Flash Read online

  Olivia reluctantly switched her attention to the rumpled-looking man who had come to a halt in front of her. Automatically she went into full business mode.

  “Andy Andrews, with Hard Currency? How exciting. I always read your newsletter the instant it comes through my fax machine.”

  Andrews was clearly unprepared for such a cordial greeting. He blinked and then grinned broadly around the mouthful of cracker and salmon. “Glad to hear it. I do my best to keep the info moving through the pipeline.”

  “I especially enjoyed the piece you did last month on the charitable foundations that have been established by our new wave of local techno-millionaires.” Out of the corner of her eye Olivia saw Jasper lift his gaze to the ceiling in silent supplication. She ignored him. He ought to know that a little judicious gushing worked wonders with the press.

  “You liked that one?” Andy asked eagerly.

  “It was not only extremely interesting, but useful as well,” Olivia assured him. “It gave me some background on prospective clients.”

  “Always glad to be of service to the members of the business community. That’s what I’m here for.” Andy cleared his throat. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Chantry.”

  “Please call me Olivia.”

  “Sure. Olivia.” Andy tossed back the last of the champagne in his glass. “I tried to get hold of you yesterday.”

  “Unfortunately I was so busy with tonight’s event that I didn’t get your messages until very late in the day. I intended to return your calls first thing Monday morning. I didn’t realize you would be here tonight.”

  “Between you and me, I wasn’t planning to attend.” Andy sidled closer to the bar and waved at the attendant. “I did Silver Galaxy Foods Night last year, and it was a dead bore. But when I heard that you were running the event this year, I decided to accept Silverthorne’s invitation.”

  Olivia smiled cautiously. “I’m flattered.”

  “Big change from last year.” Andy surveyed the glittering scene while he waited for the bartender. “A lot more glitz and glamour, y’know?”

  “Thank you,” Olivia murmured.

  Andy eyed Jasper. “Didn’t know you’d be on board tonight, Sloan. Got something going with Silver Galaxy Foods?”

  “No.” Jasper gave Olivia a deliberate, intimate smile. “My interest here tonight is strictly personal.”

  “Is that a fact?” Andy broke off as the bartender arrived. “S’cuse me a minute. Open bar, you know. Some first-class hooch on board tonight. Don’t want to waste the opportunity.”

  “I understand.” Olivia traded glances with Jasper while Andy ordered an expensive single-malt whiskey. “The Silverthornes pull out all the stops on Silver Galaxy Foods Night.”

  “They sure did this year, I’ll give ’em that.” Andy got his whiskey from the bartender. He turned and raised the glass in a small toast. Then he chugged a couple of swallows. When he was finished he let out a long, satisfied sigh.

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Olivia said.

  Andy gave Olivia a bland smile that did not disguise the shrewd, if slightly inebriated, gleam in his eyes. “So, everything settled down now at Glow?”

  “Yes,” Jasper said before Olivia could respond. “I told you yesterday that everything was under control.”

  “Yeah, so you did.” Andy kept his attention on Olivia. “Losing Rollie Chantry must have been really rough on the firm.”

  “It was rough on the family, too,” Olivia said pointedly.

  “Oh, sure.” Andy bobbed his head several times. “Right. Big personal loss, too, of course.” He crinkled his brow in a vaguely bewildered fashion. “Sort of an unusual situation, I guess, having an outsider come in and take over the way Sloan is doing.”

  Olivia widened her eyes. “We don’t consider Jasper an outsider. He’s part of the Glow team.”

  “Yeah?” Andy glanced from Olivia to Jasper and back again. “I’ve heard a few rumors about Glow. Maybe you’d like to confirm or deny them? I’ll be happy to set the record straight in print for you.”

  “What rumors?” Olivia asked.

  “Like I told Sloan, yesterday, there’s talk about a sale or merger.”

