Blood Ransom Read Online Free PDF Page B

country. Are you still leaving in the morning?”
    “I’ve got an early flight to the capital in the morning and one more meeting before I fly back to DC.”
    “I am intrigued by the premise of your article.” Natalie pressedher lips together, wondering how much—if any—of Joseph’s situation she should bring up. As a journalist, Gabby would want solid proof. Something Natalie didn’t have. “I’ve seen how the workers are treated in several of the outlaying mines, but what if…what if there was more involved than simply low wages and dangerous working conditions?”
    Gabby cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
    “Have you ever heard of the Ghost Soldiers?”
    “What exactly are Ghost Sol—”
    “So I see you’re not the only one asking questions about the Ghost Soldiers, Natalie.”
    Natalie spun on her heel to face Patrick. “Gabby and I were discussing the article she’s writing.”
    Patrick swirled the ice in his glass and shot her a smug grin. “Perhaps you should join the ranks as a reporter.”
    Natalie frowned at the sarcastic suggestion. “I’m quite happy to leave journalism to the experts like Gabby.”
    “Sound advice, don’t you think, Miss Mackenzie?” He turned back to Natalie. “Of course, I would have thought a potential hepatitis epidemic would have you too busy to worry over unverified rumors of Ghost Soldiers.”
    “So what do you think about these rumors, Patrick?” Natalie ignored the man’s hard stare, wondering what Rachel saw in him.
    “I’ve been investigating them.”
    “Really?” That would explain his interest in her demographic reports and the questions they raised. “And what have you discovered?”
    “That the villagers are ‘disappearing’ because they are nomadic. You can’t expect accurate counts when over ten percent of the population lives deep in the mountain jungles and has little contact with the outside world. I say the Ghost Soldiers are nothing more than rumors spread by the opposition to discredit the president.”
    “Do you have proof they don’t exist?” Gabby asked.
    “Of course I do.”
    No doubt laced with lies and exaggerated facts.
    Someone buzzed at the front gate. Natalie glanced at the door and made a mental note to finish the conversation at a later date. “If you’ll both excuse me.”
    She set her uneaten food down on the edge of the kitchen counter and took the chance to slip away from both the conversation and her tumultuous thoughts. Hurrying down the front steps, she tried to shake off her simmering anger. She’d come here to help an impoverished people, and the fact that most of the government leaders were more interested in lining their own pockets than confronting real concerns like people’s lives made her furious.
    She stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and looked up at the night sky. Stars hovered above her—thousands more, it seemed, than the view she’d had from her apartment balcony back home in Portland.
    The heavens declare the glory of God , and the skies proclaim His handiwork.
    Breathing in the sweet scent of jasmine that crept along the outside wall, she willed her nerves to settle down. Sometimes the natural beauty of this place was the only proof she could see that God even existed here.
    Chad stood at the gate.
    “Hi.” She shot him a broad smile as she unlocked the gate. “I’m glad you came.”
    “I’m glad you invited me.”
    Natalie felt a blush creep across her cheeks. He’d changed from his scrubs to blue jeans and a khaki T-shirt and looked relaxed. His hair was curly like she remembered from high school, cut short in the back and left a little longer on top. The time that had passed since she’d last seen him in the States had given him a mature confidence, along with a few gray hairs.
    He might not agree with her stance to do whatever she could to help Joseph, but as she left the clinic she’d decided to invite him anyway on the premise he might enjoy a home-cooked meal and