Mallory Rush - [Outlawsand Heroes 02]

Mallory Rush - [Outlawsand Heroes 02] Read Free

Book: Mallory Rush - [Outlawsand Heroes 02] Read Free
Author: Dead or Alive
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this."
    Breathless, she answered, "I can't believe it either, because I really think that I am." She pressed her palm to the ice, touching, almost touching what promised to be a broad, masculine chest. She felt a small lurch, a soft flutter in her own. It was a strange sensation, an echo of the moment when the man who would be her husband tapped on the window of her car to issue a citation and ended up waving two tickets to the policeman's ball.
    Never would she forget that lilting sensation. Never would she forget the tragedy of its loss. She had lost Mick; maybe that was why she had such a foolish need to try saving this surely unsavable man.
    "Look, Lori, we've been friends for a long time. And you know that there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. But—"
    "Ditto, Ryan. And that's why I know that I can count on you to keep a lid on this thing and help me figure out how we're going to get him from here to my place. Say next weekend? Don't try to squirm out of it, I know your schedule. We've both got next Saturday free."
    Ryan quit grinding his teeth long enough to blow out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, have it your way, but just tell me one thing first. What the hell are you going to do with this frozen dude once he thaws out?"
    Since she hadn't thought that far ahead, she'd have to figure it out as she went. "Before that happens, I'm going to the library and getting everything I can find on cryonics. And then there's Dr. Rashid at the hospital—"
    "He's a horny lech."
    "So what? That horny lech is doing research on low-temperature whatever-he-calls-it for organ preservation. I'll buy him lunch and pick his brain. After that, only two things can happen. If by some miracle our friend here can be resuscitated, I'm a nurse and he's in good hands. If not..." I'll see that he gets a decent burial to make up for the one be didn't get.
    It was more than Mick had gotten. His funeral had resembled a three-ring circus, the grieving widow's picture splashed on the front page of the newspaper. It had not been right. Then again, nursing her wounds at the expense of denying science a look-see wouldn't be right either.
    "If he's a goner, I'll turn him over to Dr. Rashid, who can call in his cronies before the anthropologists and the yellow journalists and God only knows who else has at him. Fair enough?"
    Ryan hesitated, shook his head, then gave a curt nod. "Jeez, I must be as crazy as you. You want him, you've got him. But we're going to need some help."
    "Make that some help who can keep their mouths shut."
    "Right. And that definitely reduces the pickings. As it is, there's only three who come to mind."
    "Warren, Jacob, and Jennifer." Not only were they top-notch climbers, Warren and Jacob had muscle to spare. As for Jennifer, she had the moxie to keep them both in line and polish her nails while she was at it.
    Ryan pulled at his chin. "Once we hack him out, getting him to the bottom won't be easy. He doesn't look light, even minus the ice, but put 'em together and we've got a mother lode of weight to haul."
    Lori had to agree. "We could use a stretcher and risk the trail. It's probably the way he came up."
    "The trail's too rough, and even if it wasn't, it'd take forever to push him down. Too dangerous. Forget it."
    That idea nixed, she searched for another. And came up with one that could land both her and Ryan in big trouble.
    "Oh, Ryan," she singsonged. "Guess what I'm thinking."
    "I know what you're thinking. Lord, to think like you, I must need my head examined."
    She smacked his cheek with a kiss. "I love ya, big guy. I can always count on you to be there for me, no matter what."
    "Know what? I hate it when you get sappy." As he spoke they prepared to rappel like marionette birds on sturdy strings. Poised on the ledge, Ryan asked, "Ready?"
    "Not quite." No, she wasn't ready. But she wasn't about to tell Ryan that she didn't want to leave the man frozen in time. "First, I want you to tell me what keeps us together."
    "What else?

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