Raven’s Prey(9)
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

“I’m not talking about sex. I’m talking about money. I understand that money probably holds a lot more interest for you under the circumstances,” she retorted.

Once more a measure of fury, quickly checked, flashed into those raven-dark eyes, but when he spoke again Judd had himself firmly under control. “I’ve told you that you can tell me your story on the trip back to Arizona in the morning. It can’t be that long a tale!”

“I want more time than the few hours it will take to fly me back to the States!”

“Time to convince me.”

“Yes, damn it! Believe it or not, I get the feeling that if I can just drum the truth into your thick skull I might have a chance of surviving this disaster. I’m banking on the fact that you wouldn’t willingly turn me over to people who want to kill me. Not if you know the truth.”

“What gives you so much faith in my integrity?” he mocked.

“Maybe it’s not a case of having any faith in your integrity,” she shot back heatedly. “Maybe it’s just a feeling mat you’ve got sense enough to look out for yourself. And getting involved in murder might cause you more than a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of trouble. If I can make you see that, I might be able to get you to leave me here in Mexico. You’ll be able to go home to your precious airplane-ferrying business with the two thousand you left it to collect and without having gotten yourself mixed up with murder.”

“You throw a big word like murder around pretty freely, Honor. I wonder if you have any idea of what you’re saying?”

“Believe me, I know what I’m talking about!” she breathed.

“God, maybe your shrink is right. Maybe you really are borderline paranoid. Maybe you’re already over the border,” he muttered.

“But you don’t believe that, do you?” Honor challenged, suddenly aware that she had found a wedge. “You don’t think I’m really crazy. You think I’m just spoiled and difficult and childish. But would even a spoiled brat carry a tantrum this far? You think I’ve enjoyed living in this shack for the past few weeks? You think I like not being able to have a conversation with anyone in my own language? You think I like having to boil every drop of water I drink because I’m afraid I’ll get sick? You think it’s been pleasant doing without a telephone or a refrigerator or a car? For God’s sake, Judd. Spoiled brats don’t like to go too long without their creature comforts, do they? I would have headed for Acapulco or one of the other tourist centers if I’d just been trying to upset my family. Why would I make myself suffer in the process?”

“You tried suicide once,” he pointed out inexorably. “Someone who did that might have some strange notions of how to make others suffer. Maybe living like this” —he waved a hand vaguely around the shack— “is your idea of punishing your father in some way.”

Honor closed her eyes in hopeless frustration. “There’s no reasoning with you, is there?” she finally asked in a dead voice.

Silence greeted the question and when she opened her eyes again it was to find him watching her with a long, brooding stare. “If,” Judd began cautiously, “I agreed to give you two (lays, would you be willing to promise me that you won’t give me any trouble when the time comes to take you home?”

Honor swallowed, not quite believing her ears. “Do you mean that? You’ll grant me the time?”

“I might.” Why the hell was he even considering the damn bargain? He should just tie her up hand and foot, throw her into the plane and leave at dawn tomorrow morning. But once he had delivered her to her family he would probably never see her again. And after having searched for her for nearly a week, Judd Was beginning to realize that he wanted a little time with this woman. Time to determine whether or not there was anything real beneath the soft mouth and the big eyes. Two days wasn’t going to matter one way or the other, he told himself, knowing even as he did so that he was rationalizing the situation. “But in return I’d want your personal guarantee that you’ll give me no trouble when it comes time to leave.”

“You have it,” she vowed rashly, her relief shimmering in her eyes. Once again she impulsively put out a hand and touched his arm. “I swear you have it. Just give me a couple of days to explain this whole mess to you. Then, if you don’t believe me—”

“You’ll start in all over again, won’t you?” he groaned “I’m a fool [_to let _]myself get talked into this.”

“The worst tiling that can happen to you is that you’ll make an extra two thousand dollars!” she stormed.

Damn it, why did she have to keep harping on the money? “No that’s not the worst thing that can happen to me,” he shot back bluntly. “The worst thing is that I’ll give you the impression that I’m a fool of a man who can be manipulated.”

“But I don’t think that!” she protested, snatching her hand away again. He felt the loss of the warmth of her fingers and wondered at it. He liked having her touch him spontaneously, Judd acknowledged silentiy.

“Yes, you do. At this point in time you do.” He sighed. “Just don’t go overboard with the idea, though, because you’ll only be deluding yourself. Go back to bed, Honor. You can start talking in the [_morning. _]I really don’t think I’m up to hearing the wild tale tonight.”

“But it won’t take me long to give you a rough outline of what really happened and then you can ask questions—” she began earnestly.

“Honor, so far you’ve threatened me with a gun, attacked me physically—yes you did,” he injected when she started to protest. He touched the side of his face meaningfully. “Something tells me I’ll be wearing a few scars tomorrow. And you nearly provoked me into taking you by force. In all honesty you’ll have to admit I’ve suffered enough tonight. Let tine explanations ride until tomorrow, okay? I’m tired, even if you aren’t.”

She didn’t want to retreat to her cot, he realized. She wanted to sit there on the floor and give him the whole crazy tale she’d concocted. She was a determined Utile thing, he had to hand it to her.

“Bed, Honor,” he repeated levelly.

“Oh, all right” she said, scrambling to her feet “But you will listen in the morning, won’t you? With an open mind? You’ll give me a chance to explain?”