“From the street?”
“No, from the attic of the building across the street.”
“And what were you doing in the-” Conor paused. “Don’t tell me. You were on a case with Sean, weren’t you? You know damn well that he skirts the law every chance he gets. What was this, another one of his divorce cases?”
“Well, as Sean would say, his clients expect a high level of confidentiality. All I can say is that I was watching the apartment. I told the cop I was walking by and he bought the story. As long as you vouch for me, I think I’ll be all right.”
“Did you get a look at the burglar?”
Liam shook his head. “Nah, it was dark and he was wearing a ski mask. He wasn’t very tall. About five-eight or nine, maybe. Not very heavy. And he was kind of clumsy. Not much of a street fighter. I told this all to the cops.”
“You’re not going to tell me what kind of case you and Sean are working on?”
“I think it would be better if you don’t ask. And we haven’t broken any laws-not yet, anyway. I swear.”
Conor rubbed his forehead. “And except for the reason you were on the street, did you tell the police the entire truth?”
“Yeah.”
Conor nodded. “Fine. As long as the woman doesn’t insist on pressing charges, I think you’ll be all right.”
“Eleanor. Ellie Thorpe. She’s really nice. Kind of goofy, but nice.”
Conor’s brow shot up. “What? You had a conversation?”
“Well, there wasn’t much else to do once she tied me up. It took the police forever to arrive.”
This brought a laugh from Conor. “Jeez, Liam. You break into a woman’s house, she ties you up, and you still manage to charm her. Did you get her phone number?”
“No,” Liam replied. He shrugged, then smiled. “But I know where she lives.”
Conor took a long drink of his beer, then slid off the bar stool and grabbed his keys. “You know what this means, don’t you? When a Quinn rescues a woman from harm, he’s pretty much done for. You’re stuck with her now, Li. There’s no going back.”
“You don’t think I believe all that Mighty Quinn garbage, do you?” Liam said. “I did a good deed and that’s the end of it. I’m never going to see her again.”
Liam wasn’t afraid of being vulnerable to love. Hell, he knew better. He’d always been the one to walk away from a relationship when it got too serious. Besides, he wasn’t about to get involved with a probable felon.
“Stay away from her,” Conor warned. “She might just decide to press charges and I only have so much juice with the guys downtown.” He sighed. “By the way, we’re having a little get-together for Riley’s christening. A brunch. Olivia sent you an invitation. Did you get it?”
“Yeah. I thought I’d stop by. Who else will be there?”
“Everyone.”
“Ma, too?”
“Of course,” Conor said. “She
Since Fiona had reappeared in their lives over a year ago, family gatherings had become regularly scheduled events. First, there’d been Keely’s wedding, and after that a birthday celebration for Seamus held at Quinn’s Pub. And last May, Dylan and Meggie’s wedding. And then Christmas at Keely and Rafe’s. And everyone had gathered at the hospital the night Riley was born, a large, noisy family still learning how to be a family.
Even though Liam’s father was gradually making peace with his runaway wife, not all the old scars had healed. Conor had accepted his mother back with no questions asked, as had Dylan and Brian. But Brendan had maintained a cool distance and Sean was outright hostile toward Fiona. Liam wasn’t sure where he stood yet. Though he wanted to get to know his mother, he had no past to remember. She’d left when he was just a year old.
“I’ll be there,” Liam said.
“Good. And see if you can convince Sean to come. Don’t tell him Fiona is going to be there, though. Oh, and bring your camera.”
“Anything else?”
“Just be sure you stay out of trouble until then.”
“Hey, you won’t mention this to Sean, will you? He’s paying me pretty well to help with this case. I could use the money.”
Conor smiled. “No problem.” With that, he turned and strode out of Quinn’s Pub, Seamus shouting a hearty good-night.
Liam finished his beer, then followed Conor out the door. He zipped up his jacket and glanced up and down the street. He and Sean had a flat seven blocks from the bar. He could go home and get some sleep or he could go back to the attic and keep his eye on Ellie Thorpe.
Liam shook his head as he headed for the bus stop. He wasn’t going back for
“DOUBLE AMERICANO, half caf!”
A man in a business suit pushed past Ellie to retrieve his coffee from the counter. Ellie raked her fingers through her hair and yawned. She leaned over and counted the number of people in front of her, deciding she’d get four shots of espresso in her latte rather than her usual two. Since her encounter with Liam Quinn three nights ago, she really hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep.
Her mind flashed back to a memory of him tied up on her living-room floor. A tiny flush warmed her cheeks. She certainly hadn’t expected her next encounter with a handsome man to include a little bondage. Just the thought of indulging in sex games with a man like Liam Quinn was enough to start her blood pumping much more effectively than any form of caffeine could.
Luckily, the police had dragged him away before she’d had more serious thoughts in that direction. When she’d left New York City, she’d vowed to take a break from men. It wasn’t that she didn’t like men, they just never seemed to like her-enough. She’d had five serious relationships in as many years and all of them had fallen apart for reasons unknown to her. One day everything had been perfect and the next she’d been single again.
After the second breakup, Ellie had decided that men were just fickle. After the third, she’d determined that she’d have to be more careful with her choices. By the fourth, she’d started to wonder if there was something wrong with her. And after her breakup with Ronald Pettibone, she’d come to the conclusion that she just wasn’t any good at romance.
Ronald had been a quiet, unassuming man with nothing in his life except his job at the bank. He didn’t watch ESPN, didn’t drink or smoke, and didn’t even have any male friends. And from the moment they’d met, he’d only had eyes for her. Ellie had been sure she’d finally found a man worth loving. And then, again, it was suddenly over with no explanation. Working with him had been unbearable, so she’d decided to leave New York to make a fresh start in Boston.
But she hadn’t expected to be quite so lonely. She didn’t know a soul in the city, and without a new job, she had no way to make friends. The only person who ever recognized her was the curly-haired girl who took her coffee order every morning. “Large latte with four shots of caf, Erica,” Ellie said with a bright smile.
Erica gave her an odd look, as if trying to place her face. “That’ll be four fifty-six, ma’am.”
Ellie glanced up at the clock. It was only seven, two hours earlier than she usually began her day. Maybe Erica wasn’t used to seeing her so early. Ellie made a note to reread
She pulled her wallet out of her purse. She’d already interviewed for six other jobs and found it strange that she hadn’t been called back by anyone. Though she’d left her job in New York rather suddenly, she’d left on good terms. Her old boss had no reason to give her anything but a glowing recommendation. Ellie sighed. Maybe the job market was just a little tight.
Ellie paid for her latte, then grabbed the paper cup and carried it over to the table that held the cream and sugar. She plucked a plastic top from a stack and before putting it onto the cup, sprinkled two packets of sugar into the coffee. When she was satisfied that her coffee was perfect, she turned for the door, then stopped short. The
