And if she's seen too much?

Gayle's niece could be a real problem.

Offering to pay her to keep her silence didn't seem like the best of ideas. He already paid her far more than the going rate for graphic designers.

You pay me too well. That's never been the issue.

So they were back to why she burned the candle at both ends, working for him all day and taking classes for her degree at night. Then sometimes, like tonight, coming back to work through the night, just to make a deadline. Why?

'But,' he said, 'I now realize that there is much that I don't know about you.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Jeez. Y'think?'

He ignored her sarcasm. 'I asked you why you were killing yourself for a degree and you answered by asking me why I was looking at the threat list. I don't get the connection.'

'No, I don't suppose you do. Why did you ask my aunt to catalog the threats?'

He was getting tired of her answering his questions with her own. 'I needed to keep track of them.'

'That's not a good enough reason.'

'It's all the reason I feel compelled to give you,' he said. 'I am your boss, after all.'

'Yes, you are. For now.'

He lifted a brow. 'You plan to quit?'

Anger flashed in her eyes once again. 'No, boss. I plan to have to find a new job when you're murdered by one of the many people you've pissed off, and most employers do care about "stinkin' degrees".'

Ah. The pieces fell into place, relief settling over him. 'You're worried someone on that list will kill me.'

'So are you,' she challenged. 'Otherwise you wouldn't be here looking at it and cursing. Here.' She tossed him a flash drive. 'The most recent, complete list.'

Reflex had him reaching out to catch the small drive, the movement sending a spear of pain through the bruise on his back.

Her eyes narrowed at the grimace he hadn't been able to control. 'Somebody got to you, didn't they?' she asked. 'You're hurt.'

Fuck. 'I'm not hurt. What do you mean, this is the most complete list?' He pointed at his screen. 'This one isn't complete?'

'No. The file you're looking at is stored on the Ledger's server. That's the one that Aunt Gayle works on. She believes it's complete, for what it's worth.'

Marcus rubbed his eyes. 'What have you done, Jill?' he asked, suddenly exhausted.

'I've been intercepting the mail for the past nine months. Any letter that's just a garden-variety-I-hate-your-guts-and-you-need-to-die, I let go through. Aunt Gayle logs it in. The really vicious ones, I move to that flash drive so she doesn't see.'

His head was starting to throb. 'Why?'

'Because she loves you too much to be reading all that vitriol. It terrifies her that people want to kill you. I love her too much to let her sacrifice her health, so I took . . . liberties.'

'What other liberties have you taken?'

'I pay the bills and sort your mail.'

Both things Gayle was supposed to do. That didn't sound like the Gayle he knew. But the Gayle he knew had had a heart attack without telling him too. 'What did you leave for her to do?'

'She keeps your calendar, answers the phones, schedules all those fancy meetings that you hate so much, and tracks the threats against you and your team minus the ones I remove first, of course.'

'Gayle knows about the duties you've taken on?'

'Everything but the threats. She didn't want to let me do it, but it was the only way I'd allow her to come back to work after her heart attack. She should have stayed home, but she said you needed her here since you were still recuperating from being shot.'

He closed his fist around the flash drive, not sure who he was angriest with Gayle for keeping this from him, Jill for aiding and abetting, or himself for being so blind. 'I've been back for six months. She could have retired or quit or, heaven forbid, even told me the truth. What did she think I'd do? Fire her?' Like that could ever happen. 'I'd cut out my own tongue before I'd even raise my voice to her.'

Jill's lips curved, the small smile seeming genuine. 'I know that. That's why I've let this go on so long. She believes that you still need her. That you're still "not yourself" since Mikhail died. Maybe that's true, maybe it's not. I don't know. But I do know that Aunt Gayle needs to be needed. And I give her what she needs.'

Marcus found his anger draining away. Jill was right about Gayle. The woman did need to be needed, and he and his family had probably taken advantage of that more times than he wanted to consider over the years, without even realizing it.

Opening his fist, he glanced down at the flash drive before lifting his eyes to Jill's face. 'Gayle always told me about the worst threats, so that I could be prepared,' he said, watching for any sign that Gayle's niece knew more than she should.

