In the meantime, here is a sample of the newest of the books I’m working on. the working title is Undercover, but that is likely to change.

He got to the top of the escalator heading toward baggage and ticketing.  For just a moment he flashed back to that moment almost eleven years ago when his parents had dropped their eighteen-year-old son off at the airport to go to basic training. 

And then he thought of when “she” dropped him off in almost the exact same spot two and a half years later when he had to return to duty after burying his parents. 

Was that really over eight years ago?  It felt like forever, and like it was just yesterday. 

Christi. 

He’d wanted to marry her.  He’d asked.  She’d told him “not yet.”  That was the last time he saw her.  Eight years, eight months, nineteen days.  Her long, auburn hair waved in the breeze.  Her bright green eyes glinted, like she knew a joke nobody else was in on.  She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.  Tall, slender and the way she wrinkled her nose when she laughed. 

And then she disappeared. 

He’d been back on leave twice.  She was gone.  Her family was gone.  None of his friends knew anything.  It was like she never existed.  Christina Nova. 

People jostled around him as he slowed to a crawl, lost in the past, shocking him back into the present.  He turned and looked for carousel E.  It only took a moment, but he spotted his two bags coming around the end. 

JD moved up to grab his bags, two big duffles.  He carried them away from the crush of passengers looking for their bags and then hoisted one to his shoulder and carried the other with his left hand. 

“I should have shipped at least one of these,” he said out loud, although really just for his own benefit. 

“Need help, soldier?” he heard over his shoulder. 

JD turned to face the familiar voice, flooded with equal parts of excitement, hope and dread. 

Words stuck in his throat as he looked down into her bright green eyes. 

From the book:

Sean Murphy sat on the bridge of his fishing boat, Murphy’s Law. She was a 70’ trawler with a forward pilothouse. She had all the latest navigation gear and radios, and despite her age, she was a good-looking boat. She had her bumps and bruises, and some scrapes and wear spots, but he prided himself on keeping Murphy’s Law looking her best. Despite the fact that he pushed his old man off the side in a storm off the Outer Banks, he still felt that the boat was a tribute to him.
As he sat there at the helm, he noticed someone walking toward his boat. He couldn’t place him, but he knew he’d met the man at some point in the past.
“Sean Murphy,” Ed Dixon shouted. “Permission to come aboard?”
“Who am I talking to?”
“Ed Dixon. We need to talk about Paul.”
“You a cop or somethin’? Should I be callin’ my lawyer?”
“Definitely not a cop, Sean. And I don’t think you want your lawyer to hear anything I have to say. You probably don’t want me shouting it from here, either. So… can I come aboard?”
“Suit yourself, Ed Dixon.”
Ed walked the short gangplank onto the trawler, then went forward toward the pilothouse and Sean, waiting just outside it. As he approached, he put his hand out to shake. Sean looked down at the outstretched hand and turned away to walk into the pilothouse and have a seat. Ed followed.
“So, Ed, what’s on yer mind?”
“Your son Paul is harassing my son and his girlfriend. Maybe you remember her, Amy Prince. I think it would be in your best interest to help us put an end to that. In fact, he’s spent the last couple of days following them around. And of course, you are familiar with him getting locked up for trespassing at the Prince’s house before your last run.”
“What makes you think that I can do anything about it, Ed?” Sean said with a sarcastic tone. “The boy is big enough to make his own decisions. And from what I hear, that Amy girl was carryin’ on behind his back with your boy. Seems to me like there might be a little lesson owed. Maybe if they weren’t actin’ the fool, they wouldn’t have a problem now.”
The conversation wasn’t going the way Ed wanted.
“Sean, I’m going to level with you. I’m going to make it in YOUR best interest to put your son on another track. The very last thing that you want is increased attention on you or your business. And if Paul doesn’t alter his course, you ARE going to find yourself under a microscope.
“Now my son and his girlfriend have no idea that I’m here to talk to you. In fact, they are going to talk to Paul to see if he will lay off. But, I’m here to tell you that right now you don’t want to make me an enemy. And you don’t want your son to do that either. So… what do you say? Can we reach an accord here?”
“That sounds awful threatnin’, Ed. And I’m not one to knuckle under to threats.”
Sean got up from his chair, and continued, “So, what’s to stop me from beating the hell outta you where you stand? Or hell, maybe even draggin’ your body down to the hold and tossin’ you over on the next run in a couple of days?”
“There are a couple of things, Sean. First, if you swing on me, you might be in the hospital for that next run. Second, if you grab your binoculars and take a look over to the top of that warehouse across the way, you’ll see a light glint. That would be a friend of mine. And he CAN hit you, through the glass, from there. If you don’t believe me, step out of the pilothouse and wave. He’ll wave back. As far as whether he can hit you from there or not… trust me. I watched him make tougher shots in Vietnam. Regularly.
“I know that some of the people you work for are pretty tough. Let’s just say that they don’t want me as an enemy, either. And if I bring heat, the people you’ve been working for will turn on you in a heartbeat. The next step is up to you. We can have an agreement, shake hands like men, and both walk away… or we can get in a piss-match.
“What do you want to do?”
Sean glared over at Ed for a few moments. He was not liking this one bit. He wondered exactly what information this guy had and what resources he could bear. He was really struggling internally. He wanted to take a swing at him… he wasn’t too worried about the sniper, even if he could make the shot… what really worried him was if this guy really knew what he was up to with his boat.
“Seems I don’t have much choice, Ed. I guess we’ll hafta be friendly about it.” Sean reached out his hand and shook Ed’s.
“I look forward to not having to have another conversation like this again,” Ed said with a smile.
“Me, too,” Sean replied flatly.

Planning Vengeance is free on Amazon for Kindle this Saturday and Sunday, Sept 19-20. It’s always free for subscribers to Kindle Unlimited. The regular price for the Kindle edition is $2.99. It is also available in a trade paperback for $12.99.

I’d love to know what you think about it.