by Liz Wolfe
She caught Paige’s eye immediately. Paige glanced at Zoe, then back to Shelby. That gave Shelby an edge. Paige would be ready to make a move as soon as Shelby made her move.
Wade raised his gun and aimed it at Connor’s head. Crap! Her time was up. Shelby lowered her upraised hand and shouted, “Now!”
Hanson and James bolted out of their hiding places right behind Shelby, a gun in each hand. Paige slammed into Wade’s midsection, knocking the AK-47 out of his loose grip, and landing on top of him. Connor pulled Paige off Wade, grabbed his shirt to pull his head off the floor, and then slammed a fist into his jaw. Wade’s head snapped back and his body sagged when Connor released his shirt.
Zoe sprinted across the warehouse floor and tackled the man hunched over the laptop. He fell to the floor, and the laptop crashed down beside him. The pair grappled on the floor until he wrested himself free by placing a foot in Zoe’s stomach and kicking her off. Zoe rolled over, lifted her head off the floor, and slowly crawled up, hanging onto the side of a crate, a dazed expression on her face.
The man jerked his phone out of the connection to the laptop and ran from the building. Shelby heard the rumbling fwap-fwap-fwap of a helicopter outside. She sprinted out of the building in pursuit, leaving the others to Hanson and James. She wanted this man more than life right now.
Her legs pumped, and she sucked in great gulps of air as she chased him. She was gaining as he ran for the helicopter that hovered just above the ground. When she was a few feet from him, she launched herself into the air and slammed into the back of his knees. He pivoted and punched a fist into the side of her head.
Shelby’s grip loosened on his legs, and he scrambled away. She lurched to her feet and ran after him again. The man put a foot on the runner of the helicopter, and Shelby grabbed the other leg. The helicopter started to lift, and she held on. Her hands slipped down to his foot. She was already a dozen feet off the ground. She tried to tighten her grip, but the man reached down and slammed his fist against her knuckles. Her grip loosened and she fell. The breath whooshed out of her lungs, and her head banged against her arm when she hit the ground.
She pushed herself to her hands and knees and saw Paige a few yards away with the AK-47. Paige fired and Shelby dropped to her stomach, turning her head toward the helicopter. Another burst of gunfire erupted, and the helicopter started to wobble. The third burst sent the helicopter to the ground. Paige ran to the copter with Connor right behind her.
Shelby got to her hands and knees and pushed herself to a standing position. She’d twisted her ankle and knew that later it would hurt like a son of a bitch. Paige and Connor pulled the men from the helicopter and cuffed them with nylon Flex-Cuffs. Shelby knew Paige routinely carried them with her. A habit left over from her days as a police officer. When Paige and Connor pushed the men toward the warehouse, Shelby limped over to join them.
Wade lay on the floor with his hands bound, still unconscious from Connor’s well-placed fist. Hanson held his gun on the Eastland executives while James knelt over the other man from the Dominion Order, talking to the police on his cell phone.
“Is he dead?” Shelby asked.
“Not yet,” James said and closed his phone. “Cops will be here soon.”
Shelby turned to the two men from the helicopter and held out her hand. “I’ll take the CD now.”
The man reached into his pocket and looked puzzled. Zoe started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Shelby asked.
“He doesn’t have it.” Zoe pulled a jewel case from her waistband and waved it at Shelby.
“How the hell did you get that?”
“Well, I am a thief.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
PAIGE WAS IN THE OFFICE BEFORE either Shelby or Zoe came down, which was unusual. She spooned coffee into the coffeemaker and pressed the button. Just as well. She could use a few minutes to take stock. Of what, she wasn’t entirely sure.
She’d dropped Connor at the Portland airport earlier that morning for a flight to Alaska. He had to get back to his business, and Paige had to get back to the agency. Granted, they were attracted to each other, even liked being around each other. Still, that had all come about under less than ideal circumstances. Paige was a little torn about the situation. She knew that a relationship begun under such circumstances wasn’t likely to thrive. Then there was the added obstacle of the distance between Oregon and Alaska. But, she couldn’t deny the connection she felt with him. Most of the men she’d met or dated had a very real problem with her abilities, her profession. They were all out to prove something about their masculinity. She honestly didn’t know if the difficulty was her job or her passion for wilderness camping. Whatever, she was tired of it. And Connor hadn’t had any problem with either. In fact, he’d actually appreciated her abilities. Well, time would tell, she supposed.
At the moment, she was simply glad the entire adventure was over. Shelby had told her to be ready for a debriefing with Ethan this morning. For all she cared, he could drain her mind.
The coffee was done, and Paige poured herself a cup. Not being a morning person, she rarely got fresh coffee at the office, and she had to admit it tasted pretty good. A lot better than after it had been sitting on the burner for a couple of hours.
“I didn’t think you’d be in this early,” Shelby said as she stumped down the stairs.
“Yeah. I had to drop Connor off at the airport.” Paige winced when Shelby banged her cast into the stair railing.
“Crap! This thing is a bitch.” Shelby poured herself a cup of coffee and glanced at the clock. “Ethan will be calling in a few minutes.”
“I’m here,” Zoe called from the kitchen. “I’ve been up for ages, waiting for you two to roll out of bed.” She walked in with a cup of tea and sat at her desk.
