Matt—The Callahan Brothers (Brazos Bend Book 2) (4 page)

“About this date,” she said as he separated weapons from the pile of supplies. “Are you talking something traditional? You pick me up, take me to a restaurant, then take me home and give me a goodnight kiss?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “At least.”

She considered that as she watched him retrieve a clear piece of line she’d not previously noticed that ran up to the plate-sized hole in the cavern’s roof. To the line he tied a rope; then to the rope he affixed a bag, to which he added those items he obviously didn’t want to get wet—two more guns, ammunition, boots, a pair of pants, and two T-shirts.

When he turned to her and raised a questioning brow, she said, “Okay, then. Yes, I’d love to go to dinner with you. But in light of those odds, seeing that fifty-fifty isn’t all that great, do you think I could get an advance on that goodnight kiss?”

His lips twitched. “Is this a rebound thing?”

“Oh, no. If anything, it’s a James Bond thing.”

“Now, that’s annoying.” He rolled his tongue around his mouth. “Dr. Bradshaw, I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended. You don’t think I’ll get you out of this alive?”

“Better be safe than sorry,” she said, with a shrug.

He advanced on her slowly, a predator’s gleam in his eyes. “I must be better than I thought if you’d be sorry to die without another one of my kisses.”

“It wasn’t great or anything,” she said, shrugging. Lying. “It just showed promise.”

“Now you’re lying. Despite the fact I kissed you to shut you up rather than to seduce you, it was a great kiss.” He reached out and yanked the towel wrapped around her. As it slipped to the ground, he added, “I always give great kisses.”

Yes, please.
“Maybe you should prove it... .”

He stepped close, backing her up against the cool cavern wall. His body heat enveloped her.

“Double ... oh ...”

He put his hands on her waist, then slid them down until they cupped the cheeks of her butt and like last time, he lifted her. Only this time, rather than taking her all the way to his waist, he held her at his hips, where the prominent ridge of his arousal hit her sweet spot just right.

“... yeah!”

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

His mouth settled against hers and as his tongue prodded and pillaged, Torie wondered if perhaps she hadn’t been paying attention. Maybe she’d already died.

Because she was pretty sure she’d just gone to heaven.

Chapter Three

Matt wondered if he’d lost his ever-loving mind. Hiding on a tropical island from killers on the hunt, he was acting more like a horny high schooler than an efficient, no nonsense United States government operative. With the daughter of a man he respected, at that.

But dammit, he’d had a lust buzz on since he’d first laid eyes on Helen Bradshaw yesterday. She’d walked onto the veranda of her oceanfront home in bare feet and a flirty little sundress. Matt had watched from the trees while she lunched with one of the scientists, her ready smile and gentle laughter as appealing as the generous curves her slip of a dress revealed.

There was nothing gentle about the woman in his arms right now, though. She was a tigress, vibrating with energy, using her tongue and her hands and her hips to drive him to the brink of crazy.

He was moments ... seconds ... from lowering her to the ledge and stripping off that tiny excuse for a swimsuit when sanity prevailed. One time wouldn’t satisfy him with this woman. He’d need a whole night—a whole week—and they simply didn’t have time. Not now. Once they made it off the island ... well ... maybe he would take a couple days’ R & R. Perhaps if he recharged his batteries, he’d work more efficiently and have better luck in his search for Ćurković.

Though it just about killed him, Matt stepped back and gently lowered her feet to the floor. “You mentioned a promise.
 
Let me promise you this, Dr. Bradshaw. We will finish this, but it won’t be on the floor of a tropical cenote while being serenaded by a ticking clock. We’ll be in a big, soft bed with all the time in the world and maybe a can of whipped cream at our disposal. So.” He gave her butt cheek one more squeeze, then released her. “You ready to go steal a chopper?”

“I ... uh ... oh, wow.” She shoved her fingers through her damp hair. “Just give me a minute. My knees are a little weak.”

