The Heart of the Jungle, стр. 34
Strong arms held tightly to the spare pillow.
For a few seconds Chris stared, transfixed. His heart skipped in his chest. He knew exactly what it was like to be pressed against that hard form, to be cradled in those strong arms. There was some indefinable quality about Jason that spoke directly to the deepest part of him. The feelings he aroused were wholly unfamiliar. Michael had never affected him in this way.
Jason stirred, and Chris tore his eyes away, casting them demurely aside. He hurried into his own bed, pulled the covers up to his chin, and turned toward the wall. In the silence of the room, he was certain he could hear the pounding of his own pulse.
It was a very long time before he was able to go to sleep, and when he did, it was restless and fevered, his dreaming mind carrying him to places he would never otherwise go.
Chapter 9
JASON awoke shortly after seven o'clock and rolled out of the bed. He wasn't the kind of person to lounge once he'd awakened. When he was up, he was up.
He smiled softly at Chris. With the covers pulled up to his chin and his face awash in the morning sun, he looked so peaceful, so content.
Without the air of melancholy draped about him like a shroud, he seemed almost angelic as he slumbered.
Jason showered quickly and noticed, with some relief, that his morning ablutions had not awakened Chris. With a last glance to assure himself that everything was as it should be, he slipped into the hallway and made his way back to the lobby.
Once outside the hotel, he took out his cell phone and dialed the office. Lisa answered on the third ring.
"Jason, where are you? It's all over the news."
Jason stepped onto the sidewalk and headed north along Las Vegas Boulevard.
"What's all over the news?"
"Jeffrey Cross. He's dead."
Jason stopped in his tracks and gaped. "What?" His stomach lurched. "Cross is dead?"
"And they think you did it. I have a couple of detectives headed over here as we speak."
"But I didn't," he protested.
"Come on, I know that. Several witnesses reported that you and Christian James had a confrontation with him at Lafferty's yesterday. His employees said he left shortly afterward, acting like he was scared."
"Chris was a little upset and caused a scene," Jason admitted.
"And he's missing too. They sent someone to question him, and it looks like he left in a hurry. They think it's all very suspicious, especially considering what happened with his partner and his daughter."
"Damn Callahan. He's probably strutting around telling everyone how he knew Chris was a killer all along." Jason scanned the street, searching for danger in the milling crowds. "This is not good."
"Where are you?"
"Las Vegas. I was attacked in my apartment last night---"
"Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. The guy who came after me is in much worse shape, I can assure you."
"You don't think Chris James killed Jeffrey Cross, do you?"
"Impossible. He's with me."
"What do you want me to tell the police?"
Jason thought about it. "You can't lie to them. They'll eventually get a warrant and check the phone records." He moved out of the flow of foot traffic and huddled against a wall. "Damn it. I wish I had known. This situation is just going from bad to worse."
"I'll tell them that you called but didn't say where you were."
"Good. That's good. Give them my files on Chris James, but get rid of the notes from our interview with Cross. It wouldn't take much to figure out where we went, and I don't want them alerting the Las Vegas police just yet. They'll find that out as soon as they check airline passenger manifests, but they won't think of that for a while." Nothing he could do about the record of their trip, now.
Shit. A ticking clock. Just what I needed.
"Listen, Lis, I need you to do something else for me," he said.
"Name it."
"Wire ten thousand into the Big Sky Partners account."
"You want me to make some fake invoices to back it up like last time?"
"I love you."
"Gross," she replied. "The funds will be there in a few---" She stopped talking abruptly. "Gotta go, Mom," she said. "Take care of yourself, okay?"
Jason understood the message. "You too, Lis." He disconnected.
He stood with his back to the wall for several minutes. Cross was dead. He couldn't believe it.
Brunner's boldness seemed to know no bounds. So much for subtle complexity. Brunner's style had definitely changed. He used to be a con artist, given to grand and elaborate schemes, but he had also been sly.
This was far more brazen than Jason would ever have expected from him.
There were very, very high stakes here. What the hell was so special about Chris? What the hell did Brunner want from him? Where or what was the Heart of the Jungle?
Obviously, Chris was never supposed to have found out what had happened to Michael and his daughter. It seemed ever more certain that they were still alive. Something big was going down. Something big enough to cause splash damage to anyone who got too close to Chris.
One innocent bystander had already died. He couldn't risk allowing that to happen again.
We have to act fast. He moved back onto the sidewalk and continued purposefully along the Strip.
He was anxious to have a look at the nightclub Sylvia Hopkins owned and determine whether it would be possible to use stealth to infiltrate her penthouse.
After several minutes of hard walking, he turned right and made his way east along the connecting block. This early in the day, it was relatively quiet off the Strip. Paradise was particularly sedate.
Interspersed among the convenience stores and smaller casinos, there were a few modern condominium complexes, one or two restaurants, and several nightclubs. This part of Las Vegas was likely to be