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- Herausgeber: Valley Publishing Ltd.
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Galen had plans to kick back and relax, but Levi needs someone to help out Zack, a friend of his. When Levi asks Galen, he’s game. There’s a little too much sugary sweet true love going on at the compound for him and his single state to handle. Then he meets Gemma and her sister, the real reason Zack was looking for help.
Gemma learned a long time ago how to handle her sister and her niece. When the two end up in deep trouble, Gemma drops everything and takes charge. But it’s dangerous, and she needs help. Galen wasn’t what she had in mind, but her heart is open and willing. Her body? Well, it’s good to go when a meet-and-greet leads to love at first sight.
Only the situation is dangerous, and she has to stay focused—until the truth comes out, and she finds out what’s really at stake.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
About Zack’s Zest
Excerpt from Ryland’s Reach
Excerpt from Damon’s Deal
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Galen had plans to kick back and relax, but Levi needs someone to help out Zack, a friend of his. When Levi asks Galen, he’s game. There’s a little too much sugary sweet true love going on at the compound for him and his single state to handle. Then he meets Gemma and her sister, the real reason Zack was looking for help.
Gemma learned a long time ago how to handle her sister and her niece. When the two end up in deep trouble, Gemma drops everything and takes charge. But it’s dangerous, and she needs help. Galen wasn’t what she had in mind, but her heart is open and willing. Her body? Well, it’s good to go when a meet-and-greet leads to love at first sight.
Only the situation is dangerous, and she has to stay focused—until the truth comes out, and she finds out what’s really at stake.
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Prologue
When Galen Alrick walked into the kitchen of Ice and Levi’s compound, he felt pretty decent. As Harrison looked up at him with a grumble, Galen’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, I thought it was a good day,” he said with a laugh.
“While you guys solved your problem,” Harrison said, “we got the brakes put on ours.”
“Yeah, you were supposed to give us a hand, weren’t you?” Just enough gentle rivalry existed between the two groups—Bullard’s crew versus Levi’s crew—for Galen to rib Harrison a little bit over this one. Galen originally had worked for Bullard for a good seven years, but now Galen was in an exchange program here, and he wasn’t exactly sure what his future held. He’d already talked to Bullard about it prior to leaving, wondering if it were time to move on and to do something else.
Bullard had shrugged and smiled. “You let me know if you want more work,” he said. “You’re always welcome here.”
But the two teams had heard about Johan’s decision to come work for Ice, and Galen had jumped on board with that, wondering if the change would be enough for him. But now he was here and had completed the first job—and damn fast too. Not at all the type of job he was used to, but it had been kind of fun. In fact, being here at Levi’s compound was the same but different—and a great experience. He was glad he came.
“Did Johan come back with you?” Harrison asked.
Galen snorted. “No, he and Joy will stay and pack up her stuff.” Johan had met Joy on the last case, and they had hit it off in a big way. Galen was happy for them. The job had been an instant lesson on how, no matter where you were in the world, the problems were the same: people would be people.
“Did Joy quit?” Harrison asked.
“She got a nice little paycheck to disappear,” he said. “Kai would have stayed for a couple extra days to give them a hand, but everything in Joy’s sublet apartment got trashed, so not much left to pack up. Joy had some banking and whatnot she wanted to do, plus some meetings to wrap up.”
“And did Joy want to leave? She at least had a job there.”
“Exactly. She had a job. It wasn’t exactly a great job, but it was something that paid the rent. That’s part of the reason why we were there a bit longer. We had to talk with the guy she had subleased the apartment from and the building manager. She and Johan are in Houston looking for a place for her now.”
“You know that she could probably move in here at the compound in the meantime.”
“I don’t think she’d be too comfortable with that kind of arrangement,” Galen said. He walked over, poured himself a cup of coffee, put it down beside Harrison, then walked back to the coffee server. “The thing about living here is that it’s got some serious side benefits.” He looked at the pan of fresh warm cinnamon buns, with the icing still melted all over the top.
“That’s the second tray already,” Harrison said good-naturedly. “I don’t know how Bailey and Albert do it, but they just keep the food coming.”
“And it’s a divine system.” Galen gently eased a cinnamon bun off the big tray, put it on his plate, and returned to the table, sitting down. “Working here isn’t exactly what I thought it would be.”
“That’s because you had a simple job,” Harrison said with a snort. “Some of the jobs are pretty ugly.”
“I can do ugly,” Galen said comfortably.
