’t lie about my motives in this relationship. I didn’t spy on someone who shouldn’t have been spied on in the first place. I’m the innocent one here.”

“Right. You’re innocent. I’m supposed to believe that after the way you behaved with Ronald Pettibone?”

“That was strictly professional,” she countered.

“And what kind of profession were you engaged in?”

Her eyes narrowed at his thinly veiled insult and she walked up to him, her body just inches from his. “I should slap you for that.”

“Go ahead,” Liam challenged.

Her eyes blazed with anger and her breath came in short gasps, but she didn’t rise to his bait. Her fingers clenched into fists and she started to turn away. In the blink of an eye, Liam’s own anger shifted. He snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her against him and bringing his mouth down on hers in a hard, uncompromising kiss.

At first she fought him, but as his tongue invaded her mouth, he felt her soften in his arms, her body growing pliant beneath his touch. His hands slipped from the sweet curves of her hips to her backside, pulling her even closer, his need hot and hard between them.

A tiny groan slipped from her throat and she wrapped her arms around his neck, surrendering to his kiss. Liam knew if he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, he’d meet no resistance. But he wanted Ellie to need him as much as he needed her, to want him so badly, she couldn’t survive without him. So he pulled back, breaking the intimate contact and leaving her to stand alone on wobbly knees. He turned and pulled open the door.

“Wha- What are you doing?” she murmured, her forehead wrinkled with confusion.

“Just showing you what you’d be missing if you decided to run off with Ronald Pettibone,” Liam replied. With that he stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him. He was nearly to the second-floor landing, when he heard a crash of glass upstairs. And then another.

“I guess I made my point,” he said with a smile.

“ARE YOU READY?”

Ellie glanced over at Sean Quinn, sitting behind the wheel of the car. He stared straight ahead, his gaze fixed on the facade of Rawson Bank a half block away. “I think so,” she said. “I’m a little nervous.”

“There’s no need to be. Liam says that Pettibone is already inside waiting for you. There are F.B.I. agents inside, as well.”

“The F.B.I. is here?”

“Ronald broke a few federal laws, too, so they’re in on the case.”

“How will I know them?” Ellie asked.

“You don’t need to know them. They know you. You’re wired for sound and if you get in any trouble, just yell for help.”

“Trouble?”

“Don’t worry. It’s a public place. Ronald isn’t going to pull anything.”

Ellie nodded. “All right. Let’s review. I go inside, I give Ronald the key, and I wait while he opens the safe-deposit box. When he comes back out, they’ll arrest him. And then I can leave.”

Sean nodded. “They took your statement for the grand jury, but you may have to give the Feds more information. And then there’s Ronald’s trial. Or trials, depending upon who decides to go after him.”

“I’ll have to testify?” Ellie asked.

“Probably.”

“What if he gets off? Do you think he’ll come after me?”

“He’s not going to get off,” Sean said. “If he’s acquitted in New York, he still faces federal charges and he’ll probably be extradited to Nebraska, Washington and Texas to stand trial for those other crimes. You’ll be a grandmother before he sees the outside of a prison.”

Ellie smiled. “Knowing my history with men, that could be a life sentence for Ronald.”

Sean smiled, the first time she’d ever seen him smile. He was usually so intense, so preoccupied. But when he smiled, his whole face changed and he became the second most handsome man on the planet. Ellie had been grateful for his help over the past few days, through all the questioning and statements and explanations. Though Liam had been prickly and aloof, Sean had been steady and comforting, always there to calm her nerves. “I know he seems angry,” Sean said, “but he’s not.”

“Liam?”

“None of this is his fault,” Sean said, glancing over at her. “I talked him into taking this job. I don’t think he ever believed that you were a criminal.”

“Did he ask you to say that?”

Sean shook his head. “Liam may be charming, but he’s not that charming. I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“I believe that about you,” Ellie said.

He took a deep breath. “Are you ready to go?”

“I’m ready,” Ellie said.

“Then let’s do it. I’ll be a few yards behind you.”

Ellie opened the car door and stepped out, then started toward the bank. As she walked, she replayed Sean’s words in her head. She wanted nothing more than to believe in Liam, to trust in a future with him. But she’d been burned so many times by men far less charming than Liam Quinn. What if she did allow herself to forgive him? How long would it be before he betrayed her again? And if he betrayed her again, would she ever recover?

