Into the Light (The Admiral's Elite Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wanted a few more hours before they ran into each other again.
     
    The night had offered perspective; that any lies Michael told were the result of whatever gag order the admiral had given. And that was exactly where she kept getting stuck. Could anyone have a relationship where the admiral was involved? He had his hooks in all of them in different ways; he could manipulate each one.
     
    Somewhere over Colorado Becca nodded off, not to wake until rubber hit tarmac in River Falls. Staring out the porthole-sized window of their private jet, Becca frowned. Snow, and lots of it, lay in piles all around them with endless stripes of white and black along the runways from planes melting their way through the ice that had covered the ground since November.  Arching her back and reaching over her head, she stretched and settled back until they reached the hangar.
     
    “Alright folks, we’re here.” Gabrielle’s voice crackled over the PA system. “Grab your shit.” She had a different sort of pilot’s speech for her departing passengers than your typical pilot.
     
    Becca wondered if she’d been in the Air Force or maybe a Navy pilot before meeting the admiral. They were all from different branches of the service. Admiral Black seemed to pick the attributes and it didn’t matter from where he gathered. Michael and Ryan had been Marines, Becca Navy. One could guess Black was Navy as well because of his title, only no one knew for sure. Maybe he just liked the sound of it.
     
    The seat across from her shifted and Michael stood, blocking the light. The next few minutes were filled with the sounds and easy conversation of old acquaintances deplaning.
     
    “Hey Mike, maybe while we’re here we can make snow angels,” Ryan teased.
     
    Michael shot back something about Ryan being too warm; he’d have an unfair advantage for clean outlines. Ryan, not one to give up the last word, said something back about it not being his fault he was so hot.
     
    As usual, a car was waiting for them. This time they had a dark blue SUV with tinted windows. Unlike the myths, Michael could walk in the daylight but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Packs in the back, all four loaded up with the men in front and women in back; they were on their way.
     
    Once the flat expanse of the airport was behind them and they were out on the main highway, Becca was struck with the beauty of the landscape. Rolling hills rose on either side of the road. In some parts, elevated bridges carried them over narrow rivers littered with ice, cutting through the farm fields below. The skeletons of trees, shrunk by distance and accentuated by the evening’s shadows, offered negligible cover for the black and white cows patiently waiting for food or some sort of distraction from the desolate white surrounding them. It was her first trip to the middle of the country and Becca ached to see it in bloom. The green would be breathtaking. There was so much countryside, so much distance between houses. Even the towns were a fraction of the size of those she was used to on the West Coast. Up ahead a white cliff face overlooked a bend in the road. A lone tree stood sentinel from the top, watching the traffic below.
     
    Just after the bend the land below changed, opening to a wide valley hemmed in by pale, jagged-faced limestone cliffs on either side. Michael navigated the vehicle around the cloverleaf exit and after a few more twists and turns, brought them to a long, two level building with a black and white sign designating the location simply as “Motel.”
     
    The lot was open. They parked in the center giving them some amount of privacy, though in a small town such as this they were guaranteed to get some extra attention. Ryan went in alone to check them in. With a black knit hat and blue parka over his jeans and boots, he could almost pass for a big-shouldered local country boy. Maybe he was before the Marines got a hold of him, he sure never was