Give Him the Slip (13 page)

"I don't think it's fair to say that," Sara-Beth
replied. "We weren't going steady. I dated other guys, too, but I was a
heartless girl and if Luke asked me out, I'd break my other date to be with
him. I did that a couple times with Jeff, in fact. That's why Luke is such a
touchy subject with him, even after all these years."

Maddie felt a twinge of sympathy for ol' Jeff. "He won in the
end, though, didn't he?"

Sara-Beth beamed. "That's what I tell him."

The office building's front door opened and Hector Flores walked
outside carrying a fistful of papers. A Hispanic man in his midfifties, Hector
was small, round, and jolly, and in his flashy red vest, he reminded Maddie
more of Santa Claus on a tropical vacation than of a federal agent.

"You're all set, missy," he said, handing her the
processed forms. "Next time you see Callahan, be sure and pass along my
thanks. I don't know who he contacted in what part of the government, but I've
never seen anything get shoved through the system so fast. Not only is all the
paperwork done, but the Brazos Bend police already have the subject in custody,
too."

At that piece of news, a weight rolled off of Maddie's shoulders.
"I'm
so
glad to hear that."

"Me, too," Sara said. "That'll be a great way to
end my piece, then I can do a follow-up once I've returned to town." She
extended her arm for a handshake. "Thanks, Hector. You've been a joy to
work with. I've never known law enforcement to be so cooperative with the
press."

"I wanted to make sure you got a flattering picture of me to
put in your paper."

"I'm certain I have that one covered."

Maddie glanced through the papers she'd been handed. Spying
something from the Board of Pardon and Paroles, she paused and read the paper
more carefully.
Oh, my God.
Her gaze jerked up to meet the agent's.
She'd been released.

"Friends in high places apparently decided one good turn
deserves another," he said.

"I don't have any friends in high places."

He nodded toward the papers. "You do now."

"What good turn?" Sara-Beth, ever the reporter,
demanded.

Maddie tensed and she shot a pleading gaze toward the agent.
Please
don't blow my cover, not now!

She held her breath as Hector Flores nodded toward the documents.
"Texas has a program that offers rewards to those who turn over
contraband. Maddie's getting five hundred dollars."

"That's cool." Sara-Beth grabbed her notepad and jotted
a few more notes.

Sure enough, Maddie flipped through the papers again and spied the
reward authorization, too. "Hector, you're a doll. I can't tell you how
much this all means to me."

"And I can't tell you how nice it's been to work on a
positive project for a change. Now, you both have my number. Feel free to call
if you have any problems."

As Hector Flores returned to his office, Sara-Beth hit the remote
on her key chain. In the next row over, a horn beeped on a huge pickup truck.
"I'm going to hit the road. I need to be home in time for Jeff's
slow-pitch game. We're playing the Rattlers tonight and I want to be there to
watch my team beat their butts."

"Sara-Beth, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your
help."

"Happy to do it. I've enjoyed the whole thing. I haven't seen
Mark and Luke since John's memorial service, and it was a real pleasure to see
those Callahan boys again. Don't you know I'm going to spend hours on end
trying to solve the puzzle of who Mark works for? And I've been worried for
years that Luke was dealing drugs in south Florida. It's nice to know I can let
that one go. Plus, I got to know you and I'm happy as a clam about that. I like
you, Maddie Kincaid. I'm glad you've settled in Brazos Bend. Want to meet for
lunch one day next week?"

Happiness put a warm smile on her face. "I'd love that."

Maddie watched Sara-Beth climb into her truck, and she smiled
again at the incongruous sight of such a petite woman driving such a monstrous
vehicle. They shared a wave as Sara-Beth drove off, then Maddie got into her
own car and started the engine.

She was on the interstate before it all sank in. She was free. No
more trips to Fort Worth to meet her parole officer. No more reason to fear
every time a policeman met her eyes. And just maybe, no more
middle-of-the-night flashbacks about Leering Lurk, one of the guards at the
Woodman unit.

