By Honor Bound

by Ruth Ryan Langan

  “I don’t understand why they couldn’t return my car today.” Pru followed Micah from the parking garage to her apartment and fumbled with her key.

  “They said there were a few things they wanted to check first.” After speaking with Allen Street, Micah had persuaded him that Pru was better off riding with him than being alone in her flashy little convertible. For once, her father had agreed. “It ought to be ready in a day or two.”

  “Good.” Pru touched a finger to his cheek. “Not that I don’t enjoy riding with you, Micah. But I’ve come to enjoy a certain freedom here in Georgetown that I never had before. That’s hard to give up.”

  He winced as he took the key from her hand and opened her door. Nothing like twisting the knife a little deeper.

  “About dinner, Micah. I was thinking—”

  She gave a little yelp as he tugged her back, placing himself in front of her.

  “What is it?” She watched as he dropped to the floor and picked up something before straightening.

  “I left this in the doorway this morning when we left your apartment.” He held up a length of thread so clear as to be almost invisible. “The fact that it’s been disturbed means someone has been in here. Stay here.” His tone was pure ice. And though she’d never been issued a command in such a tone, she knew better than to argue.

  After a thorough search of every room in her apartment, he returned and took her hand. “I want you to look around carefully and see if anything has been moved or taken.”

  “Micah. Are you joking? The alarm was on. How could anything be gone? If anyone was here, wouldn’t they have set off the alarm?”

  “To a professional, a security system like yours is a walk in the park. Now, humor me, Pru. Look around. Does anything seem out of place?”

  She walked through the great room, her gaze sweeping the sofa, the bookshelves, the mantel. While she did, Micah was going through the rooms, checking the backs of pictures and lifting lamps to check their bases for any sign of electronic bugging.

  He made a terse phone call, ordering his operatives to come at once and bring along their equipment.

  Pru had never seen him this intense. To lighten his mood, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. He paused and gave her a long, lingering look before returning his attention to the objects on her desk.

  Pru was just turning away when she paused beside her computer and frowned.

  “What?” Micah walked up to stand next to her.

  “I never close my laptop unless I’m taking it with me.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She nodded.

  “Don’t touch it.”

  “What do you mean, Micah? I could be mistaken.”

  “Always trust your first instincts. Come on.” Without another word, Micah caught her hand and led her out the door.

  She had no chance to ask questions as he pulled her across the hall. Once there, he opened his door and stood aside until she’d entered Professor Loring’s apartment.

  There were a million questions racing through Pru’s mind. But Micah gave her no chance to ask them as he leaned against the closed door and pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

  After dialing, he waited with a hiss of impatience before saying, “Allen. Micah Lassiter here. Our guy knows where Pru lives.” He listened a moment, then nodded. “I’ll put her on the phone now and leave it to you to explain why she has to leave here and fly home to Seattle at once.”

  “What are you…? Micah, what is this all about?”

  As he handed over the phone, he saw Pru’s eyes narrow, and wished he had time to explain. But thanks to one clever stalker, time had just run out.

  Chapter 12

  “Dad?” Pru couldn’t hide the shock she was feeling. “Why are you…? How do you know Micah Lassiter?”

  Micah crossed his arms over his chest, watching and listening in stony silence.

  At her father’s words, her head came up. “I see. And you didn’t think you ought to bother me with such…unpleasant details as a madman making threats, and the fact that you’d hired a personal bodyguard to keep me safe.”

  The voice on the other end grew louder.

  Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t want to what? Admit that you’d once again yanked away my free dom? Or were you afraid the news might frighten me? Send me running like a little mouse back into my hole? Is that what you’re saying? Do you think I’m so fragile, so helpless I might fall apart if I’m trusted with the truth?”

  There was another angry volley of words, and then her father gave a curt command.

  Without a word Pru handed the phone to Micah. He watched as she stormed across the room and tore open the door.

