by Karen Anders
It didn’t take long for him to do a U-turn and head back the way they had come. In the distance, he could see a sign for the Sands Motel.
When he reached the entrance, Austin pulled over and shut off the engine. The one-level cinder-block motel didn’t look like much from the outside, but if it had a bed and bathroom, he didn’t care about the appearance. He pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked one wrist, threaded the handcuff through the steering wheel and snapped it back on her wrist. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll count the minutes.”
He checked them in and got the key. Walking back to the car, he pulled their belongings out and transferred them to their surprisingly large and well-cared-for room. Wood paneling darkened the walls and a double bed sat invitingly against curtained double-wide windows. He dropped the bags on the bed and went after the skip.
The moment they were in the room, Maxie held out her hands. “Could you take these off? I’d like to take a quick shower.”
He snorted. “Quick and female are two incompatible words.”
“I’m sure you have plenty of experience with women,” she said with a raised brow.
“I should. I live with three of them.”
Both eyebrows rose in surprise. “Three women?”
He smiled at the stunned look on her face. “My sister, my mother and my grandmother.”
“Oh. How old is your sister?”
“Nineteen. She’s finishing up her first year at Yale. She’s majoring in art.” Before he realized what he was doing, he reached back and pulled out his wallet. Flipping open the worn leather, he placed the wallet in her hands. “That’s her high-school graduation picture. She graduated at the top of her class.” His chest swelled with the pride he felt for her achievements. She looked so happy in her black cap and gown, a wide grin on her pretty face.
“What’s her name?”
“Jessica.”
“She’s beautiful and I can tell you’re really proud of her.”
The soft look in Maxie’s blue eyes made him shuffle his feet. There was nothing he enjoyed talking about more. Suddenly realizing that he had related something personal to a skip trace, he took the wallet back and snapped it closed, sliding it into his back jeans pocket. “Anyway, I know how long women take in the shower.”
The skip eyed him, the soft look replaced with one of puzzlement. “Okay, have it your way. I’m going to take a long, hot shower and I’ll need my hands.”
He immediately, ruthlessly suppressed the image of her hot soapy hands traveling over her lush naked curves. He jammed his hand into the pocket of his suddenly tight jeans and produced the handcuff key.
“Just a minute.” He walked to the bathroom and opened the door. There were no windows, just a tub and toilet in the small room.
He walked back to her and unlocked the cuffs. Maxie picked up the small, lightweight backpack and headed for the bathroom.
THE MOMENT SHE SHUT the door, she grabbed a towel off the rack. She pulled up on the shorts, tucking them in so that the hem didn’t show. She slipped the round-necked shirt off her shoulders along with her bra straps. Then she wrapped the towel around her as tight as she could. She caught her eye in the mirror and hesitated. Guilt assaulted her. So the guy had a family, so he loved his sister and was proud of her. She was nothing to him but a paycheck and he could easily find another bounty. If Maxie didn’t escape, she was looking at major time in jail because theft from a bank was a federal crime. She wasn’t going to jail for a crime she didn’t commit. She also couldn’t bear the thought that they would lose Firecrackers. Without a liquor license, they couldn’t open on time. Although Jake was on the job, he hadn’t been able to turn up any information to help clear her name.
She stood there a moment, breathing deep, trying to get her heart to race. Then she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Maxie!” Austin banged on the door. She stepped to the door and threw it open with as much drama as she could muster.
“Austin!” she yelled, throwing herself at him, winding her arms around his neck as if she were never going to let go. She added the shaking because she thought it would give her story more credence.
“Maxie, what is it?”
She shuddered for the full effect.
“It’s okay,” he said softly, his hand coming up to cup the back of her head. Guilt assaulted her again, he was such a protective guy and here she was tricking him. But at this point, she had no choice. The feel of his fingers in her hair, against the sensitive skin of her scalp sent real shivers down her back.
The guy was built. His shoulders were heavily muscled, the feel of his hair like hot silk against her bare arms. She wished she had the time to explore this man because she had no doubt that she could get him into bed. She let her hand slip down his body to his belt.