Yes, he was wonderful and sweet and sexy and handsome, all those qualities that a woman should want in a man. But these things made him attractive to every other woman on the planet. How long would it be before he found someone more exciting than Eleanor Thorpe, accountant and amateur private investigator?

Ellie knew she wasn’t supermodel beautiful or accomplished in the bedroom. She wasn’t particularly sophisticated or polished. She was just an ordinary girl who wanted an ordinary guy to love. The problem was, she’d stumbled on an extraordinary guy and she wasn’t sure what to do with him.

A curse slipped from her lips. Now was not the time to review her romantic options! She had a job to do, one more task to complete before she could leave Boston and begin a new life somewhere else. Ellie crossed the street against the light and slowed her pace as she approached the front door of the bank. “I’m at the door,” she said.

One of the security guards, standing inside, pulled the door open for her and she smiled at him as she passed. Was he one of the F.B.I. agents or just a guy doing his job? When she got inside the lobby, Ellie paused and looked around, wondering where Liam was standing. Then she saw him, sitting on a bench, reading a pamphlet. Their gazes met for an instant and Ellie’s heart skipped a beat. Then she continued scanning the lobby.

Ronald was waiting at the far end, holding a leather briefcase and tapping his foot impatiently as she approached. “You’re late,” he said. “I thought maybe you weren’t coming.”

“I don’t have a car,” Ellie said. “I had to call a cab and it was late.”

“Do you have the key?”

She reached inside her purse and handed it to him. His thin lips curled up into a smile and Ellie breathed a silent sigh of relief. Her part was done.

“So, Eleanor, have you thought about my offer?”

“I have,” Ellie replied. “It’s very tempting. But I think I’ll wait and make my decision after we’ve completed this transaction. I have to know whether I can trust you.”

“Why don’t you come along and I’ll show you the rewards?” Ronald took her hand and led her to a wide stairway. “The safe-deposit boxes are on the second floor.”

Ellie couldn’t refuse without arousing his suspicions. And what could he possibly do to her in a public place? There were so many people watching her that all she had to do was scream and they’d come running. “All right,” she said. “We make the split upstairs then.”

Ronald thought about it for a while. No doubt he had some plan to cheat her out of her share. And now he had to make a choice, keep her close or take the money and run. “Come to think of it, some banks have rules about who they let in the room while a box is open. Maybe you’d better wait outside.”

“I still expect my share before we walk out of here,” Ellie said. “I’ll be waiting.”

Ronald nodded, then started up the stairs. Ellie watched him until he disappeared through a doorway, reluctant to admit that she’d once been madly in love with him. “He’s gone up,” she said. She stood at the bottom of the stairs for a long time, waiting, wondering what to do next. She was afraid to move, afraid he might be watching her from above.

Slowly she turned to search the lobby for Liam, only to find him walking toward her, concern etched across his expression. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “They just took him into custody upstairs. Let’s get you out of here.”

“No,” Ellie countered. “I want to stay. I want him to know who did this.”

A few seconds later Ronald reappeared at the top of the stairs, flanked by two men in dark suits. His hands were cuffed behind his back and one of the men carried the briefcase. He glared at her as he descended and when he reached the bottom, he stopped.

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you,” he muttered.

“I guess you really did underestimate me, Ronald.”

The agents grabbed his arms and began to drag him away. Ellie stared after him, a wave of satisfaction washing over her. It was over. She’d done what she’d had to do and now she was free to move on, to leave Boston and to make a new life somewhere else.

“Well, I guess that’s it,” Liam said.

“I guess so.” Ellie turned to him, ignoring the ache that had settled inside her. She didn’t want to say goodbye, but she made her decision. “Thank you-for everything you did. And thank Sean for me, as well.”

“You can thank him yourself. I thought maybe we’d stop by the pub and celebrate.”

Ellie knew if she went with him, she’d be drawn back in, hopelessly lost in her infatuation. Since she’d confronted him in the attic, she’d been faced with the reality that Liam had deceived her. He was no different than every other man in her life-in many ways he was far more dangerous-because he held her heart in his hands.

