Give Him the Slip Read Online Free PDF Page B

different world, that. She'd been a different person.
    All in all, she liked this Maddie Kincaid better.
    Before her, tattered gray beards of Spanish moss dangled from
branches of live oaks, while red maples challenged tupelo trees and the bowed
boughs of willows for patches of solid ground. Green water lurked beneath a
deceptive raft of purple water hyacinths, cattails, and lily pads, and from the
muddy bank, half hidden by a tangled skein of creepers, a snake, long and thin
and as black as a killer's heart, slithered into the water.
    The snake made Maddie recall her dip-as-a-distraction, and a heavy
sigh escaped her lips. What was she going to do? Terri/Terry Winston couldn't
help her. What little she knew about Luke Callahan didn't give her warm fuzzies
at the thought of confessing all to the man. Nope, from what she could tell,
she was up the bayou without a savior.
    Guess she'd just have to figure out a way to save herself.
    So, how to do it? She'd pondered the problem while taking her
shower, and she'd made a mental note of all her options, ending up with two
whole items on her list. She could dump the drugs in the bayou and not go home
again. That'd mean giving up her home, her business. She'd probably have to
turn to her father for financial support and that would open up another can of
worms.
    Her other choice was to roll the dice and ask ex-agent Callahan
for help. That'd most likely mean spilling all her beans and thus risking her
physical freedom.
    Which, she wondered, would be worse?
    Maddie loved her father, she truly did, but he'd put strings on
any help he gave her, and she didn't want to live her life in the paparazzi's
camera lenses, not again. She'd done it before, and doing so invariably drove
her crazy, which in turn caused her to make bad choices and end up in trouble.
    Of course, she'd landed in big trouble now, and the paparazzi had
nothing to do with it.
    So, was she prepared to trust Luke Callahan? Not without more
information. Right now, all she really knew about the man was his reputation in
Brazos Bend—and that was all bad. He'd been a hell-raiser, a troublemaker, a
bad-boy deluxe.
    So how did that James Dean poster child end up a good-guy federal
agent? And why wasn't the good-guy federal agent a good guy anymore? Had he
gone back over to the dark side or something?
    Would that be good for her or bad for her?
    The aroma of grilling beef drifted on the air, and Maddie realized
she was hungry. For food, for answers. For a solution to her problem.
    Apparently, he'd decided to drop his interrogation, and she
couldn't help but wonder why.
    She made her way back to the stern, where Luke Callahan had traded
in his .45 for a spatula. He'd yet to don a shirt, and his swim trunks had
worked their way low on his hips again, revealing an intriguing tan line. His
feet were bare. He lowered the grill lid, dodged the stream of smoke, and
flashed her a grin. "Just turned the steaks. Supper will be ready
soon."
    The grin did it. From out of the blue came that old, familiar
sensation. Maddie tingled. She had one of those nice little boy-girl zings she
hadn't experienced in a very long time. A line from an old TV show ran through
her mind. Danger, Will Robinson. Danger. "They smell
delicious."
    "A good cut of meat seasoned with my special spice.
Mouthwatering good, I promise."
    I'll bet.
    "So, can I tempt you with a nice shiraz?"
    You tempt me by breathing.
    "Oh, for crying out loud," she muttered beneath her
breath. "That would be lovely."
    Maddie accepted the glass, then sipped the rich, full-bodied drink
and wondered whether this spike in her libido was a reaction to stress, to
danger. That happened in books all the time. Characters would have a brush with
death and then want to reaffirm life by going at it like rabbits.
    No, dummy. The sizzle in your blood is a reaction to the man. He's
drop-dead gorgeous and has a bad-boy history. On top of that, he's nice to his
dog. Of course he turns you on. He's just your