Merciless Charity: A Charity Styles Novel (Caribbean Thriller Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

and Charity held the controls steady, flying at seventy knots about five feet above the boat.
    Though she couldn’t see it, she felt the weight of the helo change as Andrew jumped. She instinctively corrected for the difference and heard a grunt over her earwig as he dropped to the deck below.
    The helo, now lighter, had moved just a bit off station, and Charity corrected for it, following Art’s patient signals. A moment later, he again clinched his left fist, and she felt the helo lighten once more. A second later, Art gave her a thumbs-up, and she peeled off, setting a course for Homestead.

A wad Qureshi woke with a start. Through the tent’s screen window, he could see that it was still dark outside. A noise had disturbed his sleep, but now he heard nothing. Their camp was dark, as fires were only permitted inside the rim of the old volcano’s peak.
    Awad listened intently for a moment but heard nothing but silence. Then came the low, rolling rumble of distant thunder, far off in the distance.
    Pushing a button on his wristwatch, he looked at the illuminated dial and saw that it was still an hour before the sun would be up. Wide awake, he realized it would be pointless to try to go back to sleep. Instead, he sat up, put on his boots and rose from the cot.
    Outside, he saw Karim Majdi sitting alone on a log in front of the half circle of tents. Most of the tents were larger and housed two men. Only he, Majdi, and Hussein had separate tents to themselves.
    Reaching back inside, Awad picked up the small pack, identical to the ones they all carried, and started toward Karim. Clearing his throat to keep from alarming him, Awad approached and then sat down on the log beside the older man. Karim was twenty-eight and had been living in the town of Waco, Texas, for seven years, working as a mechanic. Short and slight of build, with hair just touching his shoulders in the typical American fashion, he was the son of a tribal elder.
    “ As-salamu alaykum , Karim,” Awad greeted the man.
    Karim only nodded, taking a drag from a cigarette. Exhaling into the night sky, he said, “The storm woke you?”
    “Yes, do you think it will rain today?” Though Waco was nearly fifteen hundred kilometers to the north, Karim had told him once that the arid mountainous area they were hiding in was similar to that surrounding the Texas city.
    “I don’t believe so,” Karim whispered. “It is far to the east. Out over the ocean, I think. Did Hussein give you the details last night?”
    Though they were supposed to be working together, Awad knew that Hussein wouldn’t divulge everything to everyone and thought that Karim might be trying to trick him into saying something he shouldn’t.
    “Have you been to San Antonio?” Awad asked quietly, as if making conversation.
    Karim nodded. “Many times. I have even been there for their military festival and have ridden on the boats that will be our target.”
    “What is it like? Will there be many people there?”
    “Hundreds,” Karim replied. “Perhaps thousands. Hussein has chosen a good target. The infidels will be there with their families, reveling in their debauchery. It is unlikely that anyone in the crowd will be armed. It will be glorious.”
    Awad considered this. He’d hoped the mission would be against the military or law enforcement. He’d only been in America a short time, but could already see how he could easily adopt the Western lifestyle. Karim had lived among them for seven years, yet still held fast to his ideology.
    “Yes,” Awad finally agreed. “A glorious triumph for Allah.”
    “ Allahu Akbar ,” Karim said quietly, but with great conviction.
    Changing the subject, Awad asked, “What are the plans for today?”
    “More shooting practice,” Karim replied. “The weapons we are using are not very accurate, but they have great capacity and are small enough to easily conceal. We must become more proficient with their use to be effective.”
    Just then, a