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

Knock, knock…one…two…Knock, knock…one…two…Knock, knock…one…two…

He heard something inside. Footsteps moving across the floor. They moved carefully, like someone who wasn’t expecting a guest.

“Name?” a deep, raspy voice asked from the other side.

“Decklan.”

“Last name?” the voice asked again.

“Jennings,” Decklan answered.

“Why the hell are you at my door?”

“You know my brother, Parker Jennings. You were in the academy together.”

The door slowly opened and the raspy voice replied, “Inside, quickly!”

Decklan stepped inside as instructed, and heard the door shut and lock behind him. He turned around to see who this man was. He was looking at a middle-aged man with a greying beard and hair to match. He stood about six foot even and looked to weigh around two twenty-five to two-thirty. He had broad shoulders and a rugged face to match his voice. Decklan reached out his hand to properly introduce himself. “Nice to meet you, and thank you for the help.”

The man extended the courtesy in return. “Nice to meet you as well. The name’s Theodore Scott, but most people just call me Teddy.”

Decklan felt the rough calloused hands of Teddy, which didn’t surprise him, seeing that he seemed like one tough son of a bitch.

“I don’t usually ask these things, and quite honestly, I don’t usually give a shit, but it seems you’ve traveled a long way for something. What brings you all the way to this part of the world?” Teddy asked.

At this point, Decklan didn’t see much point in trying to lie or hide why he was here. After all, Teddy was going to be the only person he could trust while he was in Moscow. The least he could do was fill the guy in.

“Parker didn’t tell you anything?” Decklan asked, trying to see if he already knew.

“Not a word. Just said his big brother needed some gear and a place to stay,” Teddy said.

“Long story short, I’m here to kill the man who is responsible for killing my entire family as well as one of my friends.”

Teddy slowly nodded his head, not showing any facial expressions. Most people would be blown away by something like this, but this guy was clearly battle worn.

“I see. And what makes you think this guy is the one responsible?” Teddy asked.

“I know he killed my friend because it happened right in front of me in my own house, and as far as my family goes, let’s just say I figured it out.”

Decklan didn’t feel like going into details about having held the exact gun that he saw on the tape or about the tattoo on Vladimir’s wrist. He figured it would be easier to leave it vague.

“Got it. I know it’s none of my business, but I have seen a lot of men trying to seek some kind of revenge over the years, and it almost always turns out badly,” Teddy said.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Decklan replied. “I don’t have anyone to go home to and I’m well aware of the risk I am taking.”

“Understood.” Teddy said in agreement. “So what equipment do you need?”

“I guess that all depends on what you have,” Decklan replied.

Teddy smirked, “Follow me. I think you’re going to like this.”

Decklan followed him down a back hallway, through a door, and down some stairs that led into some kind of basement, even though it looked more like a damn bunker for the apocalypse. Teddy walked over to a brick wall, or so it appeared to be. He pushed one of the bricks and the wall began to open, turning like a revolving door leading into a fancy hotel. Once it stopped, they both walked in. Decklan looked around and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“Jesus, Teddy! You’ve got enough firepower down here to supply a small army,” Decklan said. “What exactly are you preparing for?”

Teddy laughed. “Just some toys I’ve collected over the years. What can I say? I like guns.”

Decklan looked over at him and repeated himself. “What are you preparing for?”

“Nothing, really. But I have lived here long enough to know it’s better to be over-prepared, because the opposite can result in death. There are a lot of powerful and dangerous people here, Decklan. But I’m sure you already know that, considering you’re here to hunt one of them down,” Teddy said.

“Good point. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last month it’s that shit can hit the fan any second…and it usually does,” Decklan said.

He continued looking around and taking in the spectacle that was Teddy’s armory. It looked like something straight out of a James Bond movie. He had handguns, rifles, shotguns, grenades, and even a freaking rocket launcher.

“What the hell do you need this for?” Decklan asked, pointing to the RPG.

“Ah, that’s my baby right there. You can’t tell from the condition it’s in, but that beauty has helped me get out of a few sticky situations over the years. Just send a couple of those through a door and anyone inside doesn’t stand a chance,” Teddy said.

Decklan was quickly starting to realize that this guy might have a couple of screws loose. He lived in the middle of Russia by himself and had enough guns and explosives to kill a hundred men if he needed to. Hell, who knew, maybe he already had. All Decklan knew was that this guy was his best chance of finding and killing Vladimir.

“I have a question for you, Teddy,” Decklan said.

“Sure thing, kid. Shoot!” Teddy replied.

Decklan thought it was interesting Teddy referred to him as kid even though they were probably less than fifteen years apart in age. However, this guy seemed to have lived five lifetimes already.

“You have lived here for several years, so I was wondering if the name Vladimir Ivanov means anything to you?”

Teddy shot Decklan a concerned glare. “Of course, I know the name. Everyone in Moscow knows the name.”

“Any idea where I could find him?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. But please don’t tell me he’s the guy you came all this