Storm (The Storm Chronicles Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“I’m not sure my sister and I would have gotten along.”
    “She is different from you, but a good agent. In time I suspect the wounds will heal and you will be as you should. But for now, you should rest and get ready for your evaluation. I have need of you in the field as soon as you are ready,” King replied.
    Raven felt like the floor was opening beneath her. “You’re sending me home?”
    “Report back after your evaluation with Dr. Clark,” King said.
    “Fine. Keep me informed about Aspen,” Raven said.
    She paused in the doorway. “King, if anything happens to her, I will kill you.”
    “I know,” King said.
    Raven nodded and walked toward the elevator, trying to ignore the yawning pit of fear in her belly.
    II
    Chicago, Illinois: 8:00 a.m.
    The sun was a solid orb of gold and orange shining off the spires of Chicago like it was some medieval fortress standing the test of time. To most, it would have been a beautiful December morning. Rupert Levac looked up at it and just felt annoyed; it had been a long night and it looked like it was going to be an even longer day.
    He pushed through the door to the Donut Vault and spotted Sable Tempeste sitting in a booth near the back. She had a chocolate eclair in her hand and was looking at something on the table. Levac couldn’t get over the similarities between Sable and Raven. Both were powerful, gorgeous, tough and decent detectives. They also shared an interesting sense of style. Sable was dressed in leather pants matched with a red sweater and a black necklace from which dangled a silver cross. He knew without looking that she was concealing a Smith and Wesson revolver loaded with .44 specials and had a number of knives hidden in her boots.
    He shook his head and dropped into the booth opposite, where a cup of coffee was waiting for him.
    “G’morning, Rupert,” Sable said without looking up.
    Levac sipped is coffee. “Hi Sable. What’s so important that it couldn’t wait till after a solid eight hours?”
    “We’ve got a new assignment from King. We’re supposed to look into Chicago Shipbuilding, specifically the last ship they designed, a cruise ship called Crescent Star ,” Sable said.
    Levac picked up a powdered donut from the tray on the table. “A cruise ship? What do we know about cruise ships?”
    Sable shrugged. “Not a lot. But this one is interesting. News reports say she vanished in 1971 without any trace of survivors. According to King, she rammed through a schooner three days ago. He wants to know everything we can find about the ship.”
    Levac bit into the donut, oblivious to the sugar that dribbled down his coat. “How did it come back if it vanished?”
    “The world is weirder than you think, Rupert. We had a case last year about a possessed car. Straight out of a King novel, I swear. This gets even more interesting though. The designer, architect, whatever? He was found dead in his office in 1939, a week after his company, Chicago Shipbuilding, was bought by a larger corporation. Murdered, but no suspect was ever found. King wants us to look into the murder and the ship and see what we can dig up.”
    Levac shoved the rest of his donut into his mouth and chewed while he thought. When he’d swallowed, he said, “It sounds like a cold case. We can start with the—”
    Sable tapped the papers on the seat beside her. “Police report. I snagged it while you were sleeping.”
    “How did you get it? Mauser has been a tightwad with information, lately.”
    Sable shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
    Levac blinked. “You stole it?”
    “I borrowed it, Rupert. We’re Federal agents with Section Thirteen, we have different rules. I’ll put it back when we’re done, they probably won’t even notice it is gone., Sable said.
    “We’re Federal agents, not thieves,” Levac said.
    Sable arched an eyebrow. “Are you always like this? We do what we need to do to get the job done.”
    She shook her head and picked up the file; there