Rafferty's Wife by Kay Hooper Page A

radio,” he murmured.
    Sarah, startled, said, “But then he’d have to be—”
    “Not in the South Pacific,” Rafferty said. “And not in New York. Don’t tell me—”
    Lucas was grinning a little. “The
Corsair
,we think. His own yacht. And since Zach wired that boat, anybody could run anything from it. So, Josh
is
minding the store. By remote control.”
    “Where is he?”
    “He wouldn’t say,” Zach replied. “My guess is that he’s somewhere here in the Caribbean. But he knows the situation on Kadeira, Rafferty, and he won’t get anywhere near the place. He’s just standing by.”
    “In case I get into trouble,” Rafferty muttered.
    “In case any of us do. He’ll call out the troops if something goes wrong. And we all know that when Josh calls out the troops, things happen. Hell, he even knows Sereno personally.”
    Both Rafferty and Sarah blinked. “He does?” she asked.
    “He does. The guy wanted businessmen to invest in his country a few years ago, just after he came to power, and Josh was at the top of his list. That was when the political situationon Kadeira was better—relatively speaking, of course.”
    “Josh actually met with him?” Rafferty asked, clearly surprised.
    “Yeah. You were over in Europe straightening out something for Rena—Josh’s sister,” he explained in an aside to Sarah. “Sereno was in New York. He called and asked for an appointment. Then he came to the office, and not thirty minutes later Josh canceled his appointments for the rest of the afternoon. Sereno and Josh spent hours talking.”
    Still incredulous, Rafferty said, “Now there’s something I wouldn’t have believed. Josh is so rabid against anyone with that brand of ruthlessness. And even then Sereno was known for his ruthlessness. I’m amazed he met with Sereno at all, much less spent hours talking to him.”
    Zach looked at him thoughtfully. “Josh sent a message to you, by the way. Said you should keep it in mind while dealing with Sereno.”
    “What?”
    “ ‘Shades of gray.’ ”

    The
Thespian
got under way just before dusk, and Rafferty and Sarah remained on deck to watch the fiery sunset. The atmosphere between them was both better and worse than it had been before their trip to the little island. It was better because they had cleared up some of the tensions resulting from their situation, and worse for the same reason.
    The clock was ticking away their private moments together.
    “Shades of gray,” Sarah mused, standing beside Rafferty as they gazed out on blue water touched with crimson. “Did he mean what I think he meant?”
    Rafferty, too, was troubled by that cryptic message. “That a man painted black still has shades of gray in his character? I can’t think of another meaning. I
know
Josh, and he wouldn’t have spent any time at all with Sereno unless there was something positive in the man. Something redeeming.”
    Sarah looked at him curiously. “
Would
he have known? I mean, is he that perceptive?”
    “Josh? Oh, yes. He’s a world-mover, Sarah; he’s dealt with powerful men most of his life. And he’s a prime target for every sort of con, every kind of sob story you could name. People have always tried to win him over for one reason or another—mostly financial ones. If he met with Sereno at all, it was because he was willing to listen. And the fact that he
did
listen for hours tells me that it was a difficult decision for him to make. He didn’t invest in Kadeira, but he had to think it over carefully before he decided not to.”
    “I wonder if Sereno’s bitter about that.”
    “Who knows.”
    She thought awhile, thought about complex men and world-movers. Then she looked at Rafferty and smiled. “Tell me something?”
    “Sure.”
    “In your work, you’ve faced off against both male and female attorneys in court. Right?”
    “Of course.” He looked at her curiously.
    “Would I be right in assuming that you usually win against men, and usually lose