Run Wild (48 page)
Authors: Lorie O'Clare
Thick, dark brown hair tapered around his face but didn’t hide his intense features. This man was doing a really good job of controlling his reaction to Max’s sudden attack. And Max, with his back to her, didn’t look like the soft and cuddly teddy bear she’d always pictured him up until this moment. His large body looked hard as steel, just like the stranger he held. His thick, dark arms were like small tree trunks. And although defined muscle didn’t bulge against his black skin, he held the man where he was and didn’t appear to be struggling to do so.
“Take it out where I can see it,” Max said, his voice a guttural growl.
“I will, man,” the guy said, his voice still calm. “Best to let go of me so we don’t fight over a piece of ID. I have a feeling your boss wouldn’t like her office destroyed if you and I go at it.”
“No, I wouldn’t.” Maggie wished she could say she hadn’t seen grown men fight before. But with brothers both older and younger, she’d witnessed them scrap as children and more than once go at each other as adults. Italian and Irish blood were a bad mix, but it was who they were. Nonetheless, her heart pounded in her chest with two huge men standing just inside her office door and adrenaline pumping through the air thick enough to slice with a knife. “Pull out your ID,” she managed, speaking softly so she wouldn’t start screaming.
Suddenly she understood why her mother always spoke softly, almost whispering. She was trying to maintain control while raising five children and not instantly losing her temper. Maggie was on the verge of screaming at both of them.
Max adjusted his hold on the man, not willing yet to release him, but allowed the man to pull his wallet from his back pocket. The man flipped it open and held it out, his cheek still pressed against the wall. He strained to watch her when Maggie stepped closer.
She glanced at it but stepped back when the stranger applied a bit of strength and turned against Max, forcing him to take a step back as well. Did this stranger really possess the strength to push Max off of him?
The man turned slightly, looking at Max. “Just a wallet, my friend.” His tone changed just a bit when he added, “It’s never smart to carry a gun in your back pocket.”
“Hand your ID to me,” Maggie instructed, deciding it would be smarter to keep her distance from both of them just in case one of them made a quick move. Another thing she’d learned at a young age. Two boys, or men, fighting worked on blind rage. Get too close and get hurt.
Max dropped his arms, taking his hands off the man and stepped back until he filled her doorway. He was still so unlike her usual teddy-bear cook. Maggie was grateful for him being there. She gave him a quick glance, hoping her look showed as much. There wasn’t time to express her gratitude right now, though. She shot her attention back to the man when he turned, faced her, tugged on his t-shirt to straighten it, and gave her an eyeful of richly defined curves and bulges.
Maggie swallowed even though her mouth was too dry and forced composure through her body. Shifting her attention from that virile body to his hand didn’t help much. She glanced at the laminated card he held out to her but couldn’t read it from that distance. Her legs didn’t wobble when she stepped forward and took it, then stared at the picture of the man standing in front of her, then his credentials. Her stomach did a small flip-flop.
“Micah Jones,” she read. “Bounty hunter.”
Also by Lorie O’Clare
T
HE
B
OUNTY
H
UNTERS
Play Dirty
Get Lucky
Stay Hungry
T
HE
FBI S
ERIES
Tall, Dark and Deadly
Long, Lean and Lethal
Strong, Sleek and Sinful
A
NTHOLOGIES
The Bodyguard
Men of Danger
Praise for Lorie O’Clare’s previous novels
“The best book I’ve read this year!”
—
New York Times
bestselling author Lora Leigh on
Tall, Dark and Deadly
“O’Clare [writes] page-turners filled with well-developed characters, and sparkling, sharp-witted dialogue … and attraction so strong you can feel it!”
—
Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Gripping.”
—
Romance Review
“Ms. O’Clare has written a gritty, dangerous, and sexy story. The action starts on the first page and doesn’t let up until the last.
Tall, Dark and Deadly
is a page-turner packed with sensuality and suspense. You won’t want to miss this one.”
—
Fallen Angel Reviews
“Intriguing [and] highly stimulating … a fantastic blend of mystery and suspense.”
—
All About Murder
“The passion and steamy sensuality are great, as are the action and emotion.”
—
Romance Reviews Today
“Sexy … I am irrevocably hooked on Lorie O’Clare.”
—
Joyfully Reviewed
About the Author
LORIE O’CLARE
is an award-winning erotic romance writer with more than 40 books published. Her stories range from the wild lives of werewolves to the passionate and thrilling world of romantic suspense. An EPPIE and
Romantic Times
Reviewers’ Choice Award winner, she lives in Kansas with her three boys and two dogs, a Boston Terrier and a beagle.
Visit her on the Web at
www.lorieoclare.com
.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
RUN WILD
Copyright © 2012 by Lorie O’Clare.
Excerpt from
Slow Heat
copyright © 2012 by Lorie O’Clare.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
eISBN: 9781466801394
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / April 2012
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.