Raven’s Prey(30)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

Judd went still for an instant, his hand on the doorknob. Then he threw a derisive glance back over his shoulder, his eyes meeting Maddock’s in a level stare. When he spoke his voice was like silk. “Now, Maddock, you know I make it a policy not to ask too many embarrassing questions of my employers. Not when the money is good. Just think of all the little odd jobs I’ve done for you and your department over the years. And you never bothered to give me any more explanation beforehand than Garrison and Prager did!” He tugged Honor through the door and shut it firmly behind him. A mercenary. That was all he was even to people like Maddock, for whom he’d taken more than one risk. A damned mercenary.

It was over within twenty-four hours. Judd and Honor spent the night in an anonymous motel room near Interstate 10. No one except Maddock knew where they were. Judd fed a very quiet Honor dinner and then took her upstairs to the room. She was asleep before he got out of the shower. For several moments he stood watching her curled body under the bedclothes and acknowledged the depth of the strange possessiveness he was feeling.

Possessiveness as not a familiar emotion to him. What was it about tins woman that had stirred it to life? She looked so tired, so vulnerable, lying there sound asleep. Very carefully, so as not to disturb her, he crawled into bed beside her. There was another double bed in the room but he had no intention of sleeping in it. Honor belonged to him now. He had saved her life.

Judd lay staring thoughtfully at the ceiling for a long time that night, thinking about where he would take his woman when this was all over. Perhaps Acapulco or one of the resorts in Baja. It was odd to plan a trip with someone else in mind. He had spent so many years alone with only himself to worry about that it felt distinctly strange to think in terms of taking care of someone else. Not bad, just odd. On that note he fell asleep.

* * *

It was the ringing of the telephone that awakened Honor the next morning. She came gradually alert, aware that she was not alone in the bed. Before she could figure out the location of the phone Judd had stretched an arm across her br**sts with easy intimacy and picked up the receiver.

He lay propped on his elbow gazing down at her with dark, lazy eyes as he talked to Craig Maddock. Honor lay tense and uncertain, feeling trapped in the bedclothes. She hadn’t meant to share the bed with Judd but she’d been so exhausted the previous evening that she couldn’t even remember getting ready for bed. Obviously she hadn’t been able to stay awake long enough to tell him he was to use the other bed, she realized in self-disgust.

“Okay, Maddock,” Judd said finally. “I’ll leave a number you can use to get in touch if you need us again. Okay. Yeah, sure, I understand. So long.”

Honor tried to sink farmer back into the depths of the bedding as Judd reached across her again to replace the receiver. He looked down at her, his dark gaze intent but not worried. “It’s all over, honey. They picked Garrison up at the rendezvous point last night. He was armed. Praget is out of the country but they’ll pick him up as soon as he sets foot back on U.S. soil. The Feds are going to keep Garrison’s arrest quiet until they’ve got Prager, too. Maddock says they found several cases of illegal weapons in that San Diego warehouse, by the way. All the evidence they need.”

“So it’s really all over? Just like that?” she whispered, unable to believe that all the weeks of worry had finally ended.

Judd touched the side of her face with a strangely gentle finger. She stayed tensely still beneath his touch. “Everything’s going to be okay now, honey. I’ve been thinking. You’re out of a job and I can afford to take a little time off even though I didn’t get paid for bringing you out of Mexico….”

Honor’s expression must have warned him that he’d phrased that last part badly because Judd immediately shook his head, half-smiling. “I was only joking, honey. About getting paid, I mean. Anyhow, as I was saying, I thought we could go away together. Maybe Acapulco. Or there’s a fancy resort on the tip of Baja. Would you like that? If you don’t want to go back to Mexico, we could go to Hawaii. Whatever suits you,” he demanded magnanimously.

She tried to sit up in bed and he obligingly removed his hand so that she could do so. Without a word Honor pushed back the covers, her hands trembling with the force of her anger. Just who the hell did he think he was? The cotton nightgown she was wearing trailed behind her as she climbed out of bed and started toward the bathroom. She had only one goal in mind now: to get dressed and go home.

“Honor?”

The white sheet fell to Judd’s bare waist as he sat up, frowning. Honor glanced back and saw the faint uncertainty in his face and wondered at it. Did he really think she’d go anywhere at all with him now? What blind arrogance!

“Go wherever you like, Judd. Have fun.” She padded across the floor toward the bathroom and turned once more to cast him a chilled look. “Don’t worry, you won’t come out of this job unpaid. I’ll be happy to give you the two thousand I owe you. I wouldn’t want you to think I’m going to stiff you out of your normal fee!”

The lines of his face hardened into that familiar unemotional mask. Honor saw the promise of menace there but she chose to ignore it She was safe now. She had nothing to fear. “What the hell are you saying, Honor?” he bit out.

She pretended to consider the question. “I suppose I’m feeling reasonably grateful now that it’s all over. I know I should thank you for getting me out of that situation, even though you did it in your own unique fashion. Lucky for me you do have a few scruples, isn’t it? But you’d probably rather have the two thousand than my thanks, anyway.”

“Damn it, Honor!” He started to climb out of the bed behind her. “What is it with you today? Are you still worn out? [_Do _]you need more rest?” He glared at her, clearly trying to work out an explanation for her cool behavior. It was obviously not what he had been expecting.

“I’m fine, Judd,” She managed a very brilliant smile. “Now, if you will excuse me I’m going to take a shower and then Fm going to pack and go home to Phoenix. I hope you’ll have a good time all alone on your vacation. You probably will. You seem quite accustomed to spending time by yourself.”

His expression was set in the savage lines of a bird of prey, “You’re coming with me, Honor,” he stated evenly. “To Acapulco or Hawaii. You belong to me now. We’re going to get to know each other, be together. Live together!”