Read Tales of Chills and Thrills: The Mystery Thriller Horror Box Set (7 Mystery Thriller Horror Novels) for Free Online Page A

like best about you is that you don’t eat like a girly girl. Hell, you can pack down more fuel than Storm here and he’s gotta outweigh you by a hundred pounds. You’re not sick are you?”
    She shook her head and gave him a fleeting smile.
    “No, I’m okay. I’m just not hungry.”
    At that moment Sergio came to the doorway. A deep frown marred his brow. “Rafe, can I talk to you a minute?”
    Rafe stood up and dropped his linen napkin next to his plate then joined Sergio in the hallway. A minute later he returned. His expression was solemn.
    “I don’t want to interfere with your breakfast but we’ve got new information. As soon as you’re finished, meet me in the Cave. Grab what you need but make it no more than ten minutes. We’ve got a long morning ahead of us.”
    He started toward the door, then turned back and sought her out.
    “Nicki, if you aren’t eating, come with me. I’ll walk you down.”
    She swallowed hard, forcing her voice to be steady.
    “If we’re not going to eat again till lunch, I think I will have a little something now.”
    He held her gaze. She lifted her chin and willed herself not to look away.
    He frowned, then gave her a dismissive nod.
    “Suit yourself.”
    He glanced around the table.
    “Meet me in ten.”
    ~~~
    In less than five minutes they were all in the Cave, huddled around the conference table. Rafe had a stack of folders in front of him. His expression was serious.
    “The game has changed. We’re now in the big leagues. Looks like the Senator was wrong—which is too bad. I’d hoped the asshole was on to something when he thought his daughter planned the escapade. That she was trying to hurt his illustrious career out of spite. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”
    He held up the copy of a text message.
    “This is from Bernie Schwartz. Most of you know Bernie. Last year we uncovered the fuckers who were stealing him blind—selling his company’s industrial secrets to the highest bidder. Bernie insists we saved him millions of dollars. Turns out someone now has something more precious than his company secrets. They have his daughter.”
    There was a shocked intake of air around the table.
    Grayson asked the obvious.
    “Connection?”
    Rafe passed the note to Grayson who was seated on his left, motioning that he should pass it around the table.
    “For those who haven’t seen the note,” Rafe said, “it’s a carbon copy of the note Senator Chambers received. Except that this note talks about Sophie, Bernie’s youngest daughter. As you will see, both notes are signed: Volkov.”
    Sergio called out from across the room.
    “I’ve got Vlad, Rafe. If you’re ready, I’ll put him up on the screen.”
    At Rafe’s nod, three of the twenty LCD screens strategically placed throughout the center came to life. Vlad Koychev, their Eastern Bloc team leader, appeared on the screen. The serious expression on his handsome Slavic face matched Rafe’s. His thickly accented greeting filled the room.
    Eschewing pleasantries, Rafe sliced to the chase.
    “Most of our team is here, Vlad. You’ve got the floor. Help us out. What the hell is Volkov besides a famous Russian river?”
    “That’s the problem, Rafe. We’ve been leaning on every source we have in the human trafficking arena. We can’t find a mention of Volkov anywhere. There are many Russians with that surname, but at least to date we cannot tie any of them to known criminal gangs. No Mafia or Vory clan has a leader, a vlad or a vor by that name. We’re not only connecting with Chechen groups, we are blanketing Russia. As you suggested last night, we’re offering a significant reward for leads to a credible source.”
    Rafe turned the floor over to the rest of the team, who peppered Vlad with one question after another. As he listened to the conversation, Rafe replayed in his mind the strange call he’d had in the middle of the night with Yuri. When Rafe asked him about the Volkov there was a dead