Chapter Two

Matt Callahan blinked twice, then drawled, “I understand that a person has to be bright to become a biochemist and molecular geneticist. Nevertheless, I’m curious to know how you connected those particular dots.”

“I know my father.” Torie yanked the scrunchy from her braid, then finger combed her dripping hair. “I’m right, aren’t I? You’re a spy. My father sent a spy to save He–me.”

Callahan’s gaze remained locked on her hands and hair. “General Bradshaw is worried about you.”

“Why?”

“You told him you were in love. He didn’t think you’d listen.”

“Rather than call and at least try to explain, he sends in a spy?” Sarcasm dripped from her words as she added, “How typical of the general.”

Her rescuer arched a brow at that. “I understood that you and your father are close.”

The general and Helen were close. Torie gnawed her bottom lip. Here was her opportunity to explain that the woman Matt Callahan had come to the island to rescue was on a shopping trip in Rio.

Yet, Torie hesitated. What did Callahan know about her family? What if her father had told him about her? What if he shared her father’s opinion that she was an embarrassment, the Bradshaw family shame?

Damn. If General Lincoln Bradshaw had been the one hiding in the rain forest, he might well have let her run past. If Matt Callahan knew who she was...well...he might not leave her to the killers, but he certainly wouldn’t look at her with the respect and admiration she saw in his expression right now.

Frankly, she wasn’t up for the usual disgust about her work and lifestyle. She didn’t need the snide remarks and nasty comments bound to emerge from her rescuer’s talented lips once he learned just who she really was. For the moment then, she’d play along. People liked Helen; they respected her. It’d be easier to be Helen for now, so she’d continue the charade.

So, then, what would Helen say about the general? The words stuck in Torie’s throat. “Daddy can be overprotective at times. He loves me dearly, and sometimes he goes a bit overboard.”

“Not in this case, apparently.”

“No,” she solemnly agreed. “Not in this case.”

“Tell me what happened this morning.”

Hmm. Well. How to do this? This part of the charade would be even more difficult than speaking of her father without puckering up with bitterness. Torie didn’t have a naive bone in her body. She’d never have fallen for a slick bit of slime like Collin Marlow, God rest his soul. Pretending that she’d acted so foolishly to a man the likes of Matt James Bond Callahan would be hard on her pride. She’d need all her acting skills to pull it off.

Torie glanced toward his stash of supplies. “I don’t suppose you have anything to drink in there? Vodka? Vermouth?”

“That bad, huh?” He gestured toward a flat spot where she could sit and rest her back against the cavern wall. “I’ve got a granola bar.”

“No chocolate?”

He frowned and scratched the hard line of his jaw. “That’s a problem, Dr. Bradshaw. I prize my chocolate. Don’t know as I want to share.”

Torie eyed the supply stack with renewed interest. She really wanted that chocolate. “How about I make you a trade?”

His eyes widened imperceptibly, then he gave her a slow once over. “Something tells me we’re probably not thinking of the same type of barter.”

Whoa. She wouldn’t be surprised to find burn marks on her skin along the path of his stare.

“Probably not,” Torie agreed, rather reluctantly. A part of her–okay, more than one part of her–wouldn’t mind taking him up on his blatant invitation. She’d always dreamed of being a Bond girl. Honey Ryder. Mary Goodnight. Not Pussy Galore, though. That name had always struck her as way too crass.

In order to withstand temptation, she turned to business. “What I have to offer are photographs of Collin Marlow going at it with another woman as another boat pulls up and a man shoots him and dumps him into the lagoon.”

“Marlow is dead?”

She closed her eyes. The image of Marlow’s bloody body going over the side of the boat was burned into her brain. “I don’t know how he could have survived.”

“And you have photos of the murder.”

“Yes.”

“Who was the shooter?”

“I haven’t a clue. All I know is that one minute I’m watching Collin Marlow make love to another woman and the next minute there are bullets spitting the sand at my feet.”

Matt took a Hershey bar from a backpack and handed it over. “Maybe you’d best start at the beginning. How did you get tangled up with Marlow in the first place?”

“Does it really matter? Do we have to talk about it?”

“It could help me save your life.”

