Obsidian Prey Read Online Free PDF Page B

she had invited to dinner in the past three months had been Nancy, and that every time they had shared a glass of the fabulously expensive Amber Dew they had chanted, “To the bastard, may he rot.”
    He picked up the glass. “Thanks for trusting me enough to let me come back here with you tonight. I know that must have been hard for you.”
    She took a small sip of the potent Amber Dew, lowered the glass, and went for sultry. “I’ve had a lot of time to think in the past three months, Cruz.”
    “And you finally realized that I had no choice but to do what I did?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I still think Amber Inc. had no right whatsoever to confiscate my find. But I understand that you sincerely believe that you did what you had to do. I can respect that.”
    “The ruin you discovered down there in the jungle was potentially dangerous, Lyra. By law you should have reported it immediately to the authorities.”
    “Oh, wow. A lecture.”
    His mouth tightened at the corners. “You know as well as I do that under the Alien Antiquities Act, any find that poses a potential hazard or generates unknown power of any kind must be analyzed and classified by the appropriate authorities.”
    “Who will then confiscate it. If said antiquity happens to be made of amber, especially an extremely rare form, the appropriate authorities will naturally hand it over to Amber Inc., which has a contract with the federal government.” She widened her eyes with mock astonishment. “Gosh, I wonder why so many small, independent prospectors like me don’t routinely tell the appropriate authorities about their little finds.”
    “The amethyst ruin was no small find. You knew that better than anyone. And it wasn’t stolen from you. Amber Inc. offered generous compensation.”
    “Hah. There was no way your company could possibly compensate me for what you snatched from me. That ruin was priceless.”
    “This isn’t about the legalities, is it?” he said quietly. “It’s about us. You and me.”
    That was another thing about Cruz Sweetwater. He always went straight to the bottom line. She exhaled slowly, leaned against the counter, glass in hand, and looked at the coffee table with its vase of exotic flowers.
    “Yes,” she said. “It’s about us and the fact that you lied to me.”
    “I had no choice.”
    “I understand that now. I don’t have to like it, but I’m okay with it. I’ve moved on with my life.”
    “That’s why you dropped the lawsuit?”
    “Well, that and the fact that I finally came to my senses and realized that I could not afford to go up against Amber Inc. for even another week.”
    There was a silence while they drank the quartz-green liqueur. The champagne had not done diddly-squat, but the Dew was succeeding where the lightweight stuff had failed. Her nerves were settling down nicely.
    “I got the orchids,” she said after a while.
    He regarded the flowers, eyes narrowing faintly. “I noticed them when we came in.”
    “They’re very beautiful.”
    He did not take his attention off the orchids. “Expensive.”
    “Mmm.” She ran the tip of her finger around the rim of her glass. “Amethyst orchids are very pricey. Especially when you send that many of them twice a week for six weeks.”
    “Someone has been sending you orchids twice a week for six weeks?”
    She froze. Okay, this was not another waking nightmare episode, but in some ways it was a whole lot worse than one of the hallucinations.
    Dread in her heart, she made herself look at Cruz. His hard face was set in implacable lines. She did not say a word, but words were unnecessary. She saw sudden comprehension burn in his eyes.
    “You thought I was the one who was sending the flowers,” he said softly. It was not a question.
    She could feel herself turning as bright as the magenta paint on Vincent’s latest canvas. She set the half-finished Amber Dew on the counter with great care and cleared her throat.
    “Well,”