"Did April say anything more when you sent Yin"s pearls along with the computer?" Hannah asked. Her voice was like her body, tight, held against a blow that she couldn"t see but knew was coming anyway.
"April was too busy trying to get a grip on the Red Phoenix Triad to make polite conversation."
"Is that why she helped us?"
"It sure as h.e.l.l wasn"t charity. That"s also why she took the Chinese side in the trade. The Chang family doesn"t know it, but they"ll be her door into the triad. Or they may know it and figure they"ll find out more from her than they"ll give away. Either way, money is on Ms. Joy. Anyone who rides that tiger will get eaten alive."
Hannah almost smiled despite the chills that kept rippling over her skin. In her mind, bullets echoed and she woke up screaming that Archer couldn"t die, she couldn"t hear it, she never meant to kill him.
But in the dream he died, she had to bear it, and she had killed him.
Without really intending to, she went to Archer, put her arms around him, and just held on. Fearing him, fearing for him, needing him... she was being torn apart. Only when he held her did she feel anything like hope.
He stroked her hair and wished to the soles of his feet that he could take away the pain of the past. But he couldn"t. All he could do was bring Len"s killer to justice and then walk away, giving Hannah the peace she had earned at such cost. In time she would get over the nightmares that included both Len and himself.
In time, maybe he would even get over her. But he didn"t believe it. He had spent years loving her without knowing it. Now he knew. Knowing didn"t help the pain.
"It"s almost over," he said softly.
She nodded against his chest, but she didn"t let go until she heard a car door slam.
"If it turns nasty," Archer said, "remember your promise. Whatever you do, don"t get between us."
"But-"
"Hannah."
She looked up at him with eyes that were full of fear and just as determined as his. "Let it go," she said harshly. "Just let it go. Len"s dead. You can"t bring him back."
"No. I can only live with myself. He was my brother and I couldn"t help him when he was alive. Now he"s dead. Murdered. I can"t walk away from that."
"And I can"t live with knowing I was responsible for your death!"
"I don"t plan on dying."
"Do you think Len did?"
"Whatever happens is my choice, my responsibility. Not yours. Go up to the house."
"Go to b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l," she said between her teeth. "Christian might be able to explain away your dead body, but not mine."
Archer"s mouth thinned into a bleak line. He had hoped to get Hannah out of here. He didn"t want to give her another nightmare, another close-up look at the part of him that reminded her of Len. But the time for arguing was over. Flynn was walking down the path toward them with the easy, ground-devouring stride of a strong, very fit male.
He wasn"t alone. Tom Nakamori came along about thirty feet behind, losing ground with every step.
"All right, mate," Flynn said, walking up to Archer. "What"s so b.l.o.o.d.y important that "
Archer took him down with two blows that were as ruthless as they were measured.
Hannah made a m.u.f.fled sound of shock. There had been no warning. Between one heartbeat and the next, Flynn was on his back, gasping, trying to figure out what had happened to him. The p.r.i.c.k of a pocketknife in the tanned skin just over his jugular told him. His eyes cleared and his body tensed.
"Show me how bright you are," Archer said. "Don"t try it. If you do, I"ll cut your jugular so that no one will be able to stop the bleeding. You know just how it"s done, don"t you?"
Flynn"s expression said that he knew the technique. He lay in the dirt without moving. But he watched, waiting for an opening.
"You"re too close to his feet, Hannah," Archer said calmly. "Step back."
Without a word she retreated. "Far enough?"
"Yes." He never looked away from Flynn. "How did you kill Len?"
"What?" Automatically Flynn tried to sit up. A stiff shot to his diaphragm changed his mind.
Archer waited until the other man could breathe again before he repeated the question. "How did you kill Len?"
"b.u.g.g.e.r you," Flynn said hoa.r.s.ely.
"That was your free one. The next wrong answer will hurt." Without looking up, Archer said, "Don"t come any closer, Nakamori."
"Hai. Okay." Nakamori stopped and looked from Flynn to Archer to the drops of blood that had started welling out beneath the knife point when Flynn tried to sit up. "He not kill McGarry."
"Qing Lu Yin says he did."
"He"s lying," Flynn said flatly. "When I saw Len, he was already as dead as Kelsey"s nuts."
"Convince me," Archer said.
Flynn looked at the flat, metallic eyes of the man above him and wondered what it would take. "Once I got word of the storm coming, I didn"t go near the sorting shed. I was too busy."
"Doing what?"
"Working on the rafts."
"Cutting them loose?"
Flynn"s eyelids flickered. He knew what lying would get him. He didn"t know what telling the truth would bring. "Yes. We were cutting cables."
Though Hannah"s breath came in sharply, she didn"t say a word. She simply watched Archer and wondered if a man could be so merciless and still feel anything at all. Much less love. Len couldn"t. He hadn"t even wanted to.
"Who was with you?" Archer asked calmly.
Flynn let out a long breath. The truth hadn"t set him free, but it hadn"t killed him, either. "Tom."
Hannah looked at Nakamori. He didn"t meet her eyes.
"Why?" Archer asked Flynn.
