LITMIR.BIZ

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to ask.

      Maddie held her hand up to silence him when the reporter patted Mary Beth supportively on the shoulder and said, “I know this is very difficult for you, Miss Morgan.” His sympathy prompted another sniffle from Mary Beth. “But could you please tell our viewers exactly what happened a few hours ago on the outskirts of Roswell?”

      When the reporter pushed the microphone in her direction, Mary Beth took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut, trying, Maddie suspected, to produce a genuine tear. It worked. The camera zoomed in to watch the droplet roll down her sister’s flawless cheek.

      “I was with my sister, Dr. Madeline Morgan, whom I might add is one of the most respected entomologists in her field,” Mary Beth told her viewers, making no effort to wipe the fake tear away.

      “And…” the reporter urged.

      “We were out in the desert searching for…” A few false sobs erupted before she added, “An endangered species of butterfly. A species my sister is absolutely passionate about. One she even hoped to save by proving that they did exist right here in southeastern New Mexico.”

      There were more pats on the hand, more eye dabbing before she added, “And Maddie thought she saw one. The butterfly, I mean. That’s when she left the Jeep.”

      Hawkins glanced back in her direction again. “Maddie, huh? Yeah, Maddie suits you much better than Madeline.”

      Maddie left the love seat long enough to drop her own empty soda can into the trash, then came to a stop beside him. “I’m sure Hawk suits you better, too.”

      He laughed. “Sergeant Baker has a big mouth.”

      “Well, I’m one chick Sergeant Baker won’t have to worry about,” Maddie said right back. “My hen-house is hawk proof.”

      He sent her a we’ll-just-see-about-that grin, but the reporter spoke up again and turned their attention back to the television screen.

      “Please go on,” the reporter encouraged.

      Mary Beth’s lip did a little quiver before she looked straight into the camera again. “And that’s when I saw it.”

      “The spacecraft, you mean?” the reporter clarified.

      Mary Beth nodded, her eyes growing wide in an expressive fear mode. “It was huge,” she whispered. “Silent. Deadly. It swooped down so fast Maddie never knew what hit her. I couldn’t do a thing to help my poor sister. All I could do was scream.”

      When Mary Beth dramatically covered her face with her hands and burst into tears, Maddie said, “I’m going to kill her.”

      He sent her a puzzled look. “Kill her? But you said your sister would be hysterical about this.”

      “Yes, but I know my twin sister. And what you see now is nothing more than a fine piece of Mary Beth Morgan acting. Probably her finest piece of work to date, if you really want to know the truth.”

      “Twin?” he echoed in disbelief.

      “Identical twin,” Maddie clarified with a frown that only got deeper when Brad looked directly at her chest then back at the screen as if he certainly didn’t believe her story.

      Of course, she didn’t know why she would expect him to be any different. Like all of the other men hovering around Mary Beth on the screen, the dear captain had obviously been dumbstruck by the ample cleavage Mary Beth didn’t mind flaunting. And why did she care if the man standing beside her was ogling her sister’s partially exposed size 36D bosom? He was no one she’d ever be interested in, at least not seriously. A man nicknamed Hawk because of the way he swooped down on innocent women? Forget about it!

      His look was questioning. “So? You don’t think your sister really believes you were carried off by aliens?”

      “Of course, she doesn’t!” Maddie said a little too sharply. “Mary Beth’s an actress. She’s not an imbecile.”

      “Then why is she making all the fuss?”

      Maddie threw her hands up in the air. “Who knows? Maybe she was afraid to admit I was trespassing on government property. Maybe she thought if she told the police I’d been carried off by aliens they’d be more willing to take up the search. Maybe…”

      “Maybe she couldn’t resist getting her own fifteen minutes of fame?” he threw in.

      Maddie looked back at the screen. The thought had crossed her mind. “Well, she’s certainly getting that, isn’t she?”

      “She certainly is,” Captain Hawk agreed. “And that’s why you can’t be released.”

      Maddie paled. “What do you mean I can’t be released?”

      He jerked his thumb toward the screen again. “That sister of yours has the entire country convinced you were carried off by aliens. We have no choice but to keep you here until we can demobilize our entire operation.”

      “But how can keeping me here possibly solve anything?” Maddie cried out. “The only way to clear this up is to let me go back to Roswell and prove I’m safe.”

      “I’m sorry, but we just can’t risk it.”

      “Risk what?” Maddie demanded.

      He took a deep breath. “To put it bluntly, we can’t risk you cracking under the pressure of the media.” His eyes softened a bit when he added, “But you have my word. As soon as we get the helicopter out of here, I’ll personally see you’re returned safely back to Roswell.”

      “But how long will that take?”

      “At least three days.”

      “Three days?” Maddie repeated.

      That would give Mary Beth three full days in front of the cameras. Three days to play her grief-stricken sister act to the hilt. Three days with the entire world convinced that Dr. Madeline Morgan, respected entomologist, had fallen prey to renegade aliens….

      And only when her entire life started crumbling right before her eyes, did Maddie quickly turn to face him. Grabbing the front of his T-shirt, Maddie literally dragged him two steps in her direction. “Are you nuts? You have to let me out of here! This is my life we’re talking about.”

      BRAD TURNED OFF THE TV and pried her fingers from his shirt, then led his shaken prisoner back in the direction of the love seat. In spite of the lecture he had given himself earlier, he couldn’t resist placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. He winced inwardly, however, when she leaned against him for support, pressing her warm, curvaceous body against him.

      You can’t get personally involved with this woman, Brad kept telling himself as he guided her back to the love seat and took a seat beside her. He managed to ease his arm from around her shoulder, but she only grabbed it again and sent him a pleading look.

      “Don’t you realize my career could be ruined if you don’t let me out of here?”

      Brad almost missed the question. She kept squeezing his arm, making him imagine for a moment those same slender fingers caressing his back. Then clutching his shoulders. Her nails finally digging in, signaling he was close to pushing her up and over the next wave of passion.

      “And what about my poor parents?” she worried, sending another anguished look in his direction. “While one daughter is trying for an obvious Emmy nomination, my poor parents will be worrying that daughter number two is being dissected by little green men from outer space!”

      When she finally let go of his arm, some of the blood that had been directed elsewhere slowly returned to his brain, allowing him to respond. “You’re right,” Brad agreed. “This is a very unfortunate situation to be in, but…”

      “Unfortunate?” she wailed, jumping up from the loveseat again. “It’s much worse than unfortunate! If you don’t let me out of here, I’m going to be a worldwide laughing stock! Everything

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