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“Close to five But who’s counting when you’re having fun?”

“I don’t think the family can take etting shot at may be the nail in the coffin for Mom and Dad”

She closed her eyes “You’ve told them?”

“Not yet, but someone has to because the paperssooner or later,” he said significantly

She opened her eyes again “Fine, I know” She could already picture the newspaper headlines Years of hard work trying to stake an identity for herself apart from her well-known family would evaporate before her eyes

“All I’ about when this stint at the DA’s Office is going to end It’s just too dangerous Connor said the usual stint is three years or so”

Connor had said that, had he? She’d be interested in knohat else Connor had said “Maybe it isn’t just a stint Have you thought about that? Maybe I want to climb the ladder at the DA’s Office”

Quentin didn’t say anything but a distinct sigh came over the line

“Besides,” she persisted, “I’ risks, Quentin Everyone in the office has a tough job If it weren’t me, it’d be someone else”

“All right, that’s all praiseworthy and good, but the fact of the ued “You’ve been the one getting threats You’ve been the one getting shot at And, you can’t tell h profile don’t put you at special risk”

She thought about the phone threat she’d gotten: kidnapped and held “for a pretty penny” Quentin had inadvertently hit theto be boxed in by a whole set of rules just because of my last name”

Quentin started to interrupt, but she went on, “And you can tell your friend Connor not to worry I won’t be trying to cook dinner for hiain anytime soon”

If it were possible, she was even ot off the phone

Ratted her out to her faain, had he? He hadn’t even waited for her to tell the the entire story to Quentin as if she were still a recalcitrant teen whose family he had to enlist to keep her in line

Had he also had the gall to suggest to Quentin that she should be looking to move on from the DA’s Office because the prosecutor’s job had becoht had occurred to Quentin?

She wouldn’t put it past Connor

She narrowed her eyes If Connor thought things were icy between theet ready for a deep freeze

Eight

Connor faced the ain to work his tuxedo tie into a knot

For the past week, he and Allison had avoided each other asunder the saht otherwise have been, since she’d been working late all week As a result, he’d been able to catch up on things at the office and schedule sosYet, the tension between them continued to mount, despite—orin the bedroom down the hall from hers He was still furious with her, but he was also suffering from a serious bout of sexual frustration

They were like two tigers circling each other in the cage And, unfortunately, their days of circling were about to come to an end

Tonight was the Cortland Ball, and even he kneas the biggest and oldest charity ball of the Boston social season

Usually he avoided such events like the plague His coh that he didn’t have to hobnob with the rich and snooty Business came to him

But the Whittaker Foundation was one of the major sponsors of the Cortland Ball this year, so Allison had to attend And if Allison had to attend, he had to attend

Even if they were barely on speaking terht irritably, running his finger around inside the collar of his shirt now that he had worked his tie into a perfect if slightly too-tight knot He left his bedroom and headed downstairs

The one perk to attending this shindig was that Hugh Kendall, the indicted business executive Allison was prosecuting, would be there It would be a first-class opportunity to study one of the priainst Allison