When she had the cell phone in her hand she said, “There’s a spider in the bath tub!”
Austin motioned for her to go to the tub and followed her into the bathroom. The small enclosure seemed to shrink with his presence. He eyed her towel, his gaze lingering on the swell of her breasts.
She stepped forward and placed her hand on his forearm. The heat of him was intoxicating, but that wasn’t why she was doing this little song and dance. He looked deep into her eyes and stepped closer to her. “Austin, the spider.”
“Spider?”
“In the tub.”
He looked at the closed shower curtain and then at her, his eyes clearing and wariness surfacing. He moved closer to the tub and she took a step toward the door. As he reached for the shower curtain, she braced herself against the wall. Just as he bent over to peer into the tub, she shoved with her foot. He went flying forward into the tub.
She could hear his head hit with a dull thud and he cried out in pain, but she couldn’t let it dissuade her.
Maxie turned, scooped up her bag and bolted out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. With a quick, panicky movement, she placed the chair sitting next to the bathroom under the handle. She threw the cell phone onto the bed and ripped off the towel, pulling up her bra straps and shirt, pulling down her hiked up shorts.
“Maxie. Open this goddamned door.”
He was only doing his job and she respected that. But she couldn’t let her sister down. This mess was all hers and the embezzlement charges endangered Firecrackers. She had to stay on the lam until that license came through or she could clear her name, but if not, her sister would, at least, be provided for.
“When I get out of here…open the door, now!”
The bonus of eluding the great Renegade made her smile. She had to protect her interests. Stalling this tough, streetwise bounty hunter wasn’t going to be easy, but she wasn’t just going docilely back to Sedona. She and Dorrie had their life savings tied up in Firecrackers. Dorrie was depending on her, and this time she wasn’t going to let her sister down. She bit her lip. If only Jake could find out who had really stolen the money at the bank.
“Payback is hell. Is that it, blondie?”
“Payback for what?”
“Calling you a ditz.”
“If the shoe fits…”
Austin growled, and it wasn’t a pleasant sound. When he did catch up to her, as she was sure he would, pit bull that he was, it wouldn’t be pleasant. But Maxie had always dealt with the unpleasant with a smile and a sunny disposition. Everyone always fell under her charm.
“Do catch me if you can, Austin.”
With those taunting words, she slipped out the motel door and ran into the night.
3
AUSTIN HEARD the motel-room door close and he hit the bathroom wall with the flat of his hand. The sound of his growl reverberated in the small, enclosed room.
“Spider, my ass!” he yelled as he slammed his back against the same wall and slid down to the floor.
Duped like a greenhorn. Duped by blue eyes as deep as the ocean, soft skin and a husky voice. What a consummate little actress she was.
> And what an idiot he was! All it had taken was her scream. It had gone through him like ice water. He’d immediately raced to the bathroom to see what could have happened to her. And when he’d seen her in that skimpy towel, her creamy breasts rising and falling with her panic, it was all he could do not to kiss those full, pink lips. The woman was well armed and very, very dangerous.
She’d also stamped around on his pride. He took his job very seriously and he’d never lost a skip once he had the person in his custody. Never.
It would take just a phone call to summon the police. He reached around to grab the cell phone where he had clipped it to his jeans, but his hand came up empty. He rose and looked around the floor and the tub, but couldn’t find the thing.
He groaned with the memory of Maxie’s hand at his waist. She’d taken the phone. “Son of a bitch!”
He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Dammit. Damn little pickpocket thief. Damn you, Maxie. She must have plucked the phone off when she’d been wrapped around him like an octopus. It didn’t help matters that he’d liked every minute of her hot little body pressed to his. Damn hormones and damn his weakness for blondes.
He eyed the door, but it looked really solid and his shoulder and torso still hurt like hell from the chair that had hit him in the bar. If he broke down the door, he’d have to pay damages out of the bounty he’d collect from Maxie and that would reduce the amount he’d have to send Jessica to France. He decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He’d track her down in no time, once the housekeeper released him in the morning.