Jill's head tilted to one side, her eyes narrowing. 'So that you could be prepared, or so that you could eliminate the threat?'

She didn't know, Marcus thought. But she suspected, and that was troubling enough. He chilled his tone. 'Perhaps you should define "eliminate".'

The pulse fluttered at the base of her throat, the color rising in her cheeks. She was afraid, but she didn't blink. That could be very good or very, very bad. 'You were a Ranger, Marcus. You own every gun known to man, and very few of them are registered.'

How she knew about his army background and his gun collection would be a question he'd table for later. 'Yet you stay.'

She lifted a shoulder. 'Like I said before, you pay me well. And Aunt Gayle won't leave you. I can't tell her what I think. She won't believe you are capable of doing any wrong. She thinks you walk on water.'

Because Gayle loved him. Of that, Marcus had never had a single doubt. 'You didn't answer my question, Jill,' he said, letting menace creep into the words. 'Define "eliminate".'

She swallowed hard. 'I saw the patterns in the threats that came in before I took over. Some were just . . . noise. People spouting off. But others were serious. They got bad, then worse, then . . . they stopped.'

Marcus stared at her as the seconds ticked by. He'd admit to nothing, not until she made an accusation. Finally, she dropped her gaze, focusing on her feet. 'Did you kill them?'

He had to admire her guts. 'No,' he said quietly. At least he hadn't killed any of them yet. But he'd been tempted so many times. 'I have other means.'

Her swallow was audible this time, and his admiration grew when she lifted her chin, locking stares once again. 'Legal means?'

Damn, the girl really did have a spine. He smiled at her, very nearly amused. 'Mostly.'

'That's all you're going to say?' she asked, her voice rising an octave. 'Mostly?'

'That's all you asked.'

She drew a breath. 'All right, if that's the way the game is played. If you're caught doing something that falls outside of "mostly", will my aunt be in trouble with the law?'

He regarded her carefully. 'Aren't you worried about yourself?'

'Of course, but I'm more worried about Aunt Gayle. If she gets arrested . . . Her heart couldn't take that.'

'You assume Gayle knows about any activities that are less than "mostly".'

'I assume nothing,' she said stiffly. 'I know there are parts of Gayle's hard drive that I couldn't access. I also know that she has a separate, secret email account that I couldn't break into. She clearly has something to hide. I just want her safe. And alive.'

That Jill hadn't been able to hack into their protected, encrypted files made him feel a little better. Unless she was lying to buy his confidence. Always a possibility.

He tossed the flash drive in the air and caught it again. 'You said you were worried that one of these threats could be real, that I'd get killed, and that you'd lose your job. But you didn't think to warn me?"

'No. I figured you couldn't be too worried. You never checked the file yourself.'

'I thought you didn't set out to monitor me.'

'I didn't. It was merely a side benefit. Are . . . are you going to fire me?'

He probably should. She was too smart and knew a little too much. But he'd keep her close for now so that he could monitor her. 'No. You love your aunt, as do I. You acted to protect her. You shouldn't have needed to. I should have realized I was asking too much of her, long ago. I won't make that mistake again.'

'Thank you.' Her rigid shoulders relaxed and she drew a deep breath, as if she were bracing herself. As it turned out, she had been. 'So, are you going to tell me what's in the secret files that my aunt keeps for you?'

He gave her a cutting glance. 'Don't push your luck, kid.'

Her shoulders went rigid again. 'You don't trust me.'

'You're damn right I don't.' He pulled an ancient laptop from his desk drawer. This old beast wasn't connected to any network, so if there were any viruses or Trojans on Jill's drive, they'd do no damage. 'Trust is earned. You haven't earned mine yet.'

'But I still can?'

'That's totally up to you.' He powered up the laptop, plugged in the flash drive, then gave her a cold look. 'Your initial instincts were good, Jill. I'm not a gentle man. I'm not always a nice man. But I try to do the right thing and I am loyal to those who have earned my trust and respect. I hired you because Gayle asked me to, but make no mistake if you fuck with me, being Gayle's niece won't help you. Do you understand me?'

She swallowed audibly again. 'I understand. Do you plan to tell my aunt?'

