No One to Trust - Iris Johansen [41]
And then perhaps he’d invite him to his gym for a little workout.
7
“Good morning.” Judd Morgan turned away from the cabinet and smiled at Elena. “Would you like a cup of coffee? I’d offer you something to eat, but Galen is very territorial about his domain. I’m a junk-food addict. I have to sneak in here and have my Frosted Flakes.”
“I’d like coffee.” She glanced at his bowl and the box beside it. It really was Frosted Flakes. “I’ll get it. If you’re really sneaking, you don’t have much time. I think Galen and Barry are almost finished with his lessons.”
“Sounds like he’s having a great time. And he learns fast. He’s been at it for almost a week, hasn’t he?”
She hadn’t thought Morgan was even aware of what was going on in the gym. She had scarcely seen him except at lunch and dinner. “Yes, he’s getting better every day.” She poured her coffee. And she was getting better too. Every session was easier for her to watch. This was the first morning she had felt that it wouldn’t be running away for her to leave the gym. “Galen is quite a taskmaster. He never gives up.”
“No, he doesn’t.” He took a bite of his cereal. “But he won’t hurt the kid.”
“That’s what he said about you.”
He paused with his spoon in midair. “He told you about me? He must trust you. He’s been damn careful about hiding me here. But, then, you’re one of his orphans too, aren’t you?”
“I’d hardly refer to either of us as an orphan.”
“Neither would Galen, but I believe somewhere deep in that convoluted mind of his, that’s the way he thinks of us. He’s a problem-solver, and we each have a problem.” He took another bite of cereal. “He struggles against it, but it’s his nature. As for me, I couldn’t be more pleased. To hell with pride. That little quirk of his saved my neck. He whisked me out of that jam in the nick of time.”
As he had whisked Elena away from that mountain and then the vineyard. “Have you known him long?”
“About five years. We met on a job in Sydney and we’ve run into each other several times over the years.” He pushed his bowl away. “He has contacts and heard I had been set up for a fall and gave me a ring. I was only minutes ahead of the squad that was sent to take me out.”
“And he brought you here?”
“He thought it was pretty safe. They didn’t know we were that close friends.” He grimaced. “Neither did I. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to act on that phone call.”
“But you were glad you did.”
“Hell, yes.” His lips twisted. “I just wish Logan would get on the stick. I’m getting edgy.”
She changed the subject. “I saw your painting. I liked it.”
“So do I. I like everything I’m doing here. I was tired and ready to quit the game anyway.” His gaze narrowed on her face. “But you aren’t, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I grew pretty good at interpreting body language over the years. You’re not hiding, you’re waiting.”
She hadn’t even realized he’d been studying her. “So?”
“Nothing. Do anything you please. Play any gambit. But make sure Galen comes out of this in one piece.”
She stared at him curiously. “And what would you do if I didn’t?”
“I owe him. What do you think?”
She had never seen a more chilling smile. “Then it’s a good thing that I’ve no intention of letting anything happen to him, isn’t it?” She stood up. “Thanks for the coffee, Morgan.”
“My pleasure.”
She left the kitchen and went down the hall toward the gym. Waiting, not hiding.
Judd Morgan was as perceptive as Galen, but she wasn’t quite as ruthless as he thought. She wasn’t so filled with hate that she’d sacrifice the innocent with the guilty.
Or would she? When the time came, would she stop at anything to rid their lives of Chavez? He had hovered over her like a hideous gargoyle, always there, always a threat. She didn’t want him to have that kind of power over her any longer.
Barry’s session was over only a few minutes after she returned to the gym, and he streaked by her to go upstairs