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

of two years, Parker had to call his mom, dad, and Decklan to come bail him out of jail, and the only reason he needed his older brother was because his mom and dad told him no more help if he got in trouble again. Unfortunately, their dad was a bit of an enabler when it came to Parker. Parker knew that no matter what he did or what kind of trouble he was in, Dad would always step in and help. This was obviously a great thing for a parent to do for their kids after all, it was their job to protect and provide, but there came a point where enough was enough and tough love needed to be established.

One of the most important lessons Decklan learned in the military was that discipline from superiors meant they cared. If they just let you slide by and get away with shit, then they couldn’t care less what happened to you. The same applied for parents after a certain point. Kids needed tough love and discipline, or they would never grow up and learn. So when their parents decided to leave Parker in jail, he called his big brother. He called at least a dozen times from the prison phone before getting an answer. When Decklan finally picked up it was about a quarter till eight.

“Hey man, it’s Parker.”

“Are you in jail?” Decklan asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah, I need someone to come bail me out and Mom and Dad told me they weren’t helping,” Parker replied.

“Well shit, man, can you blame them? You were just in this exact same situation less than six months ago. What the hell happened?” Decklan asked.

“Me and my girl broke up, so I went out drinking with some buddies. I thought I was okay to drive home, but apparently a cop saw me swerving, which I still think was bullshit.”

“So you got arrested for drinking and driving—again?”

“Yes, Deck. Are you going to help me out or what?” Parker snapped, clearly still hungover and irritated.

“First off, you need to chill if you want my help. Second, I don’t even know where you are or what to do,” Decklan snapped back. “I don’t exactly go around bailing people out of jail all of the time.”

“Sorry man, I’m just really tired and pissed off,” Parker said. “The lady who helped me out with my bail last time will call you and arrange everything.”

“All right, I’ll help, but you are going to pay me back every penny for this,” Decklan said.

“Okay man, I swear I will. Thanks,” Parker replied.

Everything went smoothly and Decklan got him out within a few hours of their phone call. However, it was almost two years before Parker paid him back, despite Decklan being in financially difficult times himself. This was the last time Decklan did anything for his brother and the last time he asked for his help until his family, and that was just because it was his damn job. After a few moments of neither one of them talking, Langley finally spoke.

“I have been meaning to ask you one very important question.”

“What’s that?” Decklan replied.

“What if Vladimir had nothing to do with your family? You could potentially be risking your life for nothing and their true killers could still be out there.”

Without hesitation, Decklan replied. “Trust me, I’ve already thought about that a hundred times, but we do know that he had something to do with your son’s death so as far as I am concerned, we are in this together. One way or another, I’ll find out the truth about what happened to my family and whoever is responsible will pay with their life.”

Langley just sat there, almost stunned. He wasn’t sure what to say back because he didn’t want Decklan to feel like he had to risk his own life to help him and potentially lose out on being able to bring his family peace. On the other hand, he selfishly knew that taking on Vladimir and his gang of thugs alone would almost certainly result in his own death, so he needed Decklan’s help. After all, that was exactly why he showed up just a few weeks ago, to lend a helping hand and get one in return.

“You have no idea how much that means to me, and you have my word that if we make it out of this shit alive and Vladimir isn’t your guy, I will help you find the real killers,” Langley finally replied.

“You got yourself a deal,” Decklan said.

CHAPTER 15

Decklan couldn’t believe that this was where his life had ended up. Just a month ago, everything seemed as normal as anyone else’s life, but clearly, he was mistaken. He couldn’t help but think that he could have been followed for God knew how long. Or worse, someone was following his wife and children. If this wasn’t some random house invasion turned deadly, then whoever was responsible had done their homework and knew that he wasn’t going to be home when everything happened.

This meant they would also know of Decklan’s background and training, which confused him because why would they let someone with his skill set live? Why not tie up the one loose end that could potentially hunt them down and make them pay for their actions? Nothing really seemed to add up in his head. No matter how hard he thought about it or how much he tried to come up with a logical conclusion, there was just something missing. Who could possibly do this?

Then Decklan had a crazy idea. “Hey Langley, I think I need to arrange a sit-down with Vladimir to try and talk things out.”

Langley peered at Decklan with wide eyes. “Have you lost your fucking mind? After what we have been doing to his guys, he will probably shoot you on sight.”

“I know it’s a long shot, and I’m not for one second forgetting what he is capable of. But…”

“But what?” Langley interrupted. “That’s a suicide mission.