'No. But I will find a way to "discover" her heart attack and make sure she takes it easy.' He'd also make sure that he limited Jill's access to his business. He'd get one of his other staff members someone he truly trusted to intercept the mail from now on.

'Thank you,' she said on a shuddered exhale.

'You're welcome. You should go home, get some rest.' The ancient laptop had finally opened the file on the flash drive, and he shifted his attention from Jill to his screen, dismissing her. The list she'd compiled was several steps up in vitriol compared to the sanitized list Gayle had been keeping, but he saw pretty quickly that none of the threats could plausibly be behind the shooting this morning. He'd choose the ones that were most likely to set Detective Bishop's mind at ease about him having been the target.

'Why now?' Jill asked.

His head jerked up, his brow furrowing when he saw her still standing in the doorway. 'I thought you were going home.'

She crossed the room to stand at the edge of his desk. 'Why did you check the list now, when you haven't looked at it for the past nine months?'

He gritted his teeth. 'None of your business, Jill. Now go home.'

'It is my business if it affects my aunt,' she insisted. 'You came to check the list because you got hurt tonight. I don't see any blood, so I guess you'll be okay. But if you think someone on Gayle's list or on that flash drive is trying to hurt you, they might hurt her too.'

He met her eyes, held her gaze, made his own as threatening as he could. But even though she trembled, she didn't stand down. This girl did have courage. Whether she had honor remained to be seen.

Again she swallowed audibly. 'Who is Tala? I heard you say her name.'

He started to swear, but hesitated, unsure of what to do. Obviously she'd heard the tape he'd been listening to. He didn't want to tell her anything, but he knew she would figure it out. Even if he didn't have Stone write the story of Tala's murder, some other news source would report it, together with Marcus's presence at the scene. She'd put two and two together.

He wanted to fire her, but he knew it was too late for that.

The front door to the office suite opened. 'Marcus?' Stone called from the lobby.

Jill jerked in surprise, glancing at the clock on the wall. 'What's he doing here?'

'I asked him to come,' Marcus said, and suddenly the solution was clear. 'You want to earn my trust?'

Her expression faltered. 'Yes,' she said slowly, uncertainly. 'How?'

Stone's heavy footsteps got louder, then he stopped abruptly in the doorway, filling it easily. He blinked in surprise. 'Jill? What are you doing here so early?' He lifted his brows at her appearance. 'Or should I say late?' He gave Marcus a questioning look.

'I want Jill to assist you in investigating the story I called you about.'

Stone's eyes grew huge and displeased. 'What the hell?'

Jill's eyes grew even larger. 'Me?'

'Yeah, you. You said you wanted to be trusted. Do you still?'

Her eyes narrowed. Smart girl. 'I don't know.'

Marcus pointed at the door. 'Go get us some breakfast while you're thinking about it. When you come back, Stone can bring you up to speed.'

Jill skirted around Stone, who looked stunned and annoyed. 'I'll be back,' she promised.

'I figured you would,' Marcus said pleasantly. When she was gone, he lowered his voice to Stone. 'Watch to make sure she actually leaves, then lock the door. We need to talk.'

Cincinnati, Ohio

Tuesday 4 August, 5.50 A.M.

The ringing of the phone pulled Kenneth Sweeney out of a very nice dream. Scowling at the abrupt loss of the quiet beach and the beautiful, faceless woman who'd been servicing him quite nicely, he patted the nightstand, searching for his cell phone. He squinted at the caller ID, then sat upright in bed, fully awake now. The security office was only to contact the CEO directly when there was an emergency. Since an emergency usually involved a police raid of some kind, he braced himself for the worst. 'Yes? What is it?'

A hesitation on the other end. 'Mr Sweeney? This is Gene Decker.'

Ken blinked hard, recognizing the voice. Gene had been one of his bodyguards until the younger man had been injured on the job the month before. He'd performed admirably in the line of duty, taking a bullet in the leg while saving Ken's ass from a trigger-happy wannabe competitor a small-time hood who'd wanted a slice of Ken's OxyContin clientele. It turned out that Decker had studied to be an accountant in college, so they'd placed him in the business office while he recuperated.