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

parked his truck on the street right in front of his brother's front yard. He beat his brother there, so he had to sit and wait, which was only making him more anxious as the minutes ticked by. Finally, he saw his brother's undercover squad car in his rearview mirror. Parker pulled into his driveway, parked the car, and got out to join Decklan in his truck.

“Are you all right?” Parker asked as he climbed into the truck.

“I’m fine,” Decklan responded sharply. “I don’t have much time. I need to find this guy fast.”

“Okay, but who is it you are talking about?” Parker asked.

“His name is Vladimir Ivanov. He’s a big-time drug dealer and a murderous psychopath,” Decklan answered.

“Holy shit! How do you know who Vladimir Ivanov is?” Parker asked, indicating he knew exactly who he was.

“You know who I am talking about? How do you know the name?” Decklan asked without answering his brother’s question.

“This guy popped up on our radar a couple months back, but we haven’t been able to pin him down yet. He keeps managing to slip through our fingers.”

“You guys are the fucking police!” Decklan said in a pissed-off tone. “Why not just bring him in for questioning, at the very least to see if you can get him to slip up?”

“Trust me, we have tried, more than once. This guy is as sharp as they come, and he knows we don’t have anything concrete on him. You still haven’t answered my question. How do you know him?”

“That’s not important right now. All I can tell you is that he killed my friend, and he was involved in the killing of my family. I need to find him before he gets away,” Decklan replied.

“You are going to go after this guy, by yourself? That’s a suicide mission, Deck.”

“Trust me, I’m aware of how dangerous he is. But I made a promise, and I intend on keeping it. Can you help me or not?”

“This shit could get me in a lot of trouble,” Parker said. “But you have been through enough lately. Let me make a call.”

Parker stepped out of the truck to make a call. Decklan watched nervously as his brother paced back and forth in the front yard, talking to someone. Decklan had no idea who his brother could be calling for help right now, but he hoped it was someone who could actually help. After about five minutes, Parker hung up the phone and got back in the truck.

“Well…” Decklan said, running out of patience.

“First, let’s make one thing very clear. You are not hearing any of this from me and I have no idea that you know who Vladimir Ivanov is or what he does,” Parker told Decklan.

“Got it!”

“My source is telling me that Vladimir was seen heading towards a private airstrip about thirty miles outside of town.”

“Airstrip! Where the hell’s he going?”

“Back home, if I were to guess,” Parker replied. “But again, you didn’t hear this from me.”

“And where is home for this son of a bitch?” Decklan asked.

“Moscow.”

Decklan slammed his hands against the steering wheel. “Of course, it is!”

Parker didn’t say anything, figuring that anything he could say would only piss Decklan off more.

“Why the hell is he going back to Russia?” Decklan said, not really expecting an answer.

“My guess would be because things got a little messier than he is used to and he was worried that if he stuck around too long, the scent might lead back to him. Like I said before, he’s smart. He knows he must put distance between himself and the situation. Plus, it sounds like you have made things much more difficult for him, and by the sound of it, he knows you’re coming for him.”

“Looks like I’m going to Russia. Shit!” Decklan said, knowing he had no other choice.

Decklan was not expecting to have to go to the other side of the world to take care of this problem. It was hard enough when all this was happening in his front yard, literally. Now he was going to be giving up home court advantage. Not to mention, Vladimir probably had way more reinforcements back home. This was going to be one shitty trip. Unfortunately, his only other option was to abandon the mission and break his promise. The promise he made to his dead friend and more importantly, the promise he made to himself and his family to avenge their deaths.

“Please don’t tell me you are actually considering going to Russia?” Parker asked his brother.

“What choice do I have?” Decklan replied. “There’s nothing left for me here except pain and suffering. The only thing left for me to do with my life is to kill Vladimir Ivanov.”

“Decklan, please listen to me. If you go looking for him in Moscow, they will kill you on sight. You are only one man. You don’t stand a chance.”

“I’ve managed to escape death thus far, on top of killing several of his men. I don’t see why it should be any different just because I’m in a different country,” Decklan said, knowing good and well that he was just blowing smoke. He was very aware of the dangers that awaited him in Russia, he just didn’t care.

“Let me go with you. I can help,” Parker said desperately.

“Go with me? Have you lost your mind? You still have a wife and job here,” Decklan responded harshly, even though he was less concerned with Parker’s wellbeing than he was letting on. He just didn’t want his little brother tagging along and slowing him down.

“I know that, but I know if you go alone you won’t come back,” Parker said, sounding concerned. “At least let me give you the name of my contact over there.”

“Why the hell do you have a contact in Moscow?”

“It’s an old friend from the academy. He went into the private sector and has been stationed in Moscow for a few years. No one knows the land better and he can get you the weapons