Margos eyes widened. You wouldnt dare chain me to this bed like a dog, Ry. You wouldnt dare!
If you dont think so, then you dont know me as well as you think you do.
Margo eyed the portable phone on the nightstand. I have a job. If I dont show up for work, Tony will fire me. Hes already She snapped her mouth shut, aware she was about to mention how unhappy he had been when shed called and asked him for last night off.
Tonys already what?
Nothing.
Youre Tonys meal ticket. Hes not going to fire you, not after the increase in business youve given him over the past year. Youre the best thing thats happened to the Toucan, and everyone knows it. Ill have someone call and explain youre sick.
Margo wanted to scream. Instead, she said, There is no reason I cant work tonight.
Ive seen you perform, baby. Your act includes playing the piano. Damn hard one-handed. Not impossible but He rattled the cuffs. Back in bed, or be prepared for what happens next.
He couldnt do this to her. Furious, Margo shook her head. No!
The cuffs or a promise to stay inside my house until I get back. Thats the deal, Margo. Choose.
Again Margo eyed the phone, considering her options. Fine, shed do as he said, and then once he left she would be on her way one way or another. She eased down on the bed and swung her legs back on the mattress. I hate you.
Say it. Swear to me you wont leave.
Youre a jerk, a creep and a sadistic
Swear on your fathers grave. He rattled the cuffs.
I swear, okay!
Satisfied, he stuffed the cuffs back in his pocket. Hungry?
For a piece of your liver, Margo spat.
Seriously, you need to eat something. What can I fix you?
Youre going to cook for me? You cant cook, remember?
Ive learned. At least I can get by until you can cook for me, he taunted. How does that sound?
Margo didnt bother to remind him she wasnt going to be around long enough for that. She simply sneered back with a honey-coated grin and said, Do you have arsenic in the house?
He chuckled. No, but I have eggs and shrimp. Still like shrimp for breakfast?
The question and the memory it manifested had Margo biting the inside of her cheek. The pain reminded her of how dangerous it was to reminisce, as well as how vulnerable it made her feel.
With shallots and chives? He added, twisting the knife a little deeper.
Cook what you want, she snapped. Start the kitchen on fire for all I care. Better yet, how about yourself? Margo squeezed her eyes shut and pretended to tune him out. Suddenly she caught the scent of him, felt his hand on her forehead. Her eyes popped open. What are you doing?
Making sure you dont have a fever.
When his hand left her forehead, he shoved it into his back pocket and pulled out a key. A twinge of panic knotted Margos stomach. My God, shed forgotten all about Blus key.
Recognize this?
Margo clamped her mouth shut.
Of course you do, it came from your pocket. He was no longer grinning, his blue eyes razor sharp as he held Blus key up so she could see it clearly. After breakfast well discuss what it unlocks.
He slipped the key back into his pocket, then reached for the portable phone on the nightstand and pocketed that, too. On his way out the door, he said, I almost forgot. Theres a tape recorder in the drawer
next to you. While youre waiting for breakfast why dont you listen to it?
I dont feel much like listening to music, Margo sniffed.
Its not music, but its just as entertaining. You dont sound like yourself, but you were in a lot of pain last night. Well, maybe it wasnt so much the pain as the whiskey talking, you think?
He walked out of the room then, leaving Margo to wonder if the liquor hed poured down her throat, had, in fact, done the dirty deed and loosened her tongue. And if that was the case, just what had she told Detective Archard that she shouldnt have?
Chapter 4
Why, then, had his wishes been ignored and the job bungled so badly? The answer was simpleit was impossible to find good help these days. More to the point, his cousins were idiots.
Swearing crudely, Taber Denoux lifted his glass of cognac to his lips and swallowed the expensive amber liquid. Hed just finished talking to his best customer, and the man was livid. His merchandise was missing, and Taber hadnt been able to promise a recovery date. Oh, he had promised the merchandise would turn up, but without a date, the customer had threatened to buy elsewhere.
Damn Blu duFray to hell, Taber thought. Was the man an idiot like Rudy and Raynard, or the very devil his name implied? A more important question was, how had a going-broke fisherman pulled off a heist worth millions?
Unable to believe his merchandise was gone, Taber slammed the empty glass down on his desk. Blu duFray was either damn lucky, or his fisherman guise was the perfect cover for a well-connected thief.
Taber still didnt know how the cop fit into the scheme of things. And he conceded that he might never know. But, what did it matter now? The cop was dead. It seemed the only thing that had gone right last night was Raynard shooting low and wounding Blu duFray instead of killing him along with the cop. duFray dead would have only magnified the problem, since it seemed he was the only one who knew where the missing merchandise was.