06 Uncovering Hidden Treasure Read online

  Uncovering

  Hidden Treasure

  KAREN WARD

  Smashwords Edition

  Copyright © 2011 Glenda Hays

  Writing as Karen Ward

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be used, transmitted, or reproduced in any manner, electronic or otherwise without prior written permission from the copyright holder except in cases where permitted by law.

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual places, events, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover images from COVERS BY RAMONA

  Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  CHAPTER 1

  Samantha Wells is so excited she has butterflies flitting around in her stomach and her heart is pounding with anticipation. Today is the first day of her new assignment as a park ranger at Yellowstone National Park. She just received her transfer papers from her old assignment at the Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee and she has finally been released by her doctor to return to work after her accident.

  Samantha has been on medical leave for the last eight months but finally, she is ready to return to work. The last eight months have been extremely trying for Samantha but very interesting, to say the least. In fact, they probably have changed her life forever. It all started when a six year old boy, Timmy Thompson, was reported missing in the Smoky Mountain National Park. She was following him through the woods, trying to get him to stop running from her so she could help him when he, and then she, both fell off of a cliff that was hidden by the dense foliage. Amazingly, they both survived the fall with relatively minor injuries. Samantha broke an arm and a leg and Timmy lost his spleen and suffered a severe concussion leaving him unconscious for weeks.

  They were rescued by the former Marines that make up Drake Security. Pinky, one of the team members repelled down the cliff and placed both of them into a basket that was raised into a helicopter and they were flown to safety. She will be eternally grateful to Pinky and the other guys that make up the Drake Security team that assisted in their rescue and for their help in the ensuing months. The team is composed of Scoot, Dylan Drake, the leader, Pinky, Keith Williams, the sniper, Goose, Reginald Willingham, the medic, Stump, Clarence Kincaid, Jr., the muscle, and Bear, Clarence Kincaid Sr., Stump's father and hero to all of the others.

  Then, while the boy was recuperating in the hospital in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, he told Samantha that he was running from the couple that was claiming to be his parents because he was afraid. The child told Sam that he witnessed the couple killing his real parents and then kidnapping him. So, Samantha took him and left the hospital hiding in a small cabin on top of a mountain in the park. She called Pinky and asked him to help her by finding the boy's dead parents' bodies. The boy told her the couple sunk his parent's bodies in their car in Norris Lake.

  After the bodies were found in a car at the bottom of Norris Lake, Pinky and two of the other Drake Security team members again used the helicopter to rescue Samantha and Timmy from on top of the mountain because an ice storm the previous night made descending the mountain treacherous. After the FBI interviewed the boy, the charges against Samantha for kidnapping were dropped. In the meantime, Pinky and his fiancé, Jasmine, were awarded temporary custody of Timmy because he was alone in the world. They soon found out that Timmy was the sole heir to a huge fortune and that was the reason he was kidnapped.

  A short time later Samantha was kidnapped by the same couple who kidnapped Timmy and was trying to locate the boy. They were out of jail on bail and were determined to find the boy and disappear. Once again the Drake Security team came to the rescue and then offered to let Sam live with them on the Rock Springs Ranch under their protection until after the trial. The FBI was concerned others were involved in the attempted kidnapping and eventually four others tried to kidnap Timmy from his school. The Drake Security team quickly found them and rescued the boy and the four men were arrested and tried as well.

  The Drake Security team has their headquarters and makes their home on the Rock Springs Ranch near Cody Wyoming. The ranch is owned by Academy Award winning movie star, Barry Farrady. Barry is a close friend of the group. He served with them in the Marine Corp and once was a valued member of their team. His worldwide fame prevents him from openly working with them now.

  Then while at the ranch, Samantha was grazed by a bullet fired by one of the FBI's ten most wanted men causing her to fall off a horse and break the same leg again. Now, she is finally completely healed and is no longer in need of protection since the people trying to kidnap the boy were tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison.

  Samantha loves Wyoming and adores all of the members of the Drake Security team. Well, all of them except for one ... Stump. She thinks he is an opinionated, bull headed, male chauvinist pig and they literally hate each other. They can't be in the same room together for over two minutes without arguing. She will never forget the time he picked her up out of a chair in the kitchen, threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, then dumped her on a couch in the great room where he yelled at her all because she had been trying to tell Pinky's wife, Jasmine, she was sorry about a tragedy in her life. In hindsight, Samantha admits that her well-intentioned comments to Pinky's wife were very inappropriate and inconsiderate at the time and she later apologized profusely to Jasmine.

  Anyway, in spite of Stump, during her time at the Rock Springs Ranch, Samantha decided to transfer to Wyoming to Yellowstone National Park so she can be near her new friends as well as study the fascinating history of the area in and around the park.

