The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

though I've been swept up and carried along in a high wind ever since. From the first day you acted as though we were long-lost lovers—as if we'd known each other for ages. You practically begged me to make love to you every time I kissed you. You told me you were going to court me, which is another way of saying seduce me. You went wild when I did finally make love to you, as if I was some irresistible, private fantasy of yours that had come to life. It was crazy, Sarah."

    "So I made a teensy little mistake."

    "That was one explanation," Gideon said dryly. "But the other, more likely one is that you had a few private motives for wanting to ensure you had me tied up in knots. I don't blame you. You figured you needed some expert help finding the Flowers."

    "Shut up, Gideon."

    "I'm not saying you were faking your response in bed. I don't think any woman could give that convincing a performance, although that may just reflect my own lack of experience. I haven't been involved with that many women and none of them ever had sufficient reason to want to—"

    "I said shut up and meant it," Sarah hissed. "If you dig that hole any deeper, you may never be able to crawl out of it."

    "I'm just trying to point out my side of this."

    "You've made your point. Damn. When I think of all the excuses I made for you based on the trauma you'd been through with your ex-wife and Jake Savage, I could just spit. You don't need any excuses for the way you've been acting, do you? You come by it naturally. Let's change the subject."

    "To what?"

    Sarah chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. "Why didn't you want us to dig up the Flowers before we left this morning? Jake was gone. If we'd hurried, we could have gotten them without him ever knowing. Are you planning to come back on your own and take all of them for yourself?"

    He didn't rise to the bait. "I didn't want to start digging for them knowing Savage was still in the neighborhood."

    She caught her breath. "You mean you think he might wait until we've dug them up and then try to steal them from us? I never thought of that."

    "I know."

    "But he was your
partner
."

    "I'm aware of that."

    "Of course, he did steal your wife. I can see where you might wonder a bit about his trustworthiness in other matters."

    "It's not because of what happened with Leanna that I'm worried."

    "It's because of what happened on that last trip you two made into the jungle, isn't it?"

    Gideon concentrated on the slow-moving truck ahead of them. "I can't help but wonder bow he survived."

    "You survived."

    "I'm better at it than Savage." There was no arrogance or ego in his voice. It was just a simple statement of fact.

    "So you're wondering how he got out of that jungle?"

    "I'm wondering how he managed to get out of that cave alive, let alone find his way out of the jungle."

    "How do you think he managed?" Sarah asked slowly,

    "I think it's possible he had help."

    "But the only help around from what you've said would have been the smugglers and they were the ones who staged the ambush."

    "You've got it."

    Sarah was shaken by the implications. "You think it was a conspiracy? That Jake was part of it?"

    "I think it's a possibility."

    "That would mean he deliberately set you up that day. That he intended to get you killed. But the plan failed because you sensed trouble."

    "Savage was never very good at the planning side of things. Believe me, it would be totally in character for him to have screwed up the timing on the ambush."

    "I don't get it. Why would he want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

    "A goose, hmm? I never thought of myself that way, but I guess that's one point of view. To answer your question, all I can say is, there was a lot of cash involved."

    "How much of it did you get out of the country?"

    "All of it except what I spent bribing the captain of the fishing boat. I used the remainder to set myself up in business with
Cache
."

    "Good heavens. You did lead an adventurous life, didn't you? I see what you mean about adrenaline. So what this all boils down to is you're afraid we'll be standing there plucking the Fleetwood Flowers from the ground and your old buddy Jake might show up to take them away from us at gunpoint."

    "I'd just as soon not take any risks."

    "I can understand that. You've got a lot to lose. Just one pair of those earrings will be worth a lot of money. I've got an even bigger problem, though, don't I? I have to figure out a way to