Hey everyone! I have a new book out!
It's my fourth story, and it's a little different from my other works.
I whipped up this novella over the summer and it is now available on Amazon, in both ebook and paperback formats.
Get your copy via the links below!
ebook: https://tinyurl.com/yaw3wsv3
paperback: https://tinyurl.com/yc8ugx9x
I won't reveal too much about this action/mystery story, because if I do, I'll be revealing too much.
Vigilant Hart features a tall, blue-eyed, strong and silent Mitchell Hart. He has a strict mission that cannot falter. That is, until he crosses paths with an unintended influence. That influence will prove most challenging to his focus.
...and we will leave it at that!
Vigilant Hart was my new challenge...to try to write a successful, impactful story in a different genre.
I usually write contemporary romance, but this story was a step into the new and unfamiliar for me!
ARC copies have come back with positive vibes, and so I am now happy to release Vigilant Hart to readers! I hope you enjoy this story. And there is consideration, given I get enough feedback; to make this into a three book series. I may add a prequel and sequel to Vigilant Hart.
Well, enjoy the book, and please feel free to contact me with any feedback! Your words always make a difference in the literary world!
As a bonus, I've posted the Prologue for your reading pleasure. If you like it, pick up the book!
Cheers!
AW Clarke
Prologue
Massimo
regained consciousness to the sudden change in sound of the TTx’s powerful
engine.
Wrenching
his neck about, he opened his eyes but saw darkness. As the tranquilizer’s
effects continued to dissipate in his body, Massimo found it difficult to orient
himself. His hands felt bound behind him. The chair he sat in appeared to bob
up and down, and some sort of cloth bag over his head further nullified his
senses.
What’s going on? Where the hell am I?
Suddenly,
the drone of the engine changed, and Massimo felt terrified by the sudden loss
of gravity in his stomach. Tensing his gut in fear, he tried to make some sense
of his surroundings…
A plane? Am I on a goddam plane?
The
g-forces returned to his gut as the plane levelled out seconds later, and the
frightened captive could no longer stay calm.
“HEY!
WHERE THE FUCK AM I? WHO’S THERE? SHOW YOURSELF, ASSHOLE!”
The
next minute felt long and uneasy, with only the continued rumble of an engine
not far from Massimo’s position.
While
imprisoned in a chair, cruising twenty-five hundred feet above sea level, at
the front of the plane, its operator engaged the autopilot, removed his headset
and climbed out of his seat.
Moments
later, the pilot stepped to within inches of where Massimo was restrained,
placed a big hand on his shoulder and used his other hand to whip the cloth bag
from his head.
Dazed
by the stark evening light shining through the windows of the fuselage, Massimo
soon adjusted his sight and now sat face to face with his captor.
“Who
the fuck are you?”
The
pilot stared back at him, a look of amusement about his face. “It’s not
important who I am. What is
important, however, is who you are.”
Hiding
his fear behind a wall of rage, Massimo yelled at the stranger. “IF YOU ONLY
KNEW WHO I WAS, YOU’D—”
A
leathery palm tore across the old man’s face, stunning him into silence. The
amused brilliance in the pilot’s eyes slowly faded into a dark, menacing peer.
Suddenly the drone surrounding them felt distant and muted.
The
pilot pulled a card from his shirt pocket, held it up between them and started
to read aloud.
“Massimo
Zagate, CEO of DayStar Capital, the country’s second largest investment fund
management company. Your company creates and runs predatory collateralized debt
obligations to thousands of people across the country.”
“So…?
Buddy, you want a fucking mortgage, then this is not the way to approach me.
Besides, I have people, and when they find out—”
The
big hand wound up to within inches from Massimo’s face, and he winced, grinding
his teeth in anger.
“Massimo,
you piece of shit. You think I’d want anything you have to offer after what you
did last year?”
The
dark faced pilot continued to read the card aloud.
“Court
documents show that you recently cranked the interest rates on your CDOs by
eleven percent.” Massimo saw the card drop from sight between them. “That’s ten percent higher than anywhere else in
the country! You know how many people lost everything because of your greed?
You are a thief and an asshole.”
The
pilot stood up tall and peered out the window. The sun had begun its descent
toward the sea-lined horizon. He then looked back at Massimo with great
determination, his hand unlatching a large door at the side of the plane.
“What
are you doing?!” Massimo called out, panic lacing his voice.
“The
way I see it, your strategies helped funnel over a million dollars into the
operations of one Jerome Zeldon. He and a certain group of his are well known
around here, but for all the wrong reasons. You deserve to die for your
actions, Massimo.”
“Just
because some people lost their homes? They can start over. It’s a free
country!”
The
large door quickly slid open and the cold turbulent air lashed the inside of
the plane.
The
pilot approached his captor.
“Bad
enough people lose everything, you shithead,” He grabbed a fistful of Massimo’s
hair and leaned his head a little closer to him. “But some people lost their lives, asshole.”
Massimo’s
eyes widened, time slowing as he was suddenly dragged out of the chair and
kicked to his knees at the edge of the open door. He saw nothing familiar. The
vast orange sky met an endless body of rolling waves as far as the eye could
see.
“Wait.
WAIT! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!”
“Killing
you would be too easy. But I’m going to make sure you start over from nothing
after what you’ve helped Zeldon and his cronies do.”
Massimo
felt his body tugged back into the fuselage and he let out a slow exhale.
Thank
God.
A
moment later, he felt the pilot’s head draw near to his. The stranger spoke a
few words into his ear and Massimo turned to see a large hunting blade in his
captor’s grip.
Frozen
with fear, he felt himself pushed forward, held out of the plane’s door.
Secured only by his knees and a firm hand holding a large sack secured around
his torso, Massimo felt the presence of death as a harsh appointment drawing
near in the waters below.
Instantly,
he felt what could have only been the large knife slice the zip tie in two,
finally freeing his wrists. But as soon as Massimo felt the freedom of his
hands, his body was released from the plane, now tumbling to the earth below.
This
was Massimo’s fate…to punch through the massive waves below and drown while his
body crumbled from the impact.
Suddenly,
his body jolted and pitched. A white cloth emerged from above, soon buffeting
violently before expanding into a large canopy.
The
pilot watched from the plane as the automatic parachute activated right on
time, slowing Massimo’s descent.
As
the freefall ended, the slow scrolling endless body of water revealed a small
forest island. Hope flashed swiftly across Massimo’s eyes. Descending slowly
toward the perimeter of the island, he sobbed like a child.
The
pilot slid closed the large door and took his position back in the cockpit. He
turned off the autopilot and calmly affixed his headset.
Turning
about, he peered out the windscreen and verified his captive’s landing on the
desolate beach below. He then eased back on the yoke and raised his speed,
climbing into the distant orange glow of the evening sky.
Vigilant Hart wis on sale on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, by AW Clarke. Contact me at awclarkenovels@gmail.com for more info.
