Key Witness. Christy Barritt

you might want to kick back with for hot dogs and a baseball game. He was obviously affectionate toward his daughter. But Denton had always believed that charm could be deceptive and, for that reason, Denton remained cautious around the man. That charm had gotten Senator Philips elected, but it was his ability to manipulate situations that had kept him in office.

      “It sounds like you’ve done your homework.”

      “Don’t expect—or accept—anything less.”

      “Don’t worry. I won’t.” Her grin softened her words a bit.

      Denton glanced over at Elle. “So you’re the campaign manager for your father.”

      “I am. You didn’t know that when you befriended me at the bank?”

      “I just thought you were intriguing. I never expected to be your bodyguard or realized that I’d worked with your father in the past. He kept his family private. I was surprised he even approved of someone doing an article about you.” Some aspects of the senator’s family life were public—and purposely so. But many details were still kept as limited as possible, especially where Elle was concerned.

      “The article was my idea. My father has had some rumors floating around about him recently, rumors that make him seem less than likable. I wanted to bring some positive PR to his campaign and make him seem more like a family man.”

      “You mean instead of a womanizer?”

      She blanched. “Yes. I thought if people could see the part of my father that I saw, maybe he could gain an even bigger lead in the polls. My father was actually against it, truth be known.”

      “It was a nice article.” It confirmed most of what he’d already assumed about her. She was smart, talented, beautiful and accomplished. “You’re a former Miss Virginia, huh? Can you do the beauty pageant wave for me?”

      She smiled and humored him with a little wave. He liked seeing the goofy side of her instead of the always poised woman that she liked to present herself as.

      He chuckled. “That factoid did surprise me. I didn’t see you as the beauty pageant type.”

      “I’m not. My parents encouraged me to do it. They said it would look nice on my résumé and give me good experience. And I agree. It accomplished those things.”

      He glanced in his rearview mirror, checking to see if anyone was tailing them. Nothing suspicious caught his eye, but he still needed to remain on guard. Always watching, observing, calculating what-ifs.

      “Is everything okay?” Elle’s facade cracked a moment as her worry showed through.

      “Everything’s fine. I just have to keep my eyes open.”

      “It could have been an idle threat.”

      “Could be.”

      “But it might not be.”

      “Exactly.”

      She sighed, her shoulders slacking ever so slightly. “Don’t people have better things to do than to scare or harm others? It makes no sense to me.”

      “Don’t try to understand evil. It’s useless.”

      “You’re right. I guess I shouldn’t even try. It’s just—why would someone steal money instead of simply working for it? Don’t people have enough to worry about in their own lives rather than making other people miserable?”

      “I’d venture to say that most criminals aren’t psychopaths. These men most likely have a motive behind what they’re doing, a reason they’re using to justify their actions. It could be the money—maybe they feel entitled, think that they deserve more than they have—or they could be trying to make a statement of some sort.”

      “Make a statement, huh? What kind of statement would they be trying to make with threatening me?”

      “That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

      “You mentioned your team of profilers earlier, but I cut you off. What did your team conclude?”

      “One of the subjects is the dominant personality and the other is submissive. The dominant’s emotions were tightly under control, while the submissive was taken by surprise by the murder. But even though the second subject seemed in the dark, we believe the crime was well thought-out, the murder perhaps even preplanned.”

      “Impressive. And chilling.”

      “The police are working the case right now. They’re looking at video feeds from everywhere around the area.”

      “Did the K-9 unit turn up anything?”

      “No, they lost the scent at about a block away. The suspects probably jumped into a getaway car.”

      “Does that mean there are three? A driver also?”

      “There’s always that chance.”

      “This isn’t good.”

      Denton shook his head, wishing he could comfort her. But he couldn’t. “You’re right. It’s not. But I’m not going to let you out of my sight until these guys are arrested.”

      * * *

      Elle stood backstage, her arms folded over her chest as she watched the debate from the sidelines. Her dad had answered every question with educated, reasoned responses, even combining some humor into the mix. He had this election in the bag...at least, she hoped.

      These threats against her had her unnerved enough. Then throw Mark Denton into the mix and she felt even more uneasy. Not because she didn’t trust Denton—the opposite, in fact. She felt more drawn to the man than to anyone in a long time. But there was no room in her life to play with the idea of romance.

      Not only was she incredibly busy with the campaign, but her last relationship had completely shattered her trust in men. When she and Denton had innocently flirted at the bank, that had been one thing. But now she was going to be forced to work with the man for...how long? Who knew?

      The man was handsome—too handsome for his own good, probably. He had a rakish grin that Elle was sure women swooned over. Not Elle, of course. His build was solid and muscular, and he stood at least six feet tall, maybe taller, with brown eyes that could melt the coldest of hearts—except Elle’s. The man was confident, charming and he didn’t take himself too seriously. He knew how to work a room and how to handle himself in a tense situation. He’d proven that. And Elle had always been a sucker for men like that.

      But she couldn’t be now. Not anymore. Not since Preston had taken every piece of trust she had for men and shredded it like yesterday’s paperwork. Men were not trustworthy, and she had no trust to give. End of story. The one thing she feared in life was failing and letting people down. When things had ended with Preston, she’d let herself down. The humiliation and shame she felt afterward had solidified her resolve to stay single—forever, if necessary.

      Denton stood beside her, his gaze scanning the crowds just as he’d been doing since they’d arrived. The person who’d sent her that email wasn’t here tonight...or was he?

      She prayed that the police would figure out the men’s identities and quickly so she could resume life and focus on other, more important things.

      Her best friend, Brianna, shimmied up beside her and leaned close. “Who’s your escort?”

      “He’s...no one. I’ll explain later. Long story.”

      Brianna raised her eyebrows, her eyes twinkling. “I can’t wait to hear.”

      “It’s not like that.”

      “Then what’s it like?”

      “Someone’s threatened me.”

      “If someone threatens me, will I be forced to have someone who looks like him follow my every move? If so, bring on the threats.”

      “Brianna!”