IT HAD BEEN a long night with only himself as company, but as soon as he heard the hotel-room door open, he began banging. When the housekeeper removed the chair, he came out of the bathroom. The woman made the sign of the cross, grabbed her cleaning supplies and got out of the room.
Austin found his cell phone on the bed next to his duffel bag. He clipped the phone to his jeans and picked up the duffel bag, but before he could get out the door the phone rang.
“Taggart.”
“Austin, when you getting in?”
“Manny, I told you the woman would be trouble.”
“What happened?”
“I lost her.”
There was complete silence on the other end of the phone.
“You what?”
“Are you going to make me repeat it?”
“No. I heard you. I just couldn’t believe my ears. You’ve never…”
“I know!” Austin said savagely.
“Cut her loose man. I’ll send someone else. I’ve got a killer for you to pick up. More your speed.”
“No. She’s mine.”
“Sounds personal.”
“Now it’s personal.”
“Is she as beautiful as her picture?”
Austin’s palms began to sweat. “More. Ever tried to talk to an angel, Manny?”
“Once, in a wacky dream.”
IT TOOK HIM a whole day to find out what direction she had run and his anger increased with each mile until he saw red. His mood darkened when he found a trucker who remembered that she’d asked for a ride to Mesa Roja. He swore vehemently when the check oil light lit up. Now, he’d have to waste more time finding a service station. He didn’t want to risk damaging the car not only for sentimental reasons, but also because he didn’t want to get delayed or stranded in New Mexico for neglecting a potentially serious problem. His regular top-notch mechanic in Sedona had an emergency and Austin had allowed someone else, someone he didn’t know, to look at the car. The man assured him that the light was faulty and had replaced the wiring, but now Austin was worried that this mechanic had missed something.
All the while he waited at the service station, he fumed that he’d wasted a whole day and she’d gone back to the same place he’d found her? Was that a way to rub his nose in it or throw him off her hot little tail?
When this mechanic told him he couldn’t find any problems, Austin got back in his car. With his hands tight on the wheel, he headed back to Mesa Roja to apprehend the little trickster.
SHE HEARD the flat of his hand hit the door before it banged open. All heads turned in the direction of the sound. He stood in the doorway. The wind whipped his dark hair over his forehead, sunlight played with the ebony tips and shot light all around the room.
His dark eyes searched like a hawk for prey and they hardened when they lighted on her.
She gasped. Just a day later and she’d forgotten how much energy crackled around him, how larger than life he was.
Then she focused on the look on his face. Had she thought it would be unpleasant when she saw him again? An understatement if ever there was one. He looked mad enough to spit nails.
And in those eyes was part of his ancestry, the kind of man who roamed the plains and lived off the land by sheer will and honest bravery.
He stalked into the room and went straight up to her. He put his hands on his hips. Heads turned and eyes focused on them. The man she was serving scooted his chair back away from Austin. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“If it is, you’re not laughing.”
His mouth tightened and he bent down so he could look her right in the face. “I’m laughing on the inside, blondie, and my sides are splitting. Can’t you tell?”
Soothing him seemed more prudent than irritating him. “Austin. I can explain.”
“Can you, now. Good for you.”
“You’re ticked.”
“No. I’m beyond ticked. I’ve been pushed into the realm of irate.”
“You were taking me back. You wouldn’t listen.”
“I don’t have to listen. I’m a bounty hunter. That’s what I do. I bounty hunt. I have papers on you that give me all the authority I need.”
“I didn’t steal the money.”
He took the handcuffs from his back pocket and snapped them around her wrists. He pulled her outside toward his car, followed by a lot of people.
“Where are you taking her?” challenged a man with a large handlebar mustache.
Austin stopped; his whole body tensed. He glanced at her, and she shivered at the dangerous look in his eyes. He turned, placing her behind him. Here he was once again protecting his bounty so that he could cash in on her when they got back to Sedona.
