Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(59)

Maryse looked over at Helena. “I asked him to draw up a fake document to transfer the land to Hank. I was hoping it might throw the bad guys off my trail long enough for the title to pass.”

Helena stared at her for a moment. “Hmm. That’s not bad, really.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Maryse agreed, “but it’s hardly foolproof. Whoever is behind this was making their moves before the will reading ever happened, so there’s always the chance they’ll know the transfer document isn’t legal.”

Luc started to argue but apparently didn’t have a good enough comeback. “Hell, I guess I don’t like you taking chances, but you’re right—sitting still isn’t going to solve this problem either, no matter how much I hate admitting it.”

“It has to be done, Luc,” Maryse said, “and probably a lot of other things that border on illegal and go beyond unethical. But I’m simply out of options and running out of time. Whoever is after me has made it very clear what he’s willing to do to get what he wants, and I’m not going to depend on a legal document to keep him from completing what he’s already begun.”

“She’s right,” Helena said. “I’m dead proof of it. This land has caused a mess of trouble that I swear I didn’t even consider. I guess I really was beyond my prime if I didn’t see this coming.” She sank down onto the bed with a sigh. “All I was trying to do was avoid leaving the land to Hank. I couldn’t trust him to do the right thing—with the land, or with the cash he’d get from making a deal with the oil companies.”

Luc frowned at Helena. “I know you think you were doing some great service for this town, but I have to ask—what made you so certain that Maryse wouldn’t sell out? How could you possibly know that she wouldn’t be swayed by billions of dollars?”

He looked over at Maryse. “In fact, why the hell aren’t you swayed by that much money? Jesus, you could afford to relocate the entire town if what Helena says about the oil is true. So why bother to keep this place as is?”

Helena looked over at Maryse, but when she never answered, Helena turned to Luc and said, “Maryse won’t give up this land until she finds the cure for cancer that native woman made for her father. She knows it’s out there, and she won’t allow one single sprig of green to be cleared out, paved, or removed from that marsh until she’s found her magic mixture.”

Maryse spun around and stared at Helena. “How did you know?”

Helena shrugged. “I give a lot of money to the university you’re using for the tests. It wasn’t hard to find out from them what kind of tests you were running.”

Maryse let this information sink in without replying.

“Cancer?” Luc said and looked a bit surprised. “Is that what you’re doing in that lab?”

Maryse glared at Helena for letting out her secret and finally nodded. “Yes, but the subject is private and not open for discussion. Not now, not ever.” She nodded toward the door. “Now, if you two could please leave me alone. I’ve got to plan a breaking and entering, and I’m probably going to need some rest.”

Luc nodded and pointed a finger at Helena. “You are to meet me in the parking lot. I have some questions about your worthless husband and his military service.”

“Okey dokey,” Helena said, and flashed Maryse a grin. “I’ll be back tonight.” She waved goodbye and dashed through the wall, looking more excited than Maryse thought the situation warranted.

Luc walked over to stand directly in front of Maryse. “If you’re going to go through with this crazy plan, at least let me drive you. You might need backup, or to leave in a hurry.”

Maryse was surprised at his change in tune, but then she saw the compassion and admiration in his eyes. He got it. Maryse could tell. It probably hadn’t taken more than a phone call to his grandparents to find out how Maryse’s parents had died, and she knew with certainty that Luc understood why her research was so important, without her even saying a word.

“Okay, you can drive,” she said, “but no more trying to talk me out of it.”

Luc shook his head and stepped so close to her that she could feel the heat coming off his body. Her breath caught in her throat, and the overwhelming desire to have Luc LeJeune touch her crashed through every nerve ending in her body. When he placed his hand on her check and lowered his lips to hers, she felt her knees go weak.

His lips gently pressed hers, and she was surprised by the tenderness in his kiss. Then he ran his tongue across her lips, and the room began to spin. Her mouth parted, and she groaned as he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss. His tongue swirled with hers in an erotic dance, and he pressed his hips into hers, his body lean and hard in all the right places.

She was just about to do something foolish, like rip off his clothes, or her own, when he ended the kiss, brushing his lips once more across hers. He released her and stepped back with a smile. “Just in case things go wrong,” he whispered. “I didn’t want to live with never having kissed you again.” He ran one finger down her cheek, then walked out of the room.

Maryse shut the door and leaned back against it, not sure whether to head straight to a cold shower or fling herself out the window.

In case things go wrong.

Bastard. He’d just given her more to lose.