Okay, that was a good reason. Torie took a seat and tore into the candy bar. She needed chocolate. “You probably know that Marlow Pharmaceuticals has been trying to purchase Applied Genetics Research.”

He nodded. “Your father said that APG is your baby and that you don’t want to sell.”

“It’d be a stupid move,” Torie said, a touch of bitterness in her voice as she recalled the argument she’d had with Helen. “APG is doing fine financially and the scientists have total autonomy. When we turned down their offers, Collin came to negotiate personally and that’s when...well...”

“He turned on the charm.”

Poor naive Helen hadn’t stood a chance. “I was a sucker. He romanced me and I fell for it.”

“Did you tell him about the mutation thing?”

Mutation thing? What mutation thing? The biological weapon thing he’d mentioned?

Judging by the look on Matt Callahan’s face, whatever it was wasn’t good. Oh, Helen. What have you gotten messed up in?

Knowing her sister, Torie made an educated guess. “I might have mentioned it.”

“We need to see what else or who else shows up in those pictures.” Callahan stretched out beside her, angling his long legs away so that they didn’t dangle over the ledge.

“Why would Gleaming Way kill Collin?”

“Terrorists never need an excuse to kill, but the photos might give us a clue.”

Torie nodded, grateful she’d taken some close up shots of the faces on board that boat. She’d been right about Marlow. He’d left her unsettled the one time she’d met him. When Helen called with news of her engagement, Torie’s instincts had gone on high alert. She’d accepted Helen’s invitation to visit for the weekend, to get to know Collin better and see for herself that he was the Mr. Wonderful Helen believed him to be. Wanting time to talk to her twin before Lover Boy’s scheduled visit, she’d shown up two days early only to find that Helen had done the unimaginable and taken a few days away from her research to go to Rio to buy a wedding gown.

“Go through it again,” Callahan instructed. “Tell me everything that happened. Your father understood that Marlow intended to visit you this weekend, arriving this afternoon.”

Torie let out a long, heavy sigh. “That was the plan. Collin said he’d be here shortly before suppertime. So, I decided to take an R&R day. I hiked over to the lagoon and swam a bit, and I was lying on the beach reading when I heard the boat enter the lagoon. I was alone and I thought I should be cautious, so I gathered up my stuff and stepped into the trees. When I recognized Collin’s yacht, Windseeker, I was surprised.”

“You didn’t show yourself? And you hung around and watched?”

“I was surprised to see the boat so early and on the wrong side of the island.”

“Then what happened?”

“A man and woman walked out on deck. I thought they intended to swim, but then they got distracted with each other. When I realized just who was burying his face in that woman’s breasts, I got angry. I was careless. I didn’t pay any attention to the other boat when it approached, not until I saw Collin get shot.”

“Did he kill the woman, too?”

“I don’t know. I remember her screaming, but then the shooting started at me...”

“So the gunmen came from the second boat?”

“I think so, yes. But honestly, I can’t be certain.”

“And you didn’t recognize the man who shot your fiancé?”

“Please don’t call him that.” Torie winced. “No, I’ve never seen that man before in my life. That much I do know.”

“Well, the pictures will tell the tale.” Matt stared up at the hole in the rocks. “Here’s the problem, Helen. With evidence of murder on your film...”

“Memory stick. It’s digital.”

“Whatever. Look, Marlow’s suspected of having dealings with a terrorist organization based in Peru.”

“Gleaming Way. I know about them.”

He nodded. “If the photos can in any way betray information about that group, they won’t stop looking for you. They’ll call in reinforcements from the mainland, and they’ll have this island covered by dark.”

“That’s not good.”

“No, it’s not.” He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, I could be home working in my vineyard right now. We’ll have our first harvest in August. It’s gonna piss me off if I die before I get to pick my grapes. We need the camera. Tell me where it is and I’ll–”

“We don’t need the camera,” she interrupted. “I have the memory stick. I tossed it into the brush just before we jumped into the water.”

He flashed a quick grin at that. “It’s out of sight?”

“I think so. I barely had time to toss it before you had us in the water. I aimed for that bush with red flowers and lots of foliage on it, so unless someone saw me throw it, it should be safe enough. But if someone saw me, well, then we wouldn’t be safe.” She paused a moment, then said, “We are safe, right?”

