Hot Ice

crawl?”
    “Maybe.” She smiled and walked toward him. “Maybe later.”
    “Jesus.” His hands weren’t quite steady when they reached for her face, but his mouth was firm, and a little desperate. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
    “I know.” She pressed against him, wild with relief. “Just hold me a minute.”
    “After we’re out of here, I’ll hold you as long as you want.” Taking her shoulders, he drew her away. “You’ve got to tell me what happened, and what the setup is here.”
    She nodded, then sank down on the edge of the bed. Why were her knees weak now when there was hope? “Remo and that Barns character came.” He saw the quick, nervous swallow and cursed himself again.
    “They hurt you?”
    “No. You hadn’t been gone very long. I’d just run a bath.”
    “Why didn’t they hold you there until I got back?”
    Whitney lifted a foot and examined her toes. “Because I told them I’d killed you.”
    His face, for a brief instant, was a study of incredulity. “What?”
    “Well, it wasn’t difficult to convince them that I was a great deal smarter than you, and that I’d put a bullet in your brain so I could have the treasure to myself. After all, they’d’ve done the same thing to each other at the first opportunity, and I was convincing.”
    “Smarter than me?”
    “Don’t be offended, darling.”
    “They bought it?” Not particularly pleased, he dipped his hands in his pockets. “They believed that a skinny female got the drop on me. I’m a professional.”
    “I hated to tarnish your reputation, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
    “Dimitri bought it too?”
    “Apparently. I opted to play the material-minded, heartless woman with an eye on opportunity. I believe he’s quite charmed with me.”
    “I’ll bet.”
    “I wanted to spit in his eye,” she said so fiercely Doug cocked a brow. “I still want the chance to. I don’t even think he’s human, he just slides from place to place leaving a slimy trail, spouting off his love for the finer things. He wants to hoard the treasure like a little boy hoarding chocolate bars. He wants to open the box, look, fondle, and think of the screams of people as the guillotine falls. He wants to relive the fear, see the blood. It means more to him that way. All the lives he took to get it mean nothing to him.” Her fingers closed over Jacques’s shell. “They mean absolutely nothing to him.”
    Doug moved over to kneel in front of her. “We’re going to spit in his eye.” For the first time, he closed his fingers over hers on the shell. “I promise. Do you know where he’s stashed it?”
    “The treasure?” A cold smile moved over her face. “Oh yes, he took great pleasure in showing it to me. He’s so damn sure of himself, so sure he’s got me pinned.”
    Doug drew her to her feet. “Let’s go get it, sugar.”
    It took him a little under two minutes to trip the lock. With the door open only a crack, he peered out to check for guards in the hall.
    “Okay, now we move fast and quiet.”
    Whitney slipped her hand in his and stepped into the hall.
    The house was silent. Apparently when Dimitri retired, everyone retired. In darkness, they moved down the staircase to the first floor. The funeral-parlor smell, flowers and polish, hung thick. Whitney used a gesture of the hand to show Doug which way. Keeping close to the wall, they made their way slowly toward the library.
    Dimitri hadn’t bothered to lock the door. Doug was a little disappointed, and a little wary that it was so easy. They slipped inside. Rain began to patter against the windows. Whitney went directly to the shelves on the east wall and drew back the section of books.
    “It’s in here,” she whispered. “The combination’s fifty-two right, thirty-six left—”
    “How do you know the combination?”
    “I saw him open it.”
    Uneasy, Doug reached for the knob. “Why the hell isn’t he covering his tracks?” he muttered as he began to turn. “Okay, what’s next?”
    “Another five to the left, then twelve right.” She held her breath as Doug drew down the handle. The door of the safe opened without a sound.
    “Come to Papa,” Doug murmured as he drew out the box. He checked its weight before he grinned at Whitney. He wanted to open it, to take just one more look. To gloat. There’d be other times. “Let’s get out of here.”
    “Sounds like an excellent idea.” Tucking a hand through his arm she