Pressure: Triton Core, #3

By Theresa Beachman

Some secrets just won't stay buried…

Special Forces operative Liev Stiles' military career ended brutally in an underwater cave. Now recruited to the Ocean Wolves, he survives by burying his traumatic past under vodka and duty.

When an earthquake sets in motion an unstoppable chain of events, the Wolves are tasked with a rescue mission to the depths of Lake Baikal, Siberia. But just one look at their head of security's intelligent gaze and Liev knows everything just got a hell of a lot more complicated.

After escaping her violent ex, Eva Petrova swapped careers to ensure no man would ever hurt her again. Now, she's found her purpose—head of security at a top-secret research base hidden in the depths of Lake Baikal. She wants solitude, not distraction in the form of the Russian mercenary with the honed body and steely blue eyes that see right through her.

But as the rescue mission is thwarted by further tremors and unraveling secrets that threaten everything, Eva tumbles deeper into Liev's clandestine world. When it becomes clear that there is something more sinister going on behind the scenes, Liev will risk everything to bring Eva and her team to the surface safely, even though he doesn't know who or what to trust.

And as events conspire to kill them, it becomes clear this smart woman just might be the key to his own redemption from a past that won't let him go.

Pressure is the third book in the Triton Core series. Each book is a standalone romance, which follows an overarching story. They can be read in isolation but for maximum enjoyment are best read in sequence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Theresa Beachman
• Release date: Jan 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215616505

Book preview

1

June 1, 2036

Lake Baikal, Siberia

Depth: 5000 feet

Mission: Joint OSC/Triton Core Biogenics Project

Eva Petrova floated above the abyss, a one-way ticket to the center of the earth. 

With a depth of over five thousand feet, Lake Baikal was the deepest in the world, forged in the gap between two continental plates.

In Siberia.

Damn, was it cold. She flexed her gloved fingers against rock, her fingertips already numb despite the thermodynamic heated layer. Breathing in, she squeezed through the slot-shaped gap into the test cavern. Large green sponges clung to the walls, undulating with her passage. Fragments of stone crumbled under her grip as she kicked her fins free of the constriction.

The tick of her regulator on her back was a reassuring hum of background activity. A small comfort against Ilya’s stressing. The Vellamo habitat’s clinical lead, Professor Ilya Kuznetsov’s problem was with humanity at large and she no longer took it personally. It was just part of the job. And despite him, she loved her job.

Headhunted from her position as Chief of Security for Triton’s Red Sea Research Team, she had signed a non-disclosure agreement six months ago and shortly after found herself here, at the bottom of an ancient rift lake ensuring Triton’s research moved safely to the next level and beyond.

She missed the tropical temperatures of the Red Sea, but she wouldn’t swap it for this, being part of the excitement as they tore up old scientific truths and rewrote them, creating new boundaries that pushed the limits of human physiology. What they’d achieved here was beyond measure. It still made the breath catch in her throat when she considered the magnitude of their research. Triton. The Oceanic Security Council. The results were going to blow them out of the water.

A buzz of excitement zipped through Eva as she approached the scientific team floodlit in the underwater cavern. The team had been stress-testing Tomar Konstantin and Alex Ivanovich all week, but today was the culmination. They’d left the comfortable safety of the Vellamo’s wet labs for the lake’s bitter harshness, the final push in quantifying Alex and Tomar’s capabilities. All the hard work was going to pay off this time, and even though Eva had not been directly involved as a member of the science team, she was still proud and felt connected to what they’d achieved.

God, I’m frozen. She swam up to Jen.

Dr. Jennifer Adams, the Vellamo’s psychologist, waved in acknowledgment, her wetsuit stretched around her ample curves. You know what you are?

No. Eva kicked through a gelid mass of something. Marine biology was not her strong point. 

Friolera.

Eva batted at stray globules that clung to her wetsuit. Give her a bad guy to take down with a gun any day. Enlighten me.

Someone who’s always cold.

Ha. Is it possible to be anything else this close to the north pole? Despite multiple base layers under her dry suit and the benefit of a heating pad over her lower back, her extremities were hurtling toward numb. My fingers are popsicles. She checked her watch. But I’ve been in the water almost an hour. Even with Triton’s state-of-the-art equipment, she was approaching the limits of her endurance. How are our two future astronauts doing?

