The Belial Library (The Belial Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

bright sunlight.  "Hey, we spent a month in the Middle East.  Neither of us got shot and neither did any of our crew. I think we deserved one night of heavy drinking. And it's not like we can visit hookah bars on the beach here.  Come on, you have to admit, it was a good time."
    "Okay. It was good.  But I'm getting too old for those nights."
    Jordan headed down the stairs. "Nah, you're just out of practice."
    Wincing as the bright sun hit him full in the face, Jake shook his head.  He didn't care what Jordan said, he really was getting too old for this.
    Walking down the short steps, he watched the rest of his group meet the important people in their lives. Sean from tech was being greeted by his partner, Todd. Sheila’s big brood, which seemed to grow by one every time he saw them, wrapped her in hugs.
    Even Jordan Witt’s twin brother, Michael, had swung by to pick him up. They were identical from their pale blue eyes to their sun-bleached hair. Jake had been glad to have Jordan on this trip for some of the hairier moments. Jordan been under his command in the SEALs and when he decided to leave the military a few years after Jake had, Jake had snatched him up.
    As Security Director for the Chandler Group's off-site projects, Jake had handpicked his entire security force, which was almost exclusively former military. He'd tried to recruit Mike too when he'd left the SEALs four years ago, but Mike had elected to go with the FBI instead. So he'd had to settle for Jordan – or at least that's how Jake always presented it to Jordan.
    Mike gave him a sharp salute and quick smile, leaning against the Jeep's open door.
    Jordan had the exact same posture on the passenger side of the car.  Jake grinned. Unconscious mirror images.
    Jordan yelled across the space. “Hey, you sure you don’t want to join us?”
    Jordan had invited him to join his family for dinner. Their parents had flown into town to see their sons. The only one missing was their sister Jen, who was off on some remote dig site.
    Jake shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Tell your parents I said hi.”
    “Tomorrow, then. No excuses. You don’t want to get on my Mom’s bad side.” Mike gave a dramatic shudder.
    Jake laughed. The twins’ mom was the personification of nurturing sweetness. He was pretty sure she didn’t have a bad side. He nodded. “Tomorrow.”
    The brothers waved good-bye as they piled into Mike's black Cherokee.
    His head pounding with each step, Jake headed for the waiting dark tinted Town Car, trying not to focus on the fact that he was the only one without a welcoming committee.  He opened the door, sinking into the deep leather with a sigh.
    “Hi, Jake.”
    He glanced over in surprise at the tall blonde with cornflower blue eyes beside him in the backseat. Her knockout body was straining against her low-cut, siren-red dress. A smile played on her perfectly made-up lips.
    “Chelsea. Hey. I didn’t know you’d be here.” Crap .
    The smile turned into a playful pout, although Jake could read the annoyance in her eyes. “Well, you haven’t been returning my phone calls.”
    “Yeah, sorry about that. The project kept me busy.”
    Which was partly true. As the Chandler Groups’ off-site security director, he was responsible for the safety of every Chandler project group. In more contentious areas, that generally required incredible attention to detail and occasionally gunfire. And as this last project took them to the West Bank, Israel, and even Syria, “busy” was an understatement.
    But even with all the time in the world, he wouldn’t have called Chelsea. They’d met through work. She was the lawyer for one of the outside design firms the Chandler Group sometimes used. She'd made her attraction known since their first meeting. Shy, she was not.
    He hadn’t paid her any attention at the time, too wrapped up in Laney. Then one drunken night after Laney and he’d had one incredibly polite phone call in which they decided to