Once Upon a Marriage

“No. What’s up?” He’d been by the Arapahoe twice that afternoon. Once after he’d dropped his client’s very scared son off at his father’s office. And again after his trip down to the local precinct to fill out paperwork regarding his part in the day’s arrest. Neither time had he gone inside the shop. He’d seen Marie, though, through the window. And when he’d canvassed the neighborhood, everything had seemed fine. Normal.

Had another threatening letter appeared?

“She saw you on the news this morning. At that school. She was pretty upset.”

Oh. It wasn’t another threat. He put the car in gear. “Everyone was pretty terrified,” he agreed. “Thank God it all worked out.”

Watching in his rearview mirror, he slid out into traffic. Liam couldn’t always be relied upon to wait inside. Which meant Elliott couldn’t be late.

“I heard they caught the guy,” Gabrielle said, her gaze turned in his direction. “They said he was just a kid.”

“Yeah, that’s what I heard, too.” Elliott couldn’t say any more than that. Not about the underage alleged perpetrator. Nor about why he’d been there.

“You were there because of a client?” Gabrielle asked next.

“Yes.”

He caught her nod in his peripheral vision. He liked Gabrielle, respected her, but her penchant for not being chatty didn’t mesh well with his habitual reticence, leaving them in silence.

“Marie was really upset.”

With a quick glance her way at the words, Elliott pulled into the employee parking garage behind the Connelly Building.

“Everyone was.” He was saved from further awkwardness as he spotted Liam just coming out of the secured door and pulled up to pick up his second charge.

“You talk to Marie?” Liam asked before the back door of the SUV was closed behind him.

What was it with these two? They and Marie were close. Elliott knew that loud and clear. A guy could easily feel like the odd man out around the owners of the Arapahoe. If he’d been anything other than a hired professional there to keep them safe. But still...he hadn’t called either of them after the morning’s events, either.

“I already asked.” Gabrielle forestalled Elliott’s response.

“And?”

Catching a glimpse of Liam’s raised eyebrow in the rearview mirror, Elliott said, “No, I haven’t spoken with her. But I’ve checked on the Arapahoe twice.”

&

nbsp; “Have you talked to her?” Liam asked Gabrielle.

“I’ve been in back-to-back meetings all afternoon. But I spoke to her briefly after it was all over.”

Liam leaned forward and massaged his wife’s shoulder. Gabrielle covered his hand with hers. The two exchanged a smile Elliott half caught in his peripheral vision. And he stepped on the gas.

* * *

“I WAS THINKING,” Liam said as Elliott turned the corner that would take them to the private entrance behind the Arapahoe. “I want to take my wife out for dinner—Connelly-style—and since you deem it wise that I not be out without your protection, we’ll need you to accompany us. That is, if you’re free tonight.”

“I’ll make myself free.” He was a freelancer, which made him more affordable to those who only needed bodyguards on occasion. And able to work at a moment’s notice.

That evening he’d been planning to work out. And then veg out with the new political thriller he was reading.

He stopped by the back door. Nodded to the security guard, who stood and exited the small booth Liam had paid to have built the previous month.

“Liam...” Gabrielle wasn’t exiting the car. “We’re having dinner with Marie tonight. Remember? We...”

Her voice broke off and at her continued silence, Elliott looked at his client in the backseat via the rearview mirror.

“It’ll be almost like a double date,” Liam said, grinning. But Elliott wasn’t fooled by the man’s little-boy charm. His guise of innocence. Liam Connelly might be fun-loving, but he was extremely smart and always aware of everyone around him and of everything he did.