Good. Silty water obscured Jen’s view of the tablet strapped to her wrist. She swiped the screen free so Tomar and Alex’s vitals were visible. Lab tests this week have all been off the scale. Beyond our wildest expectations. Ilya’s optimizing of the bio-catalytic processes has streamlined enzymes within their bodies to levels of efficiency I’ve never witnessed. Tolerance and adaptation to extreme temperatures, atmospheric pressure, and lack of oxygen are all off the scale.

If you could see my eyebrows right now, they’re hitting my hairline.

Jen snorted with laughter and a cloud of bubbles escaped her respirator. Space. Planetary colonization. It’s becoming closer to reality every day and we’re part of it. 

You deserve it, Jen. Eva was content to be on the sidelines. Her medical career had been brief, cut short by Jonathan’s fists. Her chest tightened as old unwelcome memories surfaced. Eva rolled her shoulders.

Deep breath.

She was not that woman anymore. She’d left medicine to work in security services, carving herself a new career as well as gaining the skills to ensure no one ever hurt her again. The memory faded. Security. Keeping people safe. There was a simple satisfaction in her work that she wouldn’t trade for anything. She’d made the right choice. They’ll be falling over themselves to offer you a professorship.

Maybe… Jen glanced over her shoulder. The rest of the team was busy, occupied with their tasks. She turned her back on them. Eva, how have you found Tomar and Alex this week? Even with the nasal accent from the diving comms system, there was an enforced casualness to her voice. 

Eva tilted to face her companion, but Jen’s mask was a blank reflection of harsh lighting from the field lab floodlights. Fine. Why?

Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing, really. The comms distorted Jen’s voice. I thought they were both a bit more on edge this week. Nothing major. More a feeling than anything. She gave a hollow chuckle. That’s such an unprofessional opinion. Sorry.

Eva frowned. No. Not at all. She stared ahead to where the two soldiers hovered close to Ilya, their bare skin gleaming white in the site’s floodlights. A stark contrast to the black dive helmets they wore.

Forget I said it. Jen waved dismissively, soupy algae swirling in the wake of her gesture. It’s nothing. More me than them, I guess. This long in the dark is making me a bit stir crazy.

Eva reached over and squeezed her teammate’s hand. I know what you mean. But not much longer now. I’m happy for you. Another week before we return to the surface. And when we do…your results are blinding. Seriously. I’ve read some of the primary reports.

Jen squeezed Eva’s hand. You can take the medic out of medicine…

I don’t regret my choices. Was her reply just a little too quick?

Jen raised her hands. Sorry, I meant nothing by it. She cleared her throat, changing the subject. Maybe we can celebrate together and live a little when we get back on the surface?

Sure. Eva exhaled and tried to remember the last time she lived a little. Nope, nothing. It had been such a long time since she had ventured even close to that territory, or even had the desire to. Relationships were a drain of her time and energy, resources that were better spent directed to her work. Eva’s jaw tensed. She had her life on a tight leash right now. That was the way she liked it, and that was the way it was going to stay. She forced a tight smile. Romance isn’t everything. I don’t even keep an apartment on the surface anymore.

Jen tilted her head but remained silent.

And don’t be analyzing me. Her tone was sharper than she intended.

A snort of laughter. Jen held up her hands in surrender. I’m not.

Good.

They were almost upon Tomar and Alex now, but Jen wasn’t giving up. But you know what they say, all work and no—

Jen. Eva bit her lip as frustration gave her words a sharp edge. Quit the free analysis.

Jen shrugged. My lips are sealed.

Sorry. I didn’t mean to be snippy. Just… everything.

I know. Jen touched her shoulder.

Eva huffed out a breath and tilted her head. Iridescent bubbles escaped the steely confines of her tanks, rushing to the surface. Sunlight and Baikal’s brief summer was a vague memory, somewhere up there where the din and clash of the world still existed. Whereas here, darkness and silence reigned, sealing them off from the world, cocooning them. Just the way she liked it.

Eva, glad you could join us. 

Eva raised a hand, ignoring the slice of sarcasm in his tone. Ilya.

Everything in order?

Perfectly. I’ve completed a full circuit of the area. All security measures are in place.

