LITMIR.BIZ

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she paced around the room. “This morning I was a respected entomologist, on the verge of the biggest discovery of my career, and in the blink of an eye a snide reporter on national news has the audacity to refer to me as Madam Butterfly!”

      Maddie did a little more pacing, tossed the bag into the trash, then tentatively looked around the room for something to destroy. Her intentions must have been reflected in her frown, because her bodyguard suddenly cleared his throat to get her attention.

      “I wouldn’t let that reporter bother me if I were you, Dr. Morgan. This will all blow over soon enough,” Baker said calmly from his post at the door.

      Maddie whirled around to face him, hoping he couldn’t detect the wheels that had also started whirling around inside her head. She hesitated for a second, and then she said, “You know, Sergeant Baker, you’re absolutely right. Thanks for helping me put things into perspective.” Maddie sent him her most brilliant smile.

      He seemed surprised, but he smiled back. Then he shrugged. Then he did a little shuffle from one foot to the other, more than a little embarrassed under her praise. “Hey, don’t mention it.”

      Gotcha! Maddie thought. And though she certainly wasn’t proud of herself for turning on a big dose of feminine charm, Maddie knew she had to get back to Roswell before her career was so badly ruined she’d never recover.

      “You poor, poor, man,” Maddie said, forcing herself to even bat her eyelashes a few times. “I’ve been so focused on my own problems, I never stopped to think how tired you must be standing at the door hour after hour.”

      Baker stood up a little straighter and puffed his massive chest out a bit further, if that were possible. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

      “Don’t be so modest.” Maddie walked across the room toward the table. “The least I can do is bring you a sandwich. I’m sure Captain Hawkins doesn’t care if you eat something, as long as you guard the door.”

      Baker licked his lips, watching as Maddie rifled through the contents on the tray. “That’s okay.” But there was a lot of uncertainty in his voice when he added, “I’ll get something later.”

      Maddie waved a tasty-looking ham and cheese sub in his direction. “This is what I had earlier. And believe me, it was scrumptious.”

      “Well, I am kinda hungry,” Baker admitted, just as Maddie hoped he would.

      “And what about a soda to go with your sandwich?” Maddie asked in the sweetest voice she could muster.

      “Yeah, that would be great,” Baker said, grinning back in appreciation.

      Maddie withdrew a can of soda from the small fridge, popped open the top, then walked toward Baker with what she hoped was a pleasant smile on her face. “Here you go,” she said when she handed over the sandwich, but she purposely let go of the can before he could take it.

      The contents splashed all over him.

      Baker automatically bent down, grabbing for the can, and when he did, Maddie gave him a push with everything she had. Caught completely off guard, Goliath hit the floor with a thud.

      Maddie never looked back.

      She yanked the door open and headed down the hallway at a breakneck speed that would have put any Olympic sprinter to shame. Which way? Maddie kept asking herself frantically. The long hallway stopped at an intersection up ahead. Baker had brought her in from the left, through an exit door that would only lead her back outside to the helicopter pad. But if she went right, where would she be? Deciding her only choice was to take that chance, she turned right at the last second.

      Colliding head-on with Hawk gave Maddie a glimpse of how her insect friends felt when they didn’t see the windshield until it was too late.

      The impact bounced her backward like a rubber ball and landed her flat on her back. By the time she pushed herself up on her elbows and stole back her breath, both Hawk and Baker were standing above her.

      Neither seemed amused.

      “Dammit, Hawk, she tricked me,” Baker explained.

      Hawk didn’t answer. Instead both men reached down simultaneously, hooked Maddie under each arm, and literally carried her back down the hallway. Once back inside her prison, Maddie was plopped down in the recliner before Hawk uttered a word.

      “Give me your shoes,” Captain Hawk ordered.

      “I most certainly will not!”

      He bent down and had Maddie’s hiking boots off faster than if she’d been wearing a pair of slippers.

      “Take these with you. I’m in for the night,” he told Baker who wasted no time grabbing her boots and making a hasty exit out the door.

      Bracing herself for the lecture she knew was coming, Captain Hawkins didn’t disappoint her. Coming to a stop directly in front of her chair, he glared down at her with his hands at his waist. “You think this is some kind of a game, don’t you?”

      “Game?” Maddie jumped up to face him in her stocking feet. “My entire life is being ruined, you’re holding me against my will, and you have the nerve to ask me if I think this is a game?”

      They glared at each other for several seconds as if the brief intimacy they’d shared earlier never happened. Maddie was too worried about her career to even think about the kiss that almost transpired between them, and judging from his serious expression, Captain Hawk wasn’t in a playful little mood, either.

      He surprised her when he said, “You’re right. You are the one who has the most to lose in this situation. That’s why I decided a call to your sister might not be such a bad idea.”

      Maddie couldn’t believe her eyes when he pulled a cell phone from the pocket of the jacket he was now wearing.

      “Get your sister to call off the search,” he instructed. “Tell her you’re okay, but nothing else. Understood?”

      When Maddie nodded, he asked, “Where is she staying?”

      “The Hampton Inn. Room 402,” Maddie told him, then held her breath when he called information for the number.

      He checked his watch before he dialed the hotel. “It’s almost midnight, so it should be safe to make the call. Make sure she’s alone. If she isn’t, hang up.”

      Maddie nodded in agreement again.

      “Room 402,” he said when the hotel operator answered, and Maddie eagerly took the phone when he handed it over. He was standing so close, Maddie decided she’d be wise to follow his instructions to the letter. The second Mary Beth answered, Maddie said, “Are you alone?”

      “Maddie? Is that you?” came the startled cry on the other end of the line.

      “Answer me, Mary Beth. Are you alone?”

      “Well, of course, I’m alone. My God, Maddie, are you okay? How much trouble are you in?”

      “Not nearly as much trouble as you’re going to be in when I get my hands on you,” Maddie seethed.

      “Now wait just a minute,” Mary Beth protested. “I’ve been worried to death about you. Where are you, anyway? Tell me! I’ll come and get you this minute.”

      “Come and get me?” Maddie shouted. “I’ve been carried off by aliens, remember?”

      “Okay, okay. I admit things have gotten out of hand. But you weren’t the one being chased across the desert by jeep full of soldiers with bazookas on their shoulders.”

      “God, Mary Beth, how could you do this to me?” Maddie broke in, no more impressed than she usually was with her sister’s outrageous dramatics.

      “I swear, it wasn’t my fault, Maddie. I was petrified when I saw that soldier grab you. And then when I realized I was being chased myself, I headed for Roswell so fast I had to be doing a hundred miles

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