His smile was distracting, and when he stepped closer to her, forcing her to tilt her head back to look into his eyes, she actually felt a rush of goose bumps.
“Are we going to get into an argument?” he asked.
“I believe we are.”
“You can’t win.”
“Why? Because you’ve got a gun?”
He didn’t say a word. He just nodded.
“Because you’re bigger?”
He nodded again.
“Stronger?”
He smiled.
She rolled her eyes. “You’ll notice I didn’t say smarter.” He did laugh then. “Detective-”
It was as far as he would let her get. “Neither one of us can leave just yet.”
“Why not?” she asked, temporarily sidetracked from the bodyguard issue.
“Your brother and your attorney are downstairs in Lewis’s office with Wincott and Bradshaw. I came up here to get you. They’re all waiting to talk to you.”
“Which brother?” she asked, trying not to let him see how irritated she was.
“I don’t know. Does it matter?”
“Yes. I hope it’s not Aiden,” she said. She didn’t tell Alec what she was thinking, but she did hope that Spencer was back in town and was waiting downstairs. He was much easier to deal with.
She shook her head as she attempted to go around him. “I guess we should go downstairs then.”
He maneuvered in front of her again and leaned against the wall. “What’s going on with you?”
He acted as though they were old friends and he knew her so well he could tell when she was out of sync.
She shifted from one foot to the other as she said, “If I hadn’t made that stupid list…”
“You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”
“No, but…”
“You simply took part in an exercise.”
“I made a murder list, for heaven’s sake.”
“Along with a whole lot of other people,” he pointed out. “You just didn’t get the opportunity to toss your list into the fire.” He stepped aside to let her go ahead of him. “I can’t wait to meet this Dr. Shields. He sounds like a snake charmer.”
“Not so charming. Just a snake. I wish I had never heard of him,” she answered over her shoulder.
“So what’s wrong with Aiden?”
The questions jarred her. “Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s a wonderful brother.”
Alec wasn’t buying it. “Yeah?”
“He’s just a little… uptight. That’s all.”
Alec didn’t have to ask which of the two strangers in Lewis’s office was Regan’s brother. The family resemblance was obvious. Though Regan was only five five or five six and her brother was over six feet, they shared the same coloring and patrician features. Aiden was impeccably dressed in a well-cut, dark suit, which Alec assumed had a fancy designer label inside. His own brother Theo had a suit just like it. Calvin Klein, Alec thought. Or maybe Armani.
The well-fed man sitting in a chair facing Lewis’s desk was also wearing an expensive suit. The man was short, round as an egg, and his face was as wrinkled as an unironed cotton shirt. Alec assumed he was the attorney.
Detectives Wincott and Bradshaw stood by the windows, watching. They both looked bored senseless.
Regan’s brother happened to glance up, spotted her coming toward him, and for a fleeting second, Alec saw relief in his eyes. No matter how many flaws the man might have, it was apparent he loved his sister.
Chapter Twenty-five
Sam baldwin, the Madisons’ attorney, closed his notebook and stood when Regan walked in.
“You’re not a suspect,” he told her immediately.
“No, no, of course she isn’t,” Lewis agreed. He stood and leaned across the desk with his hand outstretched. He introduced himself, shook her hand, and wouldn’t let go as he said, “I know this must be a terrible ordeal for you.”
Before she could respond, Sam said, “I’ll get back to you within the hour, Aiden.” He nodded to Regan, who was trying to pull her hand away from Lewis’s grasp and then left the office.
“Regan?” Aiden said.
“I’m fine,” she replied.
The second Lewis let go of her, she crossed the room to stand next to her brother. Since the lieutenant hadn’t bothered to introduce Alec to him, she did.
The two men were the same height. Aiden was thinner, but both men were quite handsome and fit. Her brother looked tired, though. Tired and worried.
“The lieutenant tells me you’ve been assigned to protect my sister until the man who sent those photos is apprehended.”
“That’s right,” Lewis said before Alec could answer.
Wincott drew Lewis’s attention when he asked, “Who else are you going to put on this, or is it just Buchanan and Bradshaw and me working the case? Connelly’s already been reassigned, hasn’t he?”
“Yes, he has,” Lewis said. “You’ll have help, but it won’t be Buchanan.” He sat down in his chair and scowled at Wincott. “You understand what I’m saying? Buchanan’s got bodyguard duty and that’s all.”
“Did Sam call you?” Regan asked her brother. She whispered so that the lieutenant wouldn’t hear her. “Is that why you’re here?”
Wincott and Bradshaw were occupied arguing with Lewis about manpower, ignoring Regan for the moment, but Alec was paying attention.
“No,” Aiden said in response to Regan’s question. “Henry called Sam and told him you were on your way here. He also told him about the e-mail and the fax you received. I saw the photos.”
“You did?”
“There were copies on my desk when I arrived. As soon as I saw them, I called Sam. Neither one of us found out you had made a murder list until we got here. Regan, what in God’s name were you thinking?”
“Excuse me?” Anger radiated in her voice.
“You heard me. I cannot imagine why you would do such a thing.”
She didn’t bother to explain because she knew that no matter what she said, she would still be put on the defensive. And be found guilty.
She took a breath and whispered. “How did you get those photos? Henry wouldn’t have placed anything on your desk without checking with me first.”
“Someone put them there. I just assumed they came from your assistant. That really isn’t important, is it?”
Yes, she thought, it was very important, but she knew that now wasn’t the time to argue about it. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t bother Spencer and Walker about any of this. I don’t want them to worry,” she said.
“Too late. Someone e-mailed them the photos.”
“The photos of Detective Sweeney and the saleswoman? They’ve seen those photos?” she asked, trying to understand.
“Were there others?”
“No, no there weren’t.”
“Then the answer is yes. They’ve seen the photos of the detective and the saleswoman.”
“I wish they hadn’t seen them. They’re going to worry, and-” Her anger and frustration were building.
Aiden, on the other hand, was his usual stone-faced self. “Worry? They’re frantic. Spencer wants you under lock and key until he gets here, and then he hopes you’ll fly back to Melbourne and stay with him until the police catch this maniac.”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“He thinks he can talk you into it. Walker also wants you to stay with him.”
“Where is he this week?”
“Paris until the day after tomorrow. He wants you to travel with him, and that, of course, is out of the question.”
“Aiden, I can make my own decisions.”
“You won’t even get in a car with Walker. Why would you consider traveling with him?”
“I’m not going to travel with him, and I’m not going to Melbourne.”