secure in the knowledge that at least one devastatingly attractive and charming man found her sexy.
Ellie tugged on the hem, which rose to midthigh. But when she did that, the neckline plunged, revealing a fair amount of cleavage. “Just leave it alone,” she murmured, adjusting her bra. She took a deep breath and examined herself critically. “I look…good.” She turned to her side. “Really good. He’s going to be putty in my hands.”
“Is that what you’re wearing?”
Ellie’s heart skipped a beat at the deep sound of Liam’s voice. He and Sean had arrived at her apartment several hours ago to plant a microphone. And since that time, Liam had been hovering over her, watching her get ready for her “date,” silently observing—and driving her a bit crazy, as well. Sean had merely wished her luck and returned to the attic across the street.
She saw Liam’s reflection in the mirror, his shoulder braced against the doorjamb of her bedroom. “What do you think?” Ellie asked. “I think it will do the trick, don’t you?”
“Aren’t you a little…exposed?” Liam snapped.
Ellie slowly turned to look at him. He was jealous. She smiled inwardly, taking a secret pleasure in that fact. “I want to entice Ronald, to show him that I’m not just some meek little wallflower. I need to appear confident and sexy, the kind of woman who would stand up for herself, who’d be willing to do anything to get what she wants.”
“And you can’t do that in a different dress?”
Ellie frowned. “What’s wrong? You want this to work, don’t you?”
Liam cursed, then turned on his heel and walked back to the living room. Ellie followed him. But as she caught up to him, she realized why he was so surly. “Are you upset because my dress is too sexy? Or because Ronald is going to see more of me than you think is proper?”
He turned on her, his jaw tight, his eyes icy. “You don’t know what Ronald Pettibone is capable of. He tried to kill you more than once. I don’t think it’s wise to provoke him.”
“But…but you’re going to be here to protect me if anything goes wrong. And Sean is watching from across the street. I’m not afraid. I’m just worried that I might mess up.”
“You know what we agreed on, right? If at anytime you feel unsafe, then you say the word ‘hungry.’ Ask Ronald if he’s hungry. I’ll be out of that bedroom in less than a second.”
“All right. But what if he wants to go get the key right away?”
“Just tell him that the music box is in another safe-deposit box with your other valuables. And you can’t get it until tomorrow morning. You’ll get it and meet him at his bank tomorrow to pick up the money.”
“And that’s when we’ll catch him in the act, right?”
“Right. Sean has talked to Intertel and they’ve called the authorities and told them that Ronald is here. They’ll pick him up when he takes the money from the bank.”
Ellie nodded. “And what about me?”
“You’re going to have to tell your story,” Liam said. “But I think it’s pretty obvious that you didn’t have anything to do with this. That Ronald was planning to use you as a scapegoat if things fell apart.” He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. “You can do this, Ellie.”
“I have to,” she said, staring down at their intertwined fingers. It felt so good to have him touch her again. Since he’d kissed her a few nights ago at the pub, they’d maintained an uneasy distance. Ellie still stung over the fact that he had deceived her. As for Liam, he seemed to want her to forget all his transgressions and pick up where they’d left off.
Ellie sucked in a deep breath and the knots in her stomach tightened. After this was all over she had vowed to make another fresh start, to find a new place to live, a new job, to put this all behind her. But when she thought about life without Liam, the pain moved from her stomach to her heart.
The buzzer sounded on the security panel and Ellie jumped. “That’s Ronald,” she said, glancing at her watch. “He’s early.”
“I’m going to be in the bedroom. I’ll be able to hear everything he says.”
“What if he wants to go in the bedroom? I mean, what if I have to—”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. “If he wants that, then you just get him out of this apartment. Under no