Fight to the Finish Read Online Free PDF

on the key pad and with a smile turned . . . and gasped. I stumbled back, straight through the lab door, missed the step down, and landed on my butt.
    28
“Ooohhh,” I groaned.
    “Kelly?” The guy used my real name.
    I looked up and straight into the eyes of, “Professor Quirk?”
    29
    CHAPTER TWO
 
    Neither one of us said a word as we stared into each other’s eyes. I was sure his brain was circling the same thought as mine.
    What the . . . ?
    Quirk’s brows lifted. “Kelly? Wh—” He glanced over his shoulder at Chapling and then back to me. “I don’t—”
    Chapling hobbled up beside him. “GiGi?” He looked between the two of us. “You two know each other?”
    Slowly, we nodded, still staring at each other.
    What would Quirk be doing here?
    I realized my mouth was open and closed it. And then I realized I was still on the floor where I’d stumbled and fell. Quirk must have realized it, too, because he reached forward to help me up.
    I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. “Randy,” I said, using his real name.
    He smiled, and it shot butterflies right through my stomach.
    “You’re GiGi?” Randy realized. “Chapling’s told me all about you.”
    Chapling stepped up beside us. “I didn’t realize you knew Randy.”
    I looked down at him. “How do you know Randy?”
    Chapling bobbed his bushy brows. “Couple of years ago we worked on something together for the IPNC.”
    “Oh.”
    “Yeah, he’s my bro,” Randy commented, elbowing Chapling.
    30
Chapling giggled. “Yeahyeah, that’s right. Everybody joked we were brothers.”
    Smiling, I looked between the two of them, finding that absurdly funny. They looked nothing like brothers. Chapling was a little person with frizzy red hair, freckles, and lots of chub.
    Randy stood six feet of in shape leanness with dark hair, adorable green eyes, and way too cute wire rimmed glasses.
    Wait a minute. Why was I thinking of him as adorable and cute? He was a klutzy nerd.
    Well, so was I.
    Chapling waddled off and over to his coffee station in the corner of the computer lab.
    “How funny. Funnyfunny. You two know each other.”
    Randy and I smiled at each other.
    Chapling dumped old coffee into the sink. “Where’d you all meet?”
    “Junoesque Jungle,” we answered in unison, referring to my last mission.
    “The Junoesque?” Chapling poured water into the coffee maker. “Hm.” He glanced across the lab at Randy. “What were you doing in the jungle?”
    “He was the glyph expert,” I answered for him.
    “Well, what do you know.” Chapling dumped the old grounds and piled in new ones.
    “You didn’t know?” I asked.
    Chapling shook his head. “Nope.”
    This organization continued to amaze me. Chapling was fairly high up in The Specialists and yet he hadn’t had clearance to know his friend Randy was on my last mission.
    TL walked in the open door, pressed the button to close it, and it made a suction noise as it slid together. He looked up at me and Randy, and I got the distinct impression he was in a bad mood.
    31
“Did you show Randy around?” TL asked Chapling, and he nodded. “You two know each other, of course, from the Junoesque mission,” TL continued. “I was very impressed with Randy’s work. I’ve asked him to come on board for a few weeks as a historian consult on a few things I have going on.”
    “What?!”
    Chapling and Randy jumped, and TL just looked at me.
    I cleared my throat. “I mean, what?” Holy crap. Joining The Specialists? This wasn’t good. This so wasn’t good. I know it was only for a few weeks, but this so wasn’t good.
    The lab door opened and in walked David.

I
    swallowed.
    TL gave him a brusque nod, and my thoughts went back to wondering why TL seemed so upset. “David meet Randy. He’ll be here for a few weeks as a historian consult. He comes to us from the IPNC.”
    David stepped forward and shook Randy’s hand.
    I watched it all in a sort of slow motion. My boyfriend