“I’m sure they thought so at the time.” Viper smirked. “How did they find you anyway? Never mind. You’re on one of those work-release programs the prisons offer.”

He cocked his head, his expression puzzled. “What’s happened to you?”

Her rudeness was giving her a rush. “Or maybe an aide spotted your name on a sex offenders registry and decided to play a little prank?” She wanted to go on like this forever, let her tongue run free, fling out one nasty after another, say whatever insult popped into her head without a care about how it reflected on the office of the president of the United States.

“You wanted to know about me. I’ll tell you.” The Coke can landed with a thud on the wobbly wooden table by the door.

“No need.” She practiced her new Viper’s smirk. “I don’t care.”

“I’m thirty-six. I was born and raised in Detroit. In and out of trouble until the army straightened me out. Pulled sweet duty in Germany, went to Wayne State for a degree in criminal justice—”

“You have a college degree? You can barely talk.”

That made him angrier. “Just because I don’t brag about my exclusive upbringing doesn’t mean I can’t talk.”

“I never bragged—”

“I joined the Detroit police force. Resigned a couple of years ago to take over a private firm in Chicago that specializes in security for corporate executives, celebrities, athletes, and Wall Street crooks getting death threats they damn well deserve. Your parents hired me to guard you because I’m good at what I do. I’ve never been married and don’t intend to be. I like dogs, but I’m gone too much to have one. I also like hip-hop and opera. Make of that whatever you want. When I’m not on duty I sleep in the raw. Anything else you’d like to know that’s none of your business?”

“Patrick Shade? Is that name another of your many lies?”

“No. And there weren’t that many lies.”

“How about Huntsville prison?”

“Give me a break. You knew that was bogus.”

She hadn’t exactly. “Construction worker?”

“I worked construction for a while.”

“A man of honor. My mistake.”

He wouldn’t back down. “Your parents hired me. I took my orders from them, and judging from what happened today, they made a good call when they told me not to identify myself.”

“They’re overprotective.”

“You’ve gotten threatening letters. You’ve been knocked over a couple of times. And you were part of a high-profile wedding. There is such a thing as exercising reasonable caution.”

“The only person who caused me any harm was you!”

He flinched, which should have made her feel better than it did. “You’re right,” he said. “I should have kept my hands to myself no matter how crazy you made me.”