Evolved Ones - SACRIFICE-Book 2

Natasha Oliver

Description

Home. In tropical Southeast Asia, Rox has finally reunited with her family. No more dumpster diving, shelter hand-me-downs, and rules about living on the run. This is her chance to start over and to finally figure out who she's meant to be. But even the orderly streets of Singapore can't keep Rox safe. The scientist who experimented on her ten months ago discovers her new location and threatens to tear apart all she has fought and died for. With her loved ones under attack, the fragile relationships she has worked so hard on repairing fracture. She's tempted to disappear, but she's tired of running. Rox is finally ready to fight back, and she is willing to sacrifice everything to do so. Here's what readers are saying about the series so far ... a-Awakening is a wonderfully wild, action-packed story for those who like X-Men and/or military-type thrillers. a- I find it has a great storyline and the EO's abilities are fascinating and complex that kept me interested. Engaging with actions from one event to the next. The ending left you wanting to follow Rox to the next book. a-This exciting thrill ride of a novel kept me riveted to the end. The lead character is a charismatic and strong female character who defends herself in the beautifully and detailed world created by the author. a-This book is a must read! A true page tuner! The author left nothing on the table! I'd rate 5 star for sure!!

Sujets

• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Marshall Cavendish International
• Date de parution: 14 octobre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789814893800
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 14 Mo

Extrait

With the support of

2021 Natasha Oliver
Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International

All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196. Tel: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail] Website: www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
The publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the contents of this book, and specifically disclaims any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose, and shall in no event be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Marshall Cavendish is a registered trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing in Publication Data
Name(s): Oliver, Natasha, 1974-.
Title: The evolved ones. Book two : sacrifice / Natasha Oliver.
Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions, [2020] | With the support of National Arts Council Singapore. --Title page verso.
Identifier(s): OCN 1155613611 | eISBN: 978 981 4893 80 0
Subject(s): LCSH: Fantasy fiction.
Classification: DDC S823--dc23
Printed in Singapore
Cover design by Kelley Lim
To Mom and Dad .
Thank you for your unwavering love and support as I hopped from here to there and everywhere .
Oh, and Mom, I spilled nail polish remover on your brand new Queen Anne coffee table when we were living in the apartments in Maplewood. I used all of my pocket money to pay a furniture repairman to fix it before you came home from work .
And Dad, you should know that was the only mistake I ever made and I still remain your perfect little angel .
I love you both, more .
CHAPTER ONE

