Broken Protocols 1-3 Read online

  Broken Protocols 1-3

  Broken Protocols

  Broken Protocols 2

  Broken Protocols 3

  by

  Dale Mayer

  Broken Protocols

  Dani’s been through a year of hell…

  Just as it’s getting better, she’s tossed forward through time with her orange Persian cat, Charmin Marvin, clutched in her arms. They’re dropped into a few centuries into the future. There’s nothing she can do to stop it, and it’s impossible to go back.

  And then it gets worse…

  A year of government regulation is easing, and Levi Blackburn is feeling back in control. If he can keep his reckless brother in check, everything will be perfect. But while he’s been protecting Milo from the government, Milo’s been busy working on a present for him…

  The present is Dani, only she comes with a snarky cat who suddenly starts talking…and doesn’t know when to shut up.

  In an age where breaking protocols have severe consequences, things go wrong, putting them all in danger…

  Broken Protocols 2

  The future is a dangerous place…

  To save her skin and the skin of her new lover, Dani Summerland marries Levi Blackburn. That’s the good part. The bad part is that she and Levi realize they’re pawns in a game with no rule book.

  Levi Blackburn can’t believe he’s married – but he’s a lucky man and he knows it. Now he needs to find out who is after Dani and why so they can start their honeymoon.

  As they struggle to find out who’s targeting them and what they want, the danger escalates and people around them start dying.

  It’s a good thing Charmin Marvin, her talking cat, is helping them.

  More protocols are broken and if they can’t win this game, their lives will be broken, too.

  Broken Protocols 3

  Dani and Levi Blackburn have slid from being in trouble to borderline hell…

  They uncover hints of a dangerous conspiracy permeating the very foundation of their society. And people are disappearing, one by one…

  If it weren’t for Levi’s twisted-genius brother and Charmin Marvin, Dani’s talking cat, they wouldn’t have gotten this far. At least, not alive.

  Only they aren’t far enough, because someone is still after Dani – and everyone connected to her.

  They need to find a way to expose the massive cover up – and fast… before they are eliminated. Forever.

  Other books in this series:

  Broken Protocols 3.5

  BROKEN PROTOCOLS 1–3

  Dale Mayer

  Valley Publishing

  Copyright © 2014

  Cover model – Mirish (http://mirish.deviantart.com)

  Cover designer – Jason Mayer

  ISBN-13: 9781927461938

  EPUB Edition

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidences either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  License Notes

  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 it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Praise for Dale Mayer

  I love to read Dale Mayer’s books… keeps me guessing…. I am getting good though trying to figure out who did it…. I am on my fourth book….

  …Review left on Vampire in Deceit, book 4 of Family Blood Ties

  Dale Mayer’s work is always outstanding and Haunted by Death is no exception.

  …Review from Haunted by Death, book 2 of the By Death Series

  This is a GREAT series that you don’t want to miss out on!

  …Review from Broken Protocols Series

  This is my favorite author I enjoy all her books and I can’t wait for more… her books are easy to get into and I love the storyline

  …Review from Dangerous Designs, book 1 of the Design Series

  Dale Mayer is a gifted writer who now has me hooked as a new fan. She characters are complex and she shares her knowledge of energy work clearly and simply. Makes for fascinating reading…

  …Review from Rare Find, book 6 of Psychic Visions Series

  Don’t underestimated Dale Mayer. Combination of JD Robb and Heather Graham. Paranormal suspense………

  …Review left on Maddy’s Floor, book 3 of the Psychic Visions Series

  Wow! I read a lot, and I can honestly say that there a few books that I have read that I will remember for years. This is one of those books. Thank you Dale for giving me the gift of this magnificent story. It was both heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.

  …Review left on Skin, book 1 of Broken and yet…Healing Series

  Touched by Death is an outstanding novel by Dale Mayer. Unlike her usual novels that contain paranormal activity, this novel is sheer malevolent actions from ordinary humans.

  …Review left on Touched by Death, book 1 of By Death Series

  Dale’s books are spellbinding in more ways than one. She has a unique way with words. Her characters are fun and funny and loving. I love the way the story flows. Her characters all have personality. She takes you from suspense to love, then fear love and eternal love.

  …Review left on Second Chances, book 1 of Second Chances… at Love Series

  Broken Protocols

  by

  Dale Mayer

  Dani’s been through a year of hell…

  Just as it’s getting better, she’s tossed forward through time with her orange Persian cat, Charmin Marvin, clutched in her arms. They’re dropped into a few centuries into the future. There’s nothing she can do to stop it, and it’s impossible to go back.

  And then it gets worse…

  A year of government regulation is easing, and Levi Blackburn is feeling back in control. If he can keep his reckless brother in check, everything will be perfect. But while he’s been protecting Milo from the government, Milo’s been busy working on a present for him…

  The present is Dani, only she comes with a snarky cat who suddenly starts talking…and doesn’t know when to shut up.

