Donovans 02 - Jade Island

flexed his left shoulder, trying to work out the ache. The wound had long since healed, but the shock wave from an off-the-record bullet had done unhappy things to the nearby cartilage. When it came to predicting rain, he had a better average than the expensive weather guessers on TV.
    “So this unofficial contact calls you,” Kyle said, “and says that there are rumors of the type of cultural theft that will make diplomats reach for tranquilizers while governments beat the drum of nationalism and everybody with any sense heads for cover.”
    “Yes.”
    “Why did he come to you?”
    “He didn’t say, beyond the obvious.”
    “Which is?”
    “Donovan International is in the right position and I know how the game is played.”
    “With real bullets,” Kyle muttered.
    “No. With real permits, passports, and other kinds of official paper. If we tell Uncle to bugger off, life becomes a lot trickier for Donovan International. It’s hard to run an import-export business without the cooperation of the U.S. bureaucracy. Farmer can do it. We can’t.”
    “And we owe Uncle one, don’t we?” Kyle asked quietly. “For cleaning up my mess on Jade Island.”
    Archer shrugged, but the tight line of his mouth said a lot.
    “Mother,” Kyle said, disgusted. He had been afraid of that. “I tried to keep the family out of it.”
    “So did I.”
    Kyle flexed both hands, trying to work off the tension he felt every time he realized how close he had come to dying—and taking his sister Honor with him. “Let’s go over it again, just to make sure I don’t fuck this one up, too.”
    Turning suddenly, Archer looked straight at the big blond man who had once been his little brother and would always be his youngest brother. “What happened on Jade Island wasn’t your fault.”
    “Yeah, right,” Kyle said, disgusted. “I’m surprised you trust me with this.”
    “That’s crap. The only one lacking trust around here is you, in yourself.”
    “Did your contact ask for me by name?” Kyle asked, changing the subject.
    “No. But you’re the one Lianne Blakely has been watching for the past two weeks.”
    Kyle’s odd, gold-green eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”
    “The illegitimate daughter of—”
    “Not that,” Kyle interrupted. “The rest of it.”
    “Simple. She was looking at you and you were so busy looking at cold jade that you never noticed a warm woman trying to catch your eye.”
    “Jade isn’t cold and I’ve never met a woman of any temperature who wouldn’t crawl over my bleeding body to get to you.”
    Archer bit off the kind of comment that would spiral down into a sibling argument. He had never understood why everyone thought he was such a lady-killer. As far as he was concerned, Kyle was the best-looking of the Donovan brothers, with Justin and Lawe very close behind.
    “Not this lady,” Archer said. “Lianne was looking at you. That’s one of the reasons I agreed to ask for your help in penetrating the Tang Consortium.”
    “Penetrating, huh? First the woman, then the whole damn clan. You’ve got an overblown idea of my libido, not to mention my stamina.”
    Archer made a growling sound that was a combination of exasperation and humor.
    “In any case,” Kyle continued, “if the lady was looking at me rather than you, we can be sure of one thing.”
    “What?”
    “It’s a setup.”
    Archer blinked. “I’m having trouble following you.”
    “Take it one word at a time. In the last two weeks, you and I have gone to three jade previews together.”
    “Five.”
    “Two were so lousy they don’t count. If Lianne saw past you to me, then it’s because the Tang Consortium figures I’m an easier nut to crack.”
    “You don’t think it’s possible that Lianne prefers blonds?”
    Kyle shrugged. “Anything is possible, but the last time a woman passed up a tall-dark-and-handsome type for me, I nearly got killed before I figured out exactly what kind of screwing was going on. That kind of lesson sticks with a man.”
    For a moment Archer didn’t know what to say. Kyle was so certain that the only thing women wanted him for was to use him and lose him. Before last year, Kyle wouldn’t have reacted like that.
    At times Archer missed the old Kyle, the one who laughed easily, the golden boy bathed by a perpetual sun. But Archer never would have asked that golden boy to do anything more serious than match wines with meals.
    “Maybe it’s a setup,” Archer agreed.