Matt gave her a smug nod, then moved to strap on his knives. “I’ll lead the way back through the tunnel, but when we reach the outer cavern, I want you to stay hidden until I give you the signal that it’s safe.”

“All right.”

“Let’s go, then.” He gestured for her to enter the pool, then watched her graceful dive with a deep twinge of regret. As a rule, he didn’t jump into sex with a woman he’d just met, but Helen Bradshaw broke all the rules. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d wanted a woman this bad. They’d both damn well better survive this.

Matt positioned himself slightly in front of her as he led her into the inky cavern, his senses attuned to her location at every second. It was awfully easy to get turned around in these tunnels. They’d swum submerged a little over a minute when the welcome presence of sunlight pierced the darkness ahead. Three hard strokes carried him to the light source. He rose to the surface at a spot still well inside the cave and waited for Helen to join him seconds later. He heard her fill her lungs with air; then he placed a finger over her lips. Their gazes met and held.
You okay?
he silently inquired.

She nodded.
Yes.

He held up one hand, palm out, signaling for her to stay where she was. Again, she nodded.

Matt turned his attention to their surroundings. Slowly, cautiously, he eased out into the open, listening hard. His vision was blocked by the rise of earth surrounding the cenote on three sides, so when he determined he heard no sounds other than those natural to the rain forest, he drew his knife, climbed quietly from the water, and snaked up the slope to survey the scene.

Nobody around but the iguanas. Good. He sheathed his weapon.

Moving quickly now, he descended to where Helen Bradshaw could see him, and waved her from the water. When he saw her safely aground, he went to retrieve his kit. The heavy duty fishing line that supported the rope lay invisible against the rocky ground, and even knowing where to look, Matt had trouble finding it. By the time he’d pulled the bag through the hole, Helen had joined him, holding the memory card triumphantly in her right hand.

“Good job,” he murmured, swiftly removing the items from the rope. He handed Helen one of the dry T-shirts, then stripped off his sodden shorts and stepped into the dry fatigues, ignoring his companion’s strangled gurgle. After pulling on his boots, he holstered his nine-millimeter at his waist, then looked at her. “Can you handle a gun?”

After the slightest hesitation, she said, “Yes.”

“You sure? If you don’t know how to use it, then it’s better for me to carry both of them.”

“I’ve shot a gun before. I just don’t like to.”

“Fair enough.” He handed her the Glock. “If things go our way, neither one of us will have to use it.”

Matt stored his ammunition and other small necessities in the pockets of his fatigues, then held out his hand for the memory card. When she hesitated, he scowled at her. “You need your hands free, woman, and it’s not like you have any pockets. Look. We can’t lose those pictures.”

“I managed to keep up with the card during the run through the jungle,” she grumbled, handing it over.

“This time you’ll be busy keeping up with the gun.”

Matt checked the compass on his watch, then leaned down and gave her a quick, hard kiss on the mouth. “Let’s do it.”

In the interest of speed, he traveled an animal path through the rain forest, pausing every few minutes to listen to their surroundings. Helen stayed close on his heels. They didn’t speak and when he stopped to listen, she spent her time looking around her and above her, shying away from snakes and shuddering at spider webs. For a research scientist whose work revolved around the rain forest, she appeared surprisingly ill at ease with the flora and fauna. Bordering on phobic. Curious, he decided. Maybe she spent her time in the lab, sending others to gather the rain forest’s bounty for her to study.

They’d traveled twenty minutes when Matt noted voices approaching. He grabbed Helen’s hand and pulled her off the path, heading for the deepest, densest foliage around. Thorns pricked and tore at his skin, but he pressed on until thick green foliage surrounded them. When Helen let out one barely audible squeak, Matt turned quickly. He brushed a spider the size of a small bird from her hair, then wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close against him. He could feel the thunder of her pulse.

