Standing in the Shadows (McClouds & Friends #2)(85)

He nuzzled her throat. "You with me, Erin?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"This thing we've got, it's amazing. It makes up for a lot."

She shivered, and he felt the exact moment that she softened and leaned back against him. Trusting his support. He was so relieved, he had to hide his stinging eyes in the cool, soothing dampness of her hair.



They stayed that way, suspended in a bubble of speechless intimacy until the teakettle started to squall. Erin took it off the hot plate, and Connor smoothly took over the breakfast preparations.

He was good at it, too. Shortly afterwards, they were feasting on omelets stuffed with peppers, onions, ham, and cheddar cheese. Connor kept sticking toast into her toaster, buttering and consuming it until the loaf was nearly gone. They were very quiet and subdued. Nick's call had wiped out all her goofy euphoria, but Connor's reassurances and his embrace had calmed her back down to almost normal.

Well, relatively speaking. As if she were qualified to define normal.

A key turned in the door lock. Connor sprang to his feet. A gun appeared in his hand as if it had materialized there, leveled at the door.

"Who is it?" she called, as the door swung open.

Tonia stood there, the cat carrier in her hand. She focused on Connor, saw the gun. Her dark eyes became huge. The cat carrier fell to the ground with a thud. An outraged yowl issued from it.

"Erin?" Tonia squeaked.

"It's OK, Tonia!" Erin whirled on Connor. "Put that thing away!"

He tucked the gun into the small of his back. An infuriated meow issued from the cat carrier, and Erin rushed to pick it up. "It's OK," she told the wary Tonia. "Really. It's fine. He's harmless. Come in."

"I thought you weren't getting back till this evening," Tonia said faintly. "I thought it would be better to bring back Edna and feed her here, since I have to work a double shift. I didn't mean to interrupt—"

"It's OK. You couldn't have known," Erin soothed her. "I'm so sorry Connor gave you a scare. He's kind of, ah, high-strung."

Connor looked disgusted. "High-strung?"

"That would be putting it charitably," she snapped.

"Connor?" Tonia's gaze raked him, up and down. "So this is the infamous Connor McCloud?"

His eyes were cool. "That would be me."

Tonia's sharp eyes swept over the apartment, taking in the disheveled bed, the quilt on the floor, the condoms scattered under the table. "You've been keeping things from me, you bad girl. You ended up with a bodyguard after all, didn't you? And something more besides."

Erin's face heated up. She opened the pet carrier door, and Edna bolted out and disappeared under the bed with a shriek. "I'm in for it," she said ruefully. "Emotional blackmail for a week at least."

"You've got to stop letting people make you feel guilty, honey. And you can start with your cat." Tonia stuck out her hand to Connor with a brilliant smile. "I'm Tonia Vasquez. Pleased to meet you."

He did not smile as he shook it. "Likewise."

Tonia turned to Erin. "Sorry I burst in on you, but I'm glad you're home. I was going to leave a note. Have you talked to your mom?"

"Not yet," Erin said. "I planned to run over there today. Why?"

"I tried to call you at the resort, but (hey told me that you never checked in." Her eyes flicked up to Connor's face. "Now I see why."

"Change of plans," Connor said.

"Why did you try to call me?" Erin asked. "What's going on?"

Tonia's eyes flicked to Connor, back to Erin.

"Don't worry," Erin said. "He knows what's happening. You can say anything in front of him."

"Is that so?" Tonia murmured. "Hmm. Well, the other night I was in the neighborhood and I thought I'd drop in and check on her. We've been pals ever since I helped you move, you know. I went there around eight, and the place was dark. So I pounded on the door for a while. Finally she came to the door, in her bathrobe. She was disoriented, as if she were heavily sedated. She didn't look good at all."

Erin pressed her arm against the empty, sucking feeling in her belly. "Oh, no."

"We made a pot of tea and chatted, and she kept saying she couldn't bear it anymore, seeing Eddie on the TV Eddie's your dad, right? Was she referring to the media circus during the trial?"

"No," Erin said bleakly. "I doubt that's what she meant."

"She felt faint, but she wouldn't let me take her to (he emergency room," Tonia went on. "She said she had a migraine. I ran upstairs to use the bathroom, and when I came down, I saw the photos." She paused dramatically, and shook her head.

Erin pressed her fingers against her mouth. "What about them?"

"The faces are gouged out with something sharp," Tonia said. "And then put neatly back into their frames and back on the wall. And the TV in the living room. This you will not believe. It's lying on its back with a fireplace poker sticking out of the smashed screen."

Connor's arms circled her from behind, pulling her tightly against his warmth. She clutched his forearm with icy fingers. "Oh, God."