The mighty Quinns: Liam - By Kate Hoffmann Page 0,15

of his Guinness, then licked his upper lip. “What were you doing in that woman’s apartment?”

“Exactly what I told the police. I was trying to protect her.”

Conor slowly shook his head. “Go back to the beginning.”

“I saw this guy sneak inside her apartment.”

“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 is Riley’s grandmother. And Olivia’s parents are coming up from Florida.”

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.”