FIRE AND ICE by Julie Garwood Read Free Book Online Page B

anyway.”
    “Then I already love him,” Cordie said.
    “How was he responsible?”
    “When you get home, get on the Internet and go to YouTube. Type in Jack MacAlister’s name. You’ll see.”
    “Just tell us,” Sophie said.
    “Oh, no. You have to see it.”
    “It?” Cordie repeated.
    “A video. That’s all I’m going to tell you, and since you just said you already love his partner, I think you should go out with him.”
    “Oh, no you don’t,” Sophie said. “You’re not taking Cordie to the dark side. One FBI agent in this family is enough.”
    Regan beamed. “So you’ve accepted Alec into our family?”
    “I guess I have.”
    Regan held up her glass. “Time for a toast. To family.”

JOURNAL ENTRY 28
ARCTIC camp
    Kirk named the alpha male Ricky. The alpha female that Ricky has selected as his mate we call Lucy. Ricky is very partial to her. Lucy appears to be mischievous and playful, while Ricky seems a bit put out by her antics.
    The adults head out in the morning and bring their prey back to Lucy and her pups.
    This morning we waited until they were far enough away, then Brandon and I used dart guns to sedate the adults. We had to work quickly to attach the tracking monitors. I wanted to take blood samples, but he convinced me there wasn’t enough time.
    We hunkered down a far distance away and used our binoculars to observe. We were too far away for any of them to see us, though we know they had our scent. Ricky was the first to wake. When he finally was able to stand, he appeared to look directly at us. Did he know what we had done? His unwavering stare made me think he did.
    He bared his teeth at us, and the wind carried his growl.
    I got a cold feeling inside.

W HILE SOPHIE AND HER FRIENDS WERE CHATTING IN the dining room, another gathering was taking place on the other side of the hotel lobby. Once a month Alec’s poker club met at the Hamilton. There were a dozen players in the club, and most of them were in law enforcement, but because of their complicated work schedules, never more than half that number could make it each month. During the summer when the weather cooperated, they met on the rooftop garden, and when it didn’t, they met in a private room connected to the bar on the first floor of the hotel.
    John Wincott, a sleep-deprived detective with the Chicago Police Department, was a regular, and so was Gil Hutton, a retired policeman who always seemed to know the latest news before anyone else did. Gil didn’t like to drink alcohol these days, and so he was always John’s designated driver because, after one and a half beers, John was usually half asleep.
    Since it was unseasonably hot and humid that night, they met in the room off the bar. Gil and John were already at the table when Jack walked in.
    “I hate this frickin’ heat,” Gil remarked. “I hate the rain, too.”
    “I’ll take hot over cold anytime,” Jack said. His shirt was covered with wet spots, and his dark hair was damp.
    There was a small bar in the corner, and it was always fully stocked. Jack grabbed a Diet Pepsi and was opening it when John called out, “Get me a beer, will you?”
    “I barely recognized you, Jack,” Gil said. “Without the matted, snarly, long hair and the beard, you look kind of human.”
    “Kind of human?” John repeated. “I think he looks like a movie star. Wait, did I say movie star? I meant Internet star.”
    The two men shared a good laugh. Jack handed John his beer, took a sip of his Pepsi, then dropped into a chair across from the two men. “I take it you’ve seen the video on YouTube.”
    “About ten times now,” John said, grinning. “I don’t think it’s ever going to get old.”
    “I found the cinematography visually stunning as well as sus-penseful,” Gil said with a straight face. “The way you held the perp down while you discussed the menu with Alec. Priceless.”
    John nodded. “I hear they’re going to show it at the IMAX.”
    Alec, carrying a