  Jasper put down his cognac very casually. “And like I told you, Andrews, that’s a lot of hot air.” He gave Olivia another intimate smile. “I’m looking forward to a very long-term relationship with Glow.”

  At that moment Olivia would have been willing to believe that Jasper had telepathic powers. She could actually feel him willing her to back him up. There was no need for him to waste all that mental energy, she thought. She obviously had no other option than to go along with his demand for a united front.

  “I can assure you, Andy,” she said very smoothly, “that the Chantrys are delighted to have an executive as experienced and capable as Jasper Sloan at the helm.”

  Cool satisfaction gleamed in Jasper’s eyes. He reached out and took Olivia’s hand with an unmistakably proprietary air. “There’s your story, Andrews. Now if you’ll excuse us, I’m going to steal another dance before Olivia goes back to work.”

  Olivia glanced inside the karaoke bar shortly after midnight. The crowd was clearly enjoying the entertainment. Charlie Silverthorne, himself, set the tone. In classic Las Vegas lounge lizard style, he made love to a microphone and crooned the lyrics to a 1940s torch song. His silver-sequined cummerbund and matching bow tie sparkled in the dim lights. His voice, augmented by the latest electronic gadgetry, oozed over the audience like thick, warm syrup.

  It was amazing what technology could do, Olivia reflected. Earlier she had heard Charlie sing the Silver Galaxy Foods song without the aid of a karaoke machine. He had the voice of a healthy sea lion.

  Things were under control, she concluded, turning away from the karaoke lounge. The late-night dessert buffet had opened a few minutes ago and was attracting an enthusiastic crowd. The dance band was still going strong. There were no serious disasters going on at the moment.

  She had time to slip downstairs to her cabin and change her shoes, she decided. She always brought along a second pair when she expected to spend a long evening on her feet.

  She went down two flights of stairs and walked along the narrow corridor. Her tiny cabin, together with the others that had been assigned to the crew and staff, was on the lowest passenger deck just above the waterline. The better rooms had all been allocated to guests.

  At the end of the hallway she took her key out of the hidden pocket in her black and silver gown and slipped it into the lock.

  She saw the envelope on the carpet as soon as she walked into the room. Someone had pushed it under the door.

  She scooped up the note and switched on a lamp. She opened the sealed flap and unfolded the single sheet of paper.

  Your punishment has been determined. The price for keeping the secret of Logan Dane’s real Dark Muse is one thousand dollars. You will receive instructions for the first payment soon.

  For a few seconds Olivia could not grasp the meaning. And then the computer-generated message hit her with the force of a blow to the stomach.

  Impossible. It could not be true.

  She read the note a second time, but the words did not magically disappear. The secret she thought she had shredded three years ago had come back to haunt her.

  The blackmailer knew about Nina.

  15

  He was lounging against the bar, a glass of the spring water he’d switched to an hour ago in his hand, when he saw her in the doorway. For a split second there was no one else in the room. At least, no one else who mattered.

  Jasper wondered if he would gradually grow accustomed to the light-headed sensation that came over him whenever he saw her.

  She stood there, unconsciously regal in silver and black, the never-ending mystery of her eyes enhanced by the upswept hairstyle. For an instant he simply stared while he absorbed the impact of her presence. She was looking for someone in the crowd. Probably a member of her
staff. But he could always indulge the hope that she had come to search for him, he thought. He watched her scan the room with a shadowed, searching gaze.

  When she saw him, she started through the crowd. Satisfaction washed through Jasper. She had been looking for him. He had seen very little of her since their two dances in the lounge.

  And then he saw the simmering fury in her eyes. Beneath the anger was something else. Something that could have been fear.

  Something had gone very wrong.

  When she came to a halt in front of him, he put the half-finished glass of spring water very carefully down on the bar.

  “What is it?” he asked quietly.

  “I have to talk to you. Immediately.”

  He took her arm and escorted her through the darkened lounge toward the doors that opened onto the deck. A moment later they were outside.