“I’m glad to hear that,” a woman said, her sharp voice coming from the other side of the room.
Galen looked up to see Ice walking toward him with a clipboard. He grinned. “Do you ever run out of work for us?”
“No.” She sat down somewhat awkwardly, given the slight belly she now sported. The fact that she was pregnant in the middle of all this chaos, yet she handled it all so well, was amazing. It also showed just how messed up the world was, given she was as busy as she was.
“Isn’t it time for you to get an assistant?”
“I have at least two or three of them now, but it’s never enough,” she complained good-naturedly. “This will ground me for a few months, but it shouldn’t be too bad after that.”
“The payoff will be worth it,” Galen said.
She beamed at him. “It certainly is in my case,” she said. Tapping her clipboard, she looked at him. “So, you can do ugly, can you?”
“I can also help Harrison on this art job.”
“Nope, we’ve been told to butt out of that one. The insurance company is bringing somebody in, and the cops don’t want everybody crossing the line, so it’s on hold.”
“But the fresher it is—”
She shrugged. “I can’t do anything about it. So, in the meantime, Harrison will work it on his own, quietly in the background, while you head off to Germany to meet up with Zack.”
Harrison sucked in his breath and glared at Ice. She just smiled benignly at him. “Did you arrange this with my wife?” he asked.
“Nope,” she answered, “but you wanted the art job, so you got the art job.”
“You said it was on hold,” he protested.
“But you also know it’ll come back on our plate eventually, so no point in you being completely green when that happens. You might as well get up to speed now.”
“It could be a big waste of time and money,” he warned.
She smiled. “It could be, but we’ve rarely had any of those, so that’s your job.”
He nodded. “In that case, I’ll get on it. I suspect a lot of it is cyberstuff anyway.” He poured himself another cup of coffee and quickly disappeared.
Galen looked at her and smiled. “You get jobs of all kinds here, don’t you?”
“I do,” she said.
“So, who is Zack?”
“Somebody we’ve been looking at working with for a couple years,” she said. “He’s in Germany right now, waiting for you.”
“Then I better get packing.” He pulled off another piece of the cinnamon bun and sat here quite comfortably, in absolutely no rush.
“You fly out in two and a half hours,” she said, “so you’ll be tight for time anyway.”
He nodded. “I’m already packed, so I’ll sit here and enjoy this.”
She nodded. “Take one with you, if you want.”
“I might just do that,” he said, then motioned at her clipboard. “You gonna give me any idea what I’m going into?”
She looked up at him, and her eyes twinkled.
His stomach fell. “Please don’t let it be some ridiculous waste of time.”
“How do you feel about beer?”
He brightened. “I love beer. But isn’t it kind of cliché to send me to Germany to look after some beer issues?”
“Well, a lot of beer could go with the job,” she said with a laugh. “Or at least afterward, if you need it.”
“Now that I’m up for.” He grinned. “But you’re still not talking.”
“One of the biggest breweries over there is having some issues with theft, but that’s been compounded by the death of the new manager. But we aren’t sure of all the details, and Zack said he needs backup. So you’re it.”
“If you say so.” He popped the last piece of the cinnamon bun into his mouth, then picked up his cup and threw back the last of his coffee. “Am I driving to the airport and leaving the vehicle there or catching a ride?”
She shook her head. “Levi is taking you in. He’s got a bunch of stuff to pick up in town anyway.”
“Look at you guys,” he said. “The owners of the company and you’re both grounded.”
She shrugged. “We’re grounded all right but, this time, by choice.” She patted her tummy.
Chapter 1
Landing in Berlin was one thing, but trying to do a transfer through the massive airport wasn’t the easiest when his first flight came in forty minutes behind schedule. Galen made his next flight by mere minutes, earning a glare from the gate attendant. He gave her a winning smile. “Not my fault the flight was late.”
She didn’t answer, just checked his boarding pass, scanned it, and nodded toward the doors.
He took the long path to the plane with quick, easy strides, and the door of the aircraft was buckled up behind him as he walked down the aisle to find his seat. Sure enough, as was his luck, he was in between two little old ladies. He stared at the seat, then shook his head and tossed his bag up in the top, thankful there was a little bit of room. Often, when you were the last passenger, there wasn’t even that.
He took a seat between the women, whom he discovered were friends, and, from the looks of things, they were settling in for a good chat on the flight. Groaning silently, he sank deeper into his seat. It sounded like it was time to meditate as the two old hens cackled back and forth, completely oblivious to the fact that one of them could have switched seats with him, putting them together instead of talking over him.