“Yeah. I think so. For now, anyway.” Agent Callahan grabbed a handful of pebbles from the ledge and began tossing them one by into the pool.

Torie watched circles of ripples expand across the water and reflected on the events of the day and her companion’s observation. She feared he was right. Even if they had to send to the mainland for reinforcements, a fast boat could get them here in two hours. Or they could helicopter in like most visitors. “Maybe we shouldn’t wait for dark.”

“It’s a risk either way.”

“Can’t you send for reinforcements?”

“This was a favor for your father, not an operation. I’m flying solo, here.”

She eyed his stash in the corner. “No goodies from Q to help us out of this bind?”

He stared at her for a long moment, then replied in a dry tone, “I’m afraid I didn’t have time to run by Q Branch before I left.”

So, touchy about JB, was he? She gave a little smile and said, “Too bad. So, what’s the plan to get us off the island?”

“That’s a really good question, Dr. Bradshaw. I have a Zodiac stashed on the other side of the island. The problem with that is if they spot us, we’ll be sitting ducks on the water. You have some high-powered craft in your little marina. We couldn’t outrun them in the Zodiac.”

“So the trick would be to escape without being noticed. Definitely better chances for that after dark.”

They both took a moment to think the process through, then Matt Callahan shook his head. “I don’t like it. It gives them too much time to prepare. If I’m right about who and what these men are, they’ll have a lot of resources within easy reach. This is a small island. They can turn it into a fortress in hours.” He turned his head pinned her with a laser gaze. “How many of your people are on the island today? I saw a crowd leave yesterday.”

She nodded. “There’s a symposium in San Francisco that all of the scientists are attending.” Helen had been scheduled to speak, but she cancelled when Collin said he was coming to visit. “The housekeeper and her husband live in a cottage at the compound. The rest of the help is day help who come over from the mainland.”

“That’s what...three miles away?”

“About.”

“Think you could swim that distance?”

Torie shuddered. “Not in those waters. Sharks. Lots and lots of sharks. I’ll take my chances with the Zodiac.”

Callahan bent one leg and clasped his arms around his knee, drawing Torie’s gaze to his muscular legs. Being little herself, she’d never cared for big, muscular men. They intimidated her. Made her feel less than safe.

Callahan was different. One she’d gotten past those first terrifying moments when he’d grabbed her, she’d felt safe in his arms. Felt safe even when he carried her with his hand on her butt. Even when he’d kissed her. And Callahan was a big man. Six two at least, maybe taller. Lean, but not lanky, he moved with strength and grace, and he was gorgeous to look at. Candy for the eyes. Maybe when they left the cenote he’d want to carry her again. She wouldn’t mind his putting his hands on her...putting his mouth on her...putting his–

Whoa. What was the matter with her? This was not the time to be thinking about sex.

Yeah, well. The way things are shaping up, you might not have another chance to think about it, much less do it.

It was the thought of sharks that turned her mind in this direction. She really, really hated sharks so she’d shied away from thinking about them, but that took her naturally to other predators, which made her think of men, which led to thinking about one man. Looking at this man. And looking at this man, she naturally thought of sex. Any woman would.

“I think we’d better go for it,” he declared.

“What?” Torie choked. Had she said it out loud?

“The numbers are on our side now. If we wait much longer, it could be us against an army. I don’t think we can wait for dark.”

“To escape.”

“Yeah.”

Okay. All right. Not sex. Possible suicide. Oh, God. She didn’t want to die. “So, what, we’re going to take one of the boats? The Donzi is the fastest.”

“They’ll surely have a guard on the boats.”

“So we’ll hike across the island to your Zodiac?”

“That’ll take too much time.”

No boat. No inflatable craft. What, then? “I’m not swimming!”

“No.” He flashed a daredevil’s smile and said, “I think we should fly.”

She blinked twice. “The helicopter? You’re gonna steal the helicopter?”

“That depends. Can you fly it?”

“Me? No!”

“Good. Then they won’t be expecting you to head for the copter. I think it’s our best bet.” He rolled to his feet, then extended a hand down to her. “You game?”

“Now? You want to go right now?”

