Captain's Paradise by Kay Hooper Read Free Book Online

Dane’s made and spent several by now. ‘Made’ being a term not to be confused with ‘earned.’ ”
    Robin thought about that. “He didn’t earn his fortunes? Then how did he get them?”
    “Won part of them. Probably stole the rest; I’ve always suspected he’s a first-class cat burglar.”
    Robin thought about that. “Does this friend of yours help the police from time to time?”
    Michael’s smile widened. “Dane goes his own way. However, the intelligence community in this country is a relatively small one, and since Dane has the unique ability to unearth skeletons from locked closets, he sometimes has information available to certain interested parties.”
    “Like yourself?”
    “He’s never been able to beat me at poker. And I always cut a higher card. For some reasonknown best to himself, that makes him indebted to me.”
    Robin was growing more and more amused. “He doesn’t sound like a garden-variety informant.”
    “No. Oh, no. Dane’s one of a kind. A hundred or so years ago he would have been a pirate. Go back further, and he would have been a king.”
    “So in the modern-day world he’s a gambler.”
    “That’s one facet. An occasional word dropped in the right place is another. Maybe he’s a cat burglar. Maybe not. Maybe he’s rich today, or maybe he’s shooting craps for his next meal. With Dane, you just never know for sure.”
    It appeared that Dane was having an off week. They found him after several hours of Michael questioning some of the shadiest-looking people Robin had ever seen in the seediest part of the city. She watched it all with interested eyes, sticking close to Michael and keeping quiet. She was propositioned twice by passersby, both“gentlemen” retreating hastily after one hard look from Michael; she finally zipped up her windbreaker to hide the lack of a bra, adopted a slouch, and tried to go unnoticed.
    “It isn’t working,” Michael told her as they moved purposefully down the crowded sidewalk.
    “What?”
    He took her hand to guide her around a finely dressed pimp with an interested look on his face. Calmly Michael said, “Your attempt to look less attractive. So far I’ve had four offers for you. It must be those legs.”
    She glanced down at her long, bare legs, and swore softly. “I can’t help that,” she muttered. “The shorts were all I could find.” Then, despite herself, she asked curiously, “What did they offer?”
    Solemnly he replied, “The best was forty percent of your future income.”
    Robin didn’t know whether to laugh or swear. In the end she just shook her head, glancing aside at Michael to find him smiling a little.Highly conscious of his large, strong hand firmly holding hers, she hastily changed the subject. “Did you find out where Dane is?”
    Michael turned them right suddenly into an alley. “Here. I hope.” He led her down the dark alley for some twenty yards, then stopped at a battered wooden door that was the only opening in a sad brick wall.
    Robin looked at it doubtfully. “Do we knock?”
    “No. They’d think it was a raid.”
    She found herself giggling nervously but followed close behind as Michael released her hand, yanked the warped door open, and entered. They were in what looked like a cluttered storage room with boxes piled high, and made their way to a doorway that led to a dark, narrow hall.
    After that Robin lost track of direction in a maze of hallways, all dark and empty. They climbed two flights of stairs and finally wound up at the end of yet another dark hallway and before another warped wooden door. This timeMichael knocked with what was obviously a rhythmical signal.
    There were several moments of silence, and it wasn’t until Robin felt the unsettling sensation of being watched that she noticed the tiny peephole in the door. When the door was audibly unlocked and pulled open, she followed Michael into what felt distinctly like a set for a grade B movie.
    It was a small room, thick with