He closed his eyes, intent on tossing around the minor details he had on the case so far. He had a little bit of information on his phone that he’d read on the way over, but this flight was a short jump from Berlin to Munich, thank heavens. It seemed to be even shorter than he expected, as they were touching down before he’d even had a chance to adapt to the awkward seating arrangement.
When he finally got off the plane and headed outside, he looked around for his ride. The problem was, it wasn’t like anyone held up a sign with his name on it. But Galen noted one guy, standing off to the side, a hard look on his face, as he leaned against one of the center posts, his arms crossed over his chest. The glare on his face said he hated being here. Galen understood. He walked over, stood in front of him, and reached out his hand. “Hello, Zack. I’m Galen.”
Zack straightened slowly with surprise, then reached out and shook hands. “How did you know it was me?”
“Because you’re the only other guy, besides me, who looks like you’d rather be anywhere else but here.”
Zack laughed. “Yep,” he said. “I prefer to travel by private jet, or give me a backpack and let me go through the woods, but a million people all crowded into one space trying to go in a million different directions? Hell no.” Zack pointed the way to his ride.
Once in the vehicle, Galen looked at the small pickup truck. “Is this yours?”
“It is for this job,” Zack said.
Galen nodded. He wasn’t too sure about the lack of information—on this job and on his partner for this job—but figured that he’d get to know more about this op and Zack over time. Some guys ended up being the strong, silent type, never saying more than two words. “Do you have the details on the job? I know next to nothing.”
“Yep,” he said. “A guy was murdered.”
“What?” Galen said. “Ice never mentioned anything about a murder. She said something about him dying but I didn’t realize it was a murder.”
“The local police didn’t think it was connected to the goings-on at the brewery.”
“And that’s related to the brewery how?”
“Joe worked for the beer company. It’s a massive production system. He was in management, looking to make some changes in the sales distribution, as well as implementing new security measures at the brewery, which made him very unpopular as well. Seems the first break-in was at the brewery, which followed two minor thefts. Then the second break-in was at Joe’s home. But it was only made to look like a burglary,” he said.
“Is that something worth murdering for?”
“Well, Joe was one of the few truly honest guys I’ve ever known,” Zack said. “He took over from the guy before him who is facing two charges of embezzling company funds.”
“Normally companies just fire them or lay them off,” Galen said. “So it must have involved enough money that they couldn’t afford to do that.”
“Yes, but it only was by Joe’s hand that his predecessor’s been ID’d.”
“So he made enemies long before his first day on his new job. And changes always make existing staff pissed off. No one is ever ready for those. And if he made a bunch of changes …”
“Lots of them. And he made lots of enemies at the same time. Joe was not popular when seen as the guy who took down his boss and who then took his boss’s job, especially when not knowing all the particulars. Although no one had anything nasty to say about him personally. Only that he was a hard-ass.”
“So this sounds like more of a criminal case for the cops, right?” Galen asked cautiously. “Why are we involved?”
“Well, it was a job for the local cops,” Zack said, “until I found out Joe’s wife and kid are missing.”
He studied Zack’s profile for a long moment. “So that’s when you made the call for backup.”
“Yes. I didn’t like doing it either.” Zack turned and gave him a hard look. “You used to work for Bullard?”
“Technically I probably still do,” he said with a laugh. “I went to the US to work for Levi for a bit to get a change of scenery.”
“The scenery never changes.” Zack had a world weariness that was hard to miss. “The shit’s always the same. The trees might look different, but I can’t even count on that.”
Galen understood what he was saying. “So I don’t understand what’s happening with Joe’s wife and kid.”
“Joe and his wife had been having some problems, with some definite infighting going on,” he said, “but nothing bad. When the kid didn’t show up at school a couple days ago, however, the school called the house, and nobody answered. The cops were called at some point on the truancy element, and they said that she appears to have left town.”
“And could she have?”
“Of course she could have. She’s an adult with free will and all that,” Zack said, “but she wouldn’t have.”
“And how do you know?”
“Because I know her.”
Something in his tone of voice made Galen wince. “As in you know her, know her? Like, she is special to you? Or, as in, you knew her because she was Joe’s wife?” He tried his damnedest to keep his tone neutral, but it was a little hard.
“I know her, know her,” he said flatly. “But not that way. At least not now. We used to go out, years ago.”
“Okay,” Galen said, feeling a little bit better. “Do you have any idea where she would have gone?”
