do. "You should have been a drill sergeant, the way you're always giving orders!"
"Now see here, Adams, or Jarrett, or whatever your name is…" John Clydemore began, only to be interrupted by a glowering Hannah.
"His name is Jarrett. Jarrett Blade."
To her astonishment, that brought an immediate halt to Clydemore's words. Actually it brought a lot more than that, Hannah realized belatedly as the Clydemores turned to stare at Jarrett, who smiled sardonically. Alice had gone rather pale beneath her fashionable tan and John looked as if he'd been punched in the stomach. Breeding showed, however, Hannah admitted to herself. The Clydemores recovered quickly.
"Mr. Blade," John Clydemore said icily. "How interesting to meet you at last. I've heard of you, of course."
"And I've heard of you and your wife, Clydemore," Jarrett retorted. "Hannah, you can go now. I'll handle this."
Perversely Hannah stood her ground. "Actually, I'm getting a little curious. I think I'll stay for a while."
John Clydemore swung on her before Jarrett got a chance to issue another order. "So you're working with Blade here, is that it? That explains a lot."
"Like how a naive, scatterbrained tourist like myself could pull off the coup of stealing that statue?"
Hannah returned sweetly, her eyes glittering with resentment.
"That's enough, Hannah," Jarrett cut in with a tone that did not encourage further defiance. "I told you to go back to the hotel. Move, woman."
For a moment longer Hannah debated the wisdom of ignoring him. The Clydemores were curiously silent, their attention on Jarrett. Jarrett concentrated the full force of his willpower on Hannah, and she found herself weakening. Jarrett Blade, she discovered, was not an easy man to defy. His gray eyes were hard and unyielding as he waited for her to obey.
"What in the world would make me want to hang around the three of you any longer than necessary?"
Hannah asked rhetorically. Chin tilted regally, she took a few steps past the small group of intense people on the beach. They had their backs to her, but even so, she could hear John Clydemore's opening words to Jarrett.
"So, Mr. Blade. You couldn't resist taking the goddess for your own collection. I had heard you no longer operated in the international market. What made you decide to come out of retirement?"
"You made the mistake of taking the goddess from Jorge Valesquez's collection. Senor Valesquez is a friend of mine," Jarrett said quietly.
"And what will you tell your 'friend' when you are unable to return the goddess?" Alice Clydemore interjected sharply. "Because we all know that statue will never make it back to Senor Valesquez, don't we? It's going to disappear into the private collection of one Jarrett Blade."
Hannah didn't wait to hear anything else. She broke into a run and made her way swiftly back to the shelter of the hotel. It sounded as if Jarrett and the Clydemores understood each other very well. Was Jarrett really going to keep the statue for himself? Was he no better than the Clydemores?
Dammit! Why was she torturing herself with thoughts like that? It was obvious Jarrett Blade was in the same league as her ex-friends John and Alice. After all, if he'd been playing it straight, he would have called in U.S. Customs.
And she would have been in very hot water.
That last realization was a sobering one. Like it or not, she supposed she owed Jarrett some gratitude for not having turned her over to the authorities. But apparently the only reason he hadn't was that his own background was somewhat shady. So shady that the Clydemores automatically assumed he would keep the goddess for himself.
When she reached her room Hannah began throwing her belongings into a suitcase. Working frantically, she tried to stuff the Hawaiian souvenirs in with the others. If Jar-rett hadn't destroyed a few of them that first night, she thought, she wouldn't have been able to get the shells into the bag. There wouldn't have been room. As it
"Now see here, Adams, or Jarrett, or whatever your name is…" John Clydemore began, only to be interrupted by a glowering Hannah.
"His name is Jarrett. Jarrett Blade."
To her astonishment, that brought an immediate halt to Clydemore's words. Actually it brought a lot more than that, Hannah realized belatedly as the Clydemores turned to stare at Jarrett, who smiled sardonically. Alice had gone rather pale beneath her fashionable tan and John looked as if he'd been punched in the stomach. Breeding showed, however, Hannah admitted to herself. The Clydemores recovered quickly.
"Mr. Blade," John Clydemore said icily. "How interesting to meet you at last. I've heard of you, of course."
"And I've heard of you and your wife, Clydemore," Jarrett retorted. "Hannah, you can go now. I'll handle this."
Perversely Hannah stood her ground. "Actually, I'm getting a little curious. I think I'll stay for a while."
John Clydemore swung on her before Jarrett got a chance to issue another order. "So you're working with Blade here, is that it? That explains a lot."
"Like how a naive, scatterbrained tourist like myself could pull off the coup of stealing that statue?"
Hannah returned sweetly, her eyes glittering with resentment.
"That's enough, Hannah," Jarrett cut in with a tone that did not encourage further defiance. "I told you to go back to the hotel. Move, woman."
For a moment longer Hannah debated the wisdom of ignoring him. The Clydemores were curiously silent, their attention on Jarrett. Jarrett concentrated the full force of his willpower on Hannah, and she found herself weakening. Jarrett Blade, she discovered, was not an easy man to defy. His gray eyes were hard and unyielding as he waited for her to obey.
"What in the world would make me want to hang around the three of you any longer than necessary?"
Hannah asked rhetorically. Chin tilted regally, she took a few steps past the small group of intense people on the beach. They had their backs to her, but even so, she could hear John Clydemore's opening words to Jarrett.
"So, Mr. Blade. You couldn't resist taking the goddess for your own collection. I had heard you no longer operated in the international market. What made you decide to come out of retirement?"
"You made the mistake of taking the goddess from Jorge Valesquez's collection. Senor Valesquez is a friend of mine," Jarrett said quietly.
"And what will you tell your 'friend' when you are unable to return the goddess?" Alice Clydemore interjected sharply. "Because we all know that statue will never make it back to Senor Valesquez, don't we? It's going to disappear into the private collection of one Jarrett Blade."
Hannah didn't wait to hear anything else. She broke into a run and made her way swiftly back to the shelter of the hotel. It sounded as if Jarrett and the Clydemores understood each other very well. Was Jarrett really going to keep the statue for himself? Was he no better than the Clydemores?
Dammit! Why was she torturing herself with thoughts like that? It was obvious Jarrett Blade was in the same league as her ex-friends John and Alice. After all, if he'd been playing it straight, he would have called in U.S. Customs.
And she would have been in very hot water.
That last realization was a sobering one. Like it or not, she supposed she owed Jarrett some gratitude for not having turned her over to the authorities. But apparently the only reason he hadn't was that his own background was somewhat shady. So shady that the Clydemores automatically assumed he would keep the goddess for himself.
When she reached her room Hannah began throwing her belongings into a suitcase. Working frantically, she tried to stuff the Hawaiian souvenirs in with the others. If Jar-rett hadn't destroyed a few of them that first night, she thought, she wouldn't have been able to get the shells into the bag. There wouldn't have been room. As it
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