Amber Beach (41 page)

“Does that mean you’re going to spank me?”

His hopeful look dragged a broken laugh from Honor’s throat.

Despite the laughter, Jake saw the bleakness in her eyes and knew how close to falling off the edge she was. He caught her palm against his mouth, kissed her, and turned to look at the two agents.

“Any more questions?” Jake asked.

“Cooperate with us”, Ellen said, “or we’ll take you both out of the game.”

“If you thought that would do any good, you’d have done it already”, Jake said. “Next threat?”

“Damn you”, Ellen snarled. “You think you’re God Almighty.”

“No, you do. That’s why you get pissed off when everyone doesn’t kneel on command.” He looked at Mather. “You have anything else to add?”

“Just curious. Why won’t you work with us?”

“What makes you think we won’t?”

“What?” Ellen and Mather demanded as one.

“Think about it. And while you’re thinking, check on Petyr Resnikov.”

Mather looked at Ellen. She was watching Jake like a barefoot hiker would watch a snake rustling through the nearby grass.

“What about Resnikov?” she asked bluntly.

“If I show you mine, will you show me yours?” Jake asked.

Ellen laughed curtly. “Babe, we don’t have anything new to show each other.”

“As long as we keep our clothes on, we just might.”

Honor flinched and looked at her feet. She knew it shouldn’t bother her that Ellen and Jake had been lovers, but it did. Ellen was just too damned sexy for any man not to regret losing her. Even more depressing, there was obviously a very agile brain running Ellen’s Playmate-of-the-decade body.

Brutally Honor told herself it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t have to worry about
a
lifetime of unhappy comparisons in Jake’s mind. She and Jake were, as Ellen would put it, on a
short clock.

“Did you know that Pete was going to buy me?” Jake
asked.

“Did he try?” Ellen asked.

“What do you think?”

She took her time answering, obviously thinking through the implications and possible outcomes of answering or not answering Jake’s question.

“All right”, she said. “Resnikov couldn’t buy you so he got cute. What happened?”

“Is he yours?” Jake asked
again.

“He’s ours the same way Russia is our ally in this brave new world.”

“Neutrality most of the time, favors some of the time, and trust none of the time”, Jake summarized.

“That’s it. What happened?”

“When I wouldn’t agree to outright purchase, I found one of his men in my cabin planting stolen amber artifacts.”

Honor snapped her head around toward Jake so fast that her hair flew out. “What happened? Is that how you got muddy? Are you all right?”

“Were the artifacts from the Amber Room?” Mather
demanded.

Jake laced his grubby fingers through Honor’s and squeezed gently, silently telling her not to worry.

“Nothing that modern”, Jake said. “Stone Age artifacts. Very, very nice bits of work. They defined ‘museum quality.’ One of them even had an inventory number inked on the
back.”

Mather pulled a cellular phone out of his pocket and
began punching in numbers.

“Where are the pieces now?” Ellen asked.

“I sent them back to Pete with a message.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.” Bright red nails tapped on navy blue leather. She glanced at Mather, who was speaking softly into the phone, but not so softly that the others couldn’t overhear.

“Forget it”, Mather said. “We already know that the primary subjects are back together.”

Jake bent and said against Honor’s ear, “How does it feel to be an official primary subject of the U.S. government?”

Gooseflesh rippled on her arms as the warmth of his breath stirred her hair, yet the knowledge that she was being watched so closely made her stomach lurch.

“Is Resnikov still eating clams?” Jake asked.

There was a long silence while Mather listened.

“Stay with them”, he said finally. “Tell the SEAL to stay with the boat. We’ll be in touch.”

Honor looked at Jake. “The seal? As in bark-bark, give me a fish?”

“As in navy commando”, he said softly, and hoped he wouldn’t have to meet Ellen’s SEAL up close and personal.

Mather flipped the phone closed and stuffed it back in his pocket.

“Well?” Ellen asked him.

Uneasily Mather looked at Jake.

“Don’t worry about me”, Jake said. “I already figured out that every time Pete takes a crap one of your men is sitting in the stall next to him. So your guy just told you that two muddy clowns turned up at the Chowder Keg and told Pete what he already knew – no sale. Again. As for the SEAL waiting around for you, he’s the squared-away, buffed-up, hell-on-two-feet dude who’s getting the best out of that Bayliner every time we go out on the water.”

“Did Jake miss anything?” Ellen asked Mather.

“Just what Resnikov said to the men.”

“Yeah?”

Mather shrugged. “It was in Russian, but our guy could
tell that Resnikov wasn’t pinning medals on them and kissing their hairy cheeks.”

Ellen resumed tapping her fingernails against her purse.

“Did you eat all the salmon salad?” Jake asked Honor.

“How did you know I made salmon salad?”

He bent down, kissed her, and whispered, “I tasted it.”

“It’s in the refrigerator”, she muttered.

“What kind of bribe would I have to offer to get you to make a sandwich while I shower?”

“Get rid of our guests. I’ve had it way past up to here.”

“Okay.” Jake straightened. “Good-bye, Ellen. Take your friend with you. When I have something I want to share, you’ll be the first to know.”

Ellen’s red-lacquered nails went still. She looked at him for a long moment and decided it was the best deal she was going to get right now. She turned to Mather. “C’mon. Let’s see where Marju Unpronounceable is staying.”

The front door had barely closed behind them when Jake turned to Honor.