“That’s just not right,” Paige said, casting a dark look at Zoe’s early morning cheerfulness.
“It’s unnatural.” Shelby took her coffee over to her desk and stared at the phone. It rang a moment later.
“Ethan, we’re all here,” Shelby said.
“Good morning, Angels,” Ethan said, and laughed. “Sorry, but I always wanted to say that.”
“Get over yourself, Ethan,” Shelby said, but she was chuckling, too.
“First of all,” Ethan said, “I want to thank all three of you for what you accomplished. I understand that they wouldn’t have gotten the plans for the Mobile Anti-Radar System even if they’d gotten away. Thanks, Zoe.”
Zoe beamed. Paige snickered. Shelby scowled at both of them.
“Did we manage to get any more information on The Dominion Order from the laptop?” Shelby asked.
“We’re tracing the money transfer from the laptop. And with what we’ve gotten from the Eastland executives and the Order operatives, we’ll be putting the Order out of business soon enough.”
“That’s a huge relief, Ethan,” Shelby said.
“We couldn’t have done it without you. As well as Paige and Zoe, of course. On behalf of the FSA and the government, I’d like to thank all three of you.”
“No problem, Ethan.” Shelby beamed at Paige and Zoe.
“What about Robby Malloy?” Paige asked.
“He’s already been stripped of his badge, and he’s lawyered up and trying to plea down.”
“Yeah, cops don’t do well in prison,” Paige said. “I still can’t believe he was involved in all this. Or with my father’s death.”
“Takes all kinds, Paige,” Ethan said. “It turns out Malloy was also an accessory in the murder of Lisa Johnston. We’re still investigating, but it looks like she might have been privy to information about their drug smuggling activities.”
“Was there anything these guys weren’t involved in?” Zoe asked.
“We’re still checking, but it looks like they did just about anything for money.” Ethan paused and cleared his throat. “What’s coming up for you now, Shelby? Sure I can’t entice you to retu
rn to the agency?”
“Not a chance, Ethan. In fact, I got called about a very interesting job.”
“More interesting than FSA work?”
Shelby laughed. “Oh, definitely. This is a client that Mel recommended.”
Paige stood up and set her coffee cup on the desk. “Well, you can count me out.”
“Why’s that?” Shelby asked.
“Because I’m taking a real vacation.”
“You wouldn’t be going to Alaska by any chance, would you?” Zoe snorted.
“Hey, they have some excellent wilderness camping excursions in Alaska,” Paige said.
“Well, Shelby,” Zoe said. “Looks like you’re stuck with me on this one.”
“Like I said, Shelby, you’re always welcome back here,” Ethan said.
“Goodbye, Ethan.” Shelby disconnected the call and smiled at her associates. Paige certainly deserved a little R and R with her new friend. And Shelby was rather looking forward to wiping that grin off Zoe’s face when she told her exactly what the new case entailed.
BREEDING
EVIL
Liz Wolfe
Someone is breeding superhumans …
… beings who possess extreme psychic abilities. Now they have implanted the ultimate seed in the perfect womb. They are a heartbeat away from successfully breeding a species of meta-humans, who will be raised in laboratories and conditioned to obey the orders of their owners, governments and large multi-national corporations.
Then Shelby Parker, a former black ops agent for the government, is asked to locate a missing woman. Her quest takes her to The Center for Bio-Psychological Research. Masquerading as a computer programmer, she gets inside the Center’s inner workings. What she discovers is almost too horrible to comprehend.
Dr. Mac McRae, working for The Center, administers a lie-detector test to the perspective employee for his very cautious employers. Although she passes, the handsome Australian suspects Shelby is not what she appears. But then, neither is he.
Caught up in a nightmare of unspeakable malevolence, the unlikely duo is forced to team up to save a young woman and her very special child. And destroy a program that could change the face of nations.
But first they must unmask the mole that has infiltrated Shelby’s agency and stalks their every move. They must stay alive and keep one step ahead of the pernicious forces who are intent on …
BREEDING EVIL
ISBN#1932815058
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www.lizwolfe.net
BLOOD TIES
LORI G. ARMSTRONG
What do they mean?
How far would someone go to sever … or protect them?
Julie Collins is stuck in a dead-end secretarial job with the Bear Butte County Sheriff’s office, and still grieving over the unsolved murder of her Lakota half-brother. Lack of public interest in finding his murderer, or the killer of several other transient Native American men, has left Julie with a bone-deep cynicism she counters with tequila, cigarettes, and dangerous men. The one bright spot in her mundane life is the time she spends working part-time as a PI with her childhood friend, Kevin Wells.
When the body of a sixteen-year old white girl is discovered in nearby Rapid Creek, Julie believes this victim will receive the attention others were denied. Then she learns Kevin has been hired, mysteriously, to find out where the murdered girl spent her last few days. Julie finds herself drawn into the case against her better judgment, and discovers not only the ugly reality of the young girl’s tragic life and brutal death, but ties to her and Kevin’s past that she is increasingly reluctant to revisit.
On the surface the situation is eerily familiar. But the parallels end when Julie realizes some family secrets are best kept buried deep. Especially those serious enough to kill for.
ISBN#1932815325
Gold Imprint: Available Now
$6.99
http://www.lorigarmstrong.com www.lorigarmstrong.com