Deep Waters

for one thing. A lot more than I think Swinton would have been willing to pay. And there are risks. The hit man is the first one to talk if he's picked up."
    Yappy squinted. "You sound like you've had some personal experience along those lines."
    "I had a client a few years back," Elias said. "He decided to renege on a contract, but he didn't want to leave any witnesses. I was a witness." Ted stared. "Was the client from Seattle?"
    "No. It all happened in a place where business is done a little differently than it is in Seattle. Any sign of Swinton?"
    "No," Yappy said. "His motor home is still parked out there on the campground. Wouldn't think he could afford to just up and walk away from an expensive RV like that."
    "The motor home is too conspicuous," Elias said. "Swinton must have decided to cut his losses when he left town."
    "Tybern says if no one shows up to claim it by the end of the week, he'll have it towed away as an abandoned vehicle." Ted absently scratched his belly. "So, how did things go in the big city today? Meet Charity's stepbrother and stepsister?"
    "I met Meredith." Elias stroked Otis's neck. "And the ex-fiance."
    "That'd be Loftus," Yappy muttered. "He as big as Charity says?"
    "Only about six-three," Elias said.
    "Guess that looks big enough when you're five-foot-four like Charity," Yappy said.
    "He's about to get engaged to Charity's stepsister," Elias added.
    Yappy looked thoughtful. "That a fact?"
    "Charity said something once about Meredith and Loftus being a good match," Ted muttered.
    "She didn't seem to mind that Loftus and her stepsister were going to get engaged," Elias said carefully.
    Yappy beetled his brows. "Hard to tell with women."
    "Yeah," Ted nodded sagely. "Real hard to tell with women."
    When it came to philosophies that a man could live by, that one was as good as any, Elias thought.
    "That was great, as usual. You do incredible things with noodles, Elias." Charity dried the last dish and stacked it neatly on the shelf above the sink. "It's getting late, and we've had a long day. I should be on my way home."
    Elias stilled in the act of crouching to place the vegetable steamer inside a cupboard. "You're going home?"
    "It's nearly nine o'clock. I've got some bills to pay. I should do a wash, too. I've been so busy lately that I'm getting behind on my routine maintenance."
    Elias straightened slowly. "Is that a polite way of saying that you think we're spending too much time together?"
    "No." She saw the chill, remote quality gather in his eyes and sighed inwardly. She took two steps forward, moving to stand directly in front of him. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "It's a polite way of saying that I've been so busy, I'm getting behind on things at home. Simple. Straightforward. No hidden meanings."
    He rested his hands on her hips, his fingers warm and strong on the curve of her waist. "I've got a simple, straightforward solution."
    "What's that?"
    "Move in with me."
    It was Charity's turn to go very still. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. The old sense of panic welled up out of nowhere, threatening to swamp her. Elias had said nothing about love. She could not be sure the word was even in his vocabulary. Another man who did not love her was asking for a commitment from her. And she could not, dared not give it.
    "I don't think that would be a good idea," she whispered.
    Elias's jaw could have been hewn from stone. "Why not?"
    "We're still getting to know each other." She struggled desperately for logical reasons, reasons she could use to convince him. There was no way to tell him the real truth. He would not understand. "We're two very independent people. We shouldn't rush into anything. What if it doesn't work out? It would be awkward to try to go back to the way things are now."
    "You're making excuses. What's the real reason you won't move in with me?"
    "I'm telling you the real reasons." Her palms tingled. Her skin got hot and then very cold. She could feel her heart pounding as the panic swirled within her.
    "It's because I haven't turned out to be one of your more successful projects, isn't it?" Elias's hands tightened around her waist. "You're not content with the results you're getting."
    "Elias, that's not how it is."
    "You'll never turn me into another Brett Loftus."
    "I don't want another Brett Loftus." Her voice was starting to rise. She could hear the anxiety in it, a thin, edgy, discordant note.
    "What do you want from me,