The Ties That Bind

wrong with the contract?"
    Shannon groaned. "It was very embarrassing, Annie. The truth was, I was so upset thinking about this past weekend that when I sat down to read the contract yesterday, I just wasn't concentrating. So naturally Garth blithely glances through it this morning and catches good old clause number six. I know I should have been more grateful, but somehow it just seemed to emphasize all the problems between us. He's going to insist on casting himself in the role of my protector, never letting me make any major decisions or get involved in the seamy side of life. Every time I turn around he's found some new way to look after me. He thinks my car is unsafe, and he's even making arrangements for me to have new locks installed. I'm to be especially protected from his big, tough, macho world in Silicon Valley. I'm definitely in over my head there." She smiled grimly. "I'm an adult and I want to be treated like one, Annie. But it seems like every other day something happens to make me look like a silly, foolish little female. Honestly, the way things are going, Garth has every reason to wonder how I've survived this long on my own."
    "It's nice to have a man want to protect you," Annie mused thoughtfully.
    "True, but how would you feel if Dan tried to exclude you from well over half his life because he said he wanted to 'protect' you from it?"
    Annie chuckled. "I'd probably begin to suspect he was linked to the Mafia or something."
    "Sometimes I get the impression that life in Silicon Valley bears a few striking resemblances to life in the Mafia," Shannon grumbled.
    "Now you know how Mafia wives probably feel."
    "Thanks, Annie, you're a great comfort to me."

* * *
    SHANNON HAD LEFT the front-door light on earlier when she had left for the evening, and it glowed dully through the gathering fog as she parked her Fiat. The damp chill in the air made her clutch her shawl more closely around her shoulders as she climbed the steps and slipped her key into the lock.
    Garth's plan to have new locks put on her doors and windows hadn't yet been put into effect. The locksmith he'd contacted had said he wouldn't be able to handle the job until the following week. Shannon wondered if she should fight harder against the whole project just on general principle. The truth was, she thought as she stepped into her front room, she really did need new locks. The ones on the cottage were very old, and there was no telling how many previous tenants had kept keys.
    She grimaced as she switched on a light and dropped her tote onto the sofa. She was beginning to get paranoid herself. Until Garth had pointed out the age of the locks she hadn't worried about them in the least.
    Idly she wandered into the kitchen and thought about making herself a cup of tea. It was almost ten o'clock, but she didn't feel sleepy. She could get in a couple of hours of silk-screening before she went to bed. Shannon switched on the kettle and waited for the water to boil. Then she poured it over the tea bag and headed for the studio while she waited for the brew to steep.
    She paused as she stopped in front of the studio door. She hadn't remembered closing it earlier. Then again, perhaps she had. Who remembered for certain whether a door had been closed? Shrugging, Shannon opened it and stepped inside the darkened room.
    She felt something was wrong even as she groped automatically for the light switch. The soft, heavy movement to her right brought a scream to her lips as she frantically tried to back out of the room.
    Her hand never reached the switch and Shannon never made good her escape from the room. There was a muffled curse and a man's arm was suddenly tightening around her throat, choking off her scream.
    "Not a word," the voice grated, sounding thick and raspy behind a layer of fabric. The man was hooded. "Not one damn word, you little bitch. You hear me?"
    Shannon didn't bother to respond. She was struggling desperately, her nails digging for purchase on the arm around her throat.
    "Stop it," the intruder snarled as Shannon managed to land a blow with the heel of her foot. "Just stop struggling and pay attention. I'm here for the bid."
    " Ummmph ?" Shannon shoved at him, trying to claw his neck.
    "The Carstairs bid, damn it. That's all I want. Just hand over the bid and I'll get out of here!" He swore again as she scraped her nails across the back of his hands. "I just want the bid. I know you've got your own game going, but I've got to