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Risen To The Top CHAPTER 157
Sean and Alex wound their way up the street towards the Hoade house. A pickup truck almost scraped the driver’s headlights on Alex’s SUV as it took the angle of the corner too steep, traveling at a high rate of speed. Alex hadn’t had a chance to downshift from high beams, so the lights flashed on the face of a man behind the wheel wearing a Padres baseball cap.The Hoade’s gardener. “That’s strange.”“What?” Alex asked.“The fuckin’ gardener. Tori said his regular day was tomorrow. He’s about as good a driver as he is landscaper,” Sean snorted.“Something wrong about that, Sean,” Alex replied.Sean turned and looked toward the rear of the truck that was smoking, picking up speed as it barreled down the hill to the commercial district. Something was definitely wrong. He started having that feeling like he did sometimes when he was in an unfamiliar neighborhood overseas, when they didn’t know what was arou
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 158
Tori was being hauled from a truck that smelled of gasoline into a chilly, dark covered space, perhaps a garage. As her feet dragged along the floorboards, they snagged a gasoline can and tipped it, sending it crashing to the concrete below. She heard a man’s voice swear. The gasoline smell was almost overpowering.With his arms under her chest, her kidnapper dragged her through a doorway and into a carpeted small space. The room was done up in pink, complete with a set of Barbie Dolls on a French Provincial sideboard that looked like it came out of a little girl’s room.And then it hit her. It did look just like a little girl’s room. A single bed with a hot-pink, fuzzy bedspread, dotted with stuffed animal pillows was in the corner. An overhead chandelier in pink had lit up automatically as they entered the room. The massive arms hoisted her up and onto the bed. She was left in sitting position. She couldn’t feel much of her body below the neck
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 159
Sean and Alex raised their hands, partly to protect their eyes from the disruptive bright light. Sean saw smoke billowing around the massive legs and boots of the giant.“So, what the hell are you guys up to?”Sean put his fingers to his mouth to indicate he wanted silence but the man wasn’t having anything of it.Alex whispered, “He the one?”Sean shook his head, no.The man raised his voice further. “I said, I want some answers, and quick, or I’m calling the cops.”Not a cop? With the boots and the gun, Sean figured he was either a bad guy or a security guard trying to do his job.“They’re already on their way,” Alex said as a test. His voice was commanding but not threatening. Sean hoped they were not within earshot of the man who had Tori. The man with the shotgun didn’t move, so Alex continued. “We’re looking for a guy in a pickup. We think he has kidnapped a girl and bro
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 160
Sean wouldn’t leave Tori’s side. Paramedics came and tried to push him away, but he almost got heavy with the larger one and barked a “no” they would not soon forget. As usual, Alex was making nice with the local authorities, including Dole, who looked rather pissed.“We caught the guy, Karl. I’d have thought you’d be a little more grateful,” Alex said. The two of them walked off into the night to have a private conversation.Sean helped the paramedics remove Tori to the gurney for transport to the hospital.“I’m fine,” she kept on saying. “Really, I’m fine. You guys don’t have to fuss over me.”“Baby, that was so close. I’m never going to leave you alone again.”Tori giggled.God, how I love that sound!“Sean, come here.” She raised her head up and Sean kissed her. He would have climbed on top of the gurney if the paramedics hadn’t objected. They started pulling him away care
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 161
Sean couldn’t remember being so nervous. The sun was setting on the ocean from atop the grand master suite that had cost him a month’s pay. But this was going to be an important night. The rest of the L.J corporation team had their celebration last night. Sean had sneaked into the hospital room and spent the night in bed with Tori. He’d been tossed out twice, but still managed to get back in. Finally the nurses let him stay.She was just being held for observation, and Sean talked them out of needing a monitor, telling the nurses a lie that he was an intern, on his way to becoming a Naval physician.She had asked him afterwards if that was what he wanted to do, be a doctor.He said, no. He wanted to get naked and inside her as soon as possible.She seemed to like that idea just as much. Maybe better.But tonight was the candlelit dinner he had never done before. He wanted everything to be how she would l
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 162
The last ride.*One year later.Duke was on a military aircraft to Antarctica, Marshall had chosen him specially for this mission.He was the only available member of the L.j corp team.Sean and Tori had just gotten married and were on honeymoon, Marshall and Claire were expecting another child and Alex and Joanne were busy running L.j corporation.Earlier that week, they had gotten Intel that Vladimir Jores, the ex-military assassin that the Connery family had used for their dirty deeds, had been spotted in a small rural village there.Vladimir Jores was one of the most wanted criminals on Earth, he had worked for the Connery family for a long time.Doing their dirty jobs and testing their nuclear weapons in poor villages and testing it on children.Ever since L.j corp exposed the Connery family, the police had immediately
