Carpathian Read Online Free PDF Page B

the past four years: he was overprotective of her and that infuriated the twenty-one-year-old widow no end. Thus this one chance to prove she could be a field operative and handle the very worst of people.
    Alice adjusted the stole around her shoulders and the fishnet, large-brimmed white hat that half covered her beautiful eyes. As she made her way up the gangway she experienced her first hint of nervousness as she spied the two men at the top of the gangway who were watching her move slowly up the steps. Their eyes saw the shapely body beneath the expensive dress and the subtle movement of her breasts that were hidden very badly in the French-designed fashion. Alice felt so humiliated knowing the dress was not anything like her. She was far more comfortable in men’s pants and shorts and far happier with a shovel and pickax.
    As she reached the top of the steps she saw that the two men were armed with weapons poorly hidden in their waistbands. She knew the men wanted her to see that they were armed.
    The first man half bowed and held out his hand. Alice swallowed and then pulled the invitation from her handbag. The gilded, gold-embossed invitations were numbered and a security code printed on the front ensured that no one uninvited would be allowed to board this ship. Again Alice swallowed hard but managed a smile as she handed the forged invitation to the large guard. The security man looked it over and without hesitation handed the invitation back to the young American.
    “Welcome to the Golden Child , Mrs. Hamilton, your host eagerly awaits your opinion on his collection. Please, follow Mr. Chow into the salon.”
    Alice was about to speak but her words caught in her throat as she realized that she was far more frightened about what she was doing than she thought she would have been. Instead she nodded her head and followed the largest Chinese man she had ever seen onto the boat deck. As she did she heard the engines of the Golden Child start and then the sound of the anchor being raised and felt the rattling of the teak deck. She stopped momentarily as the great yacht surged forward in the calm bay of Hong Kong.
    “Don’t worry, ma’am, the Golden Child will anchor ten miles out to sea for…” The Chinese brute smiled down at Alice. “Security reasons.”
    Alice knew then that if she needed help of any kind it wasn’t going to be found beyond the territorial limits of Hong Kong. That meant if for any reason her true intent was discovered she would find it hard swimming the ten miles back into the bay, especially with a few bullets in her back and sharks stalking her. She knew then that she may have made the biggest mistake of her young life.
    The Golden Child put to sea.
    *   *   *
    Alice Hamilton, a girl of twenty-one from the town of Manassas, Virginia, who until this year had never been farther from home than Nevada, found herself being escorted to the fantail of the magnificent yacht. As she rounded the corner she took a deep breath and told herself to relax. As she told herself this she felt the slow movement of the Golden Child heading for the open sea. The departure wasn’t noticed by the many men and women on the fantail standing and sipping drinks as waiters and other servants wound their way through the expensively dressed guests.
    Alice momentarily froze as she stood looking at the white dinner jackets and budget-breaking gowns. As they stood with martinis and other drinks in their manicured fingers, she realized that as soon as she opened her mouth to any one of these people they would know immediately that she didn’t belong. They would eventually see right through the forged invitation that had been prepared for her by the intelligence element inside Department 5656, another little item Garrison would be furious about. She swallowed, wanting to jump off the fantail before the ship was too far out to sea.
    “The water is extremely cold and you would more than likely get run over by a water