Free Cherry Adair - T-flac 06 by On Thin Ice

Food of the gods. "Other than a moose spotting, uneventful." She polished off the last half with enthusiasm. The sugar hit was welcome.
    Matt gave her a hard up-and-down look while she chewed. "Are you okay? Did she attack?"
    "He. Yeah, he lit into Derek's sled and kicked the beejeebers out of it—" She interrupted herself to Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    yawn. "The dogs are all okay, his sled's fine and Derek wasn't hurt. Fortunately," Lily gave him a devilish grin, "I came in, guns blazing, and saved the day."
    His eyes narrowed. "You're carrying a gun?"
    "Of course. Isn't everyone up here? Hey, I was lucky not to have to kill the big guy."
    "Derek?" Matt said with a smile.
    "Don't put ideas in my head."
    "I'm glad you weren't hurt, Wonder Woman. Although Derek's pride must've taken a hit having you charge in and save his bacon."
    "Well, yes, there was that nice perk," Lily said, enjoying the memory.
    "Did you have any time to talk to him?"
    "About what?"
    "Any of it," Matt said absently, picking up Adam's back leg and removing the bootie to check the dog's foot. "Diablo specifically."
    The bogus bull sperm business. Lily frowned, following Matt's movements as he inspected each dog. He was thorough. She leaned against the sled, satisfied that he'd find anything she might've missed. The vet inspection had to be done officially and reported, no matter that she was qualified to do it herself. "No.
    But I will."
    "When?"
    "When we get back and I have all the facts. Now's not the time. But honest to God, Matt, I thought he was going to say something yesterday in Anchorage. He didn't. And frankly that conversation went badly enough for me to be grateful we didn't have to bring Diablo up, too."
    "Good. Wait till after the race. And I want to be with you when you do," Matt told her grimly, pausing from his inspection of the dogs to look at her. "Seriously, Lily. Promise me."
    Fatigue clawed at her, and she fought it back. "Why? Do you think he'd hurt me in some way because I found out? To be fair, which in this case chaps my hide, there's an outside chance that he doesn't know anything about the illegal sales; have you thought of that?"
    "Yeah, I have. But I know Derek would never hurt you. This is an important race, so it probably isn't the best time. We've got someone I trust looking into how involved this is. Wait until all the findings are in.
    And for God's sake, just promise that I'm there when you do broach the subject."
    "I will. Thanks, Matt." She wasn't sure who to trust anymore. Who else knew about the sales of bull sperm being made under the table? Diablo's sperm was like gold, highly prized and incredibly expensive.
    From what Lily had been able to piece together, the illegal sales had been going on for years. Sean had been eyebrow deep in it, using her expertise and qualifications to legitimize what he'd been doing. All without her knowledge. The thought made Lily sick to her stomach. The money from Sean's illegal Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    activities sat untouched in the bank in the Caymans until she and Matt and the investigator could go to the authorities with all the information necessary.
    God. What a mess. She had no idea how many cows had been inseminated by fake Diablo sperm.
    Could be thousands.
    The question that had been going around and around in her head for the last six weeks was, was Derek involved in the scam?
    She'd overheard the conversation between two of the hands five weeks ago. She hadn't confronted them, but she'd started piecing together what little paper trail she could find. The more she'd discovered, the bigger the scam appeared. Sales of "Diablo" sperm had been made worldwide. Japan, Korea, Europe—the list and magnitude of the illegal operation was staggering.
    She hadn't confided in her father. But she'd told Matt. He'd cautioned her not to report anything to the authorities until they