She’d thought about a future with Liam over and over during the past few weeks, but until now she hadn’t been faced with a decision. All of her instincts told her to walk away. The other men in her life had hurt her, but Liam Quinn had the capacity to shatter her into a million pieces. Ellie took a deep breath, gathering her resolve. Now was the time to leave, if she was ever going to leave at all. “I should get home,” she said, starting toward the door.

He followed after her, his long strides easily keeping up with hers. “Ellie, you’ve got to at least give me a chance here.”

“Why?”

He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers, pulling her to a stop. “I don’t know.” He paused. “Yes, I do. I need you, Ellie. You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. And in between, I think about you a million times a day. I don’t know why I can’t get you out of my head, but it must mean something.”

“It does now,” Ellie said. “But believe me, it will fade. You’re a man. Sooner or later you’re going to feel compelled to move on.”

“Don’t lump me in with Ronald and all the others that have hurt you.”

“Why should I believe that you’re different?” Ellie asked, praying that he’d give her an answer she could believe.

“What if I loved you?” Liam asked.

Ellie sucked in a sharp breath and looked up into his eyes. She’d heard those words before and, in her experience, they usually signaled the end of a relationship rather than the beginning. Once a man said it, he believed that it gave him the license to stop trying. Then boredom would set in and then, one day, it would be over.

She’d never realized how jaded she’d become. Was she even capable of loving a man, capable of summoning the trust it required? She’d spent most of her adult life searching for the one person who would return that love. Just one person who’d make her feel as if she wasn’t all alone in the world. “That’s a nice sentiment, but saying it isn’t going to change my mind.”

“Damn it, Ellie, you can’t just walk away.”

“Yes, I can,” she said, her heart aching with tightly controlled emotion. She reached out to touch him, then thought better of it. “Goodbye, Liam. Take care.”

Ellie started toward the door, praying that, this time, he wouldn’t follow her. Yet with every step she took, she was a heartbeat away from turning around and running back into his arms. But Ellie refused to go back. She’d made her decision and now she was prepared to live with it. She’d take control of her life again and think about what she wanted beyond a romantic relationship. When she’d come to Boston, she’d resolved to spend a year without a man in her life, to put all her bad experiences in the past and begin fresh. And now she had to follow through on that promise to herself.

But as she stepped out onto the street, Ellie fought back a surge of tears. Maybe she was walking away from the best man she’d ever met. Maybe she was making the biggest mistake in her life. But she wouldn’t know for sure unless she actually walked away.

She took a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other. It was the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life.

LIAM SAT AT THE BAR, a pint of flat Guinness sitting in front of him. It was the lunch hour and there were only a few regulars at the bar. Seamus stood at the far end, chatting with one of them while Liam flipped through the latest edition of the Boston Globe.

He’d taken a nice photo of the governor opening a new factory in Woburn that should have made the paper, but it was nowhere to be found. Well, at least he’d gotten paid, whether they printed the photo or not. And he still had the money from Sean’s embezzlement case burning a hole in his pocket.

He’d thought about buying a new lens or maybe a new camera. Or spending the money on some decent prints of his work, putting a portfolio together that he might be able to take to a few galleries in town. But the idea that seemed to stick in his mind was more of a gamble than a practical choice. He’d considered giving the money to Sean and asking him to find Ellie Thorpe.

She’d left Boston the day Ronald Pettibone was arrested. Liam had stopped at her apartment that night to try to convince her to stay, only to find her gone. Her landlord had told him that the movers would arrive the next week to put her belongings into storage until she settled somewhere and sent for them. He hadn’t been able to tell Liam where Ellie had gone.

Since then, Liam had been at a loss to figure out where she was. He didn’t know anything about her family or her friends. She’d mentioned San Francisco and maybe Chicago, but those were both big cities, and easy places to get lost in.

Liam had no choice but to accept that it was over. He’d never see her again. Unless he thought of a way to find her. It hadn’t taken him long to realize the mistake he’d made, to admit how he really felt. He was in love with Ellie Thorpe.

“Hi, big brother.”

Liam straightened as Keely strolled into the pub. He closed the paper and tossed it onto an empty stool. “Hi, little sister. What are you up to?”

“I’m looking for you,” she said.

“Well, you found me.”

