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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