I'll Find You Read Online Free PDF Page B

he warned.
    “I wasn’t going to do anything.” Actually, she’d been thinking about slapping him and letting loose a bloodcurdling scream at the same time. Instinct warned her against antagonizing him further, however. This man was no ordinary hoodlum. And by his accent he was obviously American, like herself. He truly believed he’d found Teresa. If he would just give her a chance to explain, maybe he would leave her alone. He wasn’t a threat to Callie Cantrell, so it was better . . . smarter . . . to play along.
    “Where’s the boy?” he asked again. “Tell me.”
    She knew with bone-deep certainty now that he meant Tucker. Had to be. There were only so many coincidences she could believe in. Had Tucker, or this Teresa person, stolen the bracelet from him? Was that it? Not that she gave a damn, but she wasn’t going to reveal anything to him that might put Tucker in danger.
    “Listen to me. Just listen,” she added tautly when she saw more impatience cross his face. “I’m not Teresa, whoever she is. I’m Callie, Callie Cant—” She cut herself off at the last minute, realizing it wasn’t beyond probability that he knew exactly who she was and that this whole scenario was an act. She was, after all, Jonathan Cantrell’s widow, and though Jonathan had run through a substantial portion of the Cantrell fortune, this man might not know that. In essence, she was the heir of what remained and maybe he knew that, too.
    Is this what you can’t remember? she asked herself. Is this what Jonathan was hiding? “I’m not Teresa,” she said again, firmly. “I don’t know you, and I really resent the way you’ve accosted me. I’m a tourist. On vacation. That’s all. Now, get the hell away from me.”
    “You’re not Teresa.”
    She shook her head.
    “You just happen to be wearing a Laughlin family heirloom.”
    The bracelet burned on her arm. “I don’t know about that.”
    “You don’t?”
    “No,” she said firmly.
    “If I didn’t have the evidence that said otherwise, I might even believe you.”
    “You’re lying. You won’t believe me no matter what I say.”
    He looked faintly surprised by her challenge. “You got me there.”
    “Look at my identification, for God’s sake!” she demanded, throwing caution to the wind. If he was really after Cantrell money, no amount of lying about who she was could save her now. “My wallet’s in my bag.”
    “Fake identification’s not beyond your capabilities.”
    “Oh, please.”
    “I’ll look at it when we get to your place.”
    “My place?”
    He’d been looking in the direction the teenagers had taken, as if considering where to go from here. Now his dark head turned back to her. “Your place.”
    “We’re not going to my place,” she stated firmly. “I’m not who you think I am.”
    “I know who you are,” he ground back at her again.
    Callie realized there was nothing she could say. This stranger was convinced she was someone else. He truly believed she was this Teresa person and he wasn’t going to listen to reason. What the hell was she supposed to do?
    What if Tucker is waiting for you?
    “You’re crazy,” she whispered.
    “Take me to the boy and I’ll go away.”
    His grip had weakened slightly after the kiss. Callie pretended to consider his demand, inwardly counting her own heartbeats. She twisted from his grasp and jumped away in one swift movement, racing for the end of the alley with all her might.
    One thought in her mind: Run!
    She could feel him gaining on her as the wind streaked past her ears. She felt fingertips brush her back and she leapt forward, crashing down on one unsteady ankle. Her sandal caught a cobblestone and she flew forward.
    Her face hit the ground and her chin jarred with the impact. She saw stars and for one, wild moment prayed she could be hurt, at least rendered unconscious.
    Except he would probably just pick her up and kidnap her.
    He was beside her in a moment, turning her over gently.