  Sam carefully checks her appearance in the mirror and a broad smile curves her lips. She is proud to be a park ranger and wearing her ranger uniform always makes her smile. She has her long blonde hair in its usual neat bun atop her head so her ranger hat fits properly. She dons her black framed glasses and heads out the door for her meeting with the head park ranger, Jeffrey Whitmore. She doesn't really need the glasses anymore but she feels naked and vulnerable without them because she has worn them her whole life.

  Her heart is pounding with excitement when she walks into the ranger station to report for duty. While in the outer office waiting until time for her appointment, Sam studies the map of the park. Yellowstone has so much history, so much for her to learn about, she can't wait.

  She hears her name, "Samantha?"

  Turning toward the voice, she has to look way, way up to see the dark brown eyes and a toothy smile set in a friendly, chocolate brown face. She says, "Yes, I'm Samantha." Samantha has never thought of herself as short, but this man is very tall.

  "Come in Samantha, I'm Jeffrey Whitmore, head ranger and your new boss. Welcome to Y
ellowstone." He looks her over from head to toe, nods his head, smiles the toothy smile, and says, "All right, have a seat. I have a very special assignment for you, young lady. In fact, the timing of your arrival is perfect!"

  Curious now, Sam asks, "Really? What kind of assignment?" Her excitement bubbles to the surface and she can barely sit still in the chair.

  Still looking at her in an appraising manner he says, "Hmmmm, you'll have to wear your hair down, and lose the glasses. Can you see without them?"

  Shocked by his comments and very curious now, Samantha says, "Yes, as a matter of fact I can. What kind of assignment?"

  "Undercover. You're going to be a cocktail waitress at a local bar." At her distressed look he says, "Oh don't worry. You'll be attending classes to learn about the park in the mornings. Then at night you are going to work at Mel's Bar and Grill on Main Street. It's right across from the apartment complex where we have secured your accommodations. You see, we are having some construction done in the park and an excessive amount of construction materials are turning up missing. That wouldn't be such an unusual thing except that we believe someone is using those materials to build a mine in one of the off limit areas of the park. We haven't been able to locate the mine yet, it is very well hidden. We want you to try to pick up any type of information you can from the patrons of the bar as to the location of this mine. Of course, you'll need to look as different as you can while at the bar from your normal everyday look so if someone sees you during your off hours from the bar they won't recognize you. Do you think you can handle this without a problem?"

  Stunned by what she's hearing, Samantha says, "Well, yes, of course I can handle it. It sounds like quite an opportunity!"

  "Well, yes, it is quite an opportunity. I should tell you too that we are also hiring an undercover construction worker. He is from the area and has extensive experience doing undercover work. His name is Rance Kincaid. He'll be here in a few days and will be staying in the same apartment complex. Now, here is your schedule. It shows you where you will need to be and at what time. I want you to go home now and change into jeans and go meet with Jim Bradley at Mel's. He's expecting you and will be your contact for any information you might pick up. Good luck Samantha and don't hesitate to call me if you need me. Here is my card with all of my contact information."

  Samantha walks out of Jeffrey Whitmore's office in a daze. She is going to work undercover. Wow! How exciting is that! She drives to the apartment complex, changes into jeans and a low cut t-shirt that she bought off a sale rack just for fun. She'll definitely have to do some shopping if she's going to be successful at this assignment. Samantha usually dresses quite conservatively and is quite nervous about exposing so much of her skin. She looks at her clothes in the mirror, takes a deep breath, and says to herself, Samantha, suck it up. If you are going to be successful at this assignment, you have to wear these clothes!

  She takes the pins out of her pale blonde hair and brushes the long tresses till they shine and fall in curls around her shoulders. She applies a thin layer of makeup paying particular attention to her eyes just the way Skye taught her.

  Skye Drake is married to Dylan Drake, Scoot, as the guys call him, the head of Drake Security. Skye's father was a movie director and she grew up around movie stars. As a result she is a genius with makeup and showed Samantha how to make the most of her looks during the time she spent at the Rock Springs Ranch. Because she was embarrassed at the time, Samantha has never worn the makeup in front of others. It has never been necessary until now. Now it is the perfect disguise! She looks at herself in the mirror. She is shocked at the difference. With the revealing clothes and the makeup, her own Grandpa wouldn't even recognize her!

  Then discarding her glasses she heads across the street to Mel's Bar and Grill to meet her contact, Jim Bradley. She is very excited and her heart is pounding with anticipation.

  When she walks into the dimly lit bar just before noon she is surprised to see a number of people already there, enjoying their favorite libation and one of the many grill items offered on the menu. This is Samantha's first time in a real bar and she is very curious about the patrons who would drink alcohol so early in the day. She nervously walks up to the bar and is approached by a nice looking, tall, older man with broad shoulders, friendly brown eyes and tattoos on both muscular arms. He smiles and asks, "What's your pleasure ma'am?"

