Alive at 5 (Entangled Ignite) Read Online Free PDF Page B

this was an accident?” The detective directed his comment to Samantha, but watched Zack.
    “I don’t think Wentworth’s death was an accident and neither do you, Detective. Am I right?” Zack said. “Are you investigating Skydive Drop Zone or the X-Force Adventure Vacation Company?”
    The big man puffed up and stepped closer to him. Zack could smell the sharp tang of a hot day hanging off him.
    “He’s okay, Stuart.” Samantha tried to step between the two, but Zack put an arm out to stop her.
    He didn’t need her protection. Or her help. He stared down the detective. “I think someone tampered with Wentworth’s parachute before he jumped. They did something to force that parachute to spring open too quickly. That sudden impact could kill a man instantly.” He watched the detective carefully.
    “You seem very interested in Wentworth’s death. Why is that?”
    “I’m on this vacation, too, and I don’t want to be the next one to have…an accident.”
    The detective’s gaze ran up and down the length of him, his jaw set, but Zack didn’t even begin to flinch. He’d held up to much worse in the military. Bring it on.
    “You vouch for this guy, Sam?”
    “I—I don’t really know him.”
    Zack’s stomach tightened as he broke eye contact and glanced at her. Her face was a hot mess, makeup gummy and mascara running down her cheek.
    “Okay, here’s the deal.” Johnson flipped his notebook closed. “Off the record, of course.”
    Samantha nodded.
    Zack nodded, as well. Why the hell not? So far, they were both making this easy.
    Wiping drops off his brow, the detective pursed his lips. “Maxwell Wentworth wasn’t the first person to die during one of these fancy-ass adventure vacations. About eighteen months ago, a man named Scott Fitzpatrick died during an underwater cave dive at Peacock Springs State Park up in the Panhandle. He went down in the Orange Grove sink with a couple of other men, got separated, and never resurfaced.”
    Samantha gasped. “Another accident?”
    Zack managed to cover his reaction, but his body went on full alert. So, this guy knew about the other incidents. Was he putting two and two together? So far, no one else had been able to.
    Johnson shrugged. “Maybe. Took a couple of days to find this Fitzpatrick guy’s body. When the local police hauled him up, they didn’t find any trace of foul play. A friend of mine is with the local force up there and said Fitzpatrick had run out of air in his tank. Probably got lost and died trying to find his way out of those underground caves. It’s happened before. An employee with the adventure vacation company and a family member ID’d the body. Case closed.”
    “Then…how does that relate to Maxwell?” Samantha worried her lip.
    “Six months later, another guy died cave diving at Peacock Springs.”
    Zack’s mind filled with white noise and his shoulder blades pressed together until the pain in his body kept the pain in his heart at bay. He knew this story all too well. The face of the dead man—his uncle—regularly haunted his dreams…and nightmares. His heart thumped, but he fought to keep his expression stoic. They couldn’t know about his personal connection. Not yet. He could learn so much more if he remained undercover.
    “Some uptown corporate guy from New York came down looking for a thrill,” he heard Johnson tell Samantha. “He died alone, lost in the caves. The medical examiner ruled his death an accidental drowning.”
    Accidental, my ass. Zack chewed the inside of his mouth to keep the words from seeing the light of day. He had gone on many dives with his uncle and Jackson’s son. On vacation away from his abusive father, Zack had found these underwater caverns to be a place of peace. And his deaf cousin reveled in a world where sound wasn’t as important as the varying visual feast. Jackson Hunter had been too skilled to accidentally get lost and die. Zack’s fisted hands drummed the side of his