She ignored his caustic tone, tailing Jen as she circled Tomar and Alex, her tablet streaming a deluge of biometric information. Marco Rubin, their physiologist, had implanted silver biometric nodes at key locations in their bodies—wrists, ankles, throat and base of the skull. Eva checked her wrist pad. As well as supplying a constant stream of biological information, the nodes were locators. Their safety was her priority, and it made her job a little easier.

Rubin drifted between two data stations embedded in the rock wall. Eva, come check this out.

She kicked with her fins, grabbing the edge of the console to stop herself from overshooting.

Look. Rubin gestured enthusiastically at the screens. Perfect homeostasis. Their bodies aren’t even stressed. His sun-bleached blonde hair wasn’t visible, but Eva knew how much he’d given up to come work on the project.

Eva stole a glance at Tomar and Alex. Their pale bodies, in swimming shorts with air tanks strapped to their backs, were a marked contrast to the bundled-up science team. It shouldn’t even be possible.

Rubin continued, They’ve been in the water for over an hour now. I’m freaking freezing under all these layers. By all accounts, they should be dead. This is it, Eva. What we’ve been working for. I think we’ve done it. The enzyme changes are fully assimilated. His eyes crinkled in delight behind the thick glass of his mask.

Alex drifted closer, his hand raised in greeting, grinning behind the visor of his dive mask. Hey, Eva. Up close, his pale blue eyes almost matched the iciness of the water. Eva suppressed a shiver. Devoid of any depth of color and emotion, Alex’s gaze flagged his personality, the unemotional soldier.

He shifted, blocking Rubin’s view with his wide shoulders and opened his hand, revealing a crushed fish. Its eyes had popped clear of its skull from the pressure kill. Fragments broke off and dissipated.

Eva frowned. Alex—

He spread his fingers wide and the small body fell away, mingling with the current. His eyes snapped to Eva and his mouth split in a salacious grin.

Alex. Everything is looking great. Rubin approached from the side. Core temperature 37.5 degrees. Skin temperature 37.5 degrees. Anyone would think you were relaxing in a warm room somewhere. 

Alex’s expression melted from crude to neutral in an instant. The fish was gone.

Eva blinked and fought to bring her mind back on track. She’d been down here too long. The cold was messing with her head. She connected her comms to the Vellamo habitat, home for the past six months. Gordon, are you getting all of Rubin’s readings?

Their engineer Gordon Hunter rumbled in her ears. Uploading directly, Eva. 

Eva tapped Rubin’s screen. Sure?

Gordon’s sigh echoed loud and clear across the water between the field lab and the Vellamo. He had little time for the minutiae of research. Yes, I’m sure.

Just checking.

I know.

I can hear your eyes rolling.

You certainly can, Eva. Click. 

Eva faced Rubin. Did he just turn off comms?

Rubin crooked an eyebrow. Leave me out of your perfectionism. Tomar, how are you feeling?

Tomar’s long face was pale behind his mask. Good, thank you, Dr. Rubin.

Eva exhaled a long breath. She was sure her attention to detail was the primary reason Ilya hired her, a reflection of his own obsessive need for control. Nothing wrong with that. The world was too unpredictable 

She swam closer. Tomar’s skin wasn’t even blanched. Her gloved fingertip broke a trail through the bubbles that clothed him. She skimmed the bio-electrodes temporarily embedded in his skin. You going to blow our socks off with the oxygenation tests now too?

Tomar shrugged. Probably.

Eva Petrova?

She spun as a tall figure in a gleaming neoprene suit glided toward them, slender knife-strapped thighs reflecting the lab’s floodlights. Remy. Ilya’s personal assistant. Eva was convinced Remy could kill someone between those thighs. The knives were just for show. She had no need for a security escort.

Remy, the perimeter is secure. Everything is in place for the field oxygenation tests. Eva indicated the sonic barrier with a tilt of her head.

Excellent. Can you bring Alex over to join us? Then we can begin.

Sure, I will— Eva twisted in the water. Where the hell was he?

Ilya was beside Jen, hunched over the computer terminals. Rubin and Tomar followed the direction of her gaze. 

Rubin pointed to where Alex had been only moments before. He was right there. He angled his flashlight into the far reaches of the underwater space, where the floodlights failed to reach.

Eva turned slowly, her movements calm. Methodical. He was at the security boundary only a minute ago. She checked the compact tablet strapped to her inner forearm. Biometrics show he’s deeper within the cave systems now. She faced the lake’s sheer rock wall. Damn. Alex. Respond. Where are you?