All because of Luke Callahan.

As Maddie blended into the constant stream of traffic traveling
between Tyler and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, her mind was back in the
bayou.

She'd misjudged the man.

It was true. Maybe he was Sin and all of that, and he probably was
the love-'em-and-leave-'em type, but at least he didn't use her for who she
was, rat her out to the press—or worse, the tabloids. He didn't try to cozy up
to Blade's daughter to meet the rock star. In fact, he didn't seem all that
impressed with the whole rock scene. He wasn't after her money, and even if he
hadn't been wealthy in his own right—a result of a technology investment
recommended by his brother John, according to Branch—Luke didn't strike Maddie
as the type to live off a woman. Apparently, there was more to Luke
"Sin" Callahan than a sly grin and bedroom eyes.

A bad boy with layers. Who would have thought? When her cell phone
rang, she almost didn't look to see the number. Already, the missed-call
message listed forty- seven calls. Today. All from the same number. Today. That
didn't count the fifty-three that accumulated yesterday.

Branch Callahan could stew a little longer. Despite the fact that
everything turned out fine—all right, wonderful— in the end didn't mean that
she was ready to forgive him for the lie about "Terri" Winston.

Yet, part of her couldn't ignore the ring. What if... No, Luke wouldn't
call. He'd said good-bye. Wow, had he said good-bye.

Her ringtone continued to sound the Swords version of "Born
to be Wild." She picked up the phone and checked the number. With a smile
in her voice, she connected the call and said, "Hi, Dad."

"Baby D!" crooned a voice through the phone. "How's
my girl?"

Maddie laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What's going on, love? My people said you called."

She decided this story could wait until circumstances were more
conducive to relaying a long, involved tale. "It's nothing, Dad. Just a
little excitement in Brazos Bend I thought I'd share."

He gave a disinterested snort, just as she'd anticipated. Her
father didn't understand or approve of her decision to "bury herself in a
boring little backward Texas town." He was insulted that she preferred to
"putter around about blue hairs and old billy goats" than live with
him and share his lifestyle.

"How was the photo safari? Did you get some good shots?"

He launched into a tale of beavers and bear that promised to last
awhile, so Maddie exited the interstate and stopped her car in a fast-food
restaurant parking lot, then settled in to listen. The man had always had a way
with words, and Blade painted a picture of Alaska that put her right in the middle
of it. So caught up was she in the wilderness that it came as quite a shock
when he abruptly said, "Want to meet me for dinner at Nikki's? I'm in the
mood for Italian."

Nikki's was Blade's favorite Italian restaurant in Tribeca.
"Where are you, Dad?"

"Somewhere over Canada. We're due in at LaGuardia in a couple
of hours. Say you'll meet me, Baby D. I'll call for a plane for you the minute
we hang up. It's been too long since I've seen you."

The offer tempted her. She couldn't go home yet and she did miss her
father. He'd pamper her, ply her with gifts. He'd sponsor a day at a spa if she
asked.

Surrounded by the stench of rotting mushrooms, mindful of the
grilling she'd get from Branch and Kathy and the clients who didn't like
substitute caregivers, Maddie thought the idea of escape sounded especially
sweet.

It wouldn't be running away. Okay, maybe it would be. A little
bit. Mainly, though, it'd be a quick trip to see her dad. That, and to try and
forget Luke Callahan.

Right. Like that would happen. Nevertheless, a little getaway
might be just the thing to repair the little chip Luke had carved out of her
fragile heart.

Maddie decided she was of a mood to ask for that day at the spa.
She was ready to spruce herself up, to pamper herself. She was ready to celebrate
her freedom. "Just dinner, Daddy, or could I talk you into spending a few
days in the city with me?"

"You'll come?" he responded, delight obvious in his
voice. "Ah, Baby, that's fabulous, just fabulous. I'm thrilled."

