Read Online Danger Close (The Echo Platoon Series, Book 1) by Marliss Melton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Marliss Melton
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protective Lyle Scott was of his only daughter.
"Maybe he owns the oil wells," Haiku suggested, his slanted eyes narrowing. "Aren't they owned by Scott Oil Corporation?"
Sam couldn't remember. "Are they?"
Haiku nodded. "I'm pretty sure I read that in a report."
Sam brooded. "Still doesn't make sense. Her father's not even the CEO anymore. He had to abdicate control in order to run for the Senate." The suspicion that Lyle Scott wanted to throw him and Maddy together again stitched through his thoughts a second time. "Forget it," he said, rolling abruptly to his feet. "We're not here to socialize anyway. Let's just keep the hell away from her and stick to the mission."
Bronco sent him a slow grin. "You tryin' to convince yourself or us?" he needled.
Sam's thunderous scowl sent most men scuttling away from him. Chief Brantley Adams merely issued his signature evil chuckle and turned away. Glaring at the chief's sun-streaked head, Sam realized Bronco was right. He was trying very hard to convince himself.
* * *
GEF's chemical lab was a cinderblock building topped by a tin roof and surrounded by a chain-link fence. Erected in a desolate area between the town Mariscal Estigarribia and the wilds of El Chaco, it took Maddy twenty minutes to arrive at the guard house.
She leaned out of the driver's side window with a smile. "Hey, Enrique," she sang out.
The fulltime security guard set aside the comic book he was reading and frowned to see her all alone. "Where is Senor Ricardo?" he demanded.
In fluent Spanish, Maddy explained Ricardo's happy circumstances, adding that she'd be collecting samples on her own today and not to worry. Enrique unlocked the gate and swung it open, locking it again as Maddy parked the Jeep inside.
Pressing the four-number code into the combination lock on the lab's only door, she admitted herself. Kept at a cool sixty-six degrees by the generator that ran nonstop outside, the interior offered blessed relief from the heat. She flipped on the lights and dropped into the chair at the computer where she logged in and printed out the list of the supplies she would need that day.
Carrying the list down the aisles, she collected kits to test alkalinity and Ph along with baggies and vials in which to store the samples for the titrometric, eletrometric, and colorimetric tests she would run that afternoon when she got back.
She had just returned to the desk with her supplies when a loud pop! sounded over the grinding generator. Maddy dumped the supplies on the desk and hurried to the door to peer through the inset window.
A vision of four swarthy men dressed in military-style uniforms, brandishing pistols, and standing over Enrique's prone figure brought a cry of horror to her lips.
Whirling, she headed straight to the landline phone and snatched up the receiver. The dead silence that greeted her had her pushing buttons to no effect. As she slowly hung up, her gaze went regretfully to the door. Her state-of-the-art satellite phone, a gift from her father, was sitting uselessly in the cup holder out in the Jeep. Now what? The only thing left to her was to hide.
Heart pounding, she ducked behind a shelving unit and waited.
Would the locked lab door keep the intruders out? As the seconds ticked by, curiosity got the better of her. Just as she peered around the corner a man peeked through the inset window. She snatched her head back. But it was too late. He'd caught sight of her. Pounding at the door, he demanded entrance.
Oh, God, what do I do? There was no immediate way out of her predicament, no second exit, no way to call for help.
A series of shots volleyed at the lock brought a whimper to her lips. Sweat filmed Maddy's skin as the door yawned abruptly open, admitting a wedge of sunlight. She backed up, but with a wall at her back and shelves on either side, there was no escape. With furtive footfalls, the four intruders rounded the shelves with their pistols pointed directly at her.
Maddy
"Maybe he owns the oil wells," Haiku suggested, his slanted eyes narrowing. "Aren't they owned by Scott Oil Corporation?"
Sam couldn't remember. "Are they?"
Haiku nodded. "I'm pretty sure I read that in a report."
Sam brooded. "Still doesn't make sense. Her father's not even the CEO anymore. He had to abdicate control in order to run for the Senate." The suspicion that Lyle Scott wanted to throw him and Maddy together again stitched through his thoughts a second time. "Forget it," he said, rolling abruptly to his feet. "We're not here to socialize anyway. Let's just keep the hell away from her and stick to the mission."
Bronco sent him a slow grin. "You tryin' to convince yourself or us?" he needled.
Sam's thunderous scowl sent most men scuttling away from him. Chief Brantley Adams merely issued his signature evil chuckle and turned away. Glaring at the chief's sun-streaked head, Sam realized Bronco was right. He was trying very hard to convince himself.
* * *
GEF's chemical lab was a cinderblock building topped by a tin roof and surrounded by a chain-link fence. Erected in a desolate area between the town Mariscal Estigarribia and the wilds of El Chaco, it took Maddy twenty minutes to arrive at the guard house.
She leaned out of the driver's side window with a smile. "Hey, Enrique," she sang out.
The fulltime security guard set aside the comic book he was reading and frowned to see her all alone. "Where is Senor Ricardo?" he demanded.
In fluent Spanish, Maddy explained Ricardo's happy circumstances, adding that she'd be collecting samples on her own today and not to worry. Enrique unlocked the gate and swung it open, locking it again as Maddy parked the Jeep inside.
Pressing the four-number code into the combination lock on the lab's only door, she admitted herself. Kept at a cool sixty-six degrees by the generator that ran nonstop outside, the interior offered blessed relief from the heat. She flipped on the lights and dropped into the chair at the computer where she logged in and printed out the list of the supplies she would need that day.
Carrying the list down the aisles, she collected kits to test alkalinity and Ph along with baggies and vials in which to store the samples for the titrometric, eletrometric, and colorimetric tests she would run that afternoon when she got back.
She had just returned to the desk with her supplies when a loud pop! sounded over the grinding generator. Maddy dumped the supplies on the desk and hurried to the door to peer through the inset window.
A vision of four swarthy men dressed in military-style uniforms, brandishing pistols, and standing over Enrique's prone figure brought a cry of horror to her lips.
Whirling, she headed straight to the landline phone and snatched up the receiver. The dead silence that greeted her had her pushing buttons to no effect. As she slowly hung up, her gaze went regretfully to the door. Her state-of-the-art satellite phone, a gift from her father, was sitting uselessly in the cup holder out in the Jeep. Now what? The only thing left to her was to hide.
Heart pounding, she ducked behind a shelving unit and waited.
Would the locked lab door keep the intruders out? As the seconds ticked by, curiosity got the better of her. Just as she peered around the corner a man peeked through the inset window. She snatched her head back. But it was too late. He'd caught sight of her. Pounding at the door, he demanded entrance.
Oh, God, what do I do? There was no immediate way out of her predicament, no second exit, no way to call for help.
A series of shots volleyed at the lock brought a whimper to her lips. Sweat filmed Maddy's skin as the door yawned abruptly open, admitting a wedge of sunlight. She backed up, but with a wall at her back and shelves on either side, there was no escape. With furtive footfalls, the four intruders rounded the shelves with their pistols pointed directly at her.
Maddy
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