[JJ06] Quicksand Read Online Free PDF

about?” I asked. “Why wouldn’t I be free to go?”
    “Nobody is holding anyone against their will,” the British man said. “Why don’t you two relax and have a drink while we talk? I don’t think you’ll be so eager to leave once you’ve heard what I have to say.”
    “Who are you?” I asked.
    “Forgive me. My friends call me North. I hope you’ll do the same. I’m an associate of Lane’s. We go way back.”
    “You don’t have to do this,” Lane said to North. “I told you I’ll do the job.”
    “I’d feel much more convinced in the strength of your word,” North said, “if there was more at stake that you care about.” His gaze shifted to me.
    A wave of panic washed over me, starting in my gut and radiating to every inch of my body. I knew what those words meant. It was what Lane had been afraid of. When he turned his life around, he broke all ties with his old life—his life as an art thief.
    But breaking ties with the past hadn’t worked. Because of me, they’d found a way to get to him.

CHAPTER 5

      
    “If you’re talking about me,” I said to North, “you’ve got the wrong girl. Lane doesn’t care about me. I haven’t heard from him in over five months.”
    “I know,” North said. “That made it quite difficult to find his weak spot. I had to dig deeper into his activities than was convenient. He tried to deny it at first, but for someone who’s such a good actor, he failed in this part. He couldn’t cover up his feelings for you.”
    “Wait, Lane really wrote the letter about wanting to see me?”
    Lane groaned. “That’s why my shopping lists disappeared before I left Berkeley. I didn’t think I’d thrown them away.”
    “It was much easier to obtain handwriting samples,” North said, “in the days when people wrote letters and kept journals on paper. Luckily, Lane considers himself a cook, so he writes nicely detailed lists of ingredients along with recipes he’s trying out.”
    “He’s a forger,” Lane said. “A forger and a con man.” Behind his glasses, his eyes were full of so much sadness that it took some of the sting out of knowing I’d been tricked. “I’m so sorry, Jones. I had no idea he was bringing you here.”
    “That’s what was wrong with the letter!” My shoulders slumped as I realized my mistake. “I knew there was something off about the letter, even though it matched your handwriting perfectly. I told myself I must not have known you as well as I thought I did, because the tone sounded off. But that wasn’t it. It was what you called me in the letter. You call me Jaya in casual conversation, but when there’s emotion involved—”
    “Jones.” Lane grabbed my hand. “I’m sorry to all of your names, Jaya Anand Jones.” He pulled me closer, but stopped short of holding me close.
    “I feel like a third wheel,” North said. “Terribly embarrassing to have gotten in the middle of a lover’s quarrel. I have one last thing to ask of Jaya, and then I’ll let you two get caught up.”
    Lane gripped my hand tighter.
    “No need to worry, Lane,” North said. “I merely wish to have Jaya authenticate some old documents from India that have fallen into my hands.”
    “No need for euphemisms,” Lane spat out.
    “Quite. Now then, I’ll leave you these documents I acquired .” North paused and picked up a stack of worn pages in protective plastic sleeves. “I’ll return in thirty minutes.”
    In spite of myself, the sight of the worn, faded papers sent a little thrill through me.
    “Not a chance,” Lane said.
    “It’s okay,” I said. I wasn’t planning on telling North whatever it was he wanted to know, but if he had historical documents, I wanted to see them.
    “You can look at them,” Lane said. “But not here. I know North. Whatever we say in this room, he’ll hear it.”
    A flash of anger crossed North’s face, but the emotion disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. He tossed back his head and laughed