Secrets and Lies by Maggie Shayne

Author:Maggie Shayne [Shayne, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Impersonation, Political Freedom & Security, Contemporary, General, Romance, Twins, Adult, Political Science, Terrorism, Fiction, Undercover operations, Texas
ISBN: 9780373272594
Publisher: Silhouette Books
Published: 2003-10-16T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

H ad anyone asked Alex what sort of action hero he was most like, he would have probably chosen someone well mannered, well dressed, well-bred but effective. He doubted very much, though, that Melusine Brand would give a man like that a second glance.

Alex had no clever devices, no chewing gum explosives or cuff links that shot poisoned gas. So, all things considered, he decided the best way to deal with things from now on was to ask himself what John Wayne would do in a given situation and then proceed to do it. Mel couldn’t very well realize how little confidence he had in his abilities to survive a trek through the desert if he acted like John Wayne, could she?

He’d seen the movies as a kid. How could he go wrong?

He was worried on several levels. He was worried about her injuries, things that might not show on the surface. He was worried about their lack of fresh water and the distance to the nearest speck of civilization. They couldn’t go back toward the river without the risk of running into those machine-gun-toting thugs. He was worried about the enemies they were, inevitably, going to have to face down, just the two of them. And somehow, in spite of all the practical, logical worries on his mind, there was an impractical, illogical one shouting too loudly to be ignored.

He was worried that she would start comparing him to her cowboy cousins, and that she would find him lacking. He didn’t want her thinking about how much better Wes or Garrett or any of the other Brands could handle themselves in the wilderness. How much better they could protect her.

In short, he wanted to impress the hell out of her with his raw, gritty toughness. The problem was, rawness and grit were not crops he’d spent much time cultivating.

No, the problem was that he was letting this kind of nonsense even enter his mind when they had practical things to worry about. Why did he care what the hell she thought of him, anyway?

He glanced down at her.

They’d been walking for two hours in silence. She was hurting, limping along in her rag-wrapped feet, and bone tired. It occurred to him that he knew exactly what John Wayne would do if he were the one walking along beside her.

Hell, why not? he thought.

He scooped her off her feet without so much as a word of warning, and he did it without even breaking his stride. She squeaked in alarm, lashed her arms around his neck and looked up at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“Uh, what do you think you’re doing, Alex?”

“Carrying you.”

“Yeah. I kind of picked up on that part. What I meant to ask is why are you carrying me?”

“Because you’re injured and tired and sore, and I’m…”

“And you’re what?”

“The guy. I’m the guy.”

She stared at him with the funniest look on her face—the way she might look at a book she’d been reading if the words suddenly changed into some other language.

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