BLOOD TIES (Decklan Jennings Thriller Book 1) by Philip Duncan (book recommendations for young adults txt) 📕

go. My friend over there has had a few too many and his wife will kill me if I don’t get him home in one piece.”

Vladimir looked over at the bar where Decklan was pointing. Something in his eyes changed.

“That is your friend? The tall one?” Vladimir asked.

“Yes, why do you ask?” Decklan replied, confused why it would matter.

“No reason, I am just a curious man,” Vladimir replied, sipping his vodka.

Decklan could tell something was off. It was almost as if Vladimir had seen Langley before, but didn’t want to press him further. He just wanted to get out of there, while he still could, and he could ask Langley once they were in the clear.

“Thank you for the drink,” Decklan said while sliding out of the table. “Maybe we will see each other again.”

“I would like that, Mr…” Vladimir paused. “I am sorry, but I didn’t get your name.”

Shit, Decklan thought. He didn’t like the idea of giving someone like this his name, but then again, if he was the one responsible for his family, then there was a good chance he already knew. The truth was the best option right now.

“Decklan Jennings,” he said.

“Have a good night, Mr. Jennings. I will see you around.”

Finally, he was free from that suffocating table and back to the bar with Langley.

“Let’s get out of here,” Decklan said.

He noticed that Langley and Vladimir had been locked in on each other the entire time, not breaking eye contact for even a second.

“Langley, what are you doing? Let’s go. Now,” Decklan said, pulling Langley toward the door.

CHAPTER 13

“What the hell was that?” Decklan said as they were heading back to the house. “Do you two know each other?”

“It’s a long story,” Langley replied.

“So you do,” Decklan said.

“Listen, Decklan, I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I didn’t just happen upon your doorstep. It was intentional and there’re a few details that I left out.”

Decklan couldn’t begin to know what the hell Langley meant. “What are you talking about?”

“Me and Vladimir have a history, and not a good one,” Langley said, finally admitting they knew each other.

“Did you work a case that involved him or something?” Decklan asked.

“Sorta, but not in the traditional sense. You see, I am not actually a detective. Well, not anymore.”

Decklan just stared at Langley, waiting for his explanation.

“After I got out of the Navy, I wanted to do something to make a difference. You know, try and make the world a better and safer place, just like we did in the military. So I became a police officer. With my skills and background, I got fast-tracked to detective and ended up working directly with the DEA.”

“So that’s how you know who Vladimir is? Because he was running drugs in your town?” Decklan asked.

“That’s right, but some things happened that changed the whole game. I had just lost my wife to cancer about six months before I was put on Vladimir’s case, and I was still struggling to deal with her being gone. This was causing some issues at work and people were trying to get me to take some time off.”

Decklan knew exactly how this felt. He could relate to his pain in a way that only a widower could.

“Working was the only thing that was keeping me from blowing my brains out. I figured if I could help bring someone like this in and get some drugs off the streets I would feel better…if that was even possible. About a month into the case, I got a call that a college party from the night before had resulted in five overdoses of meth. Once I got there, one of my colleagues told me it would be better if I didn't go in. One of the aspects of being a lead detective meant I had to see each body, which was something you never get used to, no matter how many times you do it. After seeing the first four, all college students, they brought me to the last body that was lying in the kitchen. They pulled back the cloth, and in an instant, my whole world came to a crashing halt as I looked at the bloodless face of my only child. My son was dead at the hands of Vladimir’s drugs.”

“Holy shit. I’m so sorry,” Decklan said, understanding the pain of losing a child.

Completely ignoring Decklan’s sentiment, he continued, “As you can imagine, I started to spiral out of control. I was so hell-bent on tracking him down and killing him myself, I forgot that I had a job to do. After a couple of weeks of me showing up late and ignoring protocols, I was finally asked to hand over my badge and gun and take some time off. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew this was them politely telling me I was fired, but at that point I didn’t give a shit. That was seven years ago and I have been trying to track him down and make him pay for what he did ever since. I followed him here and I had been in town for a few weeks trying to plan my next move when I heard about what happened to your family.”

Decklan couldn’t believe what he was hearing. What were the chances that one guy was responsible for taking so much from two people who had never met? He didn’t believe in fate, but he didn’t know what else to call it.

Langley wasn’t sure how Decklan was going to respond, seeing that he had lied to insert himself into his life.

“I get it, man.” Decklan said. “A man who loses everything will do whatever it takes to find some semblance of peace. I don’t care that you lied to me and I’m even relieved that you're not actually a detective anymore. All I care about is putting a stop to this guy, once and for all.”

Langley was a little surprised by this response, but happy to hear