The Fall of Maggie Brown by Anne Stuart Read Free Book Online

starving. This way.” He started toward the narrow stairs. Either she’d follow him or not. If she didn’t, he’d wash his hands of her and someone else could take on the dubious task of distracting Magnolia Brown.
    She was right behind him when he unlocked the door to his usual room. By the time he pulled the string and turned on the overhead light she was already in, and he moved fast enough to stop her from leaving once she caught sight of that sagging double bed.
    She looked at him with a trace of her usual cool. “And where are you sleeping?” she asked pointedly.
    “Maggie, you wound me,” he protested. “If I wanted to force myself on you then I would have chosen someplace along the way, out of earshot.”
    “Maybe you prefer beds.”
    “Maybe I do,” he said with a slow grin. “But I’m still more interested in keeping you out of harm’s way than getting into your pants. This is my usual room when I’m here. It’s got the best location—it looks over the back alley, it’s near the stairs and it’s a short drop to the ground if we have to leave through the window.”
    “Where are you going to sleep?”
    “You really have a fixation about that, don’t you, Mag?” he drawled. “I’ve slept on more than my share of floors in my lifetime, and this one’s no better or worse than many of them. You can enjoy the sanctity of your virgin bed.”
    She sat down on the virgin bed, and for a brief moment her shoulders sagged. Then she sat up straight, not wanting to betray even a moment’s weakness. “Good. I just hope you don’t snore.”
    “I think my snoring will be the least of your worries,” he drawled. “You look beat. I’ll have Elena bring you up something to eat while I go out and see what I can learn. There’s a local bar with just the sort of people I’m looking for.”
    “I’m coming with you. It’s my sister—”
    “You’re staying put. You’ll keep the door locked and you’ll scream good and loud if anyone tries to open it. Most people wouldn’t think to mess with you once they know you’re with me, but there are always the few, stupid exceptions.”
    “They’re all so afraid of you?” she scoffed. “I can’t imagine why.”
    He smiled at her. His ferocious, wolflike smile that tended to terrify braver souls than Maggie Brown.
    “Can’t you?” he murmured. She looked up at him, and he could see the first trickling of real uneasiness in her stern brown eyes.
    “Lock the door behind me,” he said. And he was gone before he could ruin the effect.

CHAPTER FIVE
    M AGGIE SAT ON THE SAGGING bed, listening as his footsteps died away. And then she flopped backward onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling, the lone lightbulb hanging in the center illuminating the shabby interior of the room. It seemed relatively clean. She didn’t want to think about how recently the sheets had been changed.
    At least she was alone. Without his eyes watching her, those enigmatic, electric-blue eyes of his.
    She could hear her stomach rumble. She hadn’t eaten much for lunch—the constant jolting of the Jeep along the barely passable roads hadn’t done much for the state of her stomach. But now that the bouncing had finally stopped she was starving.
    Frazer had said Elena would bring her something to eat. Probably laced with cyanide. If Elena and Frazer weren’t something more than friends then she was a kangaroo. Why he bothered making her sleep in the same room when he had such a luscious armful available was beyond her comprehension. She didn’t believe for one moment that it could be that dangerous in this tiny hotel. It wasn’t any noisier than most cities, though the occasional shriek from the alley outside was slightly unnerving. He was probably exaggerating the danger in order to keep her compliant. As far as she could tell the most dangerous creature in the entire country of San Pablo was Ben Frazer. She’d seen no signs of any alleged bandits, revolutionaries, or even