The Relic Runner Origin Story Box Set by Ernest Dempsey (non fiction books to read TXT) 📕

story kept you up late, on the edge of your seat, or burning your fingers as you swiped or turned the pages, swing by Amazon and leave a review. I’d appreciate it and so would other readers.

See you in the next one,

Ernest

Other books by Ernest Dempsey

Dak Harper Origin Stories:

Out of the Fire

You Only Die Once

Tequila Sunset

Purgatory

Scorched Earth

The Heart of Vengeance

Sean Wyatt Adventures:

The Secret of the Stones

The Cleric's Vault

The Last Chamber

The Grecian Manifesto

The Norse Directive

Game of Shadows

The Jerusalem Creed

The Samurai Cipher

The Cairo Vendetta

The Uluru Code

The Excalibur Key

The Denali Deception

The Sahara Legacy

The Fourth Prophecy

The Templar Curse

The Forbidden Temple

The Omega Project

The Napoleon Affair

The Second Sign

Adriana Villa Adventures:

War of Thieves Box Set

When Shadows Call

Shadows Rising

Shadow Hour

The Adventure Guild:

The Caesar Secret: Books 1-3

The Carolina Caper

Beta Force:

Operation Zulu

London Calling

Paranormal Archaeology Division:

Hell’s Gate

For Russell

Acknowledgments

Special thanks go out to my super fans. We ride together. I appreciate and love you all. And a huge thank you to Anne Storer, Ray Braun, