Elle heard, too, and half turned to the side, and they both saw a tall woman, six feet if she was an inch, round the porch and stop at the bottom of the stairs.

She looked up at the two of them on the swing, him with his shirt hanging open, Elle with her hand on his shoulder, and the woman said, “I didn’t mean to interrupt an intimate moment.” She got a cockeyed grin on her face.

“You must be Bendy Wendy.” Elle got to her feet, walked down the stairs and offered her hand. “I’m Elle. I called this morning and asked for an evaluation.”

“I had a cancellation so I ran down.” Wendy shook Elle’s hand. She was a handsome woman with brown eyes, black hair and a sculpted body. Wendy had created a lifestyle that challenged her every day. “How are you, Adam?”

“Good. Elle called you for an evaluation?”

“Self-defense,” Wendy said.

Elle had called for an evaluation? Based on his advice?

He answered himself. Yes, and on her own good sense.

As he got to his feet, he buttoned his shirt. “Use my shop. There are workout mats. I need breakfast. I’ll come after I’ve eaten.” He had absolute faith in Wendy’s ability to assess Elle’s fighting strengths, and he knew without a doubt that Elle would perform better if he wasn’t watching.

Breakfast was the usual: Greek yogurt, whole-grain cereal and fruit. At times like these when he was anxious and in pain, he freely admitted he fantasized about the Live Oak and Señor Alfonso’s gourmet meals. But no more running up there, not until he was healed. Damn, this arm was badly timed and inconvenient.

Breakfast took precisely thirty minutes. Then he was outside. He snagged the binoculars and slowly scanned the horizon.

Nothing.

He walked around the house toward the shop and scanned up toward the town. He couldn’t see the olive grove from here, yet he could see the bends in the road, the houses and buildings, and nothing looked unusual. After all, the flash of binoculars from the Hardlings’ was usual.

But then, he didn’t expect to see the sniper coming. Not if it was Big John Hammer.

Adam stepped inside the shop.

Bendy Wendy stood, hands on hips, watching Elle go through the third tae kwon do form.

Adam walked to her side. “What’s the situation?”

Bendy Wendy gestured at Elle. “As you can see, she has some self-defense experience. She can’t make a karate movie—”

“Thank God for that.”

“But she’s proficient enough to take care of herself against a single attacker in most situations.” Wendy squeezed an imaginary throat. “So what happened? How did the bastard get to her?”

“She said he was big, and she said she trusted him.”

“Long arms, and he got close before she realized his intentions.”

“I suspect.”