Now You See Her Page 0,92

everything,” she said vehemently, then stopped. She was too tired to have this conversation again. Besides, he was right. Just as Christopher Murphy was right. And Colleen Donnelly. And John Sweeny. And Judith. And Peter. Hell, everyone was right. She really was crazy.

“Okay, look,” Liam was saying. “What the hell? In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll talk to the O’Connors.”

“Really?”

“As soon as they get back. Nothing’s going to happen ’til then, right?”

“They had to delay their plans,” Marcy concurred. “What will you say to them?”

“Don’t know. Guess I’ll have to think of somethin’.”

“I’ll go with you,” Marcy said eagerly.

“No. You’ll stay put. Do you understand? You’ve done quite enough. You won’t budge from your hotel room. Are we agreed?”

“Agreed,” Marcy said reluctantly.

“Is that blood?” he asked suddenly, staring at her sleeve.

“What? No.” Marcy pretended to be noticing the bloodstains on her sweater for the first time. “I don’t know what that is.”

“It looks a lot like blood to me.”

“Well, it isn’t. I must have brushed up against something.” Marcy hated herself for lying to the one true friend she had. But admitting it was blood meant explaining what had happened with Kieran, and there was only so much stupidity one man could be expected to stomach without running, screaming, for the nearest exit. “I’ve been wearing the same clothes for two days now. I really should stop and pick up some new things,” she said, realizing they’d just passed the Merchant’s Quay Shopping Centre. “Can you stop here?” she asked, tapping the driver on his shoulder.

“Marcy, for God’s sake, what are you doing?” Liam asked as she opened the door and jumped out of the cab. “Marcy, wait up!”

“I’m fine, Liam. Really,” she called back at him, knowing how insane she must appear. “I just need some new clothes,” she added, watching as he scrambled to pay the driver. “You don’t have to babysit me,” she told him when he finally caught up to her inside the entrance to Marks and Spencer.

“Actually, I do,” he told her.

“What do you mean?”

“I promised the gardai I’d keep an eye on you,” Liam said sheepishly. “It was the only way they’d agree to your release.”

“Oh.”

“Is it so awful,” he asked, “havin’ me around?”

Marcy studied his beautifully chiseled face, losing herself momentarily in the unabashed intensity of his gaze. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I think you already know the answer to that,” he said, tilting his head, his lips moving slowly toward hers.

Marcy realized he was going to kiss her again. In the middle of the day, in the middle of a crowded shopping mall, in the middle of this stupid, awful mess, a beautiful young man fifteen years her junior was going to kiss her.

And this time she was going to kiss him back.

Maybe she wasn’t as crazy as everyone thought.

“Hold on a minute,” Liam said, his soft breath teasing her newly closed eyes.

Instantly she felt him pulling away from her side and she opened her eyes to see him moving toward the tall glass doors of the entrance. What was he doing? Where was he going? What was he looking at? she wondered, her eyes racing after his. “What is it?”

“I thought I saw …”

“Audrey?” Marcy felt the color drain from her face as her body began to sway, preparing to take off running in any direction with a simple nod of his head.

“No,” Liam said quickly, putting his hand on her arm, as if to steady her. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Who did you see?”

“I thought it was that man you were with, the one I saw at your hotel.…”

“Vic Sorvino?” Marcy pushed open the heavy door, her eyes pummeling their way through the crowded flock of Saturday afternoon shoppers. “You saw Vic?”

Liam backtracked. “I don’t know for sure it was him. Shit. Now you’ve got me seeing things.”

Was it possible Vic was still in Ireland, Marcy wondered, that he hadn’t caught the next flight to Rome after his brush with the police? And if he was still in Ireland, if he was still right there in Cork, if he was, in fact, at this very minute, in the Merchant’s Quay Shopping Centre, then the next logical question was why. What was he doing there? Was he following her?

Why?

“I don’t see him,” Liam said as Marcy’s eyes continued to sweep the mall.

Marcy agreed seconds later. “No.” She took a series of deep breaths in an effort