“No,” he said. “Her house is untouched. Her purse, cell phone, and vehicle are all still there.”
“Shit,” Galen said. “That’s not cool.”
*
“You sure we’re doing the right thing, Gemma?” Rebecca asked quietly. Her voice was a soft echo in the dark interior of the car. They’d been on the road for over an hour. And this wasn’t the first time her younger sister had asked her the same question. Rebecca seemed to think Gemma was making a big deal out of nothing.
Nothing Gemma could say had changed her baby sister’s mind. They were in danger. All three of them most likely. Gemma would do what she could to keep her eight-year-old niece and her own sister safe. And that meant doing what she was doing. “I’m sure we’re doing the only thing we can right now,” Gemma said quietly. They were both keeping their tones down because Rebecca’s daughter was in the back seat.
“So you say, but we don’t have any proof that we’re in danger.”
“The proof will happen when it’s too late,” Gemma said. “You know Joe was murdered.”
“Maybe,” she said. “We’ve sure gone to an elaborate scheme to get away from there. At least we should have told Zack.”
“You may trust Zack, but remember? I don’t know him as well,” Gemma said.
“That’s because you’ve always been angry at the way we broke up.”
Gemma just shrugged. She wouldn’t go over old history right now. She had done what she thought was best here, and it was turning her life upside down too, but she was determined to keep Rebecca and Becky safe.
“I don’t understand why you think they wouldn’t find the cabin.”
“They’ll find Joe’s cabin probably,” she said, “and we’ll leave a trail to say we were there but disappeared again.”
“Why?”
That damn whine was back in her sister’s voice. Gemma should be used to it. Whenever life didn’t go Rebecca’s way, she’d get that same irritating tone in her voice. “For whoever is now looking for Joe’s family,” she said harshly. “He was murdered, no doubt about that.”
In a small voice, Rebecca said, “The police said it was a burglary gone bad.”
“It wasn’t a burglary gone bad, Rebecca,” she snapped. “It was a murder made to look like a burglary gone bad.”
Her sister sank back in the seat beside her. “I’ve lost my world,” Rebecca muttered. “And you don’t care.”
At that, Gemma softened her voice. “Sweetie, I know. But it’s more important to keep you and your daughter alive.”
There was a long silence before Rebecca finally gave in and said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t,” she said, “but I’m doing what I think is right.”
“And I think what’s right was staying at home, where the police could get in touch with me.”
“Maybe,” she said. “And then what? We have to take a gamble on this and do what we need to do.”
“But what if we’re wrong?”
“Then we’re wrong, and we’ll face the consequences.” She knew her sister didn’t like hearing that at all, but it was what Gemma could do. She didn’t know how else to help. She’d been traveling for work when she’d come home to this mess. She rented an apartment here, and rented out her New York apartment for the half year she’d been here. With her sister’s move to Germany a few years ago with Joe’s job, she spent as much time as she could over here in order to see her only two family members. She had been staying at her sister’s house after Joe’s death, when she’d realized that somebody was trying to get into the place. She’d scared them away once, around midnight, but they had come back soon afterward to try again. That’s when she knew somebody was more than determined to get in. She called in the cops yet again. Gemma knew her sister and niece were in even bigger trouble.
And the more she investigated her sister’s life, the more she realized that Joe’s death was a murder and not a burglary.
After several hours the cops left. Then Gemma took the better part of the day to prepare for their trip. Instead of going back to her own house or even contacting the people who had rented it to her, Gemma had taken out a decent amount of cash from several ATMs, plus she still had leftover cash from her traveling funds. She’d asked to borrow a car from a friend who had several, and he’d given his permission, telling her to just let him know when she didn’t need it anymore.
“Obviously you need this for some problem,” he said, “so, if you need other help, let me know.”
She smiled at him. “I have to go on the run for a bit.”
With a nod, he said, “In that case, the envelope in the glove box will come in handy.”
After she got into the vehicle, she had found little wads of cash stashed throughout. But then her friend had lots of it and lived on the edge himself. She drove back to her sister’s place, actually happy to have night falling as she packed them up.
She’d parked down the road and made several quiet trips in the dark as she loaded up everything needed for them to leave. They had moved Becky into the back seat, still asleep and bundled up with blankets and pillows. Her sister didn’t go so easily, arguing and complaining about the whole concept. Casually Gemma had made sure Rebecca left her purse, wallet, and cell phone in the house, then had given her a burner phone and another purse once they got on the road, canceling her cards as they drove.
