The mighty Quinns: Liam - By Kate Hoffmann Page 0,50

they’d been destined to meet, as if some power greater than the both of them had conspired to put him in this attic and her in the apartment across the street.

He pulled the old chair up to the window and sat, determined to wait until she returned. But as an hour passed and then another, Liam started to worry. Maybe she’d run. She could have called Ronald and the two of them could have decided that it was time to go.

Liam fought back a surge of frustration. He knew in his gut she wasn’t an embezzler, but his brain still managed to come up with enough doubt to make him wonder. He cursed softly, then fixed his gaze at the end of the street. The longer he waited, the more foolish he felt.

And then he caught sight of someone coming around the corner. He recognized her from the way she moved, the quick, determined stride. He took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Though he’d spent the past two hours trying to figure out how to explain, suddenly Liam wasn’t sure he could make it all sound right.

Hell, what did he have to lose? If she really was a criminal, then his explanation didn’t matter. And if she wasn’t, then he’d already screwed it all up so badly, it would likely never be fixed. She’d never trust him again.

He watched her start up the front steps to her building. And then she stopped. Slowly she turned around, her gaze rising up the building he now stood inside. Even from that distance, he could read her expression. She’d seen the photos and now she was wondering about his vantage point. Liam’s breath seized in his throat and he waited.

His first impulse was to step back from the window, but instead he pulled the tattered curtain aside so she could see him, offering her a challenge and praying that she’d accept. She slowly crossed the street. When he heard footsteps on the stairs, Liam turned to face the door. It swung open a few seconds later and Ellie stepped inside.

She looked so beautiful—her hair wet, her color high—and so damn angry. Her eyes glittered with rage, her gaze suddenly fixed on the video camera at the window. She slowly crossed the room and pushed the curtains aside, the room flooding with light. Leaning forward, she looked through the viewfinder. “You must have a very nice little collection,” she said. “Photos and video.”

“It’s not what you think, Ellie.”

“Oh, no? You have no idea what I think.”

“I can imagine,” Liam said. “But it’s not that bad.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Ellie said, tears filling her eyes. “Because it looks really bad to me. It looks like you’ve been spying on me—and taking pictures—invading my privacy—like some kind of pervert!” She snatched up the video camera, tripod and all. “What kind of pictures were you taking? Should I expect them to end up on some Internet site? Or are they just for your private enjoyment?”

Liam’s heart twisted. He’d never been good around emotional women. And once they started crying, he was completely at a loss for words. “Ellie, if you’d just—”

“I trusted you. I let you into my house. And into my body.” With a soft curse, she heaved the camera and tripod out the window, the glass shattering and falling to the street below.

Liam winced. “That wasn’t my camera,” he said. “That was Sean’s. But I guess that really doesn’t make a difference, does it?”

“Why would you do this to me?” She held up her hand to stop his reply. “Don’t bother answering. I don’t want to know. From now on, just stay out of my life.”

With that, she rushed toward the door, but Liam stepped into her path, blocking her way. “Just let me explain.”

Tears tumbled down her cheeks. “I don’t know why I thought you were different,” she murmured. “But I never expected you to be…weird. This is all just very sick and you need help.” She tried to pull away from him, but Liam wasn’t about to let this be the end of it. “If you don’t let go, I’ll scream.”

“Damn it, Ellie, let me explain.”

“Go ahead. Tell me you’re not some weirdo or some pervert. Because, coming over here, I tried to make myself believe that you were.”

“I was doing surveillance,” he said. “I’ve been watching you.”

She frowned, wiping her nose with the cuff of her jacket. “I don’t understand.”

“Sean is a private investigator and I was helping him with