Chapter 1 - The Cold Rescue
The man in the black alpine gear secured a heavy canvas harness tightly around my chest.
I could barely feel my own fingers as the icy wind howled violently across the narrow cliff edge.
He signaled the hovering helicopter above us with a bright green flare.
We were suddenly jerked upward, lifted into the violent, swirling storm of the Colorado mountains.
I pressed both of my numb hands against my swollen belly, praying my unborn child was surviving the extreme altitude.
The rescuer pulled us into the metal cabin of the helicopter and slammed the heavy sliding door shut.
The sudden warmth of the cabin hit my freezing skin like a physical blow.
I collapsed onto the metal floor, gasping for air as the rescuer immediately wrapped me in thick thermal blankets.
He pulled off his tactical goggles, revealing sharp green eyes and a face that showed absolutely no panic.
He told me his name was Julian and that he was a private investigator for the insurance firm holding my life policy.
I tried to speak, to tell him that my husband had pushed me, but my voice was completely gone.
Julian placed a warm hand on my shoulder and told me I did not need to speak because he already knew everything.
He had been tracking Michael and Ashley for weeks after noticing massive financial irregularities in their corporate accounts.
A sudden, blinding pain ripped through my lower abdomen, forcing a loud scream from my frozen lips.
My water had just broken on the floor of a helicopter thousands of feet above the Rocky Mountains.
Julian shouted to the pilot to divert away from the nearest public hospital immediately.
I looked at him in sheer terror, wondering why we were avoiding the authorities.
May you like
He leaned in close and whispered that the local police chief was heavily indebted to Michael's shell company.
Julian revealed that if we went to a standard hospital, Michael's armed men would finish the job before I even reached the delivery room.
