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three."
    "We've said everything that needed to be said and I don't feel like being nice."
    "Would you like something to eat?" Logan asked.
    "No."
    "What about Monty? Do you suppose he might be hungry?"
    "Monty eats only twice a day. I fed him at the cottage." Sarah curled up in the wide leather chair and stared out the window. "And you don't have to be concerned about Monty. I always take care of him."
    "That's obvious. I just thought I'd play the gracious host and offer."
    "Offer us food and then put our lives on the line?"
    "I can do only what I can," he said wearily. "I told you I'd try to keep you safe."
    "Trying isn't good enough." She reached down and stroked Monty's head, then said through gritted teeth, "Do you know how this makes me feel? It's not only you who's responsible for putting Monty in danger. He's my dog. The bottom line is always me. He never says no, so if I make the wrong decision, I have to bear the blame."
    "Even if I blackmailed you into it?"
    "That makes you a bastard, but I'm the one who makes the final decision."
    He was silent a moment. "You find the camp and you're done. You won't be within a mile of any firepower. Nothing will happen to you or Monty."
    "I know," she said sarcastically. "You'll try to keep us safe."
    "No. It won't happen. I promise you."
    She turned to look at him.
    "You don't believe me?"
    "Should I?"
    "I suppose not. Sometimes fate takes a hand and there's nothing anyone can do to change what happens. But if I'm still alive when we get out of that jungle, you and Monty will be too." He grimaced. "I assure you that's not a promise that's easy for me to make. I have a keen sense of self-preservation." He stood up. "I'm going to the cockpit to talk to our pilot. You might make a list of your needs on this job, and I'll call my assistant and have her make sure they're waiting for you in Santo Camaro. There's a pad and pencil in the drawer of the table next to you. I won't be gone more than fifteen or twenty minutes, but then, I'm sure you won't miss me."
    "No, I won't." She watched him walk down the aisle before she reached for the pad and pencil and started making her list. Why had he tried so hard to convince her he'd protect her and Monty? They were nothing to him. Just tools to get him what he wanted. Yet for a moment she had believed him. She had faced crooked bureaucrats and power figures in disaster sites around the world, and she could recognize sincerity when she saw it.
    Or could she? Logan had learned manipulation in a hundred corporate boardrooms. Maybe he was a little out of her league.
    Bull. Either she trusted her judgment or she didn't. Was Logan a complete son of a bitch or was there a trace of softness that she could exploit?
    She finished her list, then closed her eyes. She didn't want to exploit anyone or anything. She just wished she could go home and forget about Logan and Madden and everything connected with them.
    "Coffee?"
    She opened her eyes to see Logan holding a cup out to her.
    He smiled faintly. "It's only coffee. It's not like eating at your enemy's table. Besides, you should really take me for all you can get. Food, drink, money." He looked down at Monty. "Isn't that right, boy?"
    Monty's tail thumped, and he rolled over on his back.
    Logan reached down and scratched his belly. Monty gave a soft woo-woo from the back of his throat.
    Good.
    "Traitor," she muttered.
    Nice.
    "The hell he is."
    Logan raised his brows. "Am I missing something?"
    "You're not going to convince me you're a great guy just by petting my dog."
    "But he likes me."
    "Don't flatter yourself. He likes everyone. He's a golden retriever, for God's sake. They're known for being affectionate . . . even with someone who doesn't deserve it."
    Nice.
    She looked down at Monty in disgust. No discrimination.
    "Why do I feel out of the loop here?" Logan thrust the cup at her. "The reports I had on you said that you could almost read that dog's mind. I'm beginning to think he may be able to