“Sooner the better. I imagine they’re still pushing inland looking for you. Better make our move before they double back.”

Torie’s stomach took a nervous roll. She put her hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. But when she looked at the placid pool before her, the idea of getting wet again, of swimming through the tunnel and surfacing out in the open weighted her feet like cement boots. “Maybe we could just stay here,” she babbled. “It’s a great hiding place. I don’t have a problem waiting them out. You won’t believe the patience I have when I need it. When they don’t find me, maybe they’ll think I tried to swim out and sharks got me.”

“If they were run-of-the-mill drug runners, I’d agree with you, doc. But with these men...the stakes here are too high. They’ll keep looking until they find you–unless you bring them down first.”

Torie closed her eyes. “You know, all I wanted to do today was to relax. Work on my tan. Read about Lizzie and Mr. Darcy again.”

Again, he flashed that sizzling smile. “Jane Austin and James Bond. I have to admit, Ms. Bradshaw, you’re not at all what I expected to find in a molecular geneticist and biochemist.”

She gave her head a toss. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It’s meant as one.” He gave her a slow once over and the light in his eyes warmed. “Intelligent women appeal to me. Beautiful intelligent women are difficult to resist. Beautiful intelligent women who are also down-to-earth truly float my boat. If we get out of this situation alive, maybe we could make your daddy happy and have a drink, go to dinner.”

“You mean, like a date?”

“Yeah. Like a date. Unless you need time to mourn your–”

“Don’t! The fact that he’s dead doesn’t mean I can’t despise him.”

“True.”

Torie’s pulse sped up. “What do you think our chances are of getting off this island alive?”

“Oh, fifty-fifty. That’s if we leave this cenote in the next few minutes.”

Fifty-fifty. She’d have preferred better odds, she decided as she watched Matt Callahan begin gathering up his kit, but she guessed she could live with these. Guess she’d have to.

A date. She wouldn’t mind going out to dinner with a spy. This spy. In a way, their jobs had something in common. They’d have something to talk about. Except, he thought she was Helen. He was an acquaintance of her father. No way would he keep a date with her if the odds fell in their favor.

“About this date,” she said as he separated weapons from the pile of supplies. “Are you talking something traditional? You pick me up, take me to a restaurant, then take me home and give me a good-night kiss?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “At least.”

She considered that as she watched him retrieve a clear piece of line she’d not previously noticed that ran up to the plate-sized hole in the cavern’s roof. To the line he tied a rope, then to the rope he affixed a bag to which he added those items he obviously didn’t want to get wet–two more guns, ammunition, boots, a pair of pants and two tee-shirts.

When he turned to her and raised a questioning brow, she said, “Okay, then. Yes, I’d love to go to dinner with you. But in light of those odds, seeing that fifty-fifty isn’t all that great, do you think I could get an advance on that good-night kiss?”

His lips twitched. “Is this a rebound thing?”

“Oh, no. If anything it’s a James Bond thing.”

“Now, that’s annoying.” He rolled his tongue around his mouth. “Dr. Bradshaw, I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended. You don’t think I’ll get you out of this alive?”

“Better be safe than sorry,” she said with a shrug.

He advanced on her slowly, a predator’s gleam in his eyes. “I must be better than I thought if you’d be sorry to die without another one of my kisses.”

“It wasn’t great or anything,” she said shrugging. Lying. “It just showed promise.”

“Now you’re lyin’. Despite the fact I kissed you to shut you up rather than to seduce you, it was a great kiss.” He reached out and yanked the towel wrapped around her. As it slipped to the ground, he added, “I always give great kisses.”

Yes, please. “Maybe you should prove it...”

He stepped close, backing her up against the cool cavern wall. His body heat enveloped her.

“Double...Oh...”

His put his hands on her waist, then slid them down until they cupped the cheeks of her butt and like last time, he lifted her. Only this time, rather than taking her all the way to his waist, he held her at his hips where the prominent ridge of his arousal hit her sweet spot just right.

“...Yeah!”

Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

His mouth settled against hers and as his tongue prodded and pillaged, Torie wondered if perhaps she hadn’t been paying attention. Maybe she’d already died.

Because she was pretty sure she’d just gone to heaven.