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2024-10-29 19:42:56The sound of the gunfire was terrifying, but it was the sudden silence that filled Joanne’s veins with ice. A deathly stillness now engulfed the underground shelter as everyone held their breath. Only a single dim emergency light shone in the far corner, casting shadows on the rear walls. The front half of the enclosure was swallowed in blackness, increasing the sense of claustrophobia.
Joanne clutched the little boy, Pablo, to her chest, struggling to stay calm in the suffocating tension. Everyone was totally still, afraid to move. She cut a glance ahead at Ray, who stared up at the trap door that led to the emergency shelter that had been built at her father’s insistence. The end of the firefight meant one of two things. Either Alex and the others had eradicated the threat, or the attackers had overwhelmed them and were coming to kill them next.Joanne swallowed hard. There was no place for them to go. Nowhere to hide but here.Hold it tog
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Risen To The Top CHAPTER 53
She was panting by the time they reached the roadblock, her back and face soaked in sweat despite the cool air. Someone screamed Pablo’s name. The boy’s head snapped up and Joanne spun around. A young woman was racing toward them, her face crumpled with fear and grief. Pablo shoved at Joanne so she let him go and watched the little boy run into the woman’s waiting arms. Joanne swallowed back tears when the woman caught her son and fell to her knees there on the dirt road, sobbing as she rocked him.“We’ve gotta go,” Alex said impatiently, dragging her forward.Joanne resisted, reluctant to leave them until she was sure they would be okay. “How will they get home? How do we know they’ll be safe?”“The military and police will handle it. We have to go,” he repeated. This time he jerked her forward hard enough that she had no choice but to follow. The sound of Pablo and his mother crying followed them down the hill to where a familiar black SUV was roaring toward them.
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 54
He shifted his attention back to his sidearm as though uncomfortable with the idea of her singing his praises to her boss. “That’s not necessary.”“I think it is.”This time when he glanced up his eyes strayed from her face down the length of her robe-covered body and suddenly the room felt way too small. Every place his eyes touched, her skin started to tingle, her body coming to life as if waking from a long sleep. Since that could go nowhere, she turned away and pulled the robe over her head, leaving her in her pants and T-shirt. When she continued to feel Alex’s gaze on her, she told herself she was imagining things.Marshall showed up a few minutes later with some takeout and their bags and left, saying he had things to take care of. Without pause, Alex grabbed a small kit from his duffel and glanced at her over his shoulder. “Mind if I grab a shower first?”“No, go ahead.” When he disappeared behind the bathroom
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 55
Alex saw the kiss coming in plenty of time to avoid it if he’d wanted to.He didn’t and it was impossible for him to keep his professional distance any longer.Still jacked up from the battle, seeing that hungry, hopeful look in Joanne’s eyes sealed the deal. He settled his hands on her waist, his attention narrowing to the way her lashes fluttered closed as she leaned up on tiptoe, the tempting curve of her lips rising to meet his and the arc of raw sexual energy leaping between them. The tentative weight of her hands on his shoulders sent a ripple of heat across his skin and made his cock harden. That she was leaving in the morning made it easier to ignore just how bad an idea this was. But he wanted her too badly to stop it.Threading his fingers into the curly mass of her hair, he squeezed, bringing her head back before their lips touched and eliciting a tiny gasp that made the sexual fire inside him burn hotter. His way, the grip told h
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 56
At his knock Marshall opened the door and stepped back to let him in with an expectant look on his face. “What’s up?”Alex stopped in the middle of the room and met his gaze, deciding it best just to put it out there. “Pam needs a favor.”Because he was a smart sonofabitch, Marshall’s expression immediately turned wary. “And apparently she needs a messenger, too.” He eyed Alex with a raised brow, his southern boy drawl laced with a hard edge.Yeah, this wasn’t going to go well. “She thinks there’s an Intel leak somewhere in the chain and she wants us to look into it. Starting with you contacting Claire.”At the mention of that name, Marshall’s face went eerily blank. “You’re shittin’ me.”Alex shook his head. “No, man, I’m not.” He held up his phone, screen out to show the ignored text message if he wanted to read it.Marshall’s eyebrows crashed together in a glower as he set his hands on h
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 57
When Alex opened the door Joanne came up onto one elbow on the bed and pushed the hair out of her face. He slipped inside, flashed a smile.“Everything okay?” she asked, not fooled by the smile.“Yeah. Marshall was looking into something for us. It’s all good.” He nodded at her phone on the nightstand. “You talk to your investors?”“yeah. they were really upset.” Joanne was thankful her Investors wasn’t involved in this side of the project so they wouldn't know she had been subjected to any of this.“Understandable.”She nodded, wishing she’d taken the time to have a shower instead of just changing into her sleep shirt and yoga pants. “I texted my secretary too. I told them I’d let them know when my flight is leaving.”“Eleven hundred tomorrow.”Oh. She frowned, confused by her conflicting reactions. She wanted to go home more than anything, but she couldn’t help feeling responsible for those young workers and the thought of never seeing Alex again s
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 58
Sleep wouldn’t come. She’d known it wouldn’t. Not with images of the shootings and the men's frightened faces flickering through her head. Alex’s quiet breathing reassured her she at least wasn’t alone, yet somehow she felt lonelier with him stretched out on that couch across the room. She turned from one side to the other, even pulled the pillow over her head to block out the tiny bit of light coming from the bathroom. No matter what she did she couldn’t relax.“That mattress have lumps in it or something?” Alex asked finally after an unknown amount of time had passed.She rolled to her back with a sigh. “Sorry. Am I keeping you awake?”He gave a half chuckle. “No. I’m not much of a sleeper these days.”“I used to be up until a few weeks ago. I miss it.”In the dim light from the bathroom, she watched Alex sit up and set his elbows on his knees. “I’m not gonna lie to you, sweetheart.”The
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 59
Oh, fuck! this was the last thing they needed.Alex gauged Joanne’s reaction to the news. With everything that had happened he kept waiting for her to crack under the strain, and so far she’d hung in there better than he ever could have expected. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel like this was the tipping point and he couldn’t stand the thought of watching her break. And with this new strain he was very afraid she might.Her mouth was pinched, her forehead creased with an anxious frown as she stared at her phone. She squeezed his hand so tight her fingers were white. The room was deathly silent in the wake of Pam’s announcement.“Is it Pablo?” she demanded, a quaver in her voice.“We don’t know yet,” Tom answered.A muscle jumped in her jaw, her gaze still on the phone’s screen, then she gave a sharp shake of her head. “I can’t tell anything from that picture, it’s too small. Give me my laptop.” She reached an ar
Risen To The Top CHAPTER 60
Joanne glanced up at Alex. “The go-between for the Connery family and the Cuban officials the State Department told me about?”He took her hand again and stroked his thumb across her cold knuckles, trying to ease the anxiety he sensed in her. “Not sure, but they were specifically targeting you with this. And we’ll have barely enough time to get there even if we leave right now.” Each passing second wound him tighter inside. These assholes were part of the cell responsible for Joanne’s father’s death and the men they worked for were responsible for ruining her family and his life.. Alex wanted them taken out. If that meant having to take Joanne along to draw them out of hiding, he’d do it as long as he could be there to guarantee her safety and make sure she didn’t get too close.“Can we bring backup to this meeting?” he asked Pam.“Negative, they were very clear that it has to be just Joanne and one other person to the final destination. I’m
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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
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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
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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
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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
