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

“It can change from one location to the next, but I have never seen him stay in one place for longer than six months. This allows him to move enough product, clean up any loose ends, and get out of town before he is caught,” Langley responded.

“How long do you think he has been here?”

“I can’t be exactly sure, but I have been here for eight weeks so at least that long, if not longer.”

“Okay, so using your rough timeline, that would give us about three to four months at most to take him out before he disappears again.” Decklan said. “I would prefer sooner rather than later so he doesn’t keep racking up the body count.”

“Agreed,” Langley replied.

They made it back to shore and Decklan tied his boat back up to the same spot. They hopped out and headed back to the truck, but before they could make it halfway, they heard gunfire. They both hit the deck quickly and pulled out their pistols. If they learned one thing from war it was whenever you hear gunfire, assume it is meant for you and get ready to fire back.

They heard the gunshots getting closer. It sounded like more than one gun, which meant there were multiple shooters. They were scanning the area, trying to identify where it was coming from, but they couldn’t get a visual. Finally, they saw two masked men walking out from behind a black SUV.

“Fuck, that has to be Vlad’s guys,” Langley said while staying covered behind a dock post.

“I can see he doesn’t like to waste any time cleaning up loose ends,” Decklan said. “This guy must really hate you.”

The gunshots stopped, indicating they were reloading or moving in closer. They were confident the two gunmen were not a hundred percent sure where they were. All they knew was the general direction to shoot in, which is all they really needed if they could land a couple of lucky shots. Decklan poked his head out around from his cover to try and see where they were. That was the only way they could formulate a plan.

“Looks like they are splitting up,” Decklan said. “I am going to focus on the guy going left and you get his asshole buddy going right.”

“Roger that,” Langley replied.

Decklan slowly lowered himself into the water and slid himself under the pier. He figured this would give him the best chance for a surprise attack. He held himself up by sliding the fingers from his left hand between two planks in the dock to keep himself above the water without having to kick and make noise. It also allowed him to see directly up through the spacing in the wood as he heard the first footstep hit the dock. The guy was reloaded and ready to pull the trigger again but the fact that he was moving slowly and cautiously told Decklan that he had no idea where he was. He counted six more steps and then he could see the guy standing directly above him. He had stopped for some reason. Something had grabbed his attention as he looked over in the direction Langley went.

Shit, Langley.

The guy went to step and change his course, but before his foot hit the ground Decklan fired three shots directly up into the guy’s legs. He hit the ground, screaming in agony, as he started firing straight down where the shots had come from. Decklan quickly let go and swam backwards to avoid being hit. He got back up to the side of the pier and pulled himself back up to dry land. He looked down and saw the guy was bleeding profusely. It appeared that one of his bullets had hit the femoral artery, something that Decklan came to recognize from seeing it too many times in war. It wouldn't be long before this guy was bled dry, so rather than pump one last slug to finish him off, he just kicked his gun into the water and left him for dead.

Now he needed to help Langley. He quickly ran for the grassy area over by some palm trees, where the other guy had veered off to. His plan appeared to be flank them from the side while his buddy pressed with fire. He couldn’t see or hear anything. He had no idea where they had gone and his worry for Langley was growing.

Surely that thug didn’t get the best of him. No way this guy could take out a SEAL.

As he came up over a small hill and into the parking lot, he could see several cars, more than when they first arrived. He could hear children laughing and he quickly put his gun behind his back. A family came out from behind a minivan, looking ready to enjoy a day together. There was public beach access right next to the dock, but it usually didn’t attract many visitors due to the boats constantly coming and going. This family must be from out of town. The family walked right past him and he exchanged smiles with them all. They were obviously unaware of what just happened, and what was happening. He pulled his gun back out into the ready position as he scanned the parking lot for Langley or the thug and kept moving. After clearing several more yards, he heard something. It sounded like someone trying to call his name, but something sounded off.

“Decklan, the son of a bitch got away,” Langley said, holding his stomach, trying to keep his wound from bleeding too badly.

“Oh shit, you’ve been shot!” Decklan said.

“Don’t worry, I managed to return the favor,” Langley said.

“Good job, buddy. Don’t worry, I am going to get you back to the house. You are going to be okay,” Decklan said, knowing he had no way of being sure.

He holstered his pistol and threw Langley’s arm over his shoulders and slowly hoisted him to his feet. “Can you walk?” Decklan asked.

“I think so,” Langley replied, almost incoherently.