“Mr. Munro is nothing if not a canny businessman,” Evers said with a shrug.
Hammersmith rubbed his jaw and frowned in thought. He wanted to talk to Munro about the problem of Frank Morgan, but he couldn’t wait around all day for the mining magnate. On the other hand, he
“Is Mrs. Munro here?” he asked.
“I believe so.”
“I’ll talk to her then,” Hammersmith declared.
It was the secretary’s turn to frown. “What business do you have with Mrs. Munro?”
“That’s between her and me,” Hammersmith snapped.
The two men glared at each other for a moment before Evers gave in—as Hammersmith had known he would. “Just a moment,” he said.
He went to the door of the suite’s other room and knocked on it. When Jessica Munro answered, Evers said, “Mr. Hammersmith would like to speak with you, ma’am.”
The door opened. Jessica wore a green silk dressing gown that looked good on her. She smiled and said, “What can I do for you, Mr. Hammersmith?”
She was so lovely she took his breath away, as usual. He managed to say, “I, uh, have an important message about the mine that you can pass along to your husband if you’d be so kind, ma’am.”
“If it has to do with business, you could have told me,” Evers said.
Hammersmith bared his teeth and said, “I’d rather speak to the lady.”
“It’s all right, Mr. Evers,” Jessica said. “I’m glad to help Hamish with his business. He never lets me do anything really important.” Her full red lips pursed in a little pout that made Hammersmith’s heart thud even harder. “Why don’t you go downstairs to the kitchen and get some coffee for us?”
Evers looked reluctant to leave them alone. “Are you sure you want me to do that, ma’am?”
“I’m certain.”
He sighed and nodded. “All right then.” He looked at Hammersmith and added, “I’ll be right back.”
When he was gone, Hammersmith grinned and said, “I don’t think that fella likes me very much.”
Jessica ignored that comment and asked, “Do you really want to talk to me about the mine, Gunther…or did you come for this?”
Just like that, she was in his arms, and her mouth met his with an eager urgency as he bent his head to hers. Her body molded against his, and he could feel every curve of it through the dressing gown.
When she pulled back from him after a long, intense moment, she said, “That will have to be enough to satisfy us both for now. I don’t think Nathan will be gone for very long.”
Hammersmith’s voice was rough with need as he said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice firm. It softened a little as she added, “But there’ll be another time, Gunther.”
He dragged in a deep breath in an attempt to get control of himself. He said, “I really did want to talk to Mr. Munro about some things. Can you tell him that Morgan was out at the mine again this morning?”
“You mean Marshal Morgan?” Jessica asked with a frown.
“Yeah. He was talking about that cave-in and the strike over at the Lucky Lizard.”
Jessica shook her head. “That doesn’t have anything to do with the Alhambra, does it?”
Hammersmith thought for a second about how to approach this, then said, “No, but Morgan’s got a burr under his saddle about it anyway. Everything bad that happens around here, he blames on me and your husband. I think Mr. Munro needs to know that Morgan’s still causing trouble.”
“But what can be done about that?”
Hammersmith’s massive shoulders rose and fell. “I wouldn’t know about that,” he said. “Mr. Munro handles all the problems like that. Just tell him about Morgan coming out there, and if he wants me to do anything about it, he can let me know.”
“All right.” She gave a little laugh. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about all these things. I just don’t have any head for business at all.”
“Well, that doesn’t matter,” he assured her. “You’ve got me and your husband looking out for you.”
“That’s right.” She rubbed her hand up and down his arm. “And I know I can count on you, can’t I, Gunther?”
He swallowed hard. “Yes, ma’am. You sure can, Mrs. Munro.”
“Oh, I think when we’re alone, you can call me Jessica. Would you like that?”
He bobbed his head and said, “Yes, ma’am. I mean, Jessica.”
She pointed to a chair on the other side of the room. “Now, I think you should go over there and sit down, because I think I hear Evers coming back.”
Sure enough, by the time Hammersmith was seated in the chair Jessica had indicated, Evers was right outside the door. He came in carrying a silver tray with two cups of coffee on it. Jessica was all the way across the room, standing by the window. Judging by appearances, nothing improper had happened here while Evers was gone.
He looked suspicious anyway, and Hammersmith wondered if he would tell Munro about him being here alone