Ah, Eva, your voice is a delight. Do you know I’ve been floating around being prodded for over an hour? Right now, I’m having fifteen minutes to myself.

"Alex, I can’t see you, and I need to see you. Now."

Is he in the cave system? Rubin joined her, tension ramping through his voice.

Ilya looked up from the computer screen, his conversation with Jen paused. She could read his mind. Security couldn’t keep the reins on their test subjects for five minutes. He left Jen’s side, angling toward Eva and Rubin. Rubin, I take it you’ve completed all of today’s experimental trials given the amount of mindless chat that’s going on here? Are we ready to commence oxygenation testing? Irritation churned through his questions.

Eva’s heart raced, and her lungs constricted as she took off in Alex’s direction. Shit. Shit. Her heart rate tripped, and fresh blood rushed to her face. Calm down. No need to panic. There was nowhere to go. They were at the bottom of a goddamn lake.

Rubin’s reply was clipped. Yes. Eva’s collecting Alex. 

Collecting? Ilya huffed. Is it too much for everyone to remain within the boundaries we’ve marked out?

Apparently. Eva kicked faster, her cheeks heating.

Eva. You lost one of our billion-dollar test bunnies? Gordon reconnected his comms, glee suffusing every syllable.

Damn Alex. Two minutes.

Inky darkness beckoned as she tracked the errant blip on her tablet. She gritted her teeth and toggled her comms so only Alex could hear her. Alex, I don’t know where the hell you are, but you need to return to the test area right now. 

Silence.

She slowed as the lake boundary loomed, a sheer granite wall, riddled with caves, which ascended from the northern end of the lakebed to the foot of the mountains on the surface. Eva scanned the rock, the digital interface on the inside of her mask highlighting in luminous green the closest man-sized cave entrance. 

She dipped under a jutting overhang. Loose stones had scuffed the cave floor, suggesting recent passage. Above, algae had been scraped from the cave roof. 

Rubin joined her in a flurry of bubbles. That’s snug. Two feet high at the most.

Eva eyed the cave entrance. Dammit. She refused to look over her shoulder. Ilya’s glare was burning holes in the back of her head.

Eva Petrova, are you getting readings from inside the rock strata? Remy swam into view.

Yes. That settled it. Alex, if you can hear me, I am going to roast you for this. Special test subject or not. Eva grabbed the edges of the narrow entrance and pulled her face closer to the darkness. A faint rumble thrummed through the rock, skittering up her arms in a wave of goose bumps.

She hesitated. You feel that? She peeked over her shoulder at Rubin and Remy. Ilya and Jen were visible close by, Tomar tagging along too, to see what she was doing. What she was making a mess of.

No— Rubin lifted his head. 

The noise, the sensation, now it was a faint roar. 

Rubin locked eyes with her. "I hear that."

It amplified, becoming louder, surging up from beneath them through Baikal’s bedrock.

Pebbles scattered on her right. A miniature avalanche.

Eva flexed her arms, pushing back, creating a gap between her and the rock wall. Something dark and unseen pulsed through the water. Through her.

A tremor? Doubt suffused Rubin’s voice.

Eva shook her head. Lake Baikal sat on a continental fault, but there had been no quakes for years. The fault isn’t active. Triton were explicit there’s no risk of imminent quake. She’d believed them. After the deaths in the Ceto habitat, Triton’s deep-water investigations had operated at enhanced safety tolerances.

Eva, I think—

Rocks hurtled past the overhang, some snagging the edge and shattering into a haze of shards. Eva ducked as a pounding thunder of rocks crashed down, colliding with the craggy overhang in a roar of destruction.

Move! Eva angled her body toward Rubin. Into the cave! she screamed, catching hold of his arm, dragging him to safety.

Eva? Tomar’s voice rose in panic.

Tomar! 

Sludge and falling debris churned the water opaque.

Eva! Tomar’s yell scraped at her eardrums, but the filthy slide of loose rock almost obliterated his shape. His face shimmered on the other side of the rockslide, then he was gone, and the world ripped apart in a raging avalanche that battered her body.

Eva tumbled, a single thought trapped in her mind.

Triton lied.

2

June 1, 2036

Belukha Mountains

Siberia

Beep.

