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

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