Lost and Found Read Online Free PDF Page A

she didn't even know what he looked like. She had a vague impression of dark hair and strong features, but nothing definite. He moved like an athlete. Even now, when his stride was tempered by the need for silence, there was an easy swing to his walk.
    Sam Delanian. The name didn't ring any bells but then there was no reason why it should. It wasn't likely that her family had hired someone she knew. She didn't know anyone capable of mounting a rescue attempt. Except maybe her uncle Emmet and, as far as she knew, Emmet was in South America somewhere, researching a book.
    They didn't travel far but the tension of waiting for discovery made it seem much farther. Babs's nerves were stretched tight with the effort to walk quietly. She'd never realized how difficult it was until now. The man ahead of her didn't seem to give any thought to where he was putting his feet and yet he didn't make a sound. She considered every step and still felt as if she made enough noise for ten people.
    When he stopped, she felt clumsy and irritable. She'd had no sleep the night before because she was preparing for her escape. The previous nights had been restless, to say the least. It was hard to relax when you were aware that a man with a gun stood outside your door.
    "We'll stay here for the rest of the day."
    She looked around but could see no sign of a "here" that looked like a place to rest. "Are we going to squat in the bushes again?" The question held more acidity than she'd intended but she was too tired to care.
    The muscles in his back tightened but he didn't turn to look at her. His arm came out, carefully brushing aside some thin bushes. Up a steep slope behind them was a shallow cave, little more than a hollow but big enough to conceal the two of them.
    He gestured for her to go in and she scrambled up the incline before collapsing on the rocky floor of the small shelter. For the first time in ten days, she felt almost safe. At least she did until her companion followed her in. Looking up—a long way up—she met a pair of the bluest, most irritated eyes she'd ever seen.

Chapter 2

    " Y ou are, without exception, the most obnoxious, spoiled little brat it has ever been my misfortune to meet."
    "Well, you're no prince of charm yourself." Babs straightened her shoulders defensively as Sam sank down next to her. The hollow was bigger than it had looked from outside but he seemed to fill it with wide shoulders and long legs.
    Babs was uneasily aware that her behavior thus far had been less than exemplary but she felt crowded, physically, mentally and emotionally. The past week and a half had strained her admittedly limited reserves of control and patience.
    "If you can't take the pressure, you shouldn't have taken the job."
    Sam glanced up from stripping off his gloves, his vivid blue eyes full of annoyance. "What job?"
    "This job." One small hand swept out in an impatient gesture. "The job of rescuing me, getting me away from those goons. That job. The one my family hired you to do."
    Sam arched one brow as he tucked the gloves into his pack. "Nobody hired me to do anything."
    Babs's fine brows, which were several shades darker than her shaggy blond hair, drew together. "If my family didn't hire you to rescue me, what are you doing here?"
    "There's a reward. Fifty thousand dollars."
    "A reward? You rescued me because of a reward?" Her upper lip quivered in a faint sneer.
    Sam's grin held an edge. "That's right. But if I'd known what an obnoxious little pain in the butt you were going to turn out to be, I don't think I'd have done it for twice the reward. As it is, I had to leave a perfectly good rope hanging from that balcony. I may tack the cost of that rope onto the reward. I should have left you with the kidnappers for a couple more days. I bet they'd have been willing to pay your family to get rid of you."
    Her eyes darkened to the color of bitter chocolate and her full mouth tightened. "I overheard them planning to kill me as soon as