  In an age where breaking protocols have severe consequences, things go wrong, putting them all in danger…

  Protocol 1:3:1 – You will in no way use technology to damage the life of another – particularly if those actions are to selfishly enhance your own.

  Chapter 1

  Dani Summerland was on top of the world. It had taken several years, but she’d finally put her past behind her. A new day had begun. A new job, her first date in a long, okay…in a very long time and for once, her future looked bright.

  It had been a hell of a year.

  She glanced at her watch and realized she was running a little behind after working late. She walked faster on the busy street. Rush hour had peaked, but there were plenty of people racing still to get home. Her apartment was just around the block. For the umpteenth time, she pulled the faded, crumpled photo of her and Lawrence from her pocket. He’d been everything to her. Now, a year after her very public humiliation, she could finally say she’d recovered. It was time to get rid of the picture. She’d hung onto it as a reminder. Of a lesson learned to never be forgotten. Some rules were never meant to be broken – and ignorance was not an excuse. She’d had some inkling that things with Lawrence weren’t as they’d seemed, but young love and all the rest of those glorious emotions gu
aranteed to get her into hot water had overruled her better judgment.

  So she’d ignored those little nudges. Until she found him at a company event, the host, in fact – with his wife at his side.

  That had been the most disastrous evening of her life. The wife’s mocking look and laughing comment to her in the ladies’ room later about being her husband’s latest side piece hadn’t helped. The pink slip from his legal firm the next day was just another insult and another piece of her education.

  Never have an affair with the boss – especially when it turns out he’s married.

  She’d been such a fool. She hated that the other staff had known – and no one had said anything to her. That they all believed she was the kind to have affairs with married men. Now she got the snide comments she hadn’t understood. The mocking and disgusted looks she hadn’t connected to the truth.

  There was nothing like learning about men – life – consequences – the hard way.

  There was a garbage can up ahead. She stopped, carefully ripped up the picture – one that she’d once loved and held dear – into tiny pieces, and fed them to the can.

  Then she turned, pulled up her coat collar, and walked faster.

  It was time to let go and create a better future. And as of today, it looked damn bright.

  *

  “What the hell?” Levi studied the massive wall of monitors in front of him. They should be locked behind the security field at this point. He glanced around the large empty office to see if anyone had slipped in behind him, but he was alone in the encroaching darkness. Then again, he should be. It was damn late, and it was his brother’s office. No one was allowed in but the two of them. Not in this age of computer espionage. His world lived on computers, and his brother was a genius when it came to programming. There was nothing he couldn’t build.

  Hence the large company that they owned, with a few family backers, and the heavy security measures they used to keep their inventions secure until the official release.

  If it weren’t for Milo’s recent odd behavior, that little kid look of having a secret he desperately wanted to share, Levi wouldn’t be here now. Genius Milo – chocolate-munching, green Mohawk-ed, geeky Milo had been acting suspicious for days.

  That would give anyone nightmares.

  As his partner and older brother, Levi didn’t dare let Milo go off half-cocked again. Genius he might be, but he was lacking a certain level of common sense, as proven by their being slapped by the CCDA Regulatory Commission last year. No one doubted Milo’s intentions – it was just that they weren’t clearly thought out. At the end of the nerve-wracking review, the board had determined that the brothers would be allowed to continue their IT company, but the genius needed to be carefully watched.

  A year later, the regulatory overseeing eye had eased – slightly. But the scrutiny had chafed for both Milo and Levi. For Milo more so.

  And as Levi stared at the complex coding on the screen mounted in the center of the wall, he realized that Milo was in deeper than before. Levi’s heart sank. This last year had done nothing to smarten Milo up. This program looked to be almost complete, if not ready for testing.

  “I wondered how long it would take you to check up on me.” Milo’s quiet voice spoke from behind him.

  Levi dropped his head into his hands, wanting to pull his hair out. Instead, he said in low worried voice, “What have you done?”

  “It’s nothing bad. In fact,” Milo’s voice picked up enthusiastically, “it’s kind of awesome.”

  “Kind of awesome?” Levi spun around to glare at Milo. “This could mean jail time, you know that.” He towered over his younger brother. “This could mean losing the company. Years of our time and effort. Years where the family helped us, backed us, protected us. Did you even think of that?”

  “No. No, it doesn’t.” Milo rushed over, wringing his hands. At least the childish delight of the last few days had dimmed. Milo just didn’t get that rules and regulations were there for a reason. Levi did. He lived by them. His brother didn’t even acknowledge them. And Levi had been bailing him out since he was a little boy – he wasn’t going to change now.

  Milo loved history. And when he added his crazy geek skills and a complete lack of comprehension of the limits to what he could do, all manner of hell could happen. Had happened. Was possibly about to happen again.

