Aiden nodded and turned to Alec. “As I was explaining to Detective Wincott, we have an excellent security force at the hotel. I’ll go ahead and hire additional men.”
Was he dismissing him? Alec thought maybe he was and was vastly amused. Did Aiden think Alec worked for him? Even though he found the job of bodyguard a little demeaning, he would keep Regan safe until Lewis replaced him.
Detective Wincott joined them. Aiden assured him that he and his brothers, and Regan, of course, would do anything they could to help with the investigation.
“She’s living at the hotel now, and her office is on the third floor, so she never has to go outside, and that should make your job a little easier,” he told Alec.
Regan was shaking her head. “I can’t just cancel my schedule. I’ve given my word that I would help with some important events coming up. I won’t miss the hospital fund-raiser.”
“You’re going to have to cancel everything for now,” Aiden said. “If you insist on staying in Chicago, then you’re stuck in the hotel. I’m postponing my business trips until this matter is settled.”
“But, Aiden-” she began. Her brother had already turned to Wincott and was now discussing the plan for her protection. Neither one of them asked her opinion. Aiden still firmly believed she should be put on their private jet and sent into seclusion.
In the midst of their conversation, Regan walked out of the office. Alec was right behind her.
“Would you mind driving me back to the hotel?” she asked. “If it isn’t convenient, I could walk or grab a cab.”
“What is it with you people? First you and then your brother. I’m not going to go away, so stop trying to dismiss me. Got that?”
She didn’t turn around. “Yes, all right.”
“Wait a minute. What about your brother?”
She kept right on going. “What about him?”
A slow smile crossed his face. He followed her down the stairs, half expecting her brother to come chasing after her.
“How come you didn’t defend yourself back there?”
“When?”
“When your brother asked about the murder list. He gave me the impression that he thinks you’re responsible.”
“In a way I am, aren’t I?”
“No.”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back so she wouldn’t go outside ahead of him. They crossed the street and went into the parking lot. Alec opened the passenger door for her, but his gaze, she noticed, was never still. It was as though he expected a sniper to pop up somewhere. He scanned the roofs and the street beyond.
Once he was behind the wheel, he pushed a button that locked the doors. The sound turned her thoughts. “I’m going to buy a new car today.”
“You are? What’s wrong with the car you have? You do own a car, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do.” She wondered if he thought she was driven around in a limo whenever she wanted to go out.
“So what’s wrong with it?” He pictured her driving a Mercedes or maybe even a Porsche, definitely something expensive and trendy.
“It’s old.”
“How old? A year? Two?”
“You think I’m spoiled, don’t you?”
“Does it matter what I think of you?”
“No.” She told the lie well and was certain he believed her. It did matter, though, a little anyway.
The traffic was heavy. When Alec veered to the left to avoid a car that pulled in front of them, Regan flinched, and when he sped up to work his way onto the highway, she reacted again. “Listen,” he said. “You’re making me nuts grabbing the dashboard every time I turn a corner. Try to relax, or is that possible?”
“Of course it’s possible. Slow down and I’ll prove it.”
“I know what I’m doing.” There was a bite in his voice now.
His tone didn’t faze her. “So does Walker, and he’s had God only knows how many accidents.”
“I’m not your brother,” he said. “And the name is Alec.”
She noticed he’d slowed the car down. “What did you say?”
“You might as well call me Alec. You and I are going to be real tight for a while.”
“If Lieutenant Lewis knew I was going to put him on that murder list, he’d reassign you and hang me out to dry. That’s what I’d do.”
He laughed. “No, you wouldn’t. You’re too softhearted to do anything like that.”
“You can’t know if I’m softhearted or not.”
“Sure I can. I’m a detective.”
“Meaning?”
“I detect,” he said with a grin.
“Are you married?” Now, why had she asked him that? It really was none of her business.
“No.”
“I’m not either,” she said.
“Yeah, I know.”
Regan was trying to come up with a suitable reason she’d asked such a personal question. “I was just curious,” she said. How lame was that?
They reached the hotel a minute later. Wincott called Alec’s cell phone just as the doorman opened the car door for Regan.
“I wanted to talk to you about the schedule,” Wincott said as Alec followed her into the lobby.
“What about it?”
“You can’t be with the woman twenty-four hours a day, despite what Lewis thinks. You’re gonna have to sleep sometime. You could sleep with her, I guess. That would be one way to keep an eye on her during the night.”
“There’s a plan,” Alec said dryly.
“Of course, there’s a chance she might not cooperate.”
“So what do you suggest? You’re running the show.”
Regan had stopped at the front desk and was going through some papers one of the staff had handed her. Alec stood about ten feet away, his back to her, watching the people in the lobby.
“Her brother wants her under lock and key,” he said. “That would make our job easier; however, we both know there will be times when she absolutely has to leave the hotel, so how about this? You’re with her all day, in and outside the hotel. Wherever she goes, you go, but when she’s in for the night, we let the hotel security staff babysit her.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t like it, either.”
Alec laughed. “Then why did you suggest it?”
“Bradshaw wanted me to.”
“Since when do you listen to your partner?”
“Pretty much never, but he came up with the idea, and I promised I’d run it by you,” he said. “Her brother’s hiring additional security.”
“Yeah, I know, but I still don’t like it. I don’t trust any outsider to do our job.”
Wincott agreed. “This bastard… he’s playing a sick game with her, isn’t he?”
“That’s my guess.”
“I’ve got a feeling he’s going to want some feedback from her.”
“I think so too. You do something nice for someone, you want to hear thank you.”
“Matlin agrees with you,” he said, referring to the staff psychiatrist. “He thinks he’ll want to contact her again, but he’ll do something a little more personal than a fax or an e-mail.”
“What else did he say?”
“Bradshaw only just gave him the file, so Matlin’s going to need a little time, but he did notice the ‘your’ was underlined a couple of times. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? On the subject line of the fax. He wrote, ‘Your Murder List.’ ”
“Yes, I know.”
“Matlin thinks underlining the ‘your’ is significant.”
“Did he say why?”
“No.”
“That’s a big help.”
“I’ll talk to him in a couple of hours. He should have had enough time to go over our notes.”
“Let me know what he says.”
“Okay. I’m going to get someone over there tonight to relieve you. Tomorrow we’ll figure out a schedule that works for everyone.”
“Have whoever you assign call me before he comes over.”