Read Online Heart of Fire by Linda Howard - Free Book Online

refuse to go if Dutra was one of the party. Now he would have to hire less reliable helpers, and that would increase the danger. There was a fifty-fifty chance that the helpers themselves would be in danger, if Kates was indeed after gold, he would need the extra manpower to haul it out of the interior. A small percentage of the money would keep them happy. Once Dutra got out with the gold, the helpers would be expendable. This sort of theft happened all the time; archaeological sites were continually being looted.
    Ben crossed the narrow street and went around the corner to his truck. As usual, it was being swarmed over by a crowd of youngsters. He shooed them off and got inside. Even with the windows down, the heat had built up under the metal roof, but he had been in the tropics so long that he no longer even noticed how hot it was. Sweat trickled down his back as he sat there for a few minutes trying to put the pieces together.
    He and the two Sherwoods were the three most in danger, Rick Sherwood less so than his sister. When they got to the site, assuming it existed, Kates would act. If they didn't find anything, then there wouldn't be any danger.
    It was a crapshoot no matter how he looked at it.
    But what the hell; he liked crapshoots. He hadn't chosen this life because of the safe nine-to-five routine. He didn't have anything else to do except keep Theresa's sheets warmed. Instead, he'd work on warming Jillian Sherwood. Now that looked like a challenge.

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    Chapter 4
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    Jillian went back to her hotel room early that night, leaving both Rick and Kates still drinking in the hotel lounge. Tension was wearing on her nerves; she didn't trust Kates or that man they had hired to guide them, but Kates was financing the trip, so she had to go along with him. The temptation to call it off was getting stronger by the minute, but deep down she really wanted to continue, since she had come this far. If they could just get started, then it would be too late to call the trip off and she could forget about that and focus on the job at hand—finding the Stone City.
    Just being by herself was a relief; as she unlocked the door to her room she could feel her face relax now that she didn't have to keep every reaction to herself, guarding every word and expression. Maybe she was in over her head, but she had to remember that she had no other course of action.
    She switched on the light and turned to bolt and chain the door.
    "Don't bother with that," a deep voice said. "Unless you want me to stay the night."
    She jumped and whirled, automatically drawing back to belt the intruder with her purse even as recognition flared. Ben Lewis! Odd that she knew his voice after meeting him only that once, but she did, instantaneously. He was rising from the chair across the room and coming toward her, his darkly tanned face creasing in a smile.
    "Whoa, sweetcakes. You could do some serious damage with that thing."
    That deep voice was warm and teasing. Jillian looked up into his lazy blue eyes, and fury roared through her, clean and hot; without thought or hesitation she swung the purse like a major leaguer at the plate, hitting him square on the side of the head with it. He staggered sideways into the wall, his face registering complete surprise.
    "That's for scaring me," she snapped and drew back for another go at him. "What are you doing in here anyway?" Whap ! "You broke into my room!" Whap !
    He threw one arm up to protect his head, and the second blow hit him in the ribs. He yelped as he caught his balance and turned toward her, but not in time to prevent taking the third blow full in the chest, making him grunt. Quick as a snake he darted his hand out, seized the strap, and jerked the purse out of her grip, pulling her forward at the same time. He caught her full against his body, the purse in his right hand, his left arm wrapped around her waist like a steel band. "Good God," he said incredulously. "You've got a black