She slid onto the stool beside him. Seamus wandered over and Keely asked for a club soda with a wedge of lime. Seamus winked at her and Keely gave him a warm smile as he served her drink. Though Seamus had only had a daughter for a year or so, he had quickly learned to enjoy the affection that Keely seemed to lavish on him. “And you’ll have something to eat, too,” he said.

“Corned beef on rye,” Keely said, “with a slice of Swiss cheese. And fries.”

Seamus wrote down the order, then tore it off the pad. “Coming right up.”

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?” Liam asked.

“Photos,” Keely replied.

“When and where?”

“No, this is about photos you’ve already taken. Remember those pictures of Boston landmarks that you did for Rafe’s conference room?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, Rafe was hosting a board meeting for some charity he works for and there was a woman there who is working on a coffee table book about Boston. And she was very interested in talking to you about your photos. I think she might want to buy a few of them.” Keely reached into her pocket and handed him a business card. “That’s her number. She’s expecting your call.”

“Thanks. This is great.”

“You know, I’ve always thought your photos were very special. I’m glad someone else agrees.”

Liam reached out and slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “Does Rafe know what a lucky guy he is?”

“I keep reminding him,” Keely joked. But then her smile slowly faded. “Sean told Conor about your friend Eleanor. And Conor told Olivia and Olivia told me. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. Ellie seemed like a really nice girl.”

“I guess the Quinn curse isn’t much of a curse anymore. I followed the rules, I came riding to her rescue. She was supposed to fall in love with me and take me away from all this. But it didn’t work. Instead, I fell in love with her.”

Keely blinked in surprise, then laughed. “Wow. You’re in love. That’s a pretty important realization. Did you bother to tell her that?”

Liam nodded. “Yeah. In a roundabout way. I mean, I didn’t come right out and say it. It was more of a what-if scenario.”

Keely rolled her eyes. “What is it with you guys? Why is it so hard for you to express your feelings?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Liam nodded toward Seamus. “I guess you haven’t heard enough of the Mighty Quinn stories to understand. Quinns are not supposed to fall in love. Women are evil and they are bent on destroying us in the end.”

“That is such a load of crap!” Keely said.

Liam shrugged. “The way I see it, I dodged a bullet. I’m the only Quinn who has managed to escape the powers of a woman.”

“You’re not free yet,” Keely said. “After all, you’re sitting here in the middle of the day, feeling sorry for yourself and trying to forget about the woman you’re not in love with when I can clearly see that will never happen.”

Liam laughed softly, then shook his head. “You do cut right to the heart of it, don’t you?”

“I’m a Quinn. We don’t sugarcoat things.” Keely reached out and covered his hand with hers. “Go find her. Make this work, Li. Tell her how you feel and make it work. Don’t let those silly legends and family curses take this away from you.”

Liam groaned softly, then put his forehead down on the bar. “What the hell am I doing? I should go to her, find her and convince her to come back. But I’m scared that I’m going to be shut down again and then it’s really going to be over. Right now, it’s safer living in limbo, hoping that I still have a chance.”

“You’re just being a big wimp,” Keely scolded. “Do you honestly think you’re going to get what you want by sitting on your butt at this bar?”

He sat up. “But I don’t know where she is,” Liam said. He paused. “Not now. But I do know where she’ll be. She has to testify at Ronald Pettibone’s trial. And we’re supposed to go to New York to talk to the prosecuting attorneys next month about our testimony. She’s bound to be there.”

“Then you have a month to figure out what you’re going to say. A month to make it so good that she can’t possibly resist.”

“I’m not sure I can wait that long,” Liam said.

“Don’t you think she’s worth the benefit of time? If you really care about her, then you need to be sure that you’re acting out of love and not out of some need to soothe your bruised ego,” Keely said.

Liam slid off his bar stool and grabbed his jacket. “Thanks, Keely.”

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Sean’s number as he walked to the door. But there was no answer on the other end. He knew Sean wasn’t out of town and he wasn’t working a case, so he was probably at home, catching up on his paperwork. Liam had done plenty of favors for his brother, now it was time for Sean to return one of those favors.

He just needed to know where she was, to make sure she was all right. Once he knew that, he could sleep again at night. For the first time in nearly a week Liam actually felt optimistic about his future. He had money in his bank account and a possible buyer for some of his photos. And he had met a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Now he just had to find the right way to tell her.