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Back The Short Drop Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PART ONE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. PART THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY
  59. EPILOGUE
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

“I don’t believe Gibson Vaughn would knowingly sabotage an effort to find her. I also think that his history with Suzanne Lombard is unique and invaluable. He may see something that no one else could. That alone makes him worth the risk to me. But perhaps you’re right. Perhaps my judgment is clouded by history. That’s why I want you right where you are. If he acts against us, I trust you to see it. And we’ll deal with it if he does. In the meantime, I believe he gives us the best odds of seeing this issue to a positive conclusion. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir.” She stood to go.

“Jenn,” George said. “Gibson Vaughn has endured a great deal in his life and served his country ably. It would be shortsighted to underestimate him.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Besides, WR8TH seems disinclined to show himself, so this may all be moot.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And, Jenn. This isn’t the CIA. Please feel free to call me George.”

“Yes, sir.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Gibson crossed the field under the Saturday morning sun. It felt good to be outdoors again. On Thursday evening, George Abe had thrown him out of the office and warned him in no uncertain terms not to show his face until Monday. It was hard to step away; it made Gibson feel guilty. But he had another little girl who needed him, and she had a soccer game today.

He hadn’t seen enough of Ellie the past few weeks. He knew it, and he hated it. But it was a necessary evil. Abe’s money had paid the mortgage on the house where she and her mother lived. Where they all had lived before the divorce.

In hindsight, he and Nicole probably shouldn’t have bought the house. They bought at the height of the market before the crash. It had been a stretch, financially, but at the time Gibson believed he would have his pick of jobs when he was discharged from the Marines. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption. He’d watched the private sector snap up guys from his unit as soon as their boots hit US soil. Guys with half his experience or commendations sparked bidding wars among the big defense contractors. So with his résumé, he figured he would have it made.

What he hadn’t counted on, and what he hadn’t understood, was what being on Benjamin Lombard’s blacklist meant. Really meant. He’d job hunted for months without so much as a callback. At first he’d limited himself to the big fish, the whales of the defense industry that always needed guys with his skill set. When he finally accepted that they weren’t going to hire him, he’d applied for jobs with second-tier companies. The crickets came from far and wide to sing him a sad song.