Page 15

Bishop

Eden pushed the pasta around the plate with her fork, and I waited for her to process what I’d told her. It only took a minute before her fork clattered down onto the plate and her eyes lifted to find mine.

“Dangerous, how ?”

“How is a shark dangerous? Or a tiger? I come from a family of hunters.”

“You hunt animals?” Her eyebrows dipped into a frown.

I laughed quietly. “In a way, I guess you could say that. Only the animals we hunt usually run on two legs instead of four.”

“I thought you just helped people make new lives.”

“ I do. Sometimes it involves bloodshed.”

“You kill people?” She half-rose from her seat.

“Sit down, Eden.” My voice remained calm. “I’m not hunting you, so you have nothing to worry about.” I placed my silverware down and held her gaze. “You’re not naive enough to think that a new life, a new identity , can be built without any consequences. Sometimes, my clients are found before we can put their new life into action. When that happens, we have to take … precautions.”

“By killing people.”

“Are you trying to claim that if your ex-boyfriend turned up right now, you would expect me to just let him drag you out of here? Or would you want me to do what you’ve hired me for … what I’m contracted to do … and protect you, even if that means putting him down for good?”

Her bottom lip dropped, and her eyes widened as my words hit her.

“I told you on the flight to New York it would be easier to hire someone to take him out than it would be to build a new life. You opted not to take that route, which is why you’re sitting here now with my ring on your finger. But just because you decided not to hire a hitman, that doesn’t mean I won’t arrange his death if I feel it’s the only way to fulfill my obligation to you.”

“Your obligation …” Her voice was little more than a whisper.

I reached for my glass of water and took a sip. “There’s still time to change your mind. We can annul the marriage right now if you want to and we can go our separate ways. But hear me, if you come with me then I need you to understand that I will do whatever I think is necessary to ensure your new identity is protected when the time comes for our contract to end.”

“But you’re talking about murder.” Her tongue swept over her lips.

“Only as a last resort. It rarely comes to that. But with the position he holds and the fact he’s found you every time you’ve run so far, you have to be aware of the possibility that he might find you again before I have your new life organized.” I shrugged. “Sometimes the simplest answer is also the tidiest.”

She stayed where she was, half out of her seat and staring at me across the table.

“Finish your dinner.” I flicked a finger toward her plate. “We have another long flight ahead.”

“Where are we going?”

“My home. We’ll spend a couple of nights there, and then we’ll set off for the engagement party. We’ll arrive Friday evening and stay until Sunday.”

“And where is that going to be?”

“About an hour’s drive from Glenville. Little place called Trojan Peaks. The party is Saturday night, and I’d rather not rush there and then drive back all in the same day.”

She lowered herself back to her seat and slowly picked up her fork. “Is your … friend … in the same line of business as you?”

I snorted. “Christ, no. Crosby is an investment banker. Dana is a model. They’re total opposites, yet they work somehow.”

“How do you know them?”

“I was at school with Crosby.” I smiled at the memory. He’d been a weedy kid with glasses, bullied by the jocks … until me and my brothers happened upon him curled into a ball while three boys kicked the shit out of him. By the time we were done, they understood never to touch him again and we had a new friend.

Eden propped her chin on one hand and looked at me from across the table. “And you expect him to believe you got married?”

“It’ll probably be the least weird thing I’ve done for a client.”

“Oh?” Her head tilted, eyes sparkling with interest.

“Or maybe not.” I leaned back on my chair and took a sip of water.

“What about his fiancée?”

“What about her?”

“Do you know her well? What’s she like?”

“Nice enough, I guess. Crosby seems happy. I’ve only met her a handful of times.”

She gave a slow nod. “So, she won’t have any preconceived ideas about the kind of woman you might marry? Women are usually harder to fool about relationships than men.”

“My lifestyle doesn’t really include double-dating or social events. This party is something I wouldn’t usually attend.”

“Because you never take time off.”

“Already getting into the role of a nagging wife?” I arched an eyebrow, and laughed at the impish smile she tossed in my direction.

“Wouldn’t it make sense for a newly wedded couple to want to spend as much time together as possible? It’s the honeymoon period, after all.”

“True. We’ll see how it plays out. The only people you really need to fool are Susannah and her husband.” I stood and stepped away from the table. “I need to make some calls. The television remote is on the coffee table. If you want anything, call down for room service. Make yourself comfortable. Our flight out is at eight am.”

“Where are you going?”

“Into one of the bedrooms.”

“Because you don’t want me to hear what you’re talking about?”

“Exactly.” I didn’t see the point in lying. “You might have my ring on your finger, but you’re still a client. And I don’t share the details of my work with my clients.”