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 163
* * *The small plane taxied down the runway at Inuit in the Inuit Corridor, a tiny panhandle of land in the far northeast of Antarctica artic axis. Thankfully the runway was clear of snow—a miracle in itself.Dr. Evelyn Cox stared out of the plane window and tried to relax her grip on the seat in front of her. She’d been traveling for thirty hours straight, leveraging every contact she’d ever made to get flights and temporary visas for her and her graduate student. Something was going on with her Polar bears and she was determined to find out what.Last fall, they’d attached satellite radio collars to ten highly-endangered snow Polar bears here in the Inuit. This past week, in the space of a few days, they’d lost one signal completely, and another signal was now coming from a talus-riddled slope where no shelter existed. This latter signal was from a collar that had been attached to a Polar bear called Sheba, one of only two femal
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 164
* * *Two hours later the sun was sinking into the west. Desperation and the need to hurry pulsed through her blood and made her head pound with frustration. The van got stuck twice but they’d managed to push free of the freshly thawing ground. The shock absorbers were toast. Ahead she could make out the faint outline of pale yurts set deep in the shadow of the mountains.A sonorous snore resonated from the back seat where Mikado slept. Ivan’s cheeks were ruddy from the exertion of driving in such demanding conditions. They’d all taken a turn behind the wheel.“Keep going,” she urged as they passed the yurts. To save time they needed to drive as far as they dared toward where she figured Sheba had denned up. Half a mile later they bumped over a rock the size of a football, and her head glanced off the side window. Dammit.“I can’t go much further without breaking an axle,” Ivan warned.“St
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CHAPTER 181
Evelyn came awake slowly. Painfully. A sharp ache pulsed inside her head and made her wince as she tried to open her eyes. What? She was facedown over an animal, no saddle. The animal’s spine dug into her hips and stomach.Her hands were bound. The lack of blood flow and frigid temps meant they were like ice blocks on the ends of her arms. Dammit, what if she had frostbite and was too far gone to even know it? She wriggled her fingers, and the returning blood made her gasp. She kept moving, tried to wriggle her legs but they were also bound. The struggle shifted her center of gravity until she was in danger of toppling upside-down beneath the animal and being trampled. Hell. Who’d done this to her? What did they want?The smell of musty fur was overpowering, making her throat heave as her stomach rebelled.“I’m going to be sick.” The contents of her stomach splashed against the gray talus that the horse was working hard to cross. D
CHAPTER 180
They’d followed the spoor for two hours but ground sign was disappearing as dust swirled in the wind. Duke was torn. Did he keep following the unknown originator of these tracks or go back to base camp and regroup. Base camp was calling his name but he wasn’t sure whether that was because Evelyn had destroyed his objectivity or because it was the smartest thing to do.Hell, right now he was going in circles.“Let’s mark this GPS position and head back,” he said to Sri luc quietly. The sound of horses hooves drumming against solid earth made him glance in the direction of the biologists’ camp. The student—Ivan—came flying into view, coat open and flapping in time to the rhythm of the horse.“What the feck?” They’d all rendezvoused at the snare where the tracks had been spotted, but he’d sent Ivan and the local man back to camp on horseback an hour ago. He hadn’t liked the idea of Evelyn being alone, although she’d managed without hi
CHAPTER 179
He split them into three groups.“Can’t I go with the doc?” Lucas moaned. He might have the reputation of being the ladies’ man of the Mountain Troop, but after what Duke had been thinking five minutes earlier while trying not to kiss Evelyn Cox’s lips, legs, and everything in between, maybe he was a frickin’ ladies’ man too.He wanted her and he’d let his eyes tell her exactly how much he wanted her.What was he thinking? There was a time and a place for that sort of thing and this wasn’t it.“No.” He kept his voice light. None of them were here to get laid. “You’re with Sri luc. Jordan you go with the Great Dane. I’m with the doc.” He gave them a firm smile that told them this wasn’t up for debate. “We’ll get the biologists to give us a demo how to tranq and release the Polar bears before we head out. I want hourly radio checks.” He nodded to the men. “It might be a couple of days until the other guys get here. I’m
CHAPTER 178
