Operation: Midnight Guardian by Linda Castillo Read Free Book Online Page B

you’re all right,” she said. “For a second I thought you were going to pass out.”
    “I’m fine,” he growled.
    Two feet separated them. She was at least a foot shorter, and he had to look down to maintain eye contact. He could see the swell of her breasts. The fragile slant of her throat. In the dim light her skin looked almost translucent. The lemon and rosemary scent of her hair titillated his senses. He knew better than to want when it came to this woman, but he did. He wanted like he hadn’t wanted for a long time.
    The flare chose that moment to burn out, plunging them into darkness. Cutter tossed the spent stick to the ground, not sure if he was relieved the strange moment had passed or disappointed because they were going to have to travel the rest of the way in total darkness.
    “Do you have another flare?” she asked.
    “Nope.”
    “How are we going to find the other opening without light?”
    Cutter struck a match. Relief flicked through him when the flame danced. “We follow the air.”
    “There’s a breeze?”
    “Faint, but definitely there.” He could feel her gaze on him, but he didn’t look at her. The situation demanded he either tie her belt to his or take her hand so they didn’t get separated. Considering the way he was reacting to her, he didn’t want to touch her. But since he was fresh out of rope he was going to have to take her hand. “Let’s go.”
    He reached down to take her hand. She tried to tug away, but he tightened his grip. “We don’t want to get separated,” he explained.
    “Oh.” She stopped trying to pull away.
    Refusing to acknowledge just how good her hand felt in his, Cutter extinguished the match and they ventured deeper into the cave.
     
     

 
    Chapter Five
     
    Mattie had never been afraid of the dark. Even as a child, she’d never needed a night-light or the door to her room left ajar. But the utter darkness of the cave was something she had never encountered.
    She didn’t know how long they walked. It seemed like hours, but the darkness had a way of skewing one’s sense of time and place. If not for the warmth of Cutter’s hand, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to go on.
    “Stop.” His voice broke through the utter silence like a shout.
    “What is it?” She squinted, but saw nothing.
    A match flared. Relief went through her at the sight of the tiny light. Then she noticed that the flame was flickering wildly.
    “We’re close to the opening,” Cutter said.
    “I don’t see any light ahead.”
    “The opening may be hidden. In fact, we may have to dig our way out of here.”
    “I hate to tell you this, but I left my shovel in my other purse.”
    He scowled. “Ha, ha.”
    “So how do we find the opening?”
    “Follow the breeze.”
    The match burned out. He immediately lit another. “I’m going to let go of your hand. I want you to stay put.”
    Mattie nodded, but already it seemed her hand had grown cold without his. She stood there as he moved along the far side of the cave. He held the match with one hand, ran his other along the stone wall.
    The match burned down, once again plunging them into darkness. This time, he didn’t light another. Several minutes passed. Mattie could hear him moving around. She took comfort in that, but the dark and cold were beginning to get to her. She thought she heard the squeak of some type of animal. She detected a faint but foul odor and began to imagine the skeletons of long-dead explorers who’d been unable to find their way out, their bodies eaten by carnivorous rats….
    A hand on her shoulder made her jump. She spun, reached out, found her hand on a hard-as-rock bicep. “Don’t sneak up on me like that,” she said.
    “I found the opening.”
    She wanted to get out of the smelly, dark and damp cave and into the daylight. “Thank God. Let’s get out of here.”
    “There’s only one small problem,” Cutter said.
    “Believe me, there’s no problem big enough to keep me from