The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

swore again in a strangled-sounding voice. "You're crazy, lady. You know that? Crazy ."

    "Stressed, not crazy. There's a difference. If I were crazy, I might actually be enjoying myself."

    "What the hell do you think you're doin'?"

    "Getting myself robbed." Kate finished emptying the purse. "Come and get it, you little runt."

    "Get outa my way." The man edged cautiously forward. "Get back. Go on, get back."

    "Is there a good living in this sort of thing?" Kate watched as the man hunkered and worked his way closer to where her wallet lay on the ground.

    "Shut up. Just shut up, will you? Don't you ever close that damned mouth of yours?" The little man lunged toward the wallet.

    Kate waited until the last second and then kicked out at the hand holding the knife.

    "Aargh!"

    Caught off balance, the thief dropped the knife and scuttled to one side like a small, startled crab. Kate took a step forward and kicked him again, this time catching the man in a far more vulnerable spot.

    "Damn you, you crazy, stupid woman! You're a real nut, you know that?" The man rolled to one side, hugging himself. He lurched to his feet, backing away from her. Then his nervous little eyes flicked to a point behind her. He cursed, turned and fled.

    "That's it!" Kate yelled after him, her hands on her hips. "Run like the coward you are. You remind me of my ex-husband, you little twerp."

    But the man was long gone. Grumbling, Kate knelt on the cobblestones to retrieve her belongings. It was not a simple task because her fingers were shaking.

    "Did you kick your ex-husband around like that?" inquired a deep, amused male voice from behind her.

    With a gasp, Kate shot to her feet and spun around. A man lounged in the alley entrance. He was a very large man, a couple of inches over six feet, lean and hard and broad shouldered. Caught in the harsh glare and deep shadows cast by the intense tropical sun, he looked infinitely more dangerous than the man with the knife. The slashing, wicked grin that revealed his teeth did nothing to soften the impression.

    But far more unsettling than the dangerous quality was the fact that the big stranger looked eerily familiar. Yet Kate was certain she had never seen him before in her life. She would not be likely to forget those cool silver eyes.

    "Who are you? The little twerp's accomplice?" But even as she asked the question she knew this man did not eke out a hand-to-mouth existence taking wallets from innocent tourists. If he chose crime as a career path, he'd go into it in a big way. He'd be a jewel thief or a mob leader. Two hundred years ago, he would have been a pirate.

    "The little twerp doesn't have any friends, let alone accomplices."

    "You know him?"

    "Sharp Arnie and I have encountered each other occasionally over the years. We're not exactly pals"

    "Oh." Kate frowned. "Did he run off because he saw you?"

    "I believe he ran off because he thought he was going to get stomped into the ground trying to retrieve your wallet."

    "I was certainly going to do my best to stomp him. The nerve of some people. Shouldn't we be notifying the authorities or something?"

    "Sharp Arnie will be taken care of in due time. Don't worry about him. It's a small island."

    "I'll be happy to file a complaint or press charges or whatever one does in this sort of situation."

    "Don't bother. We're not real formal around here. Guess I'd better give you a hand picking that junk up or we'll be stuck on Ruby all day."

    The man levered himself away from the pink wall and paced toward her. He moved with an easy, coordinated stride that bespoke strength.

    He was wearing a pair of faded jeans and an equally faded khaki shirt. The collar of the shirt was open, and Kate realized she was staring at the crisp, dark hair that grew there. She caught herself and came back to her senses instantly as she realized the stranger was reaching for her valuables.

    "Hold on just one second before you touch my things. Who are you?"

    "Jared Hawthorne. You're Katherine Inskip, right?"

    She eyed him warily. He didn't look like a fan who might have recognized her from the photo the publisher put on the inside of her book's back cover. "How do you know my name?"

    "I've been looking for you. Billy said you'd gotten tired of waiting around for your ride to AmethystIsland and had decided to do some sight-seeing."

    "Billy being the Billy of Billy's Ruby Island Dive and Tackle Shop? The same Billy who told me that through absolutely no