  Smiling back, Sam says in her almost forgotten southern drawl, "I'm looking for Jim Bradley. I understand he is the proprietor of this establishment. Jeffrey sent me." Samantha grew up in southern Alabama and has spent years trying to overcome her southern drawl. It's one of the many things the girls teased her about in college. Now, considering this undercover assignment, it seems appropriate.

  Smiling the man says, "I'm Jim Bradley. And you are?"

  Smiling again, her heart pounding with apprehension, Sam winks and says, "Why, you can call me Susie. Everybody does." This is so exciting. Sam can't believe she is actually working undercover!

  Samantha is usually very shy and reserved because her grandparents raised her that way. She has decided to pattern her pseudo self after one of the girls that was really popular in college.

  Grinning now Jim Bradley says, "Perfect. Come with me Susie and I'll get you set up." They walk through a swinging door to the back room and Jim says, "Samantha Wells I presume."

  Nodding Sam says, "I hope you're not disappointed, Mr. Bradley." She is very nervous because she has never acted so brash.

  Shaking his head Jim says, "Not at all. You'll be perfect. Please, call me Jim. Have you ever been a cocktail waitress before Susie?" He hands her an apron with the bar's logo and an order pad and pen.

  Sam replies nervously, "Not exactly. I worked my way through college waiting tables at a chain restaurant in Mobile, Alabama. They did serve alcohol so I am familiar with the names of most beers and mixed drinks. Other than that is there anything in particular I need to know to work here?"

  Jim says, "Well, I'll give you the menu to study. There's really not that much to it so it shouldn't be a problem. You might consider wearing shorts. They might get you better tips and more information. Men like looking at long legs."

  Sam shakes her head, "I'm sorry but jeans are going to have to do. I have a really bad scar on my leg that is still not completely healed. It would be a dead giveaway to anybody that knows me. Is there anything else?"

  "No, not really, the lower cut the blouse, the better the tips," he suggests.

  Smiling Sam says, "I'll remember that." She walks out into the bar and begins to acquaint herself with the bar's regular customers.

  CHAPTER 2

  Scoot, Dylan Drake, the head of Drake Security, calls Stump, Rance Kincaid, into the office and says, "Well, Stump, are you ready for your next assignment?"

  Eager to get back to work after his long recovery, Stump replies, "Yes, I am past ready to get back to work."

  Scoot continues, "Good, I have your next assignment and it's perfect. It will allow you to continue working on improving your strength while you get back into the swing of things. You're going undercover for a while at Yellowstone."

  Stump, Rance Kincaid, has been on medical leave for the past several months after being stabbed in the back by a man that wanted to murder all of Drake Security's team members because they killed Darren Calloway, head of an anti-government militia group. Drake Security was protecting Melanie Brentwood who escaped from the militia's compound with Calloway's son, Eric.

  The man that stabbed Stump was the same FBI's ten most wanted man that grazed Samantha Wells with a bullet. Stump spent weeks in the hospital in Cody, Wyoming recovering from a punctured lung, extensive blood loss, and taking the rabies series. The man was exposed when a rabid wolf attacked him. Then Stump spent several more weeks recuperating and regaining his strength at the Rock Springs Ranch where he lives with the other members of the Drake Security team. He was released by his doctor to go back to work just last week.

  St
ump freezes when Scoot says the location of his assignment, Yellowstone. That's where Samantha Wells is working and he can't stand the woman. A shiver of disgust slides down his spine. He and Samantha can't spend two minutes together without getting into an argument. A frown crosses his face and he asks Scoot, "Why me? You know Samantha and I can't get along for two seconds."

  Scoot was expecting Stump's reluctance and patiently replies, "Well, I have a couple of reasons. One, this assignment may mean being away from the ranch for several months. You are the only one of us that is still single. The rest of us have families now and that makes you the logical choice. Two, it's a construction job and you have the most experience of any of us. Besides, you won't have any reason to run into Samantha. You're going to be working construction and hanging out with the construction workers, not the park rangers. Now, go and pack your bags. You leave tomorrow and will meet with Jeffry Whitmore at the ranger station at nine o'clock sharp. Don't be late!"

  Stump nods his acceptance and heads to his bedroom to pack his things. While he is very anxious to work again, he is nervous about being anywhere close to Samantha Wells, especially if he's undercover. She is sure to expose him if they run into each other. Even if she doesn't expose him, they are sure to have one of their usual fights. Damn! He is already dreading this assignment.

  ******

  The following morning at nine o'clock sharp Stump is sitting in the outer office of the ranger station at Yellowstone National Park waiting to meet with Jeffrey Whitmore, the head park ranger. He is really nervous. In fact, he is scared to death he might run into Samantha Wells. He doesn't want to let the other guys down by causing a scene with Samantha and he's not sure he can bite his tongue hard enough to prevent one if they run into each other. The woman sets him off faster than a bottle rocket. He has never met another woman that can get on his nerves as quickly or as thoroughly as Samantha Wells.