The hemlock switch, p.1
The Hemlock Switch, page 1
HEMLOCK SWITCH – ENIGMA SERIES BOOK VIIII
Copyright © 2023 - Tierney James
All cover art copyright © 2023 – Tierney James
All Rights Reserved
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, businesses, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. The publisher does not have any control over or assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their contents.
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Cover Design by Sweet ’N Spicy Designs
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those alphabet agencies in Washington DC who continue to protect us from unknown enemies of our country. Although we may never know who you are,
THANK YOU!
Acknowledgments
Wizards of Publishing: Much love to my editors Kate Richards and Nan Sipe. You continue to teach and encourage me on each new adventure with the Enigma Team.
Sweet and Spicey Designs: Jayce DeLorenzo never disappoints with her cover designs. She is creative and an excellent listener to what I need.
Paperback Press Publishing Coordinator Sharon Kizziah-Holmes is my major hand holder as she prepares my manuscript for publication. Anytime I get anxious about a problem with a book she rushes in like a knight in shining armor.
Lipstick and Danger Street Team: Thank you for always giving me your support and encouragement. What would I do without you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
Author’s Note
About the Author
Other Publications by Tierney James
Prologue
Tiny purple lights edged the baseboards along icy floor tiles that were kept at a constant temperature of 1.667 degrees Celsius or 35 degrees Fahrenheit. The owner stood staring down the long corridor without so much as a shiver or twitch. Everyone present, except Andre Lavelle Vion, wore warm clothing beneath white lab coats. He’d slipped one on over his expensive suit then shifted pale-blue eyes both beautiful and terrifying to those who worked for him.
When he took a step forward, the others behind him released the breath they’d been holding. It was wise not to distract the man when he became deep in thought. He glanced at the assistant to hurry him ahead to reach the door at the end of the corridor.
Once there, one of the lab coat personnel entered a code and did a retinal scan, followed by two others who repeated the gesture to make sure no breach was in progress. The pressurized door swooshed and opened at a snail’s pace. The air inside hoovered around forty degrees to make it more comfortable to work. Each worker wore a bright-yellow hazmat suit, lined with a thin layer of fabric created by NASA to prevent possible distractions connected with a cold environment.
The stainless-steel-walled room contained twenty tables surrounded by purple lights beneath the surface of the tables. Atop each lay a person who appeared unconscious. The owner toured the room and moved calmly around each table without asking questions as to each occupant’s condition. None of the scientists spoke or made eye contact with him. It might be misconstrued as an act of confrontation. Not everyone understood his methods.
He stopped at one table where a young woman lay covered by a thick sheet. She was blonde with Nordic facial features; thin lips, non-prominent cheekbones, light-colored skin, and her tall frame took the length of the table.
Suddenly, she gasped, and her bright-blue eyes fluttered open to gaze about in confusion. He smiled down at her and reached under the sheet to take her hand then lifted it higher to gaze on her naked body. “Don’t be afraid, my dear. You are among friends.” He laid his free hand against her cheek and stroked it gently. “Someone get her a warm blanket. Now.”
Within seconds, he was laying a blanket retrieved from a warming drawer over her body. He tucked it around her like a loving father, followed by sliding his hand down her long locks of hair. The others knew where this was headed.
“Sir?” His assistant stepped forward, touched the screen of his tablet, and scanned through the information quickly before informing the boss of what he wanted to hear. “She is perhaps twenty-three. Found wandering alone after getting separated from her friends on the Laugavegur Trail in Iceland.”
“And her blood type?”
“Like the others, O negative.”
“Any abnormalities in the DNA?”
“No potential red flags, except for one. A history search of her family indicated her mother died of breast cancer, as did her grandmother and two aunts. Although she doesn’t appear to have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, breast cancer can’t be ruled out in the future. It does appear she has been sexually active and maybe miscarried or aborted a fetus not so long ago.”
He gazed down into the wide blue eyes of the young woman. “Interesting.”
“What are your orders, sir?” His assistant kept his full attention on his boss as if he might throw him a treat for being efficient.
“When she is fully awake, bring her to my cabin. Along with clothes and whatever she might need for the night.”
“And in the morning?”
He turned and pointed to one of the scientists. “Be prepared to draw blood.”
“How much?”
“All of it.” He smiled down at the woman who appeared confused and frightened.
