Thin Blood Thick Water (Clueless Resolutions Book 2) by W B Garalt Read Free Book Online Page B

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    Max thanked the gentleman for his hospitality and then indicated that he would make a brief, after-hours stop for a quick scan of the operation this afternoon, and planned to do a full inspection Saturday, and possibly Sunday during non-business hours.
    As he replaced the phone receiver, Max felt the sudden pressure of a hard object against the back of his neck! In a flash, he instinctively tensed and started a self-defense evasive/disabling maneuver. As he crouched and began to spin with his elbow aimed at the assailant behind him, he heard a loud shriek.
    “Eeeeek! Max!..Easy, it’s me!” Maggie shouted, nervously.
    “Mag.., whoa!” he said loudly with a blank stare. “You caught me by surprise. I…ah, are you ok?
    “Shhh, calm down. I’m sorry, but you are wound up tighter than a drum,” Maggie said soothingly. “I was thinking that we could use a laugh,” she continued softly.
    “I know,” Max said solemnly. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right about that.”
    “But I should have come up with something less threatening than a possible gun to your head, I guess,” Maggie said with genuine regret, while waving her cell phone to show what the ‘gun’ was.
    Practical jokes and gags between the couple had become routine since their close relationship began. Each of them recognized this good-natured, private type of ‘teasing’ between themselves as an intimate sign of the mutual strong feelings they had for each other. Although a discussion about the subject had never occurred, both Max and Maggie felt that the word ‘love’, when used often and spoken automatically, showed a callousness that demeaned the true meaning of the term, and classed it in the same category of sincerity as ‘Good morning’, ‘Excuse me’, ‘Sorry’, ‘Pardon me’, and ‘Thank you so much’.
    Maggie’s kidding around had jolted Max back into his more typical relaxed demeanor.
    “I have been a little stressed,” Max said. “With the flight, being followed along the way, and dealing with this rather spooky hideaway...” he trailed off, letting out a sigh of relief.  He gestured around the surroundings and added, “The Laboratory owns it, and Chip set it up for our stay for a couple of days. It beats a hotel, don’t you think?” Maggie nodded her approval.
    “Since we’re on the subject”, Max continued, “I want to check something else Chip has set up. Follow me,” he said beckoning her with his finger. He went into a bathroom off of a hallway to the rear bedroom. He began to feel around under the sink cabinet and, silently, a portion of the three-section wall mirror slid open to expose a wall safe with a digital number pad on the door. Looking at his cell phone keys he entered on the pad the numbers 88 7777 2 7. With a soft click, the door opened a crack. He pulled it open and inside was a bound stack of fifty dollar bills, the emergency phone number of USAP headquarters, two black automatic pistols and two boxes of 9 millimeter ammunition. Maggie was astonished and a slight gasp escaped her lips.
    “Are those here for us?” she asked wide-eyed. Max explained that they were here for anyone connected with USAP for emergency purposes. He was aware that she didn’t know the opening code and told her it was the letters used for a cell phone texting message, U, S, A, and P.
    “We shouldn’t need them on this trip but it’s good to know about for an emergency, don’t you think?” Max asked, referencing the guns. Maggie thought about it for a moment and hesitatingly agreed.
    “I dated a guy in college who was in the military ROTC,” she said solemnly. “He was a gun nut and insisted I learn how to handle a pistol. We went to a shooting range and practiced a couple of times.” Max gave her a one eyebrow glance, faking jealousy. Maggie started to explain the past romantic involvement and stopped when she realized that Max was mocking her seriousness. She lightened up a little. College