Trouble and Treasure (#1, Trouble and Treasure Series) Read Online Free

sweaty my palms had become.
    I blinked my eyes once, then screwed them
shut against the outside world and all the apparent gun-toting
misery it had to offer this night.
    There was a single gunshot. Though I’d been
expecting it, my stomach gave such a jolt it felt as if it would
jump right out of my middle.
    As my skin flamed and prickled with the
expectation of a full-on gun fight, a massive beam of light cut
over the lawn.
    No, my first thought wasn't aliens (well,
maybe for a nanosecond).
    The sound of a chopper's rotors slicing
through the night's breeze sounded from above.
    “ We have you surrounded,” a determined,
guttural voice crackled over a loud speaker, “Stay in your vehicle.
Any attempt at violence will be met with swift
retaliation.”
    Over the ear splitting sound of the chopper,
I couldn't hear whether the van was doing what it was told. So,
with an almighty sniff, I raised myself up and took a peek.
    The chopper above was hovering low – so low
that the downward stream of the rotors not only flattened my hair
but threatened to flatten my body as well.
    The black van had indeed stopped. Despite
the phenomenal force of the downward draft, I stared up at the
chopper above. Not only was it large and sleek, but it had two
prominent gun turrets either side of its nose.
    Gun turrets.
    A helicopter with actual gun turrets.
    That point ricocheted around my head with
all the force and speed of a bullet. The mercenaries and burglars
had been one thing – but this was something else entirely. The
great hulk of metal that hovered above my turning circle was
something that belonged in a war – not on a country estate.
    Somehow this situation had taken a turn
towards even greater danger and peril; and yes, I was still in my
dressing gown.
    “ About bloody time,” Shaw managed to shout
over the roar of the helicopter.
    As the words left his mouth, several
black-clad figures leapt from the open doors of the chopper and
rappelled down, landing either side of the van.
    They had very large guns.
    With my hair still flattened against my face
and my eyes blinking hard to stay open, I watched, bottom lip
quivering.
    Then... then I pushed up, feet sinking into
the damp soft grass.
    The spotlight from the helicopter was
centered directly over the van.
    I stepped backwards, receding further into
the darkness beyond this fraught scene.
    The men from the helicopter shouted various
threatening orders at the occupants of the van. Though I couldn’t
make out the exact words over the sound of the rotors above, I
could bet they weren't asking for directions.
    I took several steps backwards, feet gently
pressing into the firm ground behind.
    I turned.
    I ran.
    I ran because there was a helicopter on my
lawn, there were mercenaries in my drawing room, and there was a
burglar in my hall.
    Keys jingling in my hand, gun immobile in
the other, I made it to the house before anyone knew I was
gone.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Two
    Sebastian Shaw
    I shouted over the sound of the rotors,
voice straining with the effort. Though the chopper had already
landed, it was taking too long for the damn thing to wind down, and
I needed to get their attention. So rather than shout till my lungs
were empty and my throat cracked and dry, I pulled open the pilot's
door.
    “ Hello to you too,” said Garry, a giant
with a baritone voice and a distinctive South African accent so
resonant it could have been heard over a jet engine.
    “ No time,” I shouted, “She's done a runner.
I've got a heavily armed team in the drawing room – left of the
front door when you come in.” I sliced a hand towards the large and
imposing front door to the manor ahead of us. The place was huge,
old, and judging by all the junk that had been in that drawing
room, a bloody death trap. But hey, it had treasure too, otherwise
I wouldn't damn well be here.
    Maratova, his M-15 slung over his
shoulder, jumped out of the back of the bird, scuffed army boots
landing roughly on the