Matt—The Callahan Brothers (Brazos Bend Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

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