“All of it?” the scientist stuttered. The owner cut a gaze to him and arched an eyebrow. “Of course. We’ll be waiting for your call when you’re done. Anything else?”
“That will depend on a number of things and expectations,” he spoke softly, lifting the young woman’s hand to his lips.
After a full day of touring the Bio Terminal of Life, going over expenses and progress of the research, he remembered the girl who must be at the cabin by now. What Andre didn’t expect was the surprise waiting for him. He didn’t care for surprises.
“What do you mean there’s no trace of the girl?” He turned toward the assistant.
Andre Lavelle Vion’s voice contained an eerie calm, similar to the moments before a tornado hit. Only his eyes hinted at disappointment, a signal there would be a price to pay for whoever made a miscalculation. The bright-blue iris most often turned either navy or, on occasion, had appeared grayish opaque. Bad things resulted when this occurred. The bearer of bad news, rather than take the blame themselves, usually suggested an alternative solution or threw an innocent under the bus for immediate retribution. This was definitely a time to point the finger at security.
The personal assistant’s stomach turned as it always did in the presence of this man. With the help of several anxiety drugs and antidepressants, he’d been able to fulfill his duties flawlessly without a hint of stress. There had been whispers he was no different than Andre Vion. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing keeping him under the man’s thumb was the ridiculous amount of money he was paid and the possibility of selling what he knew to the highest bidder when the time came.
“Explain.” Andre Vion raised his chin and stared down his narrow nose.
“After security delivered her…”
“There are cameras in and around my residence.”
“A power surge took them offline for approximately twenty minutes.”
“Why?”
“I believe it was—”
“You believe?”
&n
“How long until someone checked on her?”
“Several hours. When I checked the security logs, they hadn’t been updated in that section of the compound, I went myself to—”
Andre held up a finger for silence then tapped his chin one time before walking toward the security control center. His neck turned then tilted his ear down at the assistant’s anxious steps. When he burst into the control center, two computer techs jumped to their feet.
“You appear surprised I’m here. Why were you unaware of my presence just now?”
“Uh. Uh.” The younger of the two techs choked then swallowed hard and stole a quick glance at his partner.
“Where are the guards who were supposed to be on duty?”
“S-searching for the girl,” the tech continued with a stutter.
“Release the dogs.” Andre’s eyelids became hooded as he continued to make eye contact.
“I’ll alert the guards.” The second tech notified the guards of the danger.
“Very well.” Andre waited until a text message was sent. “Thank you, gentlemen. Take a break. I’m sure you need one with all this going on. I believe the cafeteria has prepared a late supper for those still working.”
They nodded obediently and left.
Andre stared at the screen when the images of two guards appeared. “Release the dogs.”
The assistant stepped up next to Andre. “Sir, they are not in the controlled perimeter. They can’t outrun the dogs. And if the girl—”
Andre turned his icy eyes toward the assistant. “Release. The. Dogs.”
The assistant reached down with a trembling hand to touch the button on the console to allow the dogs to escape their compound. His fingers hovered over the button as he licked his lips and a drip of sweat formed at his hairline. As he started to withdraw his hand, Andre laid his gently on top then shoved it down on the button. The screen displaying the area where the dogs were kept brightened. They raced out into the woods.
“I need to step away for a minute, sir.”
Andre waved him off.
The assistant rushed to the restroom, barely reaching a trash can inside the door to empty his stomach. His hands were clammy and his head pounded. After washing his face and rinsing out his mouth, he squared his shoulders and returned to the corridor. Andre exited the computer room. In passing, he gave more instructions void of emotion.
“Get the handlers to call in their dogs. Have security retrieve the two guards. They’ve had a terrible accident.” He strode away and disappeared into another corridor.
Chapter 1
“Hey, buddy, you old dog, I heard you were getting hitched this morning. I hope it’s to my favorite little Grass Valley commando.” President Buck Austin gave one of his deep laughs.
“Yes, sir!” Captain Hunter said, proudly glancing at Tessa standing next to him in her pearl-pink dress. “And she is beautiful, Mr. President.”
Another big laugh came from the other end of the phone. “Well, all I can say is it’s about damn time.” There was a pause and a loud yelp. “Ouch. Careful with that. I’m not a pincushion,” the president growled.