The hunters spoke in Spanish and carried automatic rifles. As they passed, Matt picked up a valuable piece of information. Reinforcements were due within the hour, but for now, the searchers numbered six men only. Six men to evade on an island approximately twenty acres in size. Decent odds. He raised his estimation of the chances of their success to sixty-forty.

After the voices faded, he waited five minutes before whispering into Helen’s ear. “You okay?”

“Get me out of here.”

“I will. It’s safe enough now. If I’ve figured correctly, we’ll reach the compound in about five minutes or so. At that point, everything needs to happen fast.”

“Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.”

Whoa. I think she means it
. Matt guided them out of the concealment, and only then noted both the wild look in the scientist’s eyes and the deep red scratches on her skin. “Poor thing,” he murmured.

“I hate spiders,” she snapped, her voice rising on every word. “And snakes. Did you see the snake on the tree beside me?”

Uh, no. “Missed that.”

“Next time I’ll take my chances with the gunmen. Got it?”

“Calm down, honey. We don’t have time for hysterics. You’re all right. So far you’ve escaped all the snakes in this forest. I’m doing my best to keep it that way. We’ve gotta go.”

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her down the path, ignoring her murmured, “Hysterics? That wasn’t hysterics. That was pure, unadulterated fear, and I think I held up pretty good under the circumstances. Did I scream? Did I shout? No. I let out one little tiny whimper is all. One itty bitty tiny little squeak.”

“Shush,” he cautioned. “Listen.”

Matt didn’t hear anything, but then if there had been something to hear, he couldn’t have heard it over her yammering.

The brilliant research scientist responded by poking him on the shoulder and sticking out her tongue. Matt’s grin stayed with him until the research compound came into sight.

He signaled for her to stay put; then he worked his way closer to the heliport. He removed a small pair of binoculars from a pants pocket, went down on one knee, and surveyed the clearing.

As he’d figured, the bad guys had a guard stationed at the boat dock, an M249 assault rifle at the ready. Matt swung his glasses north until movement between the laboratory and the main house caught his attention. A brunette sobbed against a man’s shoulder while he held a cell phone to his ear. Was she the woman who’d been with Marlow? Was the man the shooter? Both faces were turned away, so Matt couldn’t identify either of them.

Matt moved his glasses over toward the heliport. The good news was that no one was guarding the bird. The bad news was that there was absolutely no cover to hide their approach. He and Dr. Delectable would be sitting ducks during the sprint from the forest to the copter.

Of course, that lack of cover could help them during those dangerous thirty seconds to a minute between engine ignition and liftoff. Matt decided to focus on the positive. He reminded himself that he’d been in much worse spots than this over the years, and he’d always made it out just fine. Today would be no different-except for the fact he’d be bringing a drop dead gorgeous scientist out with him.

Now, that was a James Bond moment. He thought of how the 007 movies so often ended—Bond getting laid by a beautiful woman. He’d always despised the quips and comparisons his brothers and others made about the fictitious agent, but maybe in this case, he wouldn’t complain about Dr. Bradshaw’s little movie fantasies.

He worked his way back to Helen and said, “It’s as clear as it’s going to get. You ready?”

“I guess. Tell me exactly what I need to do.”

“When I give the word, run like hell for the helicopter. If somebody shoots at you, shoot back. Otherwise, keep down and send up some prayers.”

“Prayers.” Her full lip trembled. “I can do prayers.”

She still had that wild look to her eyes, so Matt took a moment to calm her down. Smiling, he placed his hand on her cheek. “We’ll get through this, Helen, and once we do, remember, we have a date.”

He gave her another quick kiss, then turned, preparing to run.

“Torie,” she said.

Concentrating on the mission at hand, he almost didn’t hear her. “What?”

“My name is Torie. I thought you should know just in case you make it and I don’t.”

Matt forgot all about the mission. “What did you say? You’re not Helen Bradshaw? Dr. Helen Bradshaw?”

“No. I’m Torie.”