LITMIR.BIZ

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go with her,” Seth said, looking at Abigail. He turned to Megan. “I’m your security.”

      She shook her head. “Store and event security. And that starts tomorrow.”

      He shrugged. “Details,” he said, dismissing her objection. “At Wingman Security, we aim to under-promise and over-deliver.”

      “Let him,” Abigail said. “Please.”

      “Fine,” she said. It wasn’t that big of a deal. The ride would be shorter than the argument they might have about it.

      “We can go down to the lobby together,” Abigail said. She grabbed Megan’s hand. “Let’s go say goodbye to Kellie.”

      Once they had done that and were back at the elevators, she saw that Seth had put on a sports coat. He’d also retrieved her umbrella and he passed it to her before pressing the elevator button. There were several others leaving at the same time, which prevented conversation in the elevator. Once they were in the downstairs lobby, it was just minutes before a car pulled up outside and her brother-in-law got out. Abigail saw him and exited the building so fast that Evan didn’t even make it to the front door.

      She watched as they kissed like the pair of newlyweds that they were. Her new brother-in-law was handsome, educated and rich. And definitely not good enough for Abigail. But who would be? “They almost didn’t get married,” she said.

      “Sounds like a good story,” Seth said.

      “They’d been dating for almost a year when Abigail unexpectedly got pregnant. He immediately wanted to get married but she told him no four times. I honestly thought he’d give up asking.”

      “She didn’t want to get married.”

      “She didn’t want to be an obligation.” Said she’d had enough of that in her lifetime. Megan didn’t tell Seth that last part. It would lead to all kinds of questions that she really didn’t want to answer. “But he finally convinced her that it was love, not obligation, that had him all but begging in the streets.”

      “And you like him?” Seth asked.

      “I do. And I’m pretty sure that he thinks that she’s the moon and stars all rolled into one. And I think he’ll be a good dad.”

      “That’s important,” he said simply. He opened the door and flagged down a cab.

      The vehicle traffic was even heavier than it had been earlier and the cab inched along at times. Definitely a city that came alive late in the evening. And there were lots of people not in cars. The crosswalks were filled with pedestrians. They waited long minutes even when they had the right of way to turn. “Where do all these people come from?” she said.

      “Everywhere. The appeal of Vegas is far-reaching.”

      “Are you a gambler?”

      “Hard to live here and not try your luck once in a while. My mother lives in town and she likes slot machines, so we go sometimes. But most of the time, I prefer to bet on things where the odds are better.”

      “Did your mother ever remarry after your father died?”

      He shook his head. “No. I wish she would have,” he said. “She should have.”

      Like Mrs. McGarry, his mom had been left to carry on alone. Would either one of her parents have wanted that?

      “So, have you always lived in Carmel?”

      She was grateful for the change in subject. “All my life,” she said. The cab slowed to pull in to the circular drive of the opulent Periwinkle hotel. It was jammed with cars.

      She looked behind them. There was a break in the traffic. “This is fine,” she said to the driver. She opened her purse to pay but Seth beat her to it, handing the man cash. When he opened the door, she slid across the seat of the cab. Her purse strap slipped off her silk dress and the small bag fell to the ground. She bent at the same time he did to pick it up.

      Just as bullets tore into the roof of the cab, ripping the metal.

      “Stay down!” he yelled. He put one hand on her head to reinforce his words and the other around her to move her out of the street. The cab took off, door still open.

      Fifteen big steps had them inside the circular drive, behind a half wall. Arriving guests had abandoned their luggage and flocked inside. Hotel valet staff were crouched down, scanning the street.

      “Are you okay?” he demanded, checking her. She was pale but there was no blood. She had not been hit.

      “Were they shooting at us?” she asked.

      It sure as hell had felt like it. “I don’t know,” he said. “Who have you pissed off, Megan?”

      Her head jerked up. “No one,” she said.

      “I was kidding.” Sort of. Random shootings occurred. But not that often in the high-rent district that the Periwinkle occupied. It was bad for tourism. He heard the sounds of approaching police. Response time would be fast here.

      “What’s the name of the competitor that you bested?” He’d thought he was going to have plenty of time to get into this but gunshots had a way of expediting conversations.

      “J.T. Daly’s. But they’re a big operation. I really don’t think that they would be all that upset about not getting our four stores. And I certainly don’t want to publicly malign them without proof.”

      He understood that she was warning him to be careful with any unfounded accusations he might make. “I won’t skewer them but I think it’s worth a mention to the police.”

      Once the police arrived, both he and Megan gave a statement. He was pretty sure the shots had come from behind them, to their left, and gave that information to the cops. “I think you’ll be able to get a slug out of the cab’s roof,” he added. That made the cops happy. In a succinct manner, Seth also explained about J.T. Daly’s and how the retailer might have a bone to pick with Megan. The cops made no comments but dutifully took notes.

      The process seemed to take forever. Hotel management hovered nearby and when the police were done with them, the night manager apologized profusely and offered to send food or alcohol to Megan’s room. She declined both.

      He thought a double on the rocks would be nice. He generally had real steady nerves—most pilots did. But the vision of what those bullets might have done to her skull wasn’t a good one.

      “Thanks for getting me out of the street,” she said. “I’m not great in those situations—I tend to freeze. And that might not have been good.”

      “You did fine,” he said. She had. She’d stayed low, moved quickly and thus far, hadn’t cried.

      “I’m hoping that’s the most excitement we have for the next twelve days,” she said. They were at the bank of elevators. She extended her hand. “Good night.”

      He ignored her head. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to make sure that you get to your room safely.”

      “I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she said.

      He pressed the up button. When the door opened, he motioned her in and then quickly followed. She pressed the seven.

      When they got to 710, she waved her card in front of the electronic reader and it immediately clicked. He held up a finger. “Let me go first,” he whispered.

      Before leaving the party, while Megan and Abigail had been saying their goodbyes, he’d stepped into his office and gotten his gun. He wore it in his shoulder holster, carefully hidden by the sport coat that he’d put on.

      Now he pulled it, ignoring the gasp behind him. He swung in through the door, grateful that she’d left a light on. It took him just seconds to ensure that the main room, bathroom and closet were clear.

      “You had that gun the whole time,”

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