"Why do you think? I paid him. He was getting more crippled every day. He wanted to go home in style."
"Nakamori," Archer said. "Is it true?"
"Hai."
"Who is paying you?" Archer asked Flynn.
"None of your sodding busi " The last syllable was a gasp of pain.
Hannah"s fingernails dug into her palms, but she didn"t protest. She was still trying to absorb the fact that two men she considered trustworthy had been systematically sabotaging Pearl Cove.
"Who is paying you?" Archer asked calmly.
Flynn simply watched him with pale, glittering eyes. He wasn"t going to talk about his employer until there was more pain. A lot more.
"I"ll a.s.sume it"s your government," Archer said. "If I find out I"m wrong and I will find out we"ll talk again."
Flynn remembered what Maxmillian Barton had said about wanting to get a handle on Archer Donovan. He wished him luck. "We won"t be talking again."
Archer nodded. "Why did your employer want Pearl Cove destroyed?"
"I"ve been sabotaging it a piece at a time since we decided that Len was selling out to the Chinese. The storm was a bonus. We could put paid to the whole business at once."
"Len didn"t sell any part of Pearl Cove to the Chinese or to anyone else," Hannah said. "He didn"t trust anyone."
"Then the Chinese were taking over without his permission," Flynn said bluntly. "n.o.body but Chinese have been hired here for the past three years. Except for Coco and Nakamori, the whole sodding crew is Chinese."
Archer spoke without looking away from Flynn. "Hannah?"
"It"s true. Len said he didn"t trust the j.a.panese divers any longer, and the Aussies he knew would rather go on the dole than work hard."
"So your employer decided if they couldn"t have Pearl Cove for themselves, they would ruin it," Archer said to Flynn.
"Yes." Moving only his eyes, Flynn looked at Hannah. "I"ll give you a better price than anyone else. All you have to do is tell us how Len produced the pearls that look like Lightning Ridge opals."
"I don"t know," she said flatly. "I"ve never known."
"It wouldn"t matter if she did," Archer said to Flynn. "Didn"t you get the word? She doesn"t own Pearl Cove anymore. She"s off the table."
The tone of Archer"s voice made Flynn swallow reflexively. "I heard. No harm in trying, mate. Sometimes you hear things wrong."
"Not this time."
"Right. Anything else?"
"Who killed Len McGarry?"
"If I knew, I"d give the bloke a medal. He kept Pearl Cove from going to the Chinese."
Archer"s hand moved too quickly to follow. Flynn"s left arm went numb from shoulder to fingernails. Before he could react, Archer was on his feet and out of reach.
"By the time your arm thaws out, you and Nakamori should be halfway to Broome," Archer said. "While you drive, cool off and think. I could have broken both arms more easily than numbing one. If I see you again, I won"t pull any punches."
Flynn came to his feet with a speed that told Hannah nothing had been dented but his pride. The icy coils that gripped her stomach let go so quickly she felt almost dizzy. She didn"t understand her relief. She simply knew it was as real as Archer"s restraint. He could have maimed Flynn. Len certainly would have.
The Aussie gave Archer a long, narrow look. Then Flynn laughed. "b.u.g.g.e.r me, but I think I like you."
Archer smiled faintly. "You won"t mind if we don"t shake on it."
"Right. Let"s go, Tom. Or do you want to hang around and see if Coco"s willing to play?"
Nakamori turned and started for the car. Whistling musically, Flynn followed. Archer watched them until their car was no more than a dark spot against the brick-red road.
The wind lifted, bringing with it the smell of rain, the kind of monsoon downpour that would turn the land into an impa.s.sable mudhole.
"Are you going after Yin?" Hannah asked.
He didn"t answer.
"When do we leave?" she asked simply. "And where do we go?"
"If you"re serious about working as a pearl matcher, pick a city. Any city. Donovan Gems and Minerals will put you to work there. If you don"t like that idea, the Linskys would jump at the chance to hire you."
"I"ll worry about the future after this is settled."
"As far as you"re concerned, it"s settled."
"No," she said instantly. When it was all settled, Archer would leave. She wasn"t ready for that yet. What terrified her was that she didn"t know if she would ever be. "There"s still one person to question."
"For now, Yin is out of reach."
"Coco isn"t."
Archer hesitated, then shrugged. "I"d just as soon you were on a plane when I talked to Coco."
"Why?"
"You won"t like my methods."
Hannah"s smile was as thin as a knife blade. "I can"t see you taking her down the way you did Flynn."
"Fear and pain work, but with Coco I"ll try money first."
When they stepped onto the verandah, Coco was sitting in the hammock chair. The tension around her mouth said that she knew she was next on Archer"s list.
"You are ver" quick for a big man," she said to him. "Like Len. Ssssss. Snake." She made a striking motion with her hand.
Deliberately Hannah stepped in front of Archer. "Christian and Tom were too busy cutting apart rafts to kill Len," she said coolly to Coco. "You were the last one to see him alive. He closed the shed door in your face, I believe."
"Out. But he searched me first, most carefully." The words were in French. The smile needed no translation.