Donovans 01 - Amber Beach

right over Archer. “I’ve had it with you Donovans riding roughshod over all the rest of us. Kyle took that amber and ran, and all your Donovan lies won’t pin that stinking rose on me. Got that?”
    “Put Honor back on.”
    “When I’m finished.”
    “Oh, you’re finished all right,” Archer said softly. “You hurt Honor and I’ll bury you alive.”
    “Better make sure she isn’t buried with me.”
    “Are you threatening to—”
    “I’m telling you,” Jake snarled. “I’m not the only one here. Dimitri Pavlov showed up on Honor’s doorstep a week ago.”
    “What?”
    “He answered her ad for a fishing guide.”
    “Jesus.”
    “Then there’s the guy who tossed Kyle’s cottage last night. He was a pro, too. He left a mess as a warning, but he was so quiet about it Honor almost didn’t wake up and get out the window to me before he got around to questioning her.”
    Honor stiffened as though she had been slapped. It was one thing to fear a burglar who maybe had more on his mind than theft. It was another to hear violence talked about as though it were so many ounces of amber, jade, or pearls.
    Jake flicked a glance at Honor, then concentrated on Archer again. The silence on the other end of the line would have bothered most people. It didn’t bother Jake. He knew Archer well enough to know that he had put his emotions on hold; right now Archer was sorting through the mess in search of solutions with a speed and clarity that had overwhelmed more than one competitor.
    Besides, Jake had plenty to keep him occupied without Archer snarling in his ear. Honor was edging away from him, easing closer to the point where she could lunge out of bed and beyond his reach. He didn’t know what was going on behind her wide, green-gold eyes, but he had no doubt that if he let her go he wouldn’t see her again.
    “Anything else?” Archer asked after a moment.
    “Does the Forest Brotherhood have a line on the Amber Room?” Jake asked.
    Archer started swearing.
    “I’ll take that as a hearty yes,” Jake interrupted, watching Honor without seeming to. “Which means that Kyle knew about it through Marju, right?”
    “You’ll have to ask Marju,” Archer said.
    “Ask her for me.”
    “We’d have to find her first.”
    “Shouldn’t be tough. Try your home office.”
    “What makes you think she’s there?”
    “Before I was kicked out, I got a frantic phone call from her saying that Donovan International had sent their hounds after her and had I heard from Kyle.”
    “Good question. Have you?”
    “Not since I handed over the amber shipment to Donovan International’s representative—Kyle Donovan.”
    “So you say.”
    Jake went still. “Yes. That’s what I say. My word is good, Donovan . Ask anyone, anywhere.”
    “Everyone has a price. The Amber Room was yours.”
    “Not mine. Kyle’s.”
    “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Put Honor on.”
    “Give me your number.”
    “Put her on,” Archer said. “Now.”
    “Give me your number.”
    Honor gathered herself for a lunge off the bed.
    Jake’s hand flashed out and grabbed her thigh, pinning her in place. He met the silent rage in her eyes head-on. Despite his facade of cool control, he was as furious as both Donovans put together.
    “She’ll call you after we’ve sorted out some things,” Jake said softly.
    The quality of the silence that came over the line was somehow different this time. He guessed why. Archer was probably trying to squeeze the receiver into a thin paste. That was the problem with telephones—you couldn’t get your hands on the guy who was pissing you off.
    “I’ll call in five minutes,” Archer said. “If Honor doesn’t answer, my next call will be to the cops.”
    “Fifteen minutes.”
    “Five.”
    Jake was holding a dead phone. He hung up without looking away from Honor.
    “Go ahead,” he said. “Say it.”
    “Let go of me.”
    “No. You’ll run, I’ll catch you, and we’ll be a lot less comfortable on the floor than we are right here.”
    There had been many times in Honor’s life when she wished for the size and power of her brothers, but never had she wanted that stature so savagely as she did now. It would have given her a great deal of satisfaction to hammer Jake Mallory between the cracks of the hardwood floor.
    He knew it. He was watching her with a wariness that would have pleased her if she weren’t so furious.
    “Well, at least you aren’t physically afraid of me,” he