Always Read Free Page B

“Cooperate.”
    “I can’t, dammit.” She jumped to her feet. “He was my husband. I had his child. It doesn’t matter what he did. I can’t be your Judas goat. Not and still live with myself.”
    “Child?” Clancy repeated slowly.
    She could feel the blood drain from her face. Don’t think about it; keep the pain at bay, she silently commanded herself. “Didn’t your neat little reports mention that?” she asked bitterly.“Perhaps your informants didn’t consider the birth of my little boy important. It wasn’t exactly a world-shaking event.” Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. “Except to me.”
    “I’m sure it must have been in the report. I must have overlooked it.” Clancy found his hands unconsciously tightening on the arms of the chair. The idea of her bearing that bastard’s child filled him with a totally irrational rage.
    “How careless of you.” She wouldn’t cry. Oh, God, she had thought all the tears had been shed long ago. Why were her eyes stinging with them now? Firmly she blinked the moisture away and lifted her chin. “But you can see that I wouldn’t be able to do as you ask.”
    “You refuse?”
    She nodded. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to catch Martin on your own. You’ll get no help from me.”
    “I’m sorry, too.” A fleeting expression of regret was replaced by a look of fierce determination. “I wanted your cooperation. I don’t like using force unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
    “Force!” Her eyes widened with disbelief. “How could you possibly force me?”
    “Very painlessly, I hope: Once you realize that I hold all the cards, I think you’ll be sensible.” He sat forward. “Let me tell you exactly what you’re going to do. You’ll continue to sing here until Baldwin shows up.” His lips twisted. “And we both know he’ll do so eventually. It’s obvious that I can’t convince you to tip my man when you see him, but you’re not to blow our surveillance to Baldwin, either. Once he’s spotted, we’ll move in and take over.”
    She shook her head as if to clear it. “Didn’t you hear me? I won’t help you. Not actively nor passively. If you expect Martin to show up here, then I’ll leave. I have only two more nights to this engagement anyway.”
    “Wrong,” he said succinctly. “I didn’t bring you here to let you go before you served my purpose. You’re the bait that’s going to lure my rat out of the woodwork.”
    “You didn’t bring …” Understanding suddenly dawned.
“You
arranged for me to comehere to Paradise Cay? What do you have to do with this place?”
    He shrugged. “The island is a Sedikhan possession and so is most of the real estate on it. That’s not widely known since Alex purchased it only two years ago, so Baldwin shouldn’t learn that you’re sitting squarely in the lion’s mouth until it snaps shut.”
    “Charming,” she said. “I suppose I should have suspected something. The deal was much too generous for a singer who is still struggling on the bottom rungs of the ladder.” She laughed mirthlessly. “I was very excited about it, you know. I thought I was getting somewhere at last.”
    “You’ll get there. You’re extraordinarily talented. After your stint here, I’ll arrange for you to meet a few people who’ll be glad to help.” He smiled grimly. “I’ll just call in a few debts.”
    “Bribery?” She felt the color rush to her cheeks. “Just close my eyes and be rewarded with a payoff? No, thank you, Mr. Donahue.”
    “I didn’t mean it like that,” he snapped. “I just wanted to help.”
    “Well, I don’t want to help you,” she said hotly. “And I’m not about to. Tomorrow I’ll take the first flight back to Miami. This engagement is now officially at an end.”
    “That’s your last word on it?” Clancy asked calmly.
    She nodded. “I won’t be used by you. I won’t be used by anyone, dammit.”
    He stood up. “You will, you know. I’ll just have to find