When she woke she was staring straight into the startling cobalt eyes of Officer Robert Duke. He looked like he’d wait all day for her to wake up.“I must be dreaming,” she croaked.He held out a mug of black tea.“Definitely dreaming.” She sat up, took it, and sipped. The warm liquid eased her dry throat. “Thanks. What time is it?”“0600.” His voice rolled over her. She blinked groggily. There was enough of a burr in his accent to make his voice very sexy and she figured he was laying on the charm this morning.His face was scrubbed and clean-shaven. She found herself studying his features. The vivid eyes shaded by thick brows, the cheeks scraped smooth, the jaw firm and obstinate, his nose too flat to be conventionally handsome. Yet the combination stirred up her insides like hot coals. She fought the urge run her fingers through his short blond hair. He was tall and lean and he looked really, really g
CHAPTER 177
Evelyn shoved back the yurt flap. Mikado flung up his hands in surprise and gave a nervous laugh. “You’re back. You scared me.”“There’s a lot of that going around.”He smiled at her, brown eyes twinkling. “Ivan was worried when the horse came back without you, but I told him you be okay.”Mikado had more faith in her than she did. He returned to whatever he was doing with the cubs.She strode to the computer and opened her email and read the message. Christ, the Trust really had forbidden her to release the animals. She inhaled deeply and tried to calm the rage that continued to burn inside. They thought she was overreacting and had no proof, and in the next sentence they told her it was too dangerous for her and Ivan to go after a guy with a gun. Ivan came slowly into the tent. She didn’t know if he was scared or angry. He had a right to be both.“Did you reply to this email?” She was vibrating with em
CHAPTER 176
For fuck’s sake. He spat in the dirt. Great. He’d spent his whole life fighting against scumbag terrorists and what happened? He ended up accused of being exactly the same sort of nutcase by someone he was trying to help. It stung. He wasn’t about to let her know that.“That’s right, love. That’s why they pay me the big bucks, so let’s move it.” He maneuvered her in front of him. “Step where the trooper steps if you want to keep your legs.” He let her walk a few paces ahead and spoke into his comms. “Jordan and Lucas, keep a low profile as we head back to the RV. See if this bastard’s hiding somewhere and decides to follow us.”They both acknowledged with radio clicks and he followed Evelyn through the bush and along the rocky path. The old guy must be damn good or damn lucky to have spotted them near that other collar. He must have night vision equipment to move so swiftly at night too. Or he had insider information.Duke moved cl
CHAPTER 175
The midday sun beat harshly on this patch of barren rock, melting the inch of snow that had fallen during the morning. The woman beside him had finally stopped wriggling and fallen asleep a couple of hours ago. His team was in position and they’d been on stag duty while he caught a quick nap. Now he was wide awake and refreshed, but so far, nothing yet.What had made Vladimir jores turn his back on his former homeland? What made him defect to fight on the side of people who got their kicks out of brutalizing innocent civilians?Duke understood terrorists better than anyone this side of a suicide vest. He’d grown up with them, would probably have become one himself if not for the tragic death of his sister. That was the family business, right alongside farming. Being immersed in that indoctrinated shit from a young age meant he understood how people born into it found it hard to break free. It was so ingrained, so fecking normal. Talk about brainwashing. H
CHAPTER 174
How many years had it been since she’d held hands with a guy? A soldier? A shiver brushed over her skin like a ghost from the past.It felt strange. As if she’d been transported back in time. And yet, here she was, relying on the strength of those long, strong, foreign fingers to guide her safely through the night. Adjusting her footing in response to subtle pressure changes, tuning her body to match his. Trusting a man she’d just met. Relying on a man, period.It wasn’t something she did.It wasn’t who she was.She believed in saving things, in using data to make her point, not violence. But data wasn’t going to save her Polar bears from their current predicament. Her fingers tightened involuntarily and he slowed to match her pace. The guy was fit, not even breathing heavily, despite everything they’d been through and how many miles they’d walked. She was fit too, she ran and worked out, but exhaustion was making her
CHAPTER 173
As Evelyn lay down, her mind kept wavering back to years ago when she was still a child.When her grandfather was still the minister of ammunition, their family had been good friends with the Connery family so they always stood by each other.Her grandfather had hated L.j corporation because they and Connery corporation were rivals.They each made weapons for governments and L.j corporation were beginning to outsell Connery corporation.She remembered the old Mr Connery coming to visit her grandfather and the two of them talking in hushtones about the issues.During that period, a heated rivalry had begun and it all came to its peak one cold night, years ago.she remembered it clearly.Her mind went back through the years, reliving the moment.“Come away from there, Evelyn. Quickly now.”Evelyn knew better than to argue with her mother, but sh
