Golden Goddess

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Book: Read Golden Goddess for Free Online
Authors: Unknown
you really don't want to mess with the authorities any more than I do. You've got your precious statue. Why not take it and leave me alone?"
    "Because I want to know where you fit into all this."
    "But why?" she demanded helplessly.
    "I don't like unknown quantities. I've been aware of the Clydemores' activities for years. But you're new on the art smuggling scene. I want to know who you are and where you fit in. You're too much of a mystery lady to be left alone. I want answers."
    Hannah narrowed her eyes. "I assure you the answers are going to be exceedingly dull."
    "Maybe. Maybe not." He glanced up, and a satisfied expression tightened the small lines around his gray eyes. "Here come the Clydemores. Maybe we'll start getting a few of those answers now."
    Hannah glanced up nervously. What should she do? Warn John and Alice that there was a crazy man in their midst? On the other hand, if the middle-aged couple were innocent they didn't need the warning, did they? Where would that leave her, though? Shouldering the entire blame for the theft of that damn fertility goddess?
    As if he sensed her uncertainty and anxiety, Jarrett slanted her a chilling glance. "Just follow my lead, Hannah. That's an order."
    "I didn't sign anything that says I have to take orders from you," she shot back under her breath, and she at least had the satisfaction of having had the last word. In the next instant John and Alice Clydemore descended on the table.
    "Good morning, Hannah!" Alice gushed happily, her cheerful blue eyes going rapidly from Hannah's face to Jarrett's. Alice Clydemore was a handsome woman in her early sixties with a still-trim figure and stylishly silvered hair. She wore expensive resort-style clothing from a leading designer and there were several gold chains at her throat and on her wrist. "And who's this?" she asked pertly, smiling at Jarrett as she sat down.
    "Richard Adams," Jarrett announced smoothly, rising to his feet politely.
    Hannah nearly choked on her coffee as she heard him blithely lie about his name. She glanced up with startled eyes as the man she knew as Jarrett Blade shook John Clydemore's hand.
    "Adams, hmmm?" John clarified genially, taking the seat opposite his wife. His middle-aged, patrician features matched those of his wife, handsome and politely bespeaking wealth, "Don't recall having met you. Not part of Hannah's tour group, are you?"
    "No. I just happened to be on the same plane yester-iay." Jarrett smiled affectionately at Hannah, who stared back at him in consternation. "I followed her through Customs and then lost her. But last night I located her at this hotel. It wasn't hard. All I had to do was ask around until I found someone who knew where her tour group had been booked."
    "I smell a romance," Alice Clydemore decided in satisfaction. "How exciting! Poor Hannah's had a very dull trip so far."
    "Things are livening up quite a bit," Hannah muttered into her coffee. She wished Jarrett Blade, or whatever his name was, hadn't chosen to pretend he was romantically interested in her.
    "Never too late for a vacation romance," John Clyde-more chuckled. "You've still got—what?—four more days in Hawaii before you go back to the mainland."
    "I'll have to work fast," Jarrett drawled.
    "You're also going to have to work around a few obstacles," John Clydemore said with a grin, glancing across the room to where a small family of three sat eating breakfast.
    Jarrett's gaze hardened. "Other men?" Hannah didn't care for the ominous note in his voice, even if it was a faked attempt at jealousy.
    Before she could answer, John was grinning even more broadly. "You could say that. One in particular, I'm afraid. Hannah has already spent several evenings with him, and he's not likely to give her up easily."
    "I'll reason with him," Jarrett said coolly. "I'm sure he'll see things my way."
    "From what I've seen of this young man, he's fairly stubborn. However, he's smaller than you, so…"
    "So there should be no

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