Liev Stiles groaned and covered his aching eyes with his forearm. Even the dim light filtering through the shuttered window was too much, lancing across the back of his alcohol-sensitive retinas. Dregs of his dreams flitted across his mind’s eye.

Sanderson’s pale hands, hauling herself forward, connected to him by an umbilical of rope.

Nearly there.

Darkness slithered, and Liev jerked, his flashlight picking out an eel’s thick, muscular body.

Her eyes widened, bubbles exploding from her respirator, even as the current dragged her beyond his reach…

He blinked, dispelling the nightmare, and rolled onto his side, the thin mattress doing little to shield him from the bed’s thin wooden struts. On the dusty floor, an empty bottle of vodka lay on its side next to an empty glass. No wonder his head was stuffed with cotton balls, thoughts stabbing into his aching brain like red-hot pokers.

He rolled onto his back. His watch said 4 p.m. What the fuck was he doing awake? Liev shifted to get more comfortable. He should get undressed. He wiggled his toes. Still had his boots on. And he was alone.

Perfect. No one telling him what the fuck to do or where to be.

Beep.

He opened both eyes.

Phone.

Shit.

He fumbled at the side of the bed, knocking the phone to the floor with a clatter. His fingers brushed the edge of the silver case and he snagged the offending item. He was on leave. One week away from the Wolves to do as he liked. Respite from the torment that plagued his head every fucking day. He double-checked the date on his watch in case he had missed a few days because of the vodka.

Nope. Still only been three days. Shit. He kept his thumb raised, not wanting to know. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. He sighed. As if he had a choice. The logo of a wolf’s head appeared briefly before vanishing as he swiped the device awake. Six missed calls from Ethan, his team leader.

A terse text.

Lake Baikal. Earthquake, 7.3 on Richter scale. Science team at Vellamo habitat trapped in rockslide. Activation, immediate.

Liev threw his phone across the room where it skidded, hit the wall and spun. He sat up, dropping his head into his hands, massaging his temples, trying to force some sense into his brain. He’d earned his R&R. Why the hell was Ethan pulling him out?

He straightened and twitched the paper-thin blind at the window. Bare rock and patchy snow met his gaze. The grass of the Siberian tundra unfolded as far as the eye could see. A rabbit stopped eating, raising its head, wary. Liev fired the rabbit a wonky salute and let the blind drop. Years in Russian Special Forces. Some habits were ingrained forever. 

He shuffled over to the cabin’s kitchenette and his aging stove. His mouth was parched and tasted like mud. Coffee. He needed coffee. Then he’d be able to think straight and reply to Ethan, ask him why he wasn’t getting his reprieve, his time alone to lose himself and just forget under the comforting blanket of Russia’s best mind rot.

He lifted the kettle and shook it. Empty. Of course.

He popped two Advil out of the foil and crunched them dry as he shrugged on his polar fleece and unlocked the cabin door. Glacial air cut across his face. He sucked in a breath. Fucking bracing. He coughed and zipped his fleece higher until it was snug against the base of his throat, where it caught in the unshaved rough under his chin. 

Ice patterned the external pipe. He hit the handle with the hammer resting against the wall for that sole purpose. The metal shuddered and banging started somewhere in the roof. But still no water. He dropped to his knees, ran his hand up the insulated pipe. 

Fucking thing was frozen again.

He grabbed his kettle and tramped through the compacted snow to where it was fresh and virgin clean. Liev scooped handfuls, his right hand immune to the cold.

Whump. Whump.

What now? His fingers compressed snow in his palm as he straightened. Heading across the valley, a sleek black helicopter angled toward him. 

Liev glanced around, checking left and right as if there was someone else that the bird’s occupants were here to see. Bleak white tundra surrounded him on every side. Even the rabbit was gone. Definitely just him. 

He waited as the helicopter circled and landed, snow giving a muted protest under its weight. The interminable summer light glinted off the polished black sides and azure blue lettering.

OSC. Oceanic Security Council.

He clenched his jaw. Freezing dry air blasted him as the rotors wound down, and before they had stopped fully, two men jumped out and ran to the back, their thick jackets doing little to conceal the body armor they wore. Liev didn’t need them to open their jackets to know what weapons they carried.

One of the men reached up, supporting the arm of a slender woman as she climbed out. Liev dragged a