Published: December 19th, 2018
No rest for the wicked.
Trained as an assassin by the CIA, Jake Wolfe now wants a new life of peace and quiet, living on a boat and practicing law. But when his city is shocked by a serial killer and he’s framed for the murder of a friend, Jake must race against time to find the killer before he strikes again.
Drawn into a deadly game of cat and mouse; at every step, Jake and his loved ones are being hunted by the clever, twisted madman. As the city is gripped in fear of the seemingly random shootings that could strike anybody, Jake investigates and uncovers ominous clues until a shocking reversal of fortune changes everything.
With the clock ticking and lives at stake, will Jake be able to find and stop the killer in time, or will he become the next victim?
Buckle up for a wild ride as Jake Wolfe and his exceptionally intelligent dog, Cody, return to action in this page-turning thriller in Mark Nolan’s bestselling series that has earned thousands of 5-star ratings on Amazon and Goodreads.
EXCERPT
At
half-past midnight, newly licensed attorney Jake Wolfe lay in bed staring at
the ceiling and waiting for orders.
Orders
to kill.
He
lay on top of the covers, fully dressed except for his boots, ready to go at a
moment’s notice. Beneath him, he felt his sixtyfoot power yacht, the Far Niente, rock gently on the water, where it
was berthed at his boat slip.
In
the stillness, he listened as small waves lapped at the hull.
The
boat creaked in a familiar way, the rigging from a nearby sailboat flapped in
the breeze, and a passing seagull called to another. He knew every sound of the
boat, as if she was an old friend with her own personality.
Closing
his eyes, he wondered how it was possible that he’d become an assassin. After
serving four years in the Marines and later doing secret black ops missions for
the CIA’s Special Activities Division, he’d received an honorable discharge at
his end of active service. He’d come home and studied law online, had passed
the bar exam, and had started a solo law practice. The fighting should all be
behind him now, but Uncle Sam had come calling again, in need of a patriot to
help protect the homeland.
His
girlfriend, Sarah Chance, should be in bed with him. But she’d accidentally
witnessed Jake assassinate three terrorists, and now she was afraid to spend
the night.
Jake
cursed and thought about the liquor cabinet in the galley. A few drinks of
Redbreast Irish whiskey could help him forget about life and get some sleep. It
was only natural if you had Irish blood in your veins.
No,
not tonight. He shook his
head and pushed that temptation out of his mind. He had to stay alert.
A
light rain began to patter quietly against the boat. The buzzing of his
encrypted black phone on the nightstand interrupted his thoughts.
Jake
noticed his adopted war dog, Cody, wake up from where he’d been sleeping on the
bed. The dog looked at him with wise brown eyes, quirking one eyebrow. Jake
smiled at his faithful friend. Cody was a Golden Lab—a yellow Labrador
retriever and Golden Retriever mix—with short, wavy hair.
“At
ease, Marine,” Jake said, and scratched Cody behind his ears.
Sitting
up, Jake grabbed the phone. It was a call from Shannon McKay. He thumbed the
answer icon. “Wolfe.”
“We
have a situation,” McKay said. “The one I warned you about.”
She
spoke in a commanding voice, always serious and professional. In their working
relationship she was the starched shirt
and he was the loose cannon.
Jake
saw her image on an encrypted program similar to Skype or FaceTime. She was
wearing a charcoal-gray suit jacket over a white blouse, the telltale bulge of
a pistol in a shoulder holster
under
her left arm. Staring directly at the camera with a nononsense gaze, she
projected the image of a powerful, capable, and dangerous person—someone who
could give an order and you’d be dead, or soon wish you were.
Jake
made light of the deadly situation with a dark humor they both shared. “I’ve
got pants on and I’m about to drink some strong coffee.”
“So
far, so good, but no whiskey in the coffee; I need you alert.”
Jake
smiled ruefully. She knew him too well. They shared a complicated history, but
they’d earned each other’s trust and respect, although they still traded barbs
and challenges.
“The
mission?” Jake asked as he walked to the galley with Cody following. He knew
missions were often kept secret until the last minute, to protect operations
security.
“A
high value target I’ve been tracking. He’s a foreign banking executive who
secretly helps terrorists launder their opium money and buy assault rifles and
rocket launchers from arms dealers. Those weapons are fired at our troops, and
some of them are smuggled into the U.S. and sold to criminal gangs.”
Opening
the sliding door, Jake let Cody out onto the aft deck to do his business on a
section of artificial grass. “Is this related to the drug gang I fought with
recently?”
“Correct.
You shut them down, but this guy was their money man.”
“Still
conducting business as usual?”
“Yes.
Recently, in Los Angeles, a gang of criminals robbed a bank while wearing body
armor and carrying AKs sold through his pipeline. They injured several LEOs and
one police officer died who had recently returned to duty after her maternity
leave.”
Jake
cursed and thought about when he’d served overseas as a military dog handler.
Some of his best friends had been killed by
AK-47s. And his good friend Stuart, Cody’s former handler, made it home
alive but had died of a heroin overdose. The deaths of his friends had cut deep
wounds in his soul. “This dirtbag gets rich by arming terrorists and cop
killers?”
McKay
pursed her lips. “He also helped fund the overseas terrorist cell that was
beheading women who refused to be sex slaves.”
“The
men I terminated.”
“The
very same.”
“Was
he aware of the beheadings?”
“He
knew exactly who he was aiding and abetting. Now, he’s funding a shipment of
Stingers that are on their way to the United States.”
Jake
almost cringed thinking about the FIM-92 Stinger, a shoulder-launched
heat-seeking missile. “We can’t let those weapons fall into the wrong hands.”
“Agreed.
One of the Stingers from a shipment to Europe was used to shoot down an
airliner over the Baltic Sea. Another supply is now on its way to California.
We need to put a stop to that. You could help us do so tonight if you’re
willing to serve your country again and shut down the money supply.”
Jake
felt his sense of duty weighing on his shoulders. “Did you say the banker is
designated as a high-value target?”
“Yes.
My orders are to eliminate this HVT from the chessboard.”
“I’m
willing, but why me? You must have plenty of wild-eyed former Navy SEALs, Army
Special Forces, and infantry Marine veterans who’d love to kick ass.”
“Three
reasons. First, you agreed to twelve missions and this is one of them. Second,
you’re closest to his location. Third, this man funded the reward money when
terrorists put a bounty on you and Duke.”
Duke. Jake was quiet for a moment, taking
a deep breath and letting it out. When he spoke, his voice was low and
menacing.
“He’s
the dirtbag who paid them to kill my dog when we were deployed?”
She
nodded. “Yes. The reward was twenty thousand U.S. dollars for any war dog’s
tattooed ear.”
Jake’s
temper flared and he began pacing back and forth, clenching his right hand into
a fist, righteous anger rising to the surface. “Who is he? Where is he?”
“I’m
sorry to bring up painful memories, but I thought you’d want to be the one who
dealt with this … person.”
“Show
me his face and location. I’ll go there right now and break his neck with my
bare hands.”
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About the author:
Mark Nolan is the author of Dead Lawyers Don't Lie, an Amazon top 20 bestsellers, along with Jake Wolfe book two titled Vigilante Assassin and book three titled Killer Lawyer. He tries to make time every day to answer emails from readers. You can reach him and subscribe to his newsletter at marknolan.com.
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2 comments:
Sounds very interesting.
Sounds like an exciting series and I enjoyed the excerpt.
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