Heart of Fire by Linda Howard Read Free Book Online Page B

he'd do to get it, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to seize every opportunity that presented itself.
    He made arrangements to meet them the following day for his advance payment as well as the money he would need to start laying in supplies and hiring porters. Now that the decision was made, he was ready to get on with it.
    "Did you have to come on like such a bitch?" Rick asked resentfully when they were back at the hotel.
    Jillian sighed. She was tired, and dealing with Ben Lewis had just about used up her store of patience. "I was more polite than he was."
    "You were throwing your weight around, making a point of showing him that the big-shot archaeologist is the one calling the shots."
    Big-shot? She almost laughed aloud. Her professional prestige was almost nil; if the foundation had had any respect for her or confidence in her opinion, she wouldn't have been forced to deal with roughnecks like their guide. But Rick had always been jealous of the fact that she had followed in their father's footsteps, and he was quick to flare up at any perceived slight.
    "I wasn't throwing my weight around. I was just letting him know that he can't intimidate me. And anyway, I don't think he's such a good choice. He was drinking this afternoon when you saw him, he was drinking tonight, and he's probably been drinking every minute in between. A sot isn't our best bet."
    "So now you want to run this part of it, too?" Rick sneered.
    It was difficult, but she held on to her temper. Maybe she did so out of guilt, because she knew the professor had preferred her over her brother. She couldn't help feeling sorry for Rick, though at the same time she had to fight her impatience with him. Whatever was wrong with his life was always someone else's fault, and usually she was the someone else.
    "What I want," she snapped, "is to find the Anzar city and clear Dad's name. And I think we'd have a better chance of doing that if our guide is at least sober."
    He scowled at her. "I suppose you think I don't care about Dad's name? He was my father too, you know."
    She did know it. No matter how angry Rick made her, she never forgot that he really had loved the professor. That more than anything was what kept her from writing him out of her life.
    "Let's forget about it, okay?" Kates cut in. "We're all tired. I know Lewis looks and talks rough, but his reputation is the best. I'll see him tomorrow and tell him to lay off the sauce. Why don't we call it a night?"
    His tone was soothing, the peacemaker at work, but his cold eyes signaled a warning to Rick. Jillian saw it, though she pretended not to. Kates worked hard at presenting an innocuous front, but she couldn't quite buy it, maybe because the eyes never fit the image. Because it suited her to cut the conversation short before it degenerated into a real fight, she murmured good night and went into her room.
    Kates jerked his head at Rick, and the two men went down the hall to their own rooms. "Don't get her back up," Kates warned. "If she decides to cut a separate deal, we're left out in the cold with nothing for our trouble."
    Rick turned sulky, as he always did in the face of criticism. "She's not going to cut any deals with Lewis," he muttered. "She can't stand him."
    "Lewis isn't the only guide. If she convinces someone else that those jewels are really there, they might get the financing and go after the treasure on their own. Try to keep your temper under control, at least until we're on our way and there's nothing she can do about it."
    "All right, all right. That attitude of hers just pisses me off."
    Kates managed a tight smile. "Just think of the money." Kates himself couldn't think about anything else; it was the only reason he was there. He was out of familiar territory and didn't like it at all, but was willing to do whatever it took to get those jewels. When Rick had first come to him with a wild story about his old man finding a lost city with a fortune in gems just waiting for