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Risen To The Top CHAPTER 167
Duke and Jordan had crawled into a hole in the side of a mountain that overlooked this treeless, rock-strewn valley approximately thirty-six hours ago. A million hours later, they were still here, Duke lying prone on top of his sleeping bag while he kept watch. The entrance of the OP was well hidden behind straggly bushes, and he and Jordan had cleared the area of spiders and scorpions and checked for snakes before they’d settled in. They needed to be vigilant for unwanted wildlife because neither wanted a medivac out of here. Plus, they could use the protein.Sri luc and Lucas were on the same mountain but on the south side, getting the benefit of the rising sun while Duke and Jordan froze their asses off in the shadows. The two men they’d spotted that first night had been gone all day yesterday and hadn’t returned until after dark last night. Duke didn’t know what they were up to.The man they’d left behind in camp looked local. He wore an AK-
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 168
“One of the snares has been triggered.” Evelyn strode into the tent to check the satellite download. She needed to know where each of the collared polar bears was. “What’s the data telling us?”When in range of the satellite, the units transmitted positional data every hour. The rest of the GPS coordinates were stored ready to be downloaded when they retrieved the device after the collar fell off—theoretically two years after they were deployed. Mikado had found Sheba’s collar yesterday—sans snow polar bear—which left no doubt in her mind that they had a poacher on their hands. A big, fat, murdering poacher who was targeting the animals using telemetry devices she’d attached.They had to be careful how this played out. It was a political and ecological nightmare.She stabbed her keyboard. Wanted to rip out the sonofabitch’s heart with her bare hands and stomp on his fingers so he could never hold a rifle ever again.I
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 169
Vladimir Jores knelt on the bare earth, slid his knife into the mechanism that secured the tracking-collar and popped the device. He tossed it aside and rolled the snow polar bear onto its back and pulled the plush fur away from clinging sinew. He made a hole in the pelt with the tip of his curved blade and carefully drew the whetted edge down the animal’s still-warm belly. He avoided nicking the gut, and took a moment to remove the intestines and stomach, and throw them in an opalescent heap where they couldn’t mar the prized pelt.Using fingers and the blade, he worked the skin off the muscle in small, circular motions, revealing an intricate weave of deep pink fibers beneath. The tail took time, as did the legs and the head. The enormous paws were heavy and soft like velvet against his fingers, reminding him of the curtains in his grandmother’s house when he was a young child. He squeezed them regretfully, but refused to think about the animal it had once
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 170
He held up his hands and turned, relieved to see the woman and not some Connery crazed assasin nutter or aging Russian terrorist squaring off with him.Unfortunately the woman was holding a Glock-17 as though she knew how to use it.“Afternoon,” he observed calmly.“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t put a bullet in you right now.” Her accent told him she was American.A joke about the second commandment probably wouldn’t work considering his Diemaco and SIG Sauer were locked and loaded with one in the chamber.“Is there anyone who’d actually give a damn about a man like you?” Her throat convulsed, and hatred sculpted the lines of her mouth.The question jolted him. He had mates in the L.j corp team, but no one else really cared if he lived or died. But she didn’t know that.He looked at her white knuckles and the pulse beating frantically at the base of her throat. There was
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 171
The soldier was watching her. Not that he looked like a real soldier with his mismatched gear, and he was alone. She frowned. Soldiers never traveled alone. But the weapons and vest he wore were menacingly authentic.A mercenary?His gaze probed a spot right between her shoulder blades, making it itch. What was a soldier or special force doing in the Antarctica snow mountains? She didn’t want soldiers here. Soldiers…she swallowed hard and forced the memories away.This wasn’t about her past. It was about saving one of the world’s most endangered species. There was no time to waste.Maybe he was the poacher, playing his own little game of cat and mouse with her. Maybe she was going to get her throat cut when she least expected it. She raised her hand to her neck.Thinking logically, he’d had the chance to hurt her earlier and hadn’t taken it. Sure, she was dusty and a little sore from being pushed face-fi
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 172
Duke tore open alcohol swabs and sucked in a breath as he took in the six-inch gashes that raked her skin. Blood streaked her body. Though the injuries were superficial, they must sting like hell.He concentrated on her shoulders first, moving the blanket, cleaning each scratch thoroughly, as clinical and professional as an ER doc. He’d done a stint in an ER once. The nurses deserved medals for dealing with all the pinheads that came in. Evelyn Cox wasn’t being a pinhead. She wasn’t making a sound of complaint now he’d finally got her to cooperate. He had to move her bra strap to treat one scratch, and his thumb brushed the petal-soft skin of her collarbone.He ignored the pleasure that simple touch gave him. Cleared his throat. “That Polar bear shredded your hide.”Some of it would scar. He had the feeling she wouldn’t give a flying fuck about scars.He pressed the gauze harder to a welt, and she sucked in a breath.<
Risen To The Top 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
Risen To The Top 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
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- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
- Risen To The Top
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
