Morgan's Wife Read Online Free Page B
Author: Lindsay McKenna
mountain in the chair at the other end of the table.
"Even you can see the folly of Harding's idea," Jim insisted.
"Really? What's that?"
"A woman, " Jim said in exasperation.
Jake grinned tiredly. "Colonel, one thing Morgan Trayhern has made very clear to everyone at Perseus is that in his opinion, women are just as good, and usually better, than any man at this work."
"That's ridiculous!"
"Not in our book." Jake tapped the table deliberately with his index finger. "And as long as Morgan is alive, we're running his company his way. You got that?"
Biting back the anger that warred with his fear for Laura, he sat down. "This woman could be killed."
"It's an equal-opportunity business, Colonel, just as women in the military can be killed as easily as men. Bullets don't consider gender."
Stymied, Woodward sat very still, evaluating his options. He knew no one was better qualified than he was to rescue Laura. But to have a woman—a civilian, of all things—along on such a dangerous mission was beyond his imagination. He wasn't usually so temperamental—but this was personal, just as they had accused him of earlier. Jim knew his emotional involvement could be a detriment to the mission. Somehow, he had to separate his feelings from the job to be done, and concentrate on surviving.
"I want your promise on one thing, Randolph ," he insisted.
"What?"
"If this Pepper Sinclair is stupid enough to volunteer for this mission, I want the opportunity to put her through her paces. If she can't or refuses to do a HAHO, or in some way is not militarily qualified, I have veto power."
"With an attitude like yours, she's sure to fail whatever task you set her," Jake said tightly.
" Dammit , I have a right to protect myself in this mission. I don't care how glowing Harding's report is, if she can't stand the heat, she doesn't come with me."
Jake glared at him. "I propose an alternative plan, Colonel. If Pepper volunteers, you can set up the tests you need to feel comfortable, then you can both report back to me. I'll make the final decision."
In that moment, Jim disliked Randolph intensely. "I can set up the tests?"
"Any and all you want, understanding that we don't have much time. Once the CIA gets a fix and confirmation that Laura is on Nevis , we want to initiate the mission immediately."
Satisfied, Jim leaned back in the chair. "Fine. I'll bet you a hundred dollars right now that Ms. Sinclair is going to fail miserably at the tests I've got in mind."
Randolph smiled uneasily. "You're on, Colonel. A hundred bucks."
Jim crossed his arms, wondering about the outcome of Harding's phone call to Sinclair. He prayed she'd turn him down. What woman in her right mind would volunteer for a high-kill-ratio assignment like this? He didn't look too hard at his own answer to the same question.
Chapter Two
Tension thrummed through Jim Woodward as he stood waiting for Pepper Sinclair to walk through the partially opened door. It was 0700 on Wednesday, November 23, and she was due in from a red-eye flight from Butte , Montana , at any moment. Harding had gone to the airport to pick her up and would brief her on the way in, so she'd be up to speed by the time she reached the Perseus office.
Jim didn't want a woman with him on this mission; it was that simple. She could have taken first in Hawaii 's grueling physical-endurance contest, the Iron Woman, and it wouldn't have mattered to him.
His sensitive hearing caught the sound of voices in the reception area, where Marie had her neatly organized office. Warm, husky laughter—distinctly feminine—drifted to where he stood. Jim tried to stay immune to that rolling, mellow sound, but it was impossible. It wasn't Marie's laughter, so it had to be Pepper Sinclair's. His mouth turned down. Why did she have to have such a provocative laugh?
He stood tensely, hearing Wolf's deep voice and Pepper's well-modulated one intermingle as they chatted amiably. He didn't know Harding well, but knew
"Even you can see the folly of Harding's idea," Jim insisted.
"Really? What's that?"
"A woman, " Jim said in exasperation.
Jake grinned tiredly. "Colonel, one thing Morgan Trayhern has made very clear to everyone at Perseus is that in his opinion, women are just as good, and usually better, than any man at this work."
"That's ridiculous!"
"Not in our book." Jake tapped the table deliberately with his index finger. "And as long as Morgan is alive, we're running his company his way. You got that?"
Biting back the anger that warred with his fear for Laura, he sat down. "This woman could be killed."
"It's an equal-opportunity business, Colonel, just as women in the military can be killed as easily as men. Bullets don't consider gender."
Stymied, Woodward sat very still, evaluating his options. He knew no one was better qualified than he was to rescue Laura. But to have a woman—a civilian, of all things—along on such a dangerous mission was beyond his imagination. He wasn't usually so temperamental—but this was personal, just as they had accused him of earlier. Jim knew his emotional involvement could be a detriment to the mission. Somehow, he had to separate his feelings from the job to be done, and concentrate on surviving.
"I want your promise on one thing, Randolph ," he insisted.
"What?"
"If this Pepper Sinclair is stupid enough to volunteer for this mission, I want the opportunity to put her through her paces. If she can't or refuses to do a HAHO, or in some way is not militarily qualified, I have veto power."
"With an attitude like yours, she's sure to fail whatever task you set her," Jake said tightly.
" Dammit , I have a right to protect myself in this mission. I don't care how glowing Harding's report is, if she can't stand the heat, she doesn't come with me."
Jake glared at him. "I propose an alternative plan, Colonel. If Pepper volunteers, you can set up the tests you need to feel comfortable, then you can both report back to me. I'll make the final decision."
In that moment, Jim disliked Randolph intensely. "I can set up the tests?"
"Any and all you want, understanding that we don't have much time. Once the CIA gets a fix and confirmation that Laura is on Nevis , we want to initiate the mission immediately."
Satisfied, Jim leaned back in the chair. "Fine. I'll bet you a hundred dollars right now that Ms. Sinclair is going to fail miserably at the tests I've got in mind."
Randolph smiled uneasily. "You're on, Colonel. A hundred bucks."
Jim crossed his arms, wondering about the outcome of Harding's phone call to Sinclair. He prayed she'd turn him down. What woman in her right mind would volunteer for a high-kill-ratio assignment like this? He didn't look too hard at his own answer to the same question.
Chapter Two
Tension thrummed through Jim Woodward as he stood waiting for Pepper Sinclair to walk through the partially opened door. It was 0700 on Wednesday, November 23, and she was due in from a red-eye flight from Butte , Montana , at any moment. Harding had gone to the airport to pick her up and would brief her on the way in, so she'd be up to speed by the time she reached the Perseus office.
Jim didn't want a woman with him on this mission; it was that simple. She could have taken first in Hawaii 's grueling physical-endurance contest, the Iron Woman, and it wouldn't have mattered to him.
His sensitive hearing caught the sound of voices in the reception area, where Marie had her neatly organized office. Warm, husky laughter—distinctly feminine—drifted to where he stood. Jim tried to stay immune to that rolling, mellow sound, but it was impossible. It wasn't Marie's laughter, so it had to be Pepper Sinclair's. His mouth turned down. Why did she have to have such a provocative laugh?
He stood tensely, hearing Wolf's deep voice and Pepper's well-modulated one intermingle as they chatted amiably. He didn't know Harding well, but knew
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