They discussed the arrangements for a few minutes, including a
surprise her father said he'd have waiting for her. Maddie disconnected the
call with a light heart and anticipation singing in her veins. This was good,
just the distraction she needed.

"For God's sake, he's doing it again." Matt Callahan
stretched out his long legs from his captain's chair aboard the
Siren Song,
then
propped his canvas deck shoes atop the nearby beer cooler and crossed his feet
at the ankles. A strong southwesterly breeze kept the boat rocking and
threatened to blow the Texas Aggies baseball cap off his head as he observed,
"Mark, did you ever think you'd see the day that our little brother would
rather brood about a broad than fish?"

Mark Callahan checked the tension on his line, frowned, and
adjusted his reel. "Never. I wouldn't believe it if I wasn't seeing it
with my own two eyes."

Standing at the stern of the boat gazing at the muddy swells of
the Gulf of Mexico, Luke flipped his brothers the bird.

"Although," Mark continued. "I can't really blame
him. You should have seen the broad, Matt. A real looker, that one. Redheaded
and built like a brick shithouse. Her eyes went all bedroomy whenever she
looked at Luke, too."

"Now, that I believe." Matt scratched his chin, bristled
from a four-day-old beard. "He always did attract the easy lays."

"Shut the hell up," Luke snapped. "Maddie's not
like that. She's..." His voice trailed off when he spied the knowing look
his brothers exchanged. "Oh, bite me, assholes."

Unable to leave it alone, Mark leaned forward, propping his elbows
on his knees, and asked, "She's what? How did she do it? You spent, what,
a day and a half with her, and you're suddenly calling in markers I thought
would never see the light of day? We spent a lot of political capital on Maddie
Kincaid. The governor was my ace in the hole."

"Get over it," Luke snapped. "It wasn't any skin
off your nose to do a few favors for me. Besides, the governor is still in our
pocket. Between that problem you handled with his wife and the fact I got his
stupid kid off an ecstasy rap and into rehab, he still owes us plenty."

"True." Then, to Luke's surprise, Mark turned serious.
"I know we all decided a long time ago that we wouldn't keep score, but
that doesn't mean I don't realize how much I owe you. I'm in the unit because
of you. This work... well... you know how much it means to me."

Matt gruffly cleared his throat. "It means that much to all
of us." He lifted his beer bottle. "For Johnny."

For just a moment, their missing brother's spirit was alive and
strong among them. Then Mark continued, "But you've never asked for help
before, Luke. Not even during the worst of the Miami mess. Why now? Why with
rock-and-roll royalty, for God's sake?"

Luke turned away from the water and shoved Matt's feet off the
cooler. He flipped open the lid and pulled a bottle of water from the ice.
"That's just it. She doesn't want to be a princess. She wants to be a girl
next door."

"Ahh. Now I understand. She's a rebel. No wonder she appeals
to you."

"Not a rebel. She just wants to be left alone. Hell, you read
the papers. She's had some hard knocks."

"Knocks she brought on herself," Matt put in. "Bad
checks. Bad decisions."

"Bad asshole boyfriends," Luke said. "I made some
calls, and from what I learned, that's a big part of her problem. She got
herself talked into all kinds of stuff by three dickheads."

Mark fished in the cooler and brought out a bottle of water and a
beer. "You know, I never really thought about it before, but it's kind of
sad. Hell, her father wrote a song giving her grief for everything wrong in the
world. Christ, she was just a kid."

"'Baby's to Blame,'" Matt mused. "Number one hit,
wasn't it?"

Luke twisted the cap off the water bottle and took a long pull.
"Look, you're making this into a bigger deal than it is. The woman was in
trouble and I decided to help her. Now, what do you say we get the grill fired
up? My mouth's been watering for that snapper ever since Matt yanked it
aboard."

His brothers let the subject drop while they prepared their meal.
Mark and Matt argued over seasoning the fish while Luke cut up vegetables to
grill. Once the food was on the fire, he broke out one of the special bottles
of wine he'd brought and conversation degenerated into general sibling
bickering.