Give Him the Slip by Geralyn Dawson Page B

about
a dead Gus Grevas, though, was over the top even for his old man. The rotten
old bastard. Wouldn't he ever learn?
    Now Luke was really pissed. He'd almost fallen for it, dammit.
Fallen for her act. "Oh, this is rich. The old man is really reaching to
think he'd put this over on me. Instead of a hooker, he sends a fake damsel in
distress to pull on my heartstrings. Well, guess what, babe. I don't have a
heart. Good night."
    Luke turned and left her
and, seconds later, slammed his bedroom door. Again.
     
    Maddie's mouth gaped in shock. In all the scenarios she'd imagined
regarding Luke Callahan's reaction to her story, she'd never considered that he
might not believe her.
    Considering her previous experience with law enforcement, that had
been a stupid oversight on her part.
    How foolish of her to think a man the likes of Luke Callahan would
help her. After all, he'd been estranged from his father for a very long time.
Sure, Branch was difficult, even ornery, but Maddie knew all about difficult
fathers. Shoot, she had the king of difficult fathers, but she didn't let his
bad behavior ruin their relationship.
    The fact that Luke hadn't tried to repair things with his father
didn't speak well of Luke Callahan's character.
    No, she'd done it again. She'd listened to her heart and her
hormones instead of her head. Good God, would she never learn? Luke Callahan
had been a hell-raiser in high school. He remained to this day the role model
for bad-boy wannabes in Brazos Bend. He was Rip and Liam and Cade all over again.
    After the fallout from Cade, Maddie had believed herself cured her
of bad-boy-desire disease forever. Well, she'd been wrong. Dead wrong. And
worse, she'd been stupid. For crying out loud, Maddie. When will you ever
learn?
    Anger roared through her, furious and hot. Luke Callahan was
nothing more than a jerk. A class-A, number one jerk!
    But, by God, she wasn't the only one who could lay a claim to
stupid. She pushed to her feet and stomped toward his cabin, not pausing to
knock. She shoved the door open.
    He lay naked on his back on the bed. On top of the sheets. His
pillow over his head. It was a sign of the intensity of her anger that her gaze
barely lingered on his crotch. "You know, Callahan, your father told me
you were stubborn, but he never mentioned stupid."
    He jackknifed up. "Excuse me?"
    "Well, somebody's being stupid here." She lifted her
chin, letting him know that "somebody" wasn't her. The dog sidled
past her and leaped onto the bed, then stretched out beside Luke. Of the two,
Maddie thought, Knucklehead had more sense. "I guess the truth will tell.
If I'm inventing this story, then I won't be able to produce the cache of
mushrooms, now, will I? I don't suppose you'd like to make a bet on the
outcome, would you, ex-agent Callahan? I've got my eye on a pretty little purse
at the Brazos Bend Boutique."
    A muscle worked in Luke's jaw and a chill entered those gorgeous
green eyes. Maddie glared right back at him. She wished he'd put on some
clothes. Cover up, at least. Unfortunately, his lack of character didn't
distract from the appeal of washboard abs and a substantial package.
    Maddie was tired, desperate, and scared. She held on to her
patience by a string. Why did Branch Callahan have to go and lie about Terry
Winston? For that matter, why couldn't Branch have had girls rather than boys?
If he'd had an ex-DEA agent daughter, she'd have helped Maddie rather than let
her down. Women didn't let Maddie down.
    A sense of hopelessness washed over her. Tears threatened, but she
fought them back. "Look. Never mind. Maybe it's best we just forget about
it. I'll find someone else to help me."
    He muttered something under his breath that she couldn't quite
catch, then said, "If by some wild chance you're telling the truth—and I'm
not for a minute saying I believe you—do you have a clue of the kind of trouble
you're in?"
    Maddie's spirit came roaring back at that. She rolled her eyes,
then dramatically