A pounding started on the door. “Abby! Are you all right?”
“Gage . . . !” She tried to throw Clay off, but he slapped her again, knocking her head into the arm of the sofa.
“You said the two of you were over!” Clay shouted. “I should have had them finish you off in Mexico City!”
“What?”
The door crashed open, and Gage roared into the room. He took one look at her blouse and the red mark on her cheek and went after Clay like the lion he was.
Gage jerked Clay off Abby and sent him crashing into the wall. He grabbed the front of Clay’s shirt, hauled him up, and punched him in the face, sending him flying backward again.
“Get away from me!” Clay shouted as Gage strode over, hauled him to his feet, and hit him again.
Abby shot up from the sofa. “Gage, stop! You’ll kill him!”
Gage ignored her. “You hit her, you son of a bitch.” A fierce blow knocked Clay against the end table, sending the lamp crashing to the floor. When Gage drew back for another blow, Abby grabbed his bicep and held on as hard as she could.
“That’s enough, honey. Please stop, please!”
He looked at her over his shoulder, took a deep breath, and slowly released it. When he finally let go, Clay slid down the wall and didn’t get up.
Gage turned to Abby, his blue eyes scorching. “What the hell is he doing here? You said last night that you—”
“I do love you. It’s not what you think.” Abby took a shaky breath. “We were supposed to talk about a job offer at the museum. I thought I’d be able to keep things more professional if I cooked dinner for him here instead of going over to his place.”
Gage must have realized the implications of her decision, that if she’d gone to Clay’s house, Gage wouldn’t have shown up at the door and Clay could have raped her.
The anger in his face changed to concern, and he pulled her into his arms. “Jesus, baby.”
Abby clung to him. It felt so good to be back in his arms. How could she have ever believed she could be free of him? She loved him more than ever.
Gage let her go, and both of them looked down at Clay. Blood dripped from his nose and ran from the corner of his mouth. One of his eyes was turning black and was swollen nearly shut.
Abby ignored him. “Clay said something about Mexico City. I think he may have hired the men who tried to kidnap me in the hotel.”
“What?” Gage’s fury returned. He walked over and hauled Clay up, dragged him across the room, and shoved him down on the sofa. “Did you hire those men who went after Abby in Mexico City?”
When Clay didn’t answer, Gage drew back his fist. “It would be my pleasure to beat the living fuck out of you. Did you hire those two men?”
Clay nodded glumly.
“You told Abby that King mentioned Mexico. How did you know we were in Mexico City?”
“I figured you’d have to start by dealing with the government. You’d have to talk to people in the Anthropological Institute. I’ve worked with them for years. They knew you were staying at the Gran Hotel.”
Gage flicked an assessing glance at Abby, then looked back at Clay. “What about the three guys in Denver who tried to abduct her?”
Clay wiped blood off his mouth. “I just wanted the map.”
“You sonofabitch. You’re going to jail—you know that, right?”
“You’ve got the gold. Isn’t that enough?”
“Beating you senseless wouldn’t be enough. Call the cops, Abby.”
She walked over to Clay. “What you tried to do to me tonight . . . I don’t understand what you thought you could accomplish.”
His bloody lip curled. “You’re worth at least twenty million bucks, sweetheart. I figured there was a chance you’d see things my way once I had you in bed.”
