Code of Justice. Liz Johnson

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      He has showed you, O man, what is good.

      And what does the Lord require of you?

      To act justly and to love mercy

       and to walk humbly with your God.

      —Micah 6:8

      For my sisters.

      Hannah, I could not have written a book about sisters without knowing the magnitude of that bond firsthand. Here’s to another thirty years of laughter, tears and pedicures.

      Beth, I’m so glad you chose to become part of our family. When you married Micah, I truly gained another sister.

      Your sacrifices are countless.

      Your examples are inspiring. Your friendships are matchless. Thank you.

      CONTENTS

      PROLOGUE

      CHAPTER ONE

      CHAPTER TWO

      CHAPTER THREE

      CHAPTER FOUR

      CHAPTER FIVE

      CHAPTER SIX

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      CHAPTER NINE

      CHAPTER TEN

      CHAPTER ELEVEN

      CHAPTER TWELVE

      CHAPTER THIRTEEN

      CHAPTER FOURTEEN

      CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

      CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

      LETTER TO READER

      QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

      PROLOGUE

      “Ladies, you better make sure you’re buckled up. Now!” the pilot said. The sightseeing helicopter gave a vicious lurch and started losing altitude. “The cyclic isn’t responding! We’re going down!”

      Heather Sloan jostled the belt around her waist until it was secure, then grabbed across the seat for the hand of her sister Kit, the only other passenger.

      Kit’s green eyes eclipsed the rest of her thin face, which was even more pale than usual. Her grip was devastating, and Heather quickly lost feeling in three fingers. Their eyes remained locked as the pilot growled frantically to himself.

      “What’s happening?” Kit’s words were so soft that Heather couldn’t even hear her through the headset and had to read her lips.

      “I don’t know,” she said with a shake of her head. She tried to squeeze the other woman’s hand, but the aircraft dropped then bounced as if attached to a rubber band as the engine wheezed and the rotor went silent. Stomach lodged firmly in her throat, Heather blinked at the tears that formed in the corner of her eyes. Tears that mirrored her sister’s. As an FBI agent, Heather was used to danger. But when she was on a case, she knew to be prepared for what she might face. She wasn’t prepared for this. How had a simple day trip with her sister gone so wrong so fast?

      “Hold on! Tight!” growled Jack DeWitt, the grizzly man in front of them, as he madly punched red, flashing buttons on the dashboard. “I’ve lost all control! Something’s wrong with the back rotor!”

      Out of the corner of her eye, Heather spied the strangely slanted horizon on the other side of the wide window. But it wasn’t the horizon that was off. It was the angle of the helicopter as they plunged toward the forest below.

      Wrestling to maintain control, Jack grunted, sparing a glance over his shoulder to confirm that his only two passengers were belted in. He offered them a curt nod before returning to the problem at hand. Grabbing the small black radio at the corner of his mouth, he yelled something that was lost behind the rushing in Heather’s ears.

      “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered, more to herself than Kit. Then for all of them, she sent up a quick prayer for safety. “Lord, please let us walk away from this.”

      The seats began shaking with the force of Jack trying to keep the aircraft aloft. It felt as if the doors were going to rip off and the paneling would simply disintegrate.

      “Heather, I love you.”

      “I love you, too, Kit.” Her little sister’s dark hair and green eyes were the opposite of her own fair complexion, but their features were the same, and for an instant Heather couldn’t help but wonder if her own face reflected the same terror.

      “I meant to tell you—” The floor panels rattled, drowning out Kit’s words. “Heather,” she tried again, her white hands squeezing even tighter. СКАЧАТЬ