“I don’t have to answer your questions.” He told the crowd of patrons who’d followed him into the furnacelike heat of the waning day.
“She’s part of our town. We want to know.”
“I’m taking her back to Sedona. Anyone want to try and stop me?”
The man who had spoken stepped forward, but Maxie didn’t want anyone to get hurt. She stepped around Austin. “Handlebar, it’s okay. It won’t be long before I’m back.” She heard Austin snort at her comment. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure, Maxie?”
She smiled. “I’m sure, Handlebar.”
He grumbled, but he stepped back. Finally the group disbursed and returned to the bar.
“Where’s your boss? Doesn’t she want to knee me in the groin again? Just for old times’ sake.”
“I didn’t ask her to do that.”
“Right. Let me get this straight. You’ve only been in this town for a month.”
“Almost.”
“Whatever. And you have these people eating out of the palm of your hand? You are good, lady.”
“You think I’m some kind of a con artist?”
“I think you look innocent and act innocent and you have a conniving little mind.”
“I thought you said I was ditsy.”
“I’m reassessing that opinion, especially after you tricked me with that spider attack and snatched my cell phone so I couldn’t get out of the bathroom.”
“I do hate spiders.”
He pushed her up against the car and kicked her legs apart. Expecting the same treatment she got before, Maxie gasped when she felt the warmth of his hands on her ankle. With deliberate slowness he slid his hand up he
r leg to the juncture of her thighs and Maxie swallowed hard and closed her eyes.
He slid his hands over her buttocks and around her waist, spanning her middle with his two strong hands. She could feel the heat of his body, his heavy, harsh breath seductively against the back of her neck. Then he searched her torso, his hands whispering over her breasts until she wanted to beg for harder contact. She knew he was trying to intimidate her, scare her, but his touch did little to frighten her. It only made her more aware of him as a man, more aware of his strength and hard masculinity.
Maxie got her feet under her and turned in his arms. His stare was hot, intense. She found her voice. “You don’t scare me. This doesn’t scare me.”
“Then you really haven’t got the brains God gave a turnip,” he said hoarsely.
His hair was thick, rich and dark. She twined a lock of his smooth hair around her fingers.
His face was exquisitely masculine with a day or two of stubble, darkening the curve of his strong jaw line. His eyes were slumberous as if he hadn’t slept well in a few days. Even with her bold words, Maxie felt a flash of panic. He was too close, and her fascination for him would only cause her trouble in the long run. His brown-gold gaze was shooting sparks, and she swallowed hard in the face of his dangerous good looks.
“What would I have to do to scare you?” he whispered, his whiskey-hoarse voice cutting across her nerve endings like a rasp.
A rippling of goose bumps lifted the hairs on her arms. Or maybe the shivers came from the way his brown eyes centered on her, flashing warm and alive in their intensity. Her breathing went shallow and she really didn’t have an answer for him. There wasn’t anything about this man that scared her. It was her own passion that frightened her down to her toes.
He closed his eyes and moved his thumb, grazing the corner of her mouth and stilling. Slowly, deliberately he hooked his thumb beneath her chin and tilted her face up. “What am I going to do with you?”
Maxie knew a cue when she heard one. How much could she throw this guy off-guard? Distracting him was now her number one reason for any intimate contact with him. It was very obvious to her that he was attracted to her. Besides she was dying to know how his mouth would feel and taste. With that thought foremost in her mind, she dragged his teasing, tantalizing mouth to hers. Excitement burst and seared through her. Oh God, she thought, this was a mistake. She should never have done this. What she wanted and what she could have were two different things. She could have him, only temporarily because for them time wasn’t on their side. But this felt too real, too right. He was solid as a rock and just as immovable and she was as light as air and elusive. But none of those arguments doused the heat that flamed inside her as he wrapped his hand around her neck, using his thumb under her chin to tilt her head back. With a soft groan, she eased her tongue into his mouth. The flames leaped inside her, running like liquid fire through her veins, searing all the way to her soul.