Cold Sanctuary (John Decker Series Book 2) Read Online Free

felt a wash of relief. This was no animal, but was, instead, a human. Was it one of the residents of the town that had somehow wandered down here and gotten lost? How they had slipped past the construction crew, waiting further up the tunnel, was a mystery, but right now he was just glad to receive some help. He was fairly sure he’d injured his back when he came off the ATV, and even though he could not feel them, his legs must surely be broken. “Help me,” he groaned, his voice rasping.
    The face drew closer, and Sam caught a whiff of something putrid, like rotting flesh, and saw, for the first time, the countenance that looked back at him, the milky white eyes set into a face that looked like it was once human, but was now something else, something much worse.
    He let out a small whimper of fear.
    The creature looked down upon him. It lowered its head and sniffed, a soft rattling sound escaping from between its parted lips, and Sam saw the teeth for the first time, rows and rows of needle sharp daggers. And then, before Sam could even fully comprehend what he was seeing, it pulled him backward with surprising strength. As his crushed, useless legs were ripped from under the ATV, and he was dragged away into the darkness, Sam finally found the will to scream…

 
     
    2
     
     
     
     
    The Arctic Maiden lurched like a drunken sailor as it rode the large swells of Baldwin Bay, Alaska, the freezing waters rushing up the sides of the boat with each tilt, threatening to swamp the deck.
    John Decker sheltered within the cramped vessel’s three-walled cabin, watching the coast grow steadily larger through the spray streaked front window as they inched forward. He took a deep breath to hold back the nausea that threatened to empty his stomach of the breakfast he ate in Anchorage before boarding the boat. The eggs and bacon had seemed like a good idea at the time, but he soon come to regret them. His travel companion in the small vessel, a thin, rakish man who wore spectacles and a dark green parka, huddled on the opposite side of the cabin, as silent now as he had been at the dock when the two boarded the boat. If the lurching ocean was affecting him, he didn’t show it, except to keep his lips pursed tight and stare off into the distance. That was fine with Decker. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk anyway.
    “If the weather gets much worse we’ll have to turn back,” said the burly skipper, who had identified himself only as Seth, without looking around. He fought to keep the boat on course. His large, calloused hands gripped the wheel with such force that Decker wondered if he would snap it in two.
    “I thought you said this was a routine trip,” Decker replied.
    “It is,” Seth said. “Most of the time. Damn squall came in fast. Weather service said it wouldn’t arrive for another six hours.”
    “Great.” Decker grimaced. It was bad enough he had just endured a sixteen-hour journey, first traveling from New Orleans to Los Angeles, then on to Seattle, and then finally a three hour flight to Anchorage. After that he’d checked into a hotel for what remained of the night and slept until a few hours before his noon appointment at the docks with Seth. He felt irritable and exhausted, and there was a nagging pain at the base of his spine from too many hours sitting in the same position. “I really don’t want to turn back. I’ve come so far already.”
    “I’ll do my best,” Seth mumbled in a gruff Pacific Northwestern accent. “But if the waves are too high when we reach the dock, that’s it. I’m not having my boat reduced to matchwood on your account.”
    “Thanks.” Decker wasn’t sure if the skipper was being helpful or obtuse.
    “Don’t mention it.” Seth shot him a glance, then returned his gaze frontward. “What are you doing all the way up here anyway? That’s a Southern accent you’re sporting there if I’m not mistaken. Georgia? Alabama?”
    “Louisiana. I grew up outside New