  He muttered into the phone, “Allen, I think you have a problem.”

  The voice on the other end sounded suddenly weary. “No, Lassiter, it’s your problem. Do whatever you have to. But see that my daughter is out of that apartment and into someplace safe within the hour. Call and let me know where you are. I’m sending my private plane to bring her back here immediately.”

  Micah was already starting across the hall, barely able to stop the door before it was slammed in his face. As he shoved it open and stepped inside, he caught sight of Pru heading toward her bedroom.

  Into the phone he muttered, “Thanks for the cushy assignment, Allen. I’ll report back later.”

  He dropped the phone in his pocket and put a hip against the door, which he knew would be locked. It took only one quick shove to break through. As expected, Pru was standing across the room, her face as angry as a thundercloud.

  “You were hired by my father.” Her voice trembled with fury. “All this time, I thought you were trying to get close to me for myself, and you were working for my father.”

  “Pru, listen to me….”

  He started toward her, but she kept backing up until she bumped into the wall.

  “No. You listen to me. All my life I’ve had to deal with this. My father keeping me under lock and key. Private schools. The same small circle of friends. Even my occasional dates approved by and chosen by my father. I had to move across the country to make a life for myself. My life, Micah.”

  Her eyes, he realized, were a little too bright. She was fighting tears. He didn’t know what he’d do if she started crying. But though he longed to offer her comfort, all he could do was let her unload on him.

  “I know it was stupid. I let the Vandevere sisters talk me into believing something I knew was too good to be true. But it isn’t their fault. It’s mine. I was so silly, so stupid. I wanted romance. And all you wanted was to do your job.”

  “Pru, this isn’t about—”

  She held up a hand to stop him. “Oh, I must look like such a fool. Some love-starved female who can’t even get a man unless he’s bought and paid for by her rich daddy.”

  “You know that isn’t—”

  Her head snapped up. “You’re working for my father. He bought and paid for you. And that’s the only reason you’re here. Can you deny that?”

  “No.” He clenched his hands at his sides in impotent fury.

  The silence was deafening.

  “Well.” She blinked hard. She would not cry. She was already deeply humiliated. She wouldn’t make it worse. Not in front of this man. “You can tell my father that I’m not going back to Seattle. This is my home now, and I’ll damn well live where I please.”

  “It won’t be forever, Pru. It’s just until we catch…”

  She pressed her hands to her ears and closed her eyes, as if to shut him out. “Go away, Micah. I’m not leaving. And you can’t make me.”

  “All right.” He took a step closer. “If you’re going to act like a child, that’s how I’ll have to treat you.”

  “What are you…?” She shrank from his touch, but he was stronger and quicker.

  In one smooth motion he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

  “Put me down.” She pounded on his back, but he ignore
d her blows as though they were nothing more than powder puffs.

  “Micah.” She was shouting now, kicking her feet until he closed one big hand around her ankles to keep them still.

  On the way out he snatched up her purse. At the door he paused long enough to set the alarm and turn the key in the lock. Then he strode past Octavia and Odelia Vandevere, who were too startled to do more than stare in openmouthed surprise, and into the garage, where he deposited Pru in his car. She made one desperate attempt to break free, but he snagged her wrist and held her while he turned on the ignition.

  As he backed out of the garage and waited for traffic to clear, he shot her a look. “Fasten your seat belt.”

  “You mean you trust me to handle such a complicated chore?” Her voice was pure ice. “I thought that’s what my father hired you to do for me.”

  “Suit yourself.” He leaned over and fastened her seat belt. As he did, his hand brushed the underside of her breast.

  Once again she shrank from his touch.

  He swore under his breath as he pulled into traffic. His hands on the wheel were none too steady. Temper, he knew. It had nothing at all to do with the fact that whatever feelings he might have for Prudence Street were now off limits for good.

