The Hot Zone (A Rainshadow Novel Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Brock Singleton Prescott was wealthy, well-educated, and very well-connected. His family moved in the highest social circles of Crystal City. Two years ago he had become the CEO of the family empire, Prescott Industries.
    “You’ll never guess,” Diana said a little too sweetly.
    Lyle growled again.
    Brock emerged into view, still tying the sash of his robe. He was tall, with chiseled features, a toned body, and an innate sense of style that enabled him to look just as good in a bathrobe as he did in one of his hand-tailored business suits. He stared at Sedona, stunned.
    “The Gold Creek Guild authorities told us that you were lost and presumed missing,” Brock said, sputtering a little in shock.
    “My life has gotten complicated,” Sedona said.
    “Yeah, well, I, uh, filed the divorce papers two and a half weeks ago.”
    So much for throwing herself into his arms, Sedona thought.
    Lyle rumbled darkly.
    “It’s okay,” she whispered to Lyle. “We’ll be fine.”
    Brock frowned. “What the hell happened to you, Sedona?”
    “Long story,” she said tightly. “What about my stuff?”
    “It’s in storage,” Brock said, evidently trying to be helpful. “Isn’t that right, Diana?”
    Diana smiled again. “Old Quarter Storage Facility. I’ll get the key.”
    She vanished into the depths of the town house. Sedona was left looking at Brock.
    “Just one question,” she said.
    “What?” he asked uneasily.
    “Did you ever look for me?”
    “I told you, I was informed that you had gone missing on your last job and that you were in all probability dead.”
    Sedona nodded. “So you didn’t even bother to search for me.”
    “The Guild boss who hired you for that last mission assured me that a team had been sent out but that it found no trace.”
    “Right. Here’s a tip going forward. Next time a Guild boss tells you something, don’t assume he’s giving you the truth. A Guild boss has no trouble lying through his teeth if it suits him.”
    Diana reappeared with a key and a business card. “Here’s the address of the storage facility.”
    Sedona took the key and the card. Without a word she turned and went down the front steps.
    “Sedona?” Brock said behind her. “Do you need some money for a cab or a hotel?”
    She stopped and turned around. Somehow she managed an ice-bright smile.
    “Go to hell, Brock.”
    She turned back, tucked Lyle more securely under her arm, and walked into the rainy night.
    “Looks like it’s just you and me, Lyle,” she said.
    Lyle chortled.
    “Nothing left to lose.”

Chapter 3
    “Yes, I do see your reservation here in the computer, Mr. Jones, but the only cottage that we have left is quite small.” Sedona put on her brightest innkeeper’s smile. “Number Thirteen, Graveyard Cottage. No view of the bay, I’m afraid. It looks out over the local cemetery.”
    “Sounds like the place has a lot of atmosphere,” Cyrus Jones said.
    She had overheard the hunters refer to him as Dead Zone Jones. She had no idea why they called him that, but she was very certain of one thing—there was nothing dead about him.
    His voice—low, dark, and freighted with power that was both very masculine and very controlled—sent shivers through Sedona’s senses. She could have sworn that she heard wind chimes clashing softly in another dimension. She knew the eerie music was her intuition pinging her. It was a recently discovered and decidedly unsettling aspect of her new weirdness. She was still getting accustomed to the strange vibe. She didn’t always know how to interpret the chimes. But in this case she was pretty sure they signaled danger of a kind she had never before experienced.
    Jones was the boss of the newly established Rainshadow Ghost-Hunters Guild. He had arrived, along with a gleaming black SUV and very little luggage, on a private charter ferry.
    The October night had long since descended when the ferry docked in the Shadow Bay Marina, but Sedona had watched Jones’s