“When will we stop?” Rebecca asked.
“I have to get gas up ahead,” she said. She pulled into the gas station and turned to look behind her. Nothing but darkness. Dawn wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. She’d been driving for hours already. It didn’t feel like it was enough.
“I think we should call Zack,” Rebecca said, still sounding surly.
“Maybe we will,” she replied. “We’ll talk about it when we get there.”
“How much farther?”
“Another hour.”
“Do you think he would come?”
“Probably,” she said, “he’s always been soft on you.”
The awkward silence inspired her to turn and look at her sister. “And you’re still soft on him.” She spoke the words softly and shrugged.
Only Gemma knew that Becky could be Zack’s. Or Joe’s. Most likely Joe’s. Rebecca had never confirmed that though, so … that was their problem. The fact that Rebecca had walked away from Zack when she was pregnant, and that Zack had walked away at the same time, spoke volumes about their need to work out their communication issues. Maybe now they’d have a chance, but Gemma didn’t want anything to do with it. She liked her life. She traveled a lot for her own business, as a contractor in medical software, and that suited her well.
Hopping out at the gas station, she quickly filled up the vehicle, then walked inside and paid cash, using a hat to keep her face away from the cameras. She didn’t even take time to get coffee or anything.
Walking back out, she hopped into the vehicle to find Rebecca curled up in the corner, the burner phone beside her. She looked at it and then her sister. “You called him, didn’t you?”
Shamefaced, Rebecca nodded. “He can help, you know?”
“Maybe,” Gemma said, her tone harsh. “Or maybe he’ll just bring whoever’s after you right to us.”
“He’s not like that.”
“No, but he’s dangerous in his own line of work.”
The burner phone buzzed. Rebecca snatched it up, but Gemma reached across and grabbed it from her hands. “What the hell do you want?”
“Ah, Gemma,” Zack said.
But in his tone was obvious relief. She heard and noted it, but, at the same time, she glared at her sister. “If you’d wanted to help,” she said, “you should have done it a while ago.”
“I thought she’d be okay.”
“Well, you were wrong,” she snapped.
“Fine,” he said. “Where are you taking her?”
“To a cabin.”
“If it’s Joe’s cabin, you know they’ll follow you there.”
“Which is why we’re going there,” she said, “and then we’ll bounce in a few hours, past that point.”
“I want to know your itinerary.”
Just then another voice came over the phone. “My name is Galen. Don’t try to do this on your own.”
“Just who the hell are you?” she snapped.
“Somebody Zack called in as backup, to help track Rebecca down.”
She stopped at that. “Well, if he knew she was in danger, why the hell didn’t he scoop her up and take her away in the first place? And obviously she doesn’t need to be tracked down. All he had to do was call her.”
“I already told you all you need to know.” His tone was smooth. “Where are you?”
“Somewhere else. For all I know,” she said, “you’re part of the group who killed Joe.”
“Well, I’m not,” Galen said, “but I can see the possibility of you worrying about that. Although, if you know Zack, you know that’s not possible.”
“Says you,” she said. She kept driving and thought about what to do.
“We’ll meet you at the cabin,” he said and hung up.
She tossed the phone down and stared at her sister in disgust.
Chapter 2
Gemma pulled into the cabin’s driveway in the wee morning hours, checking the dashboard to see it was coming up on four o’clock. Her sister and niece were sound asleep. Gemma drove down the long gravel road up to and around the cabin to the rear of it. Parking, she let out a slow sigh.
Rebecca woke up. “Where are we?”
“At the cabin.”
“I don’t even know why you bother,” Rebecca said. “I want to go in and sleep, but you won’t let me do that before we leave again.”
“You’ll sleep for a few hours,” she said, “but that’s all.” With that, she got out and walked up to the cabin, leaving the other two in the car. Unlocking the front door, she stepped in. This was Joe’s cabin, and, depending on what she found, they may spend a few hours here. Or not.
She moved inside and throughout, finding it clean and empty. She’d stayed here a couple times herself. One larger bedroom was on the ground floor with a big double bed. She figured Rebecca and Becky could both go in there. Gemma would take the small bedroom at the back, so she could stay near her sister and her niece. No need to access the master bedroom suite on the second floor.
She walked back to the car, gently dragged the blankets with the bundle containing Becky into her arms, then carried her into the cabin and put her on one side of the double bed. Rebecca came stumbling past her and crashed down beside her daughter. Tucking up against the little girl, she said, “I sure hope you think it’s worth all this.”