  Micah turned his car into the quiet residential street, past the line of sprawling old houses with their neatly manicured lawns. When he turned into the driveway of his mother’s house, he noted glumly that Bren’s car was there, as well as Cam’s. Just his luck. If he weren’t so angry, he’d probably feel at least a twinge of sympathy for the poor woman who was about to meet, and be overwhelmed by, most of his family, all in one big bite.

  “Where are we?” Pru was reeling from the twists and turns in traffic Micah had taken to avoid being followed.

  “My mother’s place.” He walked around the car and held her door.

  “Why are we here?”

  “You can’t stay in your apartment. And you seem hell-bent on not returning to Seattle.”

  “I’ll take a hotel room.”

  “Not tonight.” He took her arm and led her up the steps of the front porch before opening the door. She had no choice but to step inside. Almost at once she heard the sound of voices and laughter coming from the back of the house.

  “Sounds like everyone’s in the kitchen.” He pointed. “That’s where they can usually be found.”

  “Who is everyone?”

  “My family. Or most of them.” He led the way and threw open the door to the kitchen.

  “Well, look who blew in. No surprise here,” Bren called from across the room. “You always seem to make it just in time for dinner, Micah.”

  “Thanks for that warm greeting, little sis.” Micah stepped aside and drew Prudence into the room. “Everyone, this is Prudence Street. Pru, this is my mother, Kate, and my grandfather, Kieran. My sister, Bren, and my brother Cam.”

  Suddenly overcome with shyness, Pru shook Kate’s hand and merely nodded a greeting to the others.

  “Well, now. Come in, Prudence.” Kate gave her a welcoming smile before returning her attention to something on the stove. “Dinner will be ready in just a little while. I hope you and Micah can stay.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it.” Micah reached over his mother’s shoulder to help himself to a biscuit, which he broke in half before devouring. “In fact, I was wondering if it would be all right if we spent the night.”

  Kate barely paused in her work before nodding. “That’s not a problem. Prudence can have Bren’s room. And you can have your old room.”

  Pru was already shaking her head in refusal. “I couldn’t possibly take your daughter’s room, Mrs. Lassiter.”

  “I don’t sleep here anymore.” Bren carried a tray of steaming vegetables toward the dining room.

  “Bren has her own place.” Cam picked up a whistling kettle and poured boiling water into a teapot. “As a matter of fact, so does Micah.” He turned to his brother. “So why are you staying here tonight?”

  Micah slapped his shoulder. “That’s for me to know and you to find out, little brother.”

  “Well, I know it can’t be because you forgot to pay your electric bill. Not after that hefty check you got from—” Cam felt the elbow in his ribs and nearly dropped the kettle. “Hey.” Then his head whipped around and he studied Pru more carefully.

  His reaction wasn’t lost on her. Though no one had said a word, it was obvious that they all knew who she was. Her chin came up a fraction, as though bracing for questions.

  Instead, Kieran fixed his youngest grandson with a fierce look and said, “Help your sister in the other room, Cam.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Kieran shot a look at Micah. “You might want to lend a hand, too. The rest of us have put in a full day.”

  “Sure. I’ve just been twiddling my thumbs.” With a grin Micah picked up a platter of roast beef and headed for the dining room.

  “Well.” Kieran turned to Pru. “Welcome to our home, lass. Come along now. Dinner is ready.”

  Like a gallant old gentleman, Kieran held the door for his daughter-in-law, Kate, and their guest, and directed Pru to sit beside Micah at the long dining-room table, while he took his place at one end, with Kate at the other.

  As if by silent command, as soon as they were seated, they reached out their hands to one another. Pru felt her hand caught and held by Micah on one side and by Kieran on the other.

  The old man’s voice was rich with the music of Ireland as he said, “Bless this food. And this family. Not only those of us gathered here, but those who are here in spirit. Bless Donovan, wherever he may be at the moment. And Riordan, who watches over us all.”

  The others murmured “Amen” before releasing hands and passing the food.