  “You don’t understand.” Milo beamed with excitement. “See, it works this time.”

  Levi shook his head. “No. It doesn’t.”

  “Yes.” Milo hopped from one foot to the other. Passion and joy was on his face and in his voice. “It does. It does. Honest.”

  “There is no way. You can’t just yank a person forward a couple of centuries into our world. Look at what kind of trouble that got you in last time.” Got us, but he kept that bit quiet. Milo’s enthusiasm got him – them – in trouble every time. But every once in a while, he came up with something so earth-shattering that most people had no trouble overlooking the problems that came with Milo. Then again, they weren’t the ones having to clean up after him.

  Milo walked over to the keyboard, his fingers dancing so fast, Levi could barely follow what he was doing on the screen. Colors and figures flashed at alarming speeds.

  “Hey, stop. You can’t test this right now.”

  “Sure I can. It works. I actually planned to test it tonight anyway. I just didn’t expect to have you here.”

  Throwing his hands up, Levi gave an exasperated snort. “You were hoping that I wouldn’t be here. Right?”

  Milo shot him a resentful look. “You never let me have any fun.”

  “Fun?” Levi said ominously. “Going back in time, snagging up any female you want and slapping them down in our time is fun? You do remember what happened last time, right?” His glare deepened. “The massive power outage you caused?”

  “I figured out how to stop the massive power surge. Besides, I only wanted to brainstorm with Marie Curie,” he said resentfully. “She was an intelligent woman. We’d have had a great time.”

  “If you didn’t kill her in the process,” Levi snapped.

  Milo spun around to face him, his grin once again splitting his face. “No, I fixed that. It’s safe now.”

  “Says you.” Levi eyed his brother suspiciously. He didn’t know how to get this into his brother’s head. This was too important. “This is big. Like seriously big stuff. And the chances of you doing this successfully…you know the protocols are very specifi—”

  “Ah, but the protocols are poorly written.” His elfish grin flashed and he added, “Besides, they are more like guidelines.”

  He nudged his brother to the side. “You might want to get out of the way.”

  “What? What for?” Levi spun around and caught sight of Milo reaching for a button on the side. “No.” And he knocked his hand away. Milo stumbled backward, tripped, and fell against his keyboard. The screen went nuts as Milo’s elbow smacked down onto the button anyway.

  Immediately, a high-pitched whine filled the room. Levi slapped his hands over his ears even as his eyes stared in panic at the monitors dancing with flashing code.

  “What’s happening?”

  “Everything!” Milo danced, laughing like a loon. “But it’s nothing to worry about.”

  A flash of light exploded in the center of the room, blinding them both.

  Chapter 2

  Dani glanced at the clock, realizing she had just enough time for a cup of tea and a snack before getting dressed. She filled her teakettle and placed it on the stove.

  She danced a quick jig across the living room. Perfect day, perfect date, and perfect evening to come. If there were misgivings that her bubble was about to burst, it had to be residual negativity left over from the year from hell. And that Murphy’s Law had been formulated specifically with her in mind.

  But that was over. She was all about new beginnings. And that meant she could open the bottle of wine she’d been saving for a special oc
casion. She reached into the back of the fridge and pulled it out. Twisting the top off, she poured herself a glass and held it up to sniff it.

  Charmin Marvin, her overgrown orange Persian cat, jumped lightly up onto the counter. She bumped the wine glass gently against his nose.

  “Cheers!”

  Meow!

  She flipped her long blond braid behind her back and laughed. “Right back at you, big guy. Here’s to us.” Eyes closed, she took a large gulp of her wine. Still too buoyed to relax, she put her glass down and snagged Charmin up. Humming a tune in her head, she twirled him around.

  “We’re gonna be just fine.”

  Meow!

  She laughed and twirled him again. She wanted to enjoy this moment. It had been a long time coming, but it was all good.

  Her life was back on track. It had been a long painful struggle, but she’d made it.

  Tonight was going to be good, too. Danny was a cute, single guy who had transferred into the company last month. Life was good again.

  “I wish you could talk, big guy. Just think how great that would be.” She did a quick pirouette with him. Just as she slowed down, a white light exploded in her living room.

  Waves blasted her, picking her up and throwing her back against the couch, Charmin clutched fiercely in her arms, his claws digging deep into her skin. Mist swam through her brain and her eyes burned. Her chest squeezed tight. She couldn’t breathe. Her ears rang and her lunch was crawling up the inside of her throat.

  What the hell had just happened? She could only hope the property damage would be minimal. Otherwise, her landlord would freak.

  She sat forward, clutching Charmin tight, afraid he’d take off and she wouldn’t be able to find him again. Moving slowly, her muscles heavy and unwieldy, her body in major shock, she struggled to her feet and headed for the doorway. Smoke filled her living room. She stifled a cough and covered her mouth with her sleeve to avoid breathing the reeking aroma.