Read The Killing Chase (Beach & Riley Book 2) for Free Online Page B

soon been overcome by the guiding routine of military life, and Shane’s behavior and performance had eventually returned to normal.
    Though the boys weren’t their natural-born children, their aunt and uncle loved them both and did their best to treat them as their own. When Shane’s behavioral problems had improved, his godparents invited him to return to their home. But despite the lure of reuniting with his younger brother, he’d eschewed the offer of a return to freedom in favor of military discipline and training. It seemed he’d found his calling. Shane had later requested his guardians’ permission for early enlistment in the U.S. military and ultimately went on to become a decorated Navy SEAL.
    At the doorway of her room, the tough little Laotian stared into Jake’s eyes. He was in battle-mode - she knew the look well. “What we wait for? We go get asshole now!” She bustled back into her room to grab her already packed bag, cursing their prey under her breath. Loyalty meant everything to Tik, and Jake knew she would throw herself into the venture without care for her own safety. In her culture, vengeance was virtually a holy calling, and she’d adopted his vendetta as her own. He would have to keep an eye on her.
    After breakfast and checkout, Jake and Tik waited inside the hotel’s front door for Mike and the team to pick them up. The same doormen Jake had tipped the day before glanced furtively at the pair, curious to see what the big generous American might do next. Tik cast them a stern glare, embarrassing them into turning away.
    Jake smiled, but admonished her: “They’re not doing any harm.”
    “I not like men try to get free money. Not honor.”
    Jake knew any attempt to moderate Tik’s opinion was futile, so let it slide. Soon a large silver van with blackened windows entered the driveway, breaking the tension. “That’ll be Mike and the boys.”
    The doormen stood well back this time, as the automatic doors slid open to let Jake and Tik out. The van’s side door slid back to reveal Dozer, apparently fast asleep beside his brother. The larger of the pair took up more than his share of the three-person seat, but Priest, deeply absorbed in a book, was oblivious to the invasion of his space. Mike Lee, seated behind them, greeted Jake and Tik as they climbed in beside him. One Thai Special Branch cop was driving and the other dozed in the passenger seat. 
    “We’ve got about two hours to relax before we can check out the Russians’ setup,” Mike said. “Might as well grab some shuteye - if you need it.”
    “I’m good.” Jake said. “Are the boys sharp?”
    “Always, mate,” Dozer answered without opening his eyes. “Takes more than a night on the piss, Jakey-boy. We’re right, mate.”
    Dozer’s laconic Aussie style amused Jake. Cliché after cliché, he couldn’t help but like the Phillips brothers. Tik, on the other hand, ignored them, calling out, “ Bai laew, kha” and the driver steered the van into traffic on Silom Road.
    The two-hour trip was abbreviated to an hour-and-a-half thanks to the Thai policeman’s confident eighty miles-an-hour driving. The likelihood of being stopped for speeding was slim at best, and with his credentials, the driver would easily wave off any such stop. Jake studied the skyline ahead. It had been a few years since his last visit to the seaside resort city of Pattaya – things had changed. Massive new condominium towers dominated the horizon; some so tall and slender they seemed to defy the laws of physics. Huge billboards lined the highway, offering the lifestyles of kings lived out in thousand-square-foot sky-boxes. Other signs boasted the best whatever in Pattaya, while still others boasted the best whatever in all of Thailand. The visual cacophony clearly demonstrated the plastic unreality of this massive party town, which had grown beyond all recognition from its humble beginnings as a sleepy fishing village.
    During the Vietnam