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

floor. Two smoke grenades went off and all visibility toward the front of the house was gone. Vladimir’s men started moving in and dispersing to take control of each room.

“Langley, slide me that shotgun,” Decklan said.

Langley quickly grabbed the 12 gauge and slid it over to Decklan. He assumed guys would have split off through the dining room and would be trying to sneak up from behind. Meanwhile, Langley unleashed a barrage of bullets into the smoke, hoping to get lucky and land a few shots. He heard one guy scream and drop to the floor.

Decklan cautiously moved toward the dining room with his gun facing forward, ready to blow someone's head off. He decided to post up behind the table that sat in one of his back rooms. He stared toward the front, waiting for someone to show themselves. He could hear some noise but didn’t have his sights on anyone yet. Then he caught a reflection in his china cabinet glass. It was facing him, which meant the reflection was showing someone posted up against the wall right at the opening of the room. Decklan turned his shotgun and ripped a shot into the wall. One of Vladimir’s men propelled forward from the force and landed face down on the floor.

He saw another figure trying to pull the body away, so he jumped up from behind the table and tactically moved forward until he had a clear shot. He let two more pump shots out, one to his body and the second one taking half his face off. He quickly moved over to them to make sure they were dead. No pulse.

He moved himself back to cover so he could prepare for the next wave when he saw giant flashes of white light up the house through the windows, followed by the sound of rolling thunder. The wind began to howl and the sound from the increasingly heavy rain was getting louder by the second. This was good news for Decklan and Langley because that meant that all of Vladimir’s guys would have to deal with the storm on top of avoiding being one of their latest victims. For the first time since all this shit started, it seemed that something was finally playing in their favor.

With the storm growing stronger, it was only a matter of time before all of Vladimir’s men, at least what was left of them, worked their way into the house. They knew being outside put them at a disadvantage. Several minutes passed with no action. The only thing he could hear was the rain, so he decided to work his way back to Langley. Staying low and ready to fire, he made it back to the same wall that separated the guest room from the kitchen, but he didn’t see Langley.

“Langley,” Decklan whispered loudly. “Are you okay? Where are you?”

No response.

Shit! That can’t be good. Maybe he just couldn’t hear me.

“Langley! I need to know you are okay,” he said again, louder.

Still no response, so he decided to move closer to see if he could figure out what was going on. He knew he didn't have much time before he would be suppressed with fire again. He got in position to be able to see the whole living room, hoping to see Langley posted up somewhere, but he was nowhere to be found.

Son of a bitch! Where the hell did you go?

He switched out his 12 gauge for his AR since it allowed him to move easier and would give him more range on his shots. Plus, it was the gun he had grown accustomed to in the forces and felt most comfortable wielding. He slid over to the couch and took position in order to scan for any threats. He needed to find Langley and it needed to be soon. Right as he was about to move for the kitchen door, he heard that sound again… Tink, tink… bang!

A flash bang grenade. These guys knew what they were doing and were clearly packing some serious heat. Decklan knew Vladimir was Russian ex-special forces, so he would absolutely have access to this kind of equipment. Fortunately for Decklan, he had tossed his fair share of flash bangs, so he recognized the sound as it rolled across the floor and managed to cover his ears and turn away before it went off. This didn’t completely make one immune to the effects of it, but it was better than the alternative, which was temporarily blind and slightly concussed.

As soon as Decklan turned around to the front where the flash bang was tossed, three heavily armed men came charging in, unleashing complete hell into the living room and kitchen. Glass was shattering, coffee mugs and cups were getting obliterated, and the couch was being ripped apart like a Great White tearing into its prey. Only by the grace of God did Decklan manage to avoid being hit. Once all three of the men’s clips were empty, after just unloading over a hundred bullets, they disappeared as quickly as they entered.

What the hell are they doing? Do they think they got me? Why not keep shooting?

Decklan took this opportunity to move closer to a window and see what was going on outside. He made it to the same one that he shot the guy through at the start of this shit show, only this time all the glass was gone. It had all been blown out and the curtains were filled with bullet holes, but still hanging. He managed to get a look outside, and what he saw was something he wasn’t prepared for.

“Mr. Jennings, I believe I have something of yours,” Vladimir’s cold Russian voice said as he held a gun to Langley’s head.

Langley! How did he get you? This is my fault. I never should have left you alone.

“Let him go!” Decklan yelled out through the window.

“I don’t believe you are in any position to be handing out demands, Mr. Jennings. You see, I