Distracted
August 1st, 3:30pm
Washington State, USA
Well, I have to admit I wasn t expecting this, Josh said.
Neither was Sam. Shards of broken glass were scattered across the floor like caltrops. A painting that could only be described as a novice s failed attempt of a forest at dusk was lying on its side, its frame cracked. The sofa was on its back with a leg broken off, and two very nice end tables were turned upside down in the middle of the entranceway.
Notify Meita, Sam said.
Josh s boots crunched on the shattered remains of a lamp lying at the base of the stairs, its shade wedged in the corner behind the front door. Your phone works too.
Tyson Li owned one of the more modest homes in the popular Queen Anne area of Seattle, and from the looks of things, it had seen better days. The living room appeared as if a small demolition crew had swept through it.
The kitchen and dining room had fared better: the refrigerator remained upright and the table still had all four of its legs. Three chairs had been pulled out and were turned to face a single one that had its back pushed up against the wall. A tangled rope hung around both its armrests as well as the chair s two front legs.
This did not bode well for Tyson, and even less so for Miles, Tyson s younger brother.
This place was only hours away from turning into an active crime scene.
Don t touch anything, Sam shouted.
What?
Sam stepped over a bookcase and its contents as he made his way to the bottom of the stairs. Gloves. Wear them.
Josh wrapped his fingers around the banister and leaned over the railing. They re in the glove compartment.
Sam pinched the space between his eyes. Wipe down anything you touch.
He had hoped locating Miles would have been a lot easier than this. The teenager had been missing for twenty-four hours before anyone at Halo noticed. But in everyone s defense, the boy was a recluse. He hadn t wanted to socialize with any of them, but neither had he wanted to return home to his parents after he and Rox escaped from Wonderland. In fact, in the last ten months, Miles had only participated in half a dozen of their training sessions. He managed to skip almost all of his psychological assessments with Bethany, their in-house doctor, and now he was missing. His disappearance kickstarted a wild goose chase that led across the country to his older brother s house where, if the state of the living room was anything to go by, his brother had one hell of a fight with someone probably someone s .
Sam would have preferred to spend his time helping evolved ones who actually wanted help, but Walter refused to turn the boy away.
His father was right, of course. New abilities, raging hormones, and let s not forget post-traumatic stress from being held and experimented on, meant it was also possible that Miles could be the someone that Tyson had that hell of a fight with.
If Sam was right in his latter assumption, Miles needed the kind of help Halo wasn t equipped to provide. Halo created new identities, relocated families, helped individuals start over with just enough funds to make a go at a second life without the threat of being discovered. Miles needed help not from a relocation provider, but from a psychiatrist, someone dedicated to him and his recovery.
Sam used the toe of his boot to spread out some papers that had been thrown on the floor, but all of it was useless. A few bills and some kind of homeowner insurance letter. Nothing that could help him locate Miles or Tyson for that matter. Whoever turned this place over had a good head start on them.
Why did Miles run? He was clearly safer with them than off on his own. Could his disappearance and the current state of his brother s house be nothing more than a coincidence?
Yo, Josh yelled from over the banister. You got the gloves?
Sam stood up and kicked at the papers. He stepped over the foam from the inside of a cushion and struggled to open the front door because of the lampshade. He shoved his boot into its largest opening and slowly pivoted on one foot so he could swing it into the living room with the rest of the overturned furniture.
The air was surprisingly humid for Seattle. He hadn t spent much time in the Pacific Northwest, but he didn t think it ever got this hot in this part of the country. The front garden was lush with greenery and colorful plants. Wherever Tyson had gone - more than likely carted off - he hadn t been missing for long. The plants looked well-watered, but then again, it could have rained recently.
Sam made a mental note to check the weather reports.
A crow almost the size of a raven announced its presence as it flew across the yard, drawing Sam s attention from the yellow and purple flowers lining the narrow path. Nothing about the man standing just outside of Tyson s front gate was out of place. His clothes said he was someone out for a run, but it was the way he stilled when their eyes met that alerted Sam something was off. The runner held his hand steady over the latch, like he was frozen in indecision, and then he turned and took off at a full sprint.
Josh! Sam shouted as he gave chase.
It was late afternoon and the roads were about an hour from getting busy. The sidewalks were somewhat slippery, which told Sam it had rained recently, which meant they were no closer to knowing when Tyson s place had been ransacked.
The runner was about a good hundred yards ahead of him, but Sam wasn t worried. Very few people ran as long and as often as he did. The key was not to do a full-out sprint, but to keep pace, because eventually, everyone tired.
The runner turned left up a side street, disappearing around the corner for a few brief seconds until Sam rounded after him.
Where are you?
Regardless of how much they had trained together in the past ten months, Sam still struggled with Josh s presence inside his head.
Why are you running? Ohhh stay connected and I ll bring the car .
As if Sam had a choice. Rox was the only one who could stop Josh from invading their thoughts, and no one had spoken to her since she reconnected with her family.
Perhaps it was a good thing Miles disappeared. Sam hadn t realized just how much pent-up energy he had until his gait widened and the distance between him and his prey lessened.
In training, Sam was always aware of the differences between him and Josh. While Josh had natural talent, plus years of ad hoc training, he lacked formal experience. Meita was the closest to giving Sam a real fight, but it was simply a matter of physics with her; he had more mass to throw around. But where he had strength, she had precision. She hadn t survived as long as she had without knowing when to strike, and when to evade.
Meita bint Tariq al-Shaikh was the best information specialist he had ever met - and that was saying something because Sam knew his way around a firewall. In fact, Meita was the reason they all still lived. Her and Josh s timely appearance at Watership Down had saved all of them. Then she saved them again by getting them the backup they needed to get Rox out of Wonderland. However, it was that second dose of help that had changed everything because she didn t offer it without conditions. One of them was that Sam, Josh, and Rox work for the Global Frontiers Organization (GFO), a non-profit that aided in the advancement of evolved ones. Technically, GFO didn t exist. They were just an invisible line item on a black-ops budget sp