Jurassic Heart by Anna Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

“I’m Dr. Eisenberg.” And using my professional title wasn’t a mistake either. “How can I help?”
    “I’m here to find out what you’re doing,” he said simply.
    Joseph was the picture of casual outdoor elegance in tailored khakis and a navy-blue T-shirt. His long dark hair was pulled back from his face in a smooth ponytail, revealing a long line of muscled neck down to collarbones that peeked out from under the low dip of his shirt. Thick biceps caused the fabric to strain a little around the top of his arms.
    I hated that he was exactly the sort of guy I normally went for: gorgeous, interesting, slightly dangerous…. He was far, far away from the concept of a bad guy—he wasn’t leather and motorcycles—but the reaction caused by our proximity to each other was not good.
    I gave him a bland smile. “We’re digging up dinosaurs, Mr. Joseph. If you’re interested, I’m sure one of my grad students would be happy to tell you more.”
    He blinked at me: game on.
    “I’m a conservationist, Dr. Eisenberg,” he said slowly. “My mission in life, if you like, is to preserve areas of outstanding natural beauty from those who seek to destroy it.”
    “That sounds like a very noble cause,” I said. “I’m sure if you take a look around, you will see that we’re taking very good care of the area and working within provincial and federal regulations on where we can dig.”
    Joseph narrowed his eyes, telling me exactly what he thought of provincial and federal regulations. I didn’t blame him—they were sketchy at best. That worked in our favor, though, meaning the records we kept as part of our work already were more than sufficient if anyone wanted to find out more details of what we were doing.
    “There are some who believe those regulations are insufficient—” he started, but I interrupted him before he could get any further.
    “I know that to be true,” I said. “However, at present, it is within those laws that we are obliged to work, and we do. If you want to go about changing those laws, then you need to speak to people far more important than me. Unless I can help you with anything else…?”
    He looked at me and scowled. Oh, it was on.
    “Cut the crap, Eisenberg,” he said. “You know why I’m here.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “You systematically destroy the landscape when you dig and you make no effort to restore it when you’re done. You tear down trees and ruin habitats and landscapes.”
    “If you have a problem with the way we dig, Joseph, then you need to take that to the Environmental Protection Agency.”
    “I will,” he said.
    “But they’ll want evidence,” I said, taunting him now. “And you’re not going to find that here. I run a clean ship, everything is done by the book, and you’re wasting your time. Now, get off my fucking dig before I have you thrown off.”
    I started to walk away and managed a few steps before he called me back.
    “Eric White didn’t, though, did he?”
    I turned slowly to face him, noticing more than one of my undergrads was watching the exchange. Great.
    “Eric White didn’t do what?”
    “Didn’t run a clean ship.”
    The last piece fell into place. Hunter Joseph wasn’t here to close me down, he was here to close Eric down. That made a lot more sense.
    “Eric White is no longer in charge,” I said calmly. “I am.”
    He stared me down, clearly attempting to regain some control over the situation. I wasn’t going to give it to him
    “I’ve set up a petition,” he said.
    I got the impression he was trying to get a rise out of me. I couldn’t figure out why. I gave him a hard, level stare. “A petition for what?”
    “From local people, to apply pressure to those who destroy the landscape to adequately restore it before moving on.”
    “How dare you.”
    “How dare I what? Do my job?”
    “No, sabotage mine!”
    Joseph shook his head. “When you do your job properly, there won’t be any need for me to be here.