Fatal Tide - Iris Johansen [92]
“Then maybe we shouldn't wait until he gets reinforcements,” Nicholas said.
“If he's as angry as I think he is, we might be able to use it,” Melis said.
Kelby gave her a wary look. “How?”
“I'm not sure.”
“You don't mean use his anger, you mean use you.” Kelby added flatly, “No.”
“How do you know he hasn't already got those weapons on board his ship? Maybe he's just waiting for more men,” Melis said. “Do you want to chance him blowing the Trina out of the water?”
“No, and I don't want him to blow you out of the water either.”
“We need to know what he's thinking. Let's give him another day.”
“And you think we'll know then?”
“Yes. He'll call me. He won't be able to resist. He's only waiting until he thinks he has the upper hand. He's probably seething to do it now, but he can't feel like a failure when he talks to me.” She smiled crookedly. “It has to be slave and master.”
Kelby gazed at her for a moment. “Okay, one day. That's all.” His eyes narrowed on her face. “What are you thinking about? You can't pull the same trick on him again.”
“I know. He'll want me now as much as he does the papers. Before I was just a little something extra.” She shook her head. “I don't know what I'm thinking. There has to be a way. . . .”
They didn't have to wait a day for Archer to call. Her phone rang two hours later.
“Are you feeling smug?” Archer asked. “Nothing's changed, Melis. I'm alive and you're alive and you still have to give me the papers.”
“Some things have changed. Pennig's dead.”
“He's replaceable.” He paused. “But you're right, there has been one change. I took a little trip to Cadora. You're my only source for those reference papers now. You took them from Lontana, didn't you?”
“What did you expect?”
“You've made it very inconvenient for me. I'm afraid there will be a price to pay. Shall I tell you how?”
“Do you expect me to quiver and weep? That was an act, Archer. I made a fool of you.” She paused before adding mockingly, “Mr. Peepers.”
“Bitch.” He drew a deep breath. “You'll pay for that. I'd almost rather have my hands on you than the papers.”
“It won't happen. I'm safe here. Kelby will protect me. He doesn't give a damn about me, but that doesn't matter. I give him what he wants and he keeps all the nasty impotent perverts like you away from me.”
She could almost feel the heat of his rage through the phone. “He'll get tired of you.”
“I'm too good, and there's only one thing Kelby likes better than sex. He thinks his damn boat was made in heaven. He yells when one of the crew gets a scratch on it. But I manage to quiet him down. I learned a lot at Kafas. No, you'll never get another chance at me, Archer.” She hung up.
“You gave it to him with both barrels.” Kelby raised himself on one elbow on the bed. “He certainly won't think you're a wimp anymore. And a man doesn't like to have his virility questioned.”
“I wanted to make him angry.” She paused. “So he wouldn't realize I'd deliberately dropped a weapon in his hands.”
“What weapon?”
“You.”
“Oh, big sex-hungry me, who doesn't give a damn about you? I can't say I liked that description.”
“I bet you like it better than impotent pervert.”
“That's true.”
“I had to switch his focus. He's getting impatient. Somehow he found out that Phil doesn't have the papers. He tried to kill the dolphins and it didn't work. And he's not getting any satisfaction out of talking to me anymore. He senses I'm not a victim any longer. He can't hurt me.”
Kelby went still. “He can't?”
She shook her head. “I'm the only one who can hurt me. Maybe I should thank him. He punished me so much that I've developed scar tissue that would withstand almost anything.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “When did you find this out?”
“It's been growing on me.” She shook her head impatiently. “We don't have time to talk about me. Archer may be calling back.”
“Why?”
“Because when he gets over the first rage at me, he's going to think about what I said.”
“And he'll call you back.”
“No, he'll call you back and