Into the Night by Suzanne Brockmann Page A

stud muffin.
    There was no doubt about it. She thought he was too young for her.
    "But I really do want to get down now," she added.
    "I'm not going to let you fall," Muldoon said for what seemed like the four thousandth time in the past fifteen minutes, working hard not to let his frustration sound in his voice. But he knew that she wasn't really listening, that she didn't really trust him. How could she? He was obviously too young to be trusted.
    "I'm not afraid of me falling," she said. "I'm afraid of you— Hey, you're not listening to me, Michael. Let me try to make this really simple. I'm wearing a harness. I will not hit the ground if I slip. But if I somehow make you slip, and I know that I will, it'll be Splatsville."
    "No, it won't."
    "Oh, yes, it will."
    "No," he said, resisting the urge to shake her. "It won't. You're the one who's not listening to me." Muldoon knew what he had to do. "Will you be okay if I move away from you? I want to show you something, but I won't leave you if it's not okay with you."
    She craned her neck to look at him over her shoulder. "What are you going to do?"
    "Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
    "Yes, but—"
    "Yes is all I need to hear," he interrupted.
    "But—"
    "Shhh. I want you to hold on really tight, because the net's going to bounce. Put your arms all the way through and loop the ropes with your elbows. Yeah, like that. Good. You feel secure?"
    He'd gotten her attention now, that was for sure. Her eyes were wide as she turned to look at him. "What are you going to—
    He didn't wait for her to finish. He went up, fast, almost all the way to the top of the obstacle. He could see her face, looking up at him. Good.
    Okay, Joan. Watch this.
    Muldoon let himself drop. Fast. With his legs free. From Joan's point of view it would look as if he were falling. And maybe, technically, he was. But it was a controlled fall. One that he could stop anytime.
    And he did stop, directly beside Joan.
    The ropes strained and groaned under his weight, and she bounced pretty hard, but she didn't lose her grip.
    He'd timed it perfectly, executed it beautifully—and she had her eyes tightly closed.
    "Oh, my God," she was saying. "Oh, my God, oh, my God!"
    "You want me to do that again?" he asked. "And this time you can keep your eyes open so you can watch?"
    Joan opened eyes that were filled with anger. "You childish bastard! You could have told me what you were going to do!"
    Whoa. She was really pissed.
    "This is supposed to be a demonstration, so—"
    "This was a mistake. A big mistake. So if you're done showing off, dickhead, I want to get down."
    "Oh, come on, you're not really going to quit on me, are you?"
    "I Want To Get Down," she enunciated. "Why am I waiting for you? I don't need you to help me." She started toward the ground.
    Muldoon followed alongside of her. "Joan—"
    "Stop making it bounce!" she ordered. "Just stay where you are. I can get to the bottom by myself."
    And she did.
    But as soon as she hit the ground and started unfastening the harness, Muldoon went after her.
    "I didn't expect you to be the type to quit and run away," he said. That was probably not the smartest thing to say given Joan's emotional state.
    She looked about to boil over. "I didn't expect you to be a dickhead."
    She got the last of the harness off of her and stormed to the bench, snatching her skirt, her shoes, and that oversized purse thing she carried around with her, before heading toward the gate and the parking lot.
    Muldoon looked back at the cargo net. Jenk and Gillman were already on their way back to the ground. Cosmo was still perched up at the very top, like some kind of weird giant bird, basking in the afternoon sunshine.
    "Stow the harness and rope," he ordered them, before dashing after Joan.
    "Come on, wait a sec," he said, catching up to her, catching her arm in the parking lot.
    But she yanked herself free and kept walking. "You scared me to death! You should have told me you could do that