  The night was clear, the summer moon almost full. The silvery sheen on the black waters of the Sound was a perfect complement to all the glitter inside, Jasper thought. He wondered if the effect had been ordered up by Light Fantastic especially for the Silver Galaxy Foods Night event. If anyone could talk the supplier of moonlight into putting on a show, it would be Olivia.

  Lord, he was waxing poetic, he thought, chagrined. Maybe he should have switched to the spring water earlier in the evening.

  Only the barest hint of a wake disturbed the water down below. There was a small background shudder from the engines. The Private Island was barely moving. The captain was conserving fuel. It was not as though they had a destination, Jasper thought. A party cruise to nowhere.

  He felt the small shiver that went through Olivia’s arm. It occurred to him that her gown offered little protection against the chill of the night air. He took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

  She looked at him with a small frown. “You’ll be cold.”

  “I’m fine.” He put both hands on the teak rail and gazed out at the moonlit water. “You’d better tell me about it.”

  She stood tensely beside him. “I got another message from the blackmailer.”

  “Shit.” The last vestige of his poetic mood disintegrated. “Where? How?”

  “It was shoved under the door of my cabin sometime this evening.”

  Jasper absorbed the implications of that single statement. “What did it say?”

  “Just that the price would be a thousand dollars and that instructions for the first payment would come soon.”

  He thought quickly. “We won’t tell your aunt that there’s been another demand. Not yet, at any rate. She’ll panic.”

  “You don’t understand, Jasper.”

  “What do you mean? You just said the blackmailer had contacted you with his new demands.”

  “He did not contact me to tell me what Zara must pay for his silence regarding her secret.” Olivia’s eyes were deep in shadow. “The note I got demands money for keeping my secret.”

  A quiet rage unfurled inside him. He said nothing while he dealt with it.

  “Do you realize what this means?” Olivia whispered. “The blackmailer is on board the Private Island tonight. He’s here, somewhere, walking around on this boat.”

  He forced himself to think logically. “We can’t be certain of that. Someone could have delivered the note before we sailed.”

  “I just told you, it wasn’t in my room earlier when I went downstairs to my cabin to change for the evening.”

  “What time was that?”

  “Shortly after we sailed.” She clutched the lapels of his jacket very tightly. “It has to be someone on this boat, Jasper.”

  “Not necessarily.” He put his hands on her shoulders. Gripped her hard to get her attention. “The note could have been delivered to the Private Island before we sailed. A crew member might have been tipped to put it under your door.”

  She turned abruptly to search his face. “There must be a way to find out if that’s what happened.”

  “Let me handle it. You’ve got work to do. I’ll talk to some of the crew. See if anyone knows anything about a note that might have been delivered to the ship before sailing.”

  She looked briefly stubborn, but in the end the logic of his suggestion overrode her resistance. She nodded once. “All right. Thanks.”

  He glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly two. You said you were going to try to catch a nap between three and five?”

  “I’m not likely to get any sleep now.”

  “Maybe not, but you might as well go on down to your cabin at three, anyway. Put your feet up for a couple of hours, at least. I’ll meet you there as soon as I’ve checked with the crew about the note.”

  She hesitated again. At that moment the lounge door opened. A couple swept through the opening. They were laughing uproariously at some private joke. Music spilled out behind them.

  Jasper watched Olivia pull herself together and smile graciously at the guests. The fury in her eyes disappeared behind a thoroughly professional mask. When the couple moved off toward the aft deck, she looked at Jasper.

  “All right, my cabin at three.” She went to the lounge door and paused, fingers on the handle. “Thanks, Jasper.”

  “Sure.” He waited until she got the door open. “Just one more thing.”

  She slanted him a quick, questioning look. “What’s that?”

  “My jacket. It might look a little strange if you wear it back inside.”

  She looked startled. Then she hastily removed the coat and tossed it to him. “Three o’clock.”

