The Portal (A Delphi Group Thriller Book 2) Read Online Free

have. And even if he’d been able to reach him in short order, he doubted the CIA officer would’ve had any idea who was encircling the lodge. If he’d had such information, he would’ve passed it along already.
    Another pothole helped refocus Zane on the situation at hand. The dirt road was rising now, with dense firs and birch trees closing in on both sides. The lodge sat on a plateau near the top of the mountain, which would only take another ten or fifteen minutes to reach in the ATV. But riding all the way up wasn’t an option. The engine was much too loud. He’d have to approach on foot.
    Who was waiting for him just up the mountain? Short of a sensor malfunction, the only logical explanation was a professional hit team. But if that was the case, then who were they after, Slater or himself? Zane knew that there were a number of people who’d love to have his scalp, but he doubted any of them knew where he was. If they did, then Delphi itself was in danger.
    A large boulder loomed just ahead on the left. It was the one Zane had been looking for. Just before reaching the rock, he turned the four-wheeler off the road and into a clearing. Once the vehicle was out of sight, he killed the engine.
    Wasting no time, Zane quickly hopped out and stepped to the back. He opened the tackle box and raised the lure trays, exposing several magazines underneath. He snapped one into his Glock, chambering the first round, then put the remaining three in his pocket.
    Looking into the box again, he pulled out a sheathed knife, a monocular, and a tactical flashlight. He needed to travel light, but he also needed to be prepared for a number of different eventualities.
    Zane stared at his phone. The bars still showed no signal, which meant he’d have no access to the device’s GPS software. He turned it off and stuffed it in his pocket. He wouldn’t need satellites anyway. He’d spent the first day of vacation walking the mountain, learning every nook and cranny of the area around the lodge. He’d have no trouble finding his way up.
    After making one last check of his gun, Zane began his ascent. Darkness had fallen, which prevented him from moving as fast as he’d like.
    Ten minutes later, the ground began to level off. He was nearing the plateau. Directly ahead was a line of large firs, which he knew were situated along the clearing on the south side of the lodge. He paused for a moment, listening for any sound. Hearing nothing, he sprinted to the trees, dropping down to his hands and knees when he arrived. He then lay flat and wiggled underneath the limbs until he got to the other side.
    He pushed aside a limb. The clearing opened up in front of him. To his left was the dark silhouette of the barn he’d driven the ATV out of earlier in the day. From there the clearing ran slightly uphill to the right, where the lodge was situated. The home was a massive three-story affair, rustic and yet modern. It was mostly dark now, save for two lights that Zane left on at all times.
    “Where are you?” Zane muttered to himself.
    He knew from the sensors that one or more attackers had approached from the other side of the lodge, along or next to the paved entrance road. He also knew that another group had approached from the direction of the barn to his left. And if his memory served him correctly, there would be a third group directly opposite his position, on the other side of the clearing.
    What concerned him most was the likelihood that the attackers were using night vision and thermal imaging equipment. That would give them a distinct tactical advantage. The key would be to position himself behind them, since they were likely focused on the lodge.
    Pulling out his monocular, Zane trained it on the barn. It was hard to make out any detail. All he could see was the outline of the structure and the surrounding trees. If someone were hidden there, it would be almost impossible to pick them out.
    He bit his lower lip. Since night had just