The Prof Croft Series: Books 0-4 (Prof Croft Box Sets Book 1) by Brad Magnarella (best business books of all time txt) ๐
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- Author: Brad Magnarella
Read book online ยซThe Prof Croft Series: Books 0-4 (Prof Croft Box Sets Book 1) by Brad Magnarella (best business books of all time txt) ๐ยป. Author - Brad Magnarella
โWhich involved running here at full speed.โ
โWalk? Run? What does it matter how I arrived?โ he spat. โThough I am beginning to see my mistake.โ
I studied his black slicker and lined it up with the shadows Iโd glimpsed earlier, the snapping of branches, the feeling of being watched. โHow long have you been following us?โ
He blinked and straightened. โHow dare you suggestโโ
โOh, spare us the dramatics,โ I said. โThatโs why you set out early, isnโt it? Not to get a head start, but to hide until weโd passed and then tail us. You donโt know the precise location of the monastery. Your plan was to let us lead you there and then run ahead and claim the discovery and anything inside for yourself. It was all going along just hunky-dory until the wolves turned up. And then your little scheme didnโt seem so cunning, did it?โ
โYou have been watching too many stupid American movies,โ he muttered, even as he shot nervous glances into the forest.
โVery good,โ James said, stepping between us. โThe important thing is that weโre all safe. Now, how should we divide up the shifts?โ
โAfter all this excitement, you boys need your rest,โ Flor said. โI will take the first.โ
โAnd I the second,โ Bertrand announced. โWhich leaves you to take the third, and you the fourth.โ He pointed to me and James in turn, as though we were his teaching assistants.
โCan you believe this guy?โ I said, anger climbing my neck. โYouโre not even a profโโ
โThat will work just fine,โ James interrupted. After Bertrand had given a self-satisfied nod and begun unpacking his shelter, James guided me a few steps away. โBetter he doesnโt know weโre onto him, hmm?โ
I narrowed my eyes at Bertrand. I had never been able to stand officious jerks, especially lying ones.
โAnd whyโs that?โ I asked.
โWell, if he suspects we know his true story, heโs likely to behave more carefully, cover his tracks. Then we may never learn what heโs doing here. We keep a sly eye on him, and sooner or later heโll slip up.โ
I nodded reluctantly. โAnd Flor?โ
โOh, sheโs on board. We had the same chat earlier.โ
โNo, I mean, shouldnโt we be keeping an eye on her, as well?โ
โWhy, youโre quite right,โ James said.
I noticed that ever since weโd arrived at the campsite, her titanium case had never been more than an armโs length away from her. I nodded at it now. โIโll use my shift to see if I can get a peek at whateverโs sheโs carrying. Maybe itโll tip us off to what sheโs doing here.โ
โCareful, mate,โ he said. โMinefield, remember?โ
โYeah, Iโm used to those.โ
8
I was awakened by muttered curses and red light against my eyelids, growing brighter. I had fallen asleep to a modest campfire, an ample reserve of wood stacked beside it. Now I squinted my eyes open to a furious blaze. One onto which Bertrand was dumping the final thick branches.
โWhat in the hell are you doing?โ I hissed, kicking away my sleeping bag and unzipping my fly net. โYouโre using up all the fuel!โ
Bertrand acknowledged me with a tight glance before wiping off his hands and sweeping his gaze over the forest. When I focused past him, all the fight fell out of me. The wolves were back and crowding against the boundary between firelight and darkness, flashing eyes set in long, gray faces. There were more of them than earlier, and whether it was some trick of light, they looked like small bulls.
โThey were closer before I fed the blaze,โ Bertrand said.
โThatโs genius, professor, but weโre out of wood now.โ
I scanned our campsite, but we had cleared it of branches. The only fuel lay beyond the ring of predators, who watched silently. No more pack to call. They were all here.
I flinched when the fire snapped behind me and stove in slightly. As the orb of light shrank, the wolves inched nearer. The closest ones were only thirty feet away.
โEveryone up!โ I called, rustling Jamesโs tent and Florโs tarp. โWeโve got company.โ
James emerged first and looked around sleepily. โWell, Iโd say.โ
โGet your repellent,โ I told him.
โI do applaud your ingenuity,โ he said, arriving beside me. He peered from our bottles back to the wolves. โHowever, it looks as if the current advantage lies with our furry friends.โ
I shook my bottle to stir up the pepper dregs. โYou saw what this stuff did to the professor. It doesnโt take much. I say we release a few sprays into the wind, enough to warn them away.โ
โOr more likely provoke them into an attack,โ Bertrand said from behind us.
โFunny coming from a man who said they were harmless,โ I growled.
James turned to me. โBertrand does make a case.โ
I checked my watch and did the math. โThe sun doesnโt come up for another five hours. Our fire, whose exhaustion the brilliant professor here saw fit to hasten, isnโt going to last another two.โ
The fire stove in again, and the wolves inched forward a foot. Several snapped at one another for position, fangs bright and lethal in the firelight.
โHmm,โ James said. โI see your point.โ
We raised our spray bottles.
โDonโt,โ Bertrand warned, his voice as taut as a guy wire. โThey will attack.โ
โThree squirts,โ I said to James. โYou fan yours out a little that way. Iโll aim a little more this way.โ
โGot it.โ
โOn my countdown,โ I said, my hand trembling. โThreeโฆ twoโฆโ
โNo!โ Bertrand leapt between us and brought his fist down on my forearm. The bottle fell to the ground. Jamesโs grunt told me Bertrand had struck him as well. โI will not be a victim of your stupidity!โ
He kicked my bottle away and wrestled with James for his.
I turned to where the bottle rolled to a stop, on the verge of the firelight. One of the wolves leaned forward to sniff it. Was it a
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