“Start packing”, he said.

“I don’t want to go anywh…”

She stopped talking. No one was listening. The back door had already closed behind Jake. Hands on hips, she watched him trot down the path to the boat. A minute later he reappeared with a nylon duffel in his hand. Clean clothes, no
doubt.

Before he reached the door, Honor was in the kitchen making a salmon salad sandwich. No matter how irritated she was, a deal was still a deal.

But if Jake wanted any packing done, he could damn well
do it himself.

When Jake emerged from the bathroom he was wearing fresh jeans, a clean wool shirt, and boat shoes.

“What happened at your cabin?” Honor asked the instant he walked into the kitchen.

“Just what I told Ellen. Nice necklace you’re wearing. Did you design it?”

“Yes. What didn’t you tell Ellen?”

He gave up the idea of changing the subject. “The men were from the Seattle branch of the Organizatsiya. That’s the…”

“… overseas mutation of the Russian
mafiya”,
Honor finished impatiently.

Jake raised his eyebrows.

“Ellen mentioned them”, Honor said. “How did you know who the men were working for? Were they carrying membership cards or special guns or something?”

“I asked them.”

“And they told you?”

“Yeah.”

“Just like that?”

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked softly.

Honor looked at Jake’s eyes. There was a lot more darkness than silver in them.

“Right”, she said. “Next topic. Does that mean your good friend Pete is
mafiya?”

“Not necessarily.” Jake finger-combed his wet hair. “Besides, it doesn’t matter. Crooks are politicians and politicians are crooks and everyone swaps favors and whores when they think no one is watching.”

“Charming worldview you have.”

“Thank you. It’s the result of a lifetime of study. Are you planning on eating that sandwich or does it have my name
on it?”

She handed over the sandwich and a paper towel to serve
as a napkin.

“Are you packed?” he asked.

“I was too busy being domestic in the kitchen.”

Jake chewed, swallowed, and watched Honor very closely. She had turned away and was rinsing a mayonnaise-covered spoon in the sink.

“Good sandwich”, he said. “I’ll clean up here while you
pack.”

“No need.”

“Why?”

“I’m not going anywhere that I’ll need a change of
clothes.”

“It’s always a good idea to have a change of clothes aboard
the boat.”

“I’m not aboard the boat.” Honor looked out at the blue-white, wind-tossed sound. “Thank God.” She looked back at Jake. “Or is the wind supposed to drop?”

“Not today.”

She bit her lip. Relief that she wouldn’t have to go out on the rough water warred with the chill dread that never
stopped gnawing on her: Kyle needed help and she was the only one in a position to give it.

Jake had no trouble following the direction of Honor’s thoughts. Her face was almost as expressive as her body had been while he made love to her. He set the sandwich on the counter, dipped an edge of the paper towel in the running water, and turned Honor into his arms.

“What…” she began, startled.

“You have dirt on your cheek. Since it’s my fault, it’s only fair that I clean you up.”

Honor’s breath caught at the cool touch of the paper towel as Jake wiped off the smudges his muddy fingers had left on her face when he kissed her earlier. He hesitated, then kissed her
again.
This time when he lifted his hands her face was clean and flushed.

“I didn’t have any mud on my mouth”, she said.

“Sure you did.”

“I’m not going to pack.”

“Okay.”

She blinked, caught off balance
again.
“Just like that? Okay?”

“Just like that. And like this.”

He kissed her
again,
letting the leash on his hunger slip enough to make both of them breathe hard. When he finally let go of her, she looked at him with puzzled, gold-green eyes.

“Jake?”

“Yes?”

“What am I going to do with you?”

“I have a few modest suggestions.”

“Modest?” she said skeptically.

“Maybe
modest
is the wrong word. Let’s get naked and see if I can find the right word.”

She smiled, but it slipped until it was as sad as a smile could be.

Jake saw the change and knew what caused it. She didn’t
like wanting a man she didn’t really trust. Rationally he couldn’t blame her for not believing that he wanted her more than he wanted her brother’s hide. In her shoes he would have felt the same way. Yet that lack of trust was going to make things even more dangerous. For both of them.

“I should have just stuffed you aboard the
Tomorrow and
sailed over the horizon before Archer could call or Ellen could poison the well”, Jake said quietly. “Then you would still trust me. But I didn’t and you don’t and we’re stuck with it.
Shit.”

Honor started to say something, then simply shook her head. He ran his fingertips over her cheek in a gentle caress
and released her.

“Did Marju say anything useful?” he asked.

“How do you define
useful?”

“
Helping us find Kyle, the amber, or both.”

“No. She wanted to move in with me.”

Jake turned back suddenly. “And?”

Honor’s mouth turned down. “I gave her all my spare cash and said there wasn’t room here for a third person to live. That makes me an unfeeling bitch, but I’m carrying all the chain I can swim with right now. I can’t carry her, too.”

He let out a hidden breath. He had been wondering how he would get rid of Marju without looking like an insensitive American male.

“Marju is a big girl”, Jake said. “She’s been through wars you can’t even imagine. She’ll do fine on her own.”

“She seemed awfully upset.”

“It’s a cultural thing. Lithuanians are kind of the Italians of the Baltic, famous for emoting all over the place. Believe me, you’re more upset than Marju is.”

“I hope so.”

“I know so. How much of that salmon salad did you make?” he asked, turning away again.