  Pru felt more than a little staggered. She hadn’t linked hands in prayer since she’d been a little girl. And dinner in her father’s home in Seattle had never been like this. For one thing, there was such a variety of food for a simple family meal. Slow-cooked roast beef swimming in mushroom gravy. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. A spinach soufflé. Rolls and butter. A pot of tea, and two frosty pitchers of milk.

  Besides the abundance of food, there was the conversation. Each time someone spoke, it seemed that every other member of the family had an opinion on the subject.

  “I met the sweetest young woman today.” Kate buttered a roll and helped herself to beef before turning to Pru. “I have a law office in the District.”

  “She calls it a law office,” Cam said with a smile. “But it’s really a war zone.”

  “You ought to know.” Micah smiled at Pru, who had been swiveling her head from one to the other, trying to follow the various threads of the conversation. “Cam takes on the desperate cases that nobody else wants to handle. He and Mom have become quite the team, working for the downtrodden of this world.”

  Despite the teasing, Pru could hear the note of affection in his tone. She glanced over at Kate. “Micah told me you’re a family advocate.”

  “Someone has to be.” Kate passed the platter of beef to her son. “What do you do, Prudence?”

  She ducked her head when she realized everyone was looking at her. It was something she’d always done whenever she found herself the center of attention. “I work at the Children’s Village.”

  “You do? How grand.” Kate gave her a big smile. “I’ve sent clients there.”

  “Then you know Margot Jamison, the director.”

  “Very well. How is Margot?”

  “She’s…fine.” Pru moved the food around her plate, hoping someone would draw the attention away from her.

  Taking pity on her, Micah turned to his mother. “You started to tell us about the sweet woman you met.”

  “Oh yes.” Kate launched into a story of the young mother and her three children who had come to her office for help. “They hadn’t had breakfast or lunch, and all I had in my little office fridge was an egg-salad sandwich, which I promptly cut into small bites and passed
around. Poor things. They acted like I’d just given them a pile of gold.”

  When Pru finally glanced up, she saw Micah look over and wink. Her heart took a hard, quick bounce before settling down to its natural rhythm. While the conversation swirled around her, she reminded herself that she was still furious with him. One kind act didn’t erase that he’d been lying since the day she’d met him. And she would never, ever trust him again.

  They lingered over dinner for more than two hours. Dessert looked simple enough. A gelatin layered with slices of fresh fruit, and a plate of coconut-apricot bars.

  After one bite, Pru looked up in surprise. “Oh, these are wonderful. Did you bake them, Mrs. Lassiter?”

  “It’s Kate, dear. And I haven’t baked in years. Kieran does all the baking and cooking in this house.”

  Pru looked down, knowing her cheeks were flushed. “They’re delicious, Mr. Lassiter.”

  “Kieran,” he corrected. “Or better yet, just call me Pop. That’s what everyone else calls me.”

  “I’d love your recipe…sir.” She simply couldn’t bring herself to call him by name.

  “I’ll see that you get it.” He held up the fine china teapot. “How about some tea, Prudence?”

  “Thank you.” She waited while he poured, then sat back, enjoying her tea and a second helping of dessert while the conversation flowed around her.

  “…of course, I’m still getting my feet wet, try ing to find my way around all those hallways and meeting rooms.” Bren gave a self-deprecating grin, so like Micah’s. “But I’ve already been assigned a committee.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful, Bren.” Kate set down her tea. “I just know you’re going to do great things in Congress.”

  “Congress?” Pru’s eyes widened. “Of course. That’s why you look so familiar. You were just elected to Congress.” She turned to Micah. “Why didn’t you tell me your sister was Congresswoman Mary Brendan Lassiter?”

  He shrugged. “I figured sooner or later Bren would let you in on it.” He grinned at his sister across the table. “These days she tells anybody who’ll listen. I’ve known her to even stop strangers in the mall to tell them who she is.”