“Mr. President, is something wrong?” asked Chase.
“Nah. Time to check me out head to toe to make sure I don’t put the country at risk with a weird kind of medical condition. Drawing enough blood to please a vampire. I hate needles.” He stopped to fume at a person in his presence. “Get away from me. Show him out, Agent Andrews,” the president instructed his Secret Service Agent. “I want this other guy to do it. Dr. Kelley trained him.” Chase could imagine him waving at people to take up new positions. “I’d better go, Captain. Congratulations, and tell Tess I want to give her a big ole kiss the next time I see her.”
“Yes, Mr. President, I certainly will. And thank you.”
~ ~ ~ ~
When Chase suggested a cabin to spend their first few nights together as husband and wife, Tessa anticipated rustic logs, antique furnishings, quaint knickknacks, and the smell of honeysuckle in the air. Maybe they would be miles from nowhere and would have to cook their own food. She didn’t really care what it turned out to be as long as she could spend the time with Captain Chase Hunter, the man she’d loved secretly for way too long. This would be a new beginning for both of them.
Their relationship over the last few years, actually since the day they’d met, had been akin to an 8.5 magnitude earthquake. Everything always seemed like it crashed and burned around them, setting up roadblocks to discover how they felt about one another or how to fight the attraction. As a result, both of them went in different directions or turned to others for love and comfort. For Chase, it was his job, the military, and Enigma. Tessa, on the other hand, turned to a notorious scoundrel named Roman Darya Petrov. Those days were behind her now. She hoped.
She and Chase had reconnected at a small airport in Montana. The world around them disappeared so suddenly, it resembled a dream, or maybe the nightmare had just ended. The battle-wearied captain was still recovering from injuries sustained in Syria, yet he scooped her up in his arms as if his life depended on it. Maybe both their lives depended on it at that point.
They hadn’t much more than returned to Sacramento when Director Benjamin Clark met them at a private airport with a physical therapist, both wearing expressions that could melt steel. He first addressed his comments to Tessa, knowing she’d make the right decision.
“The euphoric, kumbaya expressions on your faces are probably going to give me a cavity. It’s sickening,” he growled. “Captain Hunter needs to finish up his physical therapy and make sure none of those stitches have come unglued—if you know what I mean.” His damning glare caused Tessa to fidget with embarrassment. “Whatever you two are planning, it can wait.”
“No, it can’t.” The captain cocked his head as his jaw tighten and released.
Tessa placed her hand on Chase’s back and pressed lightly, drawing his attention to her. He grinned, making butterflies flutter in her stomach, when she thought of what might lie ahead for them. Even though he’d suffered horribly in Syria and sustained life-threatening injuries, he was still one hell of a man, both physically and mentally. The last few hours had gone a long way to reassure her of that as they flew home.
“Chase, what’s a few more days? I’m not going anywhere. I’d rather know you’re okay.”
“Excuse me, Ben,” he quipped then pulled Tessa off to the side. “Fine. Pack a few things, and I’ll make a reservation for us some place private. I’ll be back within the week. At some point, I still want a real wedding, with family and friends.”
Tessa took his hands in hers. There was a time the captain didn’t like being touched, especially by holding hands. Now he couldn’t resist. “We can wait until later if you still want it. I just want…” She felt her eyes flutter nervously and a heated blush creep up her neck into her cheeks.
Chase touched her face and smiled. “Me, too.”
The director stepped forward and cleared his throat. “You know I can hear you, right? I’ll perform the ceremony. Now, get in the damn car with the physical therapist. Tessa, Dr. Wu is waiting for you inside the terminal. He’ll be taking you home.”
“Great,” she moaned. “Guess I’m getting a therapy session of my own.”
Chase opened the car door and frowned. “Well, don’t let him talk you out of marrying me. You know we’ve never been on the best of terms. He might place a subliminal suggestion in your head to poison me.”
“I’ll be careful.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed his mouth quickly. “I love you,” she whispered.
Now, here she was, a newlywed as of three hours ago, staring at a beautiful lodge standing among the redwoods. Chase slipped inside to register while she strolled to the overlook, showcasing a lazy river so clear, she was sure she spotted trout. The gurgle of water tunneling between boulders and a distant roar of a waterfall raised goose bumps on her bare arms until she hugged them against the chill.
