Second Chances (Athena Group Novel Book 1) Read Online Free

shirt to shaking some of the sand off. “I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing.”
    Amanda laughed, “I’m so glad you decided to come on this trip.”
    She wrapped her arms around Amanda, making sure she got her nice clean shirt just as dirty planted a kiss on her forehead. “Me too, Manda, me too. Are you ready to go exploring?” She looked one last time in the direction Max had run and her ear still tingled from the lick of his tongue.
    “You bet!” She exclaimed.
    Shelby couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter when she was like this.  She was so enthusiastic and clearly having a wonderful time.
    “What time is Pedro coming to pick us up?” she asked.
    Pedro was local to Progresso and worked part time as a tour guide for passengers of the cruise ships that would come into the port for the day. He had offered to take everyone out exploring to show them some of the local Mayan ruins and other Mayan secrets. Pedro and his wife Anita were the caretakers for the house. They didn’t live in the house, but would stop by the house daily to make sure that everything was secure when the house wasn't occupied. Liz had bought the house several years ago as a place to escape to when anyone wanted to get away.  Liz was generous with the members of her group.  She made sure that they as well as their families were taken care of.  She was a proponent of family first with all members.
    “He should be here anytime.” Amanda said as they walked into the house.
     
    ###
     
    Max walked in, picking up a towel to wipe the sweat off of his brow, he picked up the phone. John picked up on the third ring.
    “Hey Max, I was beginning to wonder about you.”
    “Hey John, how are things going?”
    “How are they going? You tell me?”
    “I’m dealing with it” What was he supposed to say? “It’s interesting to say the least. I met the neighbors next door. The other night I saw one of them out on the beach and went out to talk to her, she took me down right there on the beach in one swift motion. She caught me totally unaware and had me flat on my back. I haven’t seen a maneuver like that since military training.”
    “What’s her name?”
    “Shelby Matthews, she’s here with her daughter.”
    “What does she look like?”
    What does she look like? Was he kidding? She looked like the dream that had haunted him for seventeen years. “Why?”
    “You remember when I told you we were going to ask for TAG’s help and they put a roadblock in the way by letting one of their members leave the country?”
    “Yeah, you mentioned it last week.”
    “Shelby Matthews is that member. Liz told me she had gone on vacation, but didn’t tell me where. She is a stubborn and hard woman. She was going to make me wait until Shelby came back before they would give me an answer on helping.” John told him.
    “Do you have any idea how long she will be there?”
    “She hasn’t said. John I know where this is going!”
    “We need her back in the US now. TAG has been putting us off until she is back to decide whether or not they are going to help the bureau.”
    “Look I understand the predicament that the bureau is in, but you know why I left.” He certainly couldn’t tell John about his past with Shelby either.
    “I do know why you left, but I also know that you are the best at what you do. You are the best handler the bureau has, and this is a situation that I would sign to you as a top priority. Max you need to talk to her and persuade her to help. TAG will go along if she is on board.”
    “John, I don’t know about this.” He was in serious trouble if he had to actively pursue her and working with her was going to be pushing the limits of his control.
    “Max, their biggest client, Roger Hawk, is whom we believe is responsible for Kim Le’s death.” He couldn’t control the intake of breath at the mention of Le’s name.
    “You aren’t serious?” He hesitated. “Let me call you back.” Not waiting for John