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

Decklan knew his brother was right. He hadn’t thought about weapons or anything like that. He just knew he was going wherever Vladimir was going.

“Thanks,” Decklan replied.

Parker pulled out a card from his wallet and wrote down a name and address. “When you get to Moscow, go directly to this address. Knock on the blue door six times, separating every two knocks by two seconds. Knock knock, one…two… knock knock, one…two… knock knock. This will let him know you’re a friend. He will ask you who you are before he opens the door. You need to tell him that you are my brother and that you need supplies for a mission. He doesn’t need to know what you are doing there unless you feel like telling him. He will supply you with anything you need as well as give you a safe place to stay. He should be the only person you trust over there. Vladimir’s name carries a great deal of weight in Moscow, so it’s a good idea to try and limit your exposure out in public.”

“That’s a lot of shit to remember,” Decklan said with a smirk. “Anything else I should know?”

“I don’t think so, but if I remember something, I’ll call you.”

Decklan nodded his head.

“Just do me one favor,” Parker said.

“What’s that?”

“Please let me know when you get back.”

“Sure thing, little brother,” Decklan replied, even though they both knew the chances of him making it back were slim to none.

Parker put his hand on Decklan’s shoulder. “Good luck, big brother.” Then he exited the truck, knowing that it could be the last time they saw each other. Their relationship was strained, and it had been for a long time, but they were brothers, after all.

Decklan drove off and looked back to see Parker standing there in the street, watching him drive away toward imminent death. Vladimir would already be in the air by now since he had a private plane always waiting for him, according to Parker; unfortunately for Decklan, he didn’t have the same luxury. He was going to have to fly commercial. He figured, at best, he wouldn’t arrive in Russia for at least a day. He needed to go back to his house, which was still a battleground from hours prior, so he could pack some clothes and whatever else he thought might be necessary. He had no idea how long he would be gone so he needed to take as much as he could pack in his carry-on.

He got home, and to his surprise there were no cops or forensics there yet. He figured Parker must have pulled some strings or made something up to keep the coast clear for a little longer. He was shocked that his brother was helping him so much after all the shit they had been through, especially recently. They usually couldn’t get through a full conversation without one of them telling the other one off, and now Parker was putting his own job at jeopardy to help.

Decklan rushed inside, stepped over the still-dead Langley, and ran upstairs to pack. It only took him five minutes to get everything he needed. It wasn’t much, but it would be enough. He pulled out his phone and looked up the earliest flight he could get. He knew it wouldn’t be cheap, but money wasn't really an issue since his wife was so successful, and he was the only one left to spend it. Two pm was the earliest flight he could book, so he did. That gave him four hours to get to the airport, get through security, and get to his gate. It was more than enough time since the airport was only twenty minutes away.

He arrived at the airport, parked his truck in the parking garage, grabbed his one bag and headed inside. He got through check-in and security without issue. There wasn’t much of a line since it was the middle of a weekday. The only time this airport really saw any high-volume traffic was early mornings and weekends.

He found his way to his gate and took a seat in the waiting area, since he had time to kill before his flight. Decklan was trained in situational awareness and he always used it no matter where he was or who he was with. The first thing he always did when entering a room or place was scan it for possible threats. He looked for anything that seemed out of place or anyone who seemed like they didn’t belong. He learned that being aware of one's surroundings always could literally save his life, and those of others.

His first experience with this was before he enlisted. He was at a party in high school one Friday night when one of the popular girls' rich parents were out of town. Her parents knew she threw these parties because they let their little spoiled brat do anything she wanted, but on this particular night, things got out of hand, even more so than the typical high school party. It was normally just their own high school kids that attended, but word got out about the party and some kids from a rival school decided to show up. Worse, one of them ended up belonging to the most dangerous gang in the city. The kid was only seventeen, but he had a reputation for violence and on top of that he had a hair-trigger temper. Decklan noticed the guys enter the party, clearly not belonging. He inched his way closer to where the group of guys was standing near the front door, as he watched the gang member start arguing with one of the football players. It escalated quickly and Decklan could tell something was about to pop off. He always had an instinct for sniffing out trouble and always wanted to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves, which was probably why he made such a good soldier.

After a