Texas…Now and Forever by Merline Lovelace Page A

didn’t come here intending to shake you down for the two million. I don’t want your money, Callaghan!”
    â€œIs that right?”
    â€œThat’s right, dammit!”
    He looked anything but convinced. “Then what do you want?”
    â€œYour help. You’re the one man I can take with me when I go after my baby.”
    â€œRight.” Skepticism cut deep into his voice. “Because you’ve suddenly decided to admit I’m her father?”
    â€œNo, you jackass. Because you’re blind.”
    He reared back, jerking away as if she’d hauled off and open-handed him. He recovered almost immediately, though. She’d give him that. Whatever else Luke had lost in the jungles of Central America, he could still spring to the attack with lethal agility.
    â€œWhy don’t you run that by me one more time?” he suggested with biting derision. “I’m having a little trouble understanding exactly how my impaired vision plays in this situation.”
    â€œI’ll tell you exactly how it plays. I just got a call from the kidnapper. He told me to get together two million in unmarked, nonsequential bills. He said he’d contact me later with instructions on when and where to deliver it. At the same time, he swore… He warned…”
    She choked. Swallowing hard, she forced out the words that sliced at her throat like shards of glass.
    â€œHe warned that I’d never see Lena alive again if there was a police officer or a federal agent anywhere within a hundred miles when I make the delivery. That’s why I’m asking—why I’m begging you to go with me. He’d suspect anyone else, think I was trying to set him up, but he wouldn’t…That is, he couldn’t…”
    â€œHe wouldn’t worry about a blind man.”
    She bit her lip, hating to throw his disability in his face but determined to use whatever weapon she could.
    â€œLook, all I need is for you to distract Frank, to divert his attention for a few seconds. I’ll take it from there.”
    â€œFrank?” His black brows came together. “Are you talking about Frank Del Brio?”
    â€œYes. We suspected it all along. After the shoot-out the other night, we were certain. But until he called a little while ago, we didn’t know what he wanted for her.”
    Luke reached for her again, his hands fumbling until they locked around her upper arms. He pulled her up, as if to feel and not just hear what she had to say.
    â€œWho’s ‘we’?” he demanded fiercely. “Who the hell are you, Daisy? And what’s your connection to the Texas mob?”
    She hesitated, trying to decide which bomb todrop first, searching for a way to lay bare the secrets she’d buried deep inside her for so long.
    Suddenly the slamming of car doors ricocheted through the night, followed by the thud of running footsteps. The sound triggered an instant response in Luke. Shoving Haley behind him, he spun to meet the threat he could hear but not see. Pinned against the car, she wiggled frantically until she made out the shadowy figures rushing toward them with weapons drawn.
    â€œMove away from her!” the lead runner shouted.
    She felt Luke tense, sensed him readying to spring.
    â€œIt’s okay!” Grabbing the sleeve of his blue denim shirt, she held him back. “They’re FBI!”
    â€œWhat?”
    The two agents fanned out to either side, weapons held high, no doubt remembering Sean Collins’s terse instructions to keep his star witness safe at all costs.
    â€œMove away from her, Callaghan. Slow and easy. Keep those hands right where we can see them.”
    Luke complied. He took a step to the side, his hands held at waist level.
    Breathing out a sigh of relief, Haley shoved her hair out of her eyes and eased out from behind theprotective shield of his body. The lead agent kept Luke covered while he speared her with a quick