Near Dark: A Thriller by Brad Thor Read Free Book Online

powers-that-be in Oslo to consider what was coming next.
    Stripped of its global superpower status, Russia was going to become even more dangerous. Its belligerence would increase and Norway,as a member of NATO, and as an immediate neighbor, would be a target.
    Everything Pedersen had predicted had come true. Cross-border incursions, increased espionage, political and cultural influence operations, interference with Norwegian military exercises, indiscriminate andnonattributable sabotage operations—all of it. His warning had been chillingly prophetic.
    But, where Norway hadn’t takenPedersen as seriously as it probably should have, Sølvi had. Having grown up in a military family, she had long been exposed to dinner table conversations about Norway not taking its freedom for granted. As a young girl, talk about Norwegians remaining “ever vigilant” was all around her. Nevertheless, the moment the chance to spread her wings and leave Norway had arrived, she had taken it.
    Whatstarted as a semester abroad in Paris, led to a summer job as an au pair, which led to being scouted by the owner of a modeling agency who lived in the building. She didn’t go back to school, or to Norway, for the next two years.
    The money had been fantastic. The travel and the places she saw were even better. But it was during this time that her penchant for choosing bad men and making other,even worse decisions began to show itself.
    At first, the attention was intoxicating. Handsome photographers, ad execs, and fellow models. She got invited to the hottest clubs and was introduced to even more men, as well as even more opportunities to get herself into trouble. Her mistake of choice—cocaine.
    All of the models were doing it. It gave you lots of energy, helped you stay super thin,and was always available. She was having too much fun to notice how tightly the addiction was taking hold.
    In the end, her father had flown to Paris and rescued her. Bringing her home, he had gotten her cleaned up and had given her an ultimatum—go back to school or join the military.
    School had seemed like the easiest choice, but she chose the military instead. No one could believe it. Sølvithe fashion model in the Norwegian Army? It had shocked everyone—especially the friends who had jokingly egged her on in that direction.
    She had felt guilty about how she had let her family down and, most importantly, her father. She had been embarrassed that he had to come and bring her back home. He had been disappointed in her. She had seen it every time he had looked at her. The shame hadbeen impossible to bear. She wanted him to be proud of her. She still did. The militarywould make him proud. It would also provide her a means to be proud of herself.
    In all honesty, it had been one of the best things to ever happen to her. She had needed the military’s structure and its discipline. Had she returned to university in Oslo, she was convinced that she would have only been draggedback into the suffocating world of drugs.
    Instead, she had gone through basic training and then set her sights on a new unit she had heard the army was toying with codenamed Tundra . It was rumored to be an all-female Special Forces pilot program. Very little was known about it and because it was so highly classified, very little was being said.
    She had applied and had been rejected three times.Each time they had given her a different excuse. Too tall Too skinny Too weak .
    While there was nothing she could do about her height, she could improve her body and overall physical fitness, which was exactly what she did.
    She lengthened her runs, added in sprints and cross-training, began lifting heavier weights, and completely changed her diet.
    When she applied a fourth time and they triedto reject her, she was pissed. And she gave it to the panel with both barrels—telling them to start thinking up new excuses now because she was going to apply again and again. She wasn’t a quitter. It was