Station Alpha: (Soldiering On #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

look at the sleeping woman, Paul heaved himself into his bed. But his mind stayed one floor below.
     
    Duncan cursed as he hung up the phone. What had Mandy gotten them into? He had no doubt that her insistence on taking this job had somehow caused this mess. He didn’t know how, yet. But he intended to find out.
    He glanced around at the empty gym. He grunted with satisfaction when he saw no one was around to hear the conversation he’d just had. His leg and his wayward thoughts had kept him awake all night once again. He’d finally given up and come here to work out his frustrations. He had to do regular exercises on his bum leg—his parting gift from the military life—or it would seize up and protest. He’d missed yesterday’s session due to a busy day at work, and now he was paying the price. Another thing he intended to blame Mandy for.
    Not that it was the only thing that kept him awake. His thoughts about his fellow co-owner—both of the salacious and frustrated kind—had also been a large part of the problem. Not that he would admit that to anyone. Particularly her.
    He almost relished the fact that he could confront her later in the office about this debacle. He was looking forward to seeing her look of surprise. A certain smugness was already creeping over him about the fact that she’d have to apologise to him and admit he was right.
    Still, an assault team like Paul had described was serious business. He wasn’t a paranoid man by nature, but usually armed men in combat gear didn’t storm people’s homes without an excellent reason. He knew it wasn’t what Paul wanted to hear, but it was entirely possible that the girl was not as innocent as she claimed.
    He’d do as Paul had asked. It wouldn’t hurt, even if she did turn out to be something more than they had expected. But it would help her out if she was innocent. And if his guys dug a little deeper into Miss Christine Ramirez while they were at it, he certainly wouldn’t complain.
    Paul did have good instincts. Under normal circumstances, Duncan would happily trust his life to them. But he’d suspected for a while that it was getting a little personal for Paul in this case. He’d thought hard about pulling him off the job. But he figured that as long as the man kept his distance—which he’d had no reason to believe he wouldn’t—then it couldn’t hurt. Might even do the guy some good to get attached to someone or something again. He’d been distant since Duncan had known him.
    Not that Duncan could blame him. What he went through, losing the use of his legs, his career, and nearly his life would be tough for anyone to take. But Paul hadn’t reached out to anyone, hadn’t shown an interest in anything other than watching people from afar. Perhaps his personal interest in this woman would draw him out—particularly now that he was in contact with her and personally keeping her safe.
    With Paul going off-book from their contract with the Vovks, it was clear that this had become a personal mission for him. That, too, meant there weren’t any professional conduct issues Duncan needed to worry about. Paul was now helping Christine on his own time, not the company’s. Though he’d talk to Mandy about having an official meeting with the Vovks to finalise that.
    As for her…well, Duncan had to hope she was a good woman. From what he could tell, she was. A good woman in a tough spot that needed their help. He hoped that whatever Paul was feeling for this woman, that she returned it and didn’t end up breaking his heart. He wasn’t sure that Paul could handle another blow like that.
    So, Duncan would keep an eye on the situation. Just in case.

Chapter 3
     
    It was the light she became aware of first. Bright and cheerful, the sun streamed in through the window, hitting Christine full in the face. It was completely at odds with the grumpy mood she found herself in that morning. She rolled over and pulled a pillow across her face,