  She disappeared back into the warmth and the music of the lounge.

  Jasper remained at the railing for a few minutes and absently inhaled the scent of Olivia’s perfume that clung to his jacket. She was more than just angry, he thought. She was afraid.

  What did the blackmailer know that made him think Olivia would even consider paying blackmail?

  At three o’clock Olivia let herself into her cabin. The ship was quieter now. Some of the revelers had retired to their rooms. She had seen nothing of Jasper since she had left him out on deck an hour ago.

  She switched on a small lamp, sat down on the bed, and kicked off her shoes. Jasper had been right. She could not sleep, but it would be a good idea to put her feet up for a while. She still had the breakfast buffet and disembarkation to handle.

  She lay down on the bunk and propped her heels high against the wall. It was a trick she had learned long ago, one that she found to be remarkably restorative. But the tactic did not work tonight.

  Someone knew her secret. She clenched her fists at her sides on the bed. Adrenaline surged through her system.

  After a while she took her feet down off the wall, stood, and started to pace the small confines of the cabin.

  No one alive now could possibly know about Logan and Nina. She had destroyed the journal, herself, every last damning page.

  A soft knock interrupted her thoughts. She hurried across the room and opened the door. Jasper stood there, jacket hooked over one shoulder, black tie hanging loose around his neck. His shirt was unfastened at the throat.

  A wholly unwarranted sense of relief shot through her. He looked so incredibly solid and strong and substantial, she thought. The kind of man who controlled his inner demons. Not the sort who would ever be controlled by them. Not the kind who would use them as an excuse for weakness and self-indulgence.

  This man was nothing like Logan.

  “Well?” she demanded. “What did you find out?”

  He glanced meaningfully back along the hallway. “You want to discuss this out here in the corridor or inside where we can have some privacy?”

  “Oh. Yes, of course.” She stepped back quickly. “Come in. Hurry. The last thing we need is for someone to notice that the event producer is entertaining one of the guests in her cabin.”

  He quirked a brow as he moved past her, but he said nothing.

  She leaned out into the hall to make certain that no one had witnessed Jasper entering her cab
in. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she closed the door and leaned back against it. Her hands squeezed around the knob.

  “Did you learn anything useful?” she asked.

  “Yes and no.” He tossed his tuxedo jacket down on the foot of the bed and went to stand looking out through the small porthole. “The note was put under your door by one of the crew.”

  “Where did he get it?”

  “He told me that a cab drove up to the dock just before the Private Island sailed. The driver said he’d been paid to deliver the message to a member of the crew with instructions to put it in your room.” Jasper glanced at her. “Which the crewman did as soon as he had a free moment.”

  Her spirits plummeted. “So the blackmailer is not on board after all.”

  “Doesn’t look like it.”

  “That’s unfortunate, isn’t it?” She continued to grip the doorknob. “It would have made everything so much easier if he were. At least we would have had a finite number of suspects.”

  “Yes. But I doubt that the blackmailer would have made things so simple.”

  “No, of course not.” She closed her eyes. “This is so bizarre.”

  “We’ll find him,” Jasper said quietly. “But I need more information.”

  She opened her eyes. “I’ve told you everything I know. Maybe the crewman could give us a lead on the taxi driver.”

  “He doesn’t even remember what kind of cab it was.”

  “Damn.”

  Jasper turned slowly around to face her. His eyes were impossible to read in the dim light. “What does the blackmailer know that makes him think you’ll pay him for his silence?”

  She had been expecting this, she reminded herself. It was the same question he had asked after he had learned that Zara was being blackmailed. A logical, rational question under the circumstances. A question that she would have asked if their positions had been reversed.

  Olivia shook her head slowly. “Please don’t ask me that.”

  “I can’t help unless I know what I’m dealing with.”

  She sighed. “If it was a secret that affected only me, I would tell you, Jasper. I swear it. But this affects other people. People who will be badly hurt if the truth comes out.”