Diamond Legacy. Monica McCabe

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СКАЧАТЬ slowly, then headed for the opaque glass door. She leaned near, straining to hear any tell-tale sound.

      Nothing stirred. Okay. Now what? Brazenly walk in behind them? Wait out here in the hall and surprise him on exit?

      She opted for brazen. Spying was overrated anyhow.

      Still reluctant to tip her hand too soon, she gently pushed open the door and tip-toed into an empty chamber, doing her best to make no sound as she closed the door behind her.

      She faced the room. A polished mahogany secretary’s desk took up one corner, equally tasteful and elegant furniture filled the rest. Nice, but it was the open door in the back that caught her eye. Presumably Victor Keyes domain, and by the sound of Roz’s quiet snorts of delight, Miranda bet the chimp had her paws on soon-to-be-stolen loot.

      A heady sense of anticipation tingled up Miranda’s spine. The novice was about to trump the spy. She could hardly wait to take Mr. I’m-Not-A-Cop by surprise.

      Crossing the carpeted floor, she paused outside Keyes door, just long enough to take a deep breath of brazen. Satisfied, she shoved open the door and waltzed inside.

      And two blinks later frowned in confusion. Where’d they go?

      She stepped over to peer behind an executive desk big enough to classify as a dance floor. Nothing. She eliminated an entire wall of bookshelves, then settled her gaze on a set of closet-style doors.

      Until a creak sounded behind her and she whirled around, coming face to face with her quarry. From behind the office door, two pair of eyes stared at her, one with suspicion and one with pure animal delight.

      “My, my,” Matthew said. “We meet again.”

      Trapped in a net of her own making, Miranda swallowed against rising nerves.

      “Now that the riddle of my shadow is solved,” he continued, “mind telling me your name and exactly why you’re here?”

      Chapter 7

      Matt didn’t believe in coincidence. Life could throw you surprises, however, and the woman in front of him was definitely that. Her lethal camera bag had come in handy at the airport, but it was those tempting curves and dusky blue eyes that nailed his attention.

      Now she turned up again, and it was too damn early for his cover to be compromised. Why was she here? She was gorgeous to look at, but she bloody well better come with a good story.

      Roz tugged on his hand, and he let her go. When the monkey marched straight to the woman and reached up, an itch began crawling across the back of his neck. The same one he’d felt for the last two days.

      She lifted Roz to her hip without answering his question.

      “Plan on talking?” he demanded. “What’s your name?”

      “It’s Miranda Parrish,” she calmly stated. “Nice to meet you again, Matthew Bennett.”

      Okay, so she knew his name. Not a bad sign, but not good either, given the situation. “Why are you following me?”

      “What’s a cop doing posing as a janitor?”

      “I already told you I’m not a cop,” he said with a frown. “And I’m the one asking questions here.”

      “You aren’t the only one wanting answers,” she replied without hesitation.

      “Too bad,” he snapped just as quick. “Why are you at Katanga?”

      She seemed to consider her response, then shrugged. “They flew me in to work on a hippo with an abscessed molar.”

      He snorted in disbelief. “You’re the crazy zoo dentist? You’re barely big enough to wrestle a meerkat, much less a hippo.”

      “I wouldn’t bank on that if I were you.” She wrangled a flashy gold pen from Roz’s grip and placed it on Keyes’s desk. “How about telling me what you’re doing here and why you’re in this office?”

      She was a five-foot-five bundle of defiance in a sexy tank top and shorts, and not in the least intimidated with his display of bad attitude. He’d be impressed if he weren’t so damn mad. “Listen, sweetheart. I’ve got—”

      The sound of keys rattling in the outer door sounded a warning. Matt sprung into action, grabbing Miranda’s arm and propelling her, the monkey, and himself into a coat closet.

      He slid the shutter style doors closed and inwardly cursed his turn of bad luck. This investigation was sliding downhill faster than a stampede.

      And that wasn’t the half of it. Crammed together in tight quarters, Miranda stood alongside him, slightly angled with her soft backside pressed against his thigh. Heat from that tender part of her seeped through his better sense and distracted him with startling swiftness.

      “Don’t make a sound,” he whispered into her ear.

      She shifted Roz to her other hip and put a finger to her lips, as though telling the chimp to be quiet. Great. Just flipping great. This insanity could only end in disaster.

      He forced his attention outside the time-bomb of a closet, peering through the slats as two men entered the office. Victor Keyes and the arrogant Warren Graham. If by some miracle they weren’t discovered, this may prove the break he’d been looking for.

      Graham dropped a briefcase on the desk, clicked it open, and slid it across toward Keyes. “This is just a down payment, mind you.”

      Keyes wasn’t a tall man, but what he lacked in stature he obviously made up for with oversized furniture. Reaching across the monstrosity of a desk, Katanga’s director lifted a banded chunk of cash and shuffled through it.

      “A hundred Gs American, as promised.” Graham reached into his pocket for a cigarette pack and with a sharp tap popped one up. He grabbed it with his teeth and patted his pockets for a lighter.

      “Don’t be ridiculous.” Keyes voice rang harsh. “You will not light up in my office.”

      Graham gave a flippant shrug but obeyed the command. He tapped the stick back in the pack.

      Matt’s interest spiked another notch when Keyes turned to the bookshelves behind him and removed several large volumes, revealing a small metal safe in the wall.

      “When’s the shipment due in?” Keyes asked as he worked the combination.

      “Soon.” Graham dropped his heavy weight into a plush upholstered chair. “This one’s going to require some serious maneuvering. When my contact calls, I’ll set the drop.”

      Miranda leaned closer to Matt as she shifted Roz again. Wayward strands of her dark hair tickled his nose, and he brushed her ponytail from his face, but not before he caught a whiff of something fruity. And must she stand so damn close? Her shapely ass teased his thigh, and he reached down to shift her hips aside. She snatched his hand in fierce but silent protest, squeezing his fingers with more strength than he gave her credit for. He got the warning. Hands off.

      Matt forced his attention back to the scene outside the closet.

      “This СКАЧАТЬ