Emerald Fire. Monica McCabe

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СКАЧАТЬ him that ten-percent bounty.

      “How do you activate it?” he asked her.

      “A phone call. I’m on the approved list and have the passcode.”

      Bloody hell. They’d known each other an hour and a half now, plenty long enough for this kind of confession. What was she waiting for?

      He glanced at the sneak system on the webpage. Timing would be crucial. Activate too soon, and they’d tip their hand. Too late, and they’d lose the yacht all together. He deliberated about a minute before he picked up his cell phone and dialed the number.

      He handed her the phone. “Ask if the system stays on or only activated long enough to get the location. And tell them to send the coordinates to my email address.”

      She hesitated only slightly before taking the phone, but it was enough to reveal that she still didn’t trust him. Too bad. She wanted a partner, and now she had one. At least until they pinpointed the yacht.

      He jotted down the email address for her while she spoke to SafeSail, then he shot a quick email to Sam Brady, his boss at Boston Marine. He’d insisted on frequent updates during this recovery. Not totally unusual, but Finn sensed a stress factor that went beyond the standard urgency. This one was personal, but his boss wasn’t talking.

      A few minutes later, she disconnected and handed his phone back. “They’re initiating the system and it stays on. They’ve also put the Fire on the priority list and will contact us immediately if she moves. We’ll have a current location in a few minutes.”

      “Excellent.” He hailed the waitress for their tab. “We’ll need to move fast. Have you checked into a hotel?”

      “No, and my suitcase is in the Hi-C Orange Jeep.”

      He shook his head. “No suitcases. We need to travel light. We’ll get you a duffle bag and ship the rest back home.”

      She frowned at that bit of news, but if she wanted to play the game, she’d agree to his terms. “The rentals will need to be returned,” he plowed on. “We’ll take care of that separately to save time. I’ll hit the airport and book us the first flight to destination unknown.”

      “No.”

      He lifted a brow in response. “No?”

      “We aren’t separating.” Her chin took on a stubborn tilt. “You’ll have the Fire’s location and nothing to stop you from leaving without me.”

      “It’s what I should do,” he scoffed. “A hell-bent librarian is no match for ruthless yacht thieves, even if you’re crazy enough to try.”

      She started to sputter, and he raised a hand to stop whatever argument she planned. “Don’t worry. I’ve only just met you and already know you’re fool enough to follow me. There’s too much money at stake to have you foul up my chances. I’m keeping you in sight. But first we take care of business. And fast.”

      She leaned back in her chair with a glacial stare and arms crossed. “I’m a historian, not a librarian. You tend to be blunt, don’t you?” she said.

      “If the situation calls for it.”

      “So does this mean we’re a team?” she inquired.

      “For now.”

      She put out her hand. “Shake on it.”

      He eyed her outstretched hand and frowned. A Kane’s word was his bond, something his dad drilled into him since he was old enough to crawl. If he shook, he as good as agreed to carry her along. “You have to promise me something first.”

      Her hand lowered to the table. “What?”

      “I’m the experienced one in this field. I know what we’re up against. To keep us both safe, I need to know that when I say jump, you’ll listen.”

      She narrowed her eyes.

      “It can mean the difference of life or death,” he intoned.

      “How melodramatic,” she replied. “For the record, I’m no powder puff. I’ve handled tough situations before.”

      “That’s a little hard to believe coming from someone in pearls and pink nail polish.”

      A finely arched brow lifted. “Aren’t good investigators trained to look beyond the surface?”

      “Since we’re in a hurry, how about you save us some time and tell me what exactly you’re capable of?”

      She tapped her fingers on the concrete picnic table. “Well, for starters, I can tie a slip knot, fire a gun, and I hold the trophy in my kickboxing class.”

      Helpful skills, but hardly an endorsement for tactical maneuvers. “Can you assess threat levels, evaluate counter measures, and predict targets?”

      “I do it all the time. It’s called provenance and accessioning.”

      “So if we need to storm a museum, you’ve got the lead. Retrieving a stolen yacht falls into my territory.”

      “So you say. How long have you been doing this?” Chloe asked.

      “Years, in one form or another.”

      Based on her frown, she wasn’t happy with his vague response. “If I’m supposed to trust you enough to jump when you snap your fingers,” she stated flatly, “then you need to be a little more specific with your skill set.”

      He suspected there was more to Chloe Larson than she let on. She wore the trappings of high society, but her gaze was a little too direct and her answers a little too vague. Well, two could play that game. “I’ve been around boats my entire life, I served in the Navy, and this isn’t the first time I’ve tangled with pirates.”

      She chewed on her bottom lip as she contemplated his credentials.

      “You’re the wild card here,” he told her. “If we join forces, I’m taking on an inexperienced partner with emotional connections to the case. That makes you a possible liability.”

      “Don’t worry about me.” She waved off his concerns. “I can take care of myself just fine.”

      He was beginning to believe her…slightly. She did have a few things in her favor. Determination, for one. And his gut said that something about her innocent sophistication act didn’t add up.

      But he had no choice. Not really. He desperately needed that bounty money. NorthStar needed some very expensive equipment to survive. If finding the Emerald Fire meant taking on a liability like Chloe, he’d accept. He hated it, but he’d do what he had to in order to keep moving forward.

      She put her hand back up, and he slowly reached for it, dead certain he was about to make a mistake of colossal proportions. Yet the second he grasped her soft hand and stared into those warm topaz-colored eyes, he realized he had never stood a chance. Worse yet, she probably knew it. Bounty money aside, he’d been drawn to Chloe from the moment he spotted her. It wasn’t rational. Nothing about her was his type. She was too demanding, too СКАЧАТЬ