Assassin's Honor by Monica Burns

there anything wrong, my dear?"
                Ewan's voice echoed behind her, and she jumped with surprise. As she saw the look of concern on his face, she waved her hand and shook her head.
                "I'm fine. Well, at least I think I'm fine," she said in disgust. "The coin is missing. I left it right here on my desk earlier, and now it's gone."
                "Perhaps it's buried underneath all these papers."
                Ewan stepped forward and started to riffle through the things on her desk. For some reason, his actions annoyed her deeply. Leaning forward, she grasped his wrist and squeezed. The way her fingers gripped Ewan's arm reminded her of the stranger and how easily he'd controlled her. The memory of how he'd manipulated her made her uneasy. She'd been powerless to stop him, and she didn't like feeling helpless.
                "It's not on the desk, Ewan." She sighed as she released his arm. With a frown she stared down at the cluttered desk made worse by her friend's haphazard search. Her desk hadn't been immaculate, but the cipher she'd buried under a stack of papers was now in plain view. Ewan made a noise of interest as he spotted the notepaper. Not really understanding why, Emma quickly reached for the coded message and tucked it into her jeans pocket. She looked up to see him arch his brow at her.
                "That looked rather interesting."
                "It's just a cipher Dad made for me," she murmured with an apologetic glance in his direction. "I found it earlier this evening."
                "Ah, yes. I remember him telling me about the puzzles he designed for you."
                "It's been a long time since I've had one to decipher, and that makes this one special." Her breath hitched as she accepted the finality of the words.
                Ewan lightly touched her shoulder. "It's quite all right, my dear. I understand. As for the coin, it will turn up soon enough."
                "I suppose you're right."
                Without any protest, she allowed him to guide her out of the study. For once, Ewan was wrong. The medallion wasn't going to turn up unless the stranger came back. He'd been spinning a tale bigger than the Pyramids. Hell, even Charlie, for all his storytelling skills, couldn't top the stranger's believability. And she had believed him--all that BS about her being in danger--it had been nothing more than a scam to get the coin. Well, maybe not all of it. His ability seemed real enough.
                "I believe you need another drink." Ewan interrupted her thoughts as he guided her out into the hall and toward the foyer. "In fact, I'm going to leave you to get quite trollied. It will help you get a solid night's sleep. Something I'm certain you haven't gotten in a number of weeks. Am I correct?"
                "God, I hate your arrogance sometimes, Ewan." She brushed off his fatherly touch. "Especially when you're right."
                She muttered this last bit, which made him chuckle. "I understand it can be difficult to put up with me, my dear Emma, but I have nothing but your best interests at heart."
                "I know that, and I'm grateful."
                They came to a halt in the foyer and Ewan took his coat off the rack. He shrugged into the garment and turned to face her. With a nod toward the whiskey bottle on the coffee table, he eyed her sternly.
                "Then heed my advice. Alcohol is an excellent sedative and my guess is you could stand a good night's sleep given the circles under your eyes."
                "Flattery will get you everywhere," she said in disgust.
                "Don't be snide," he said. "You need sleep. As for Stuart, I'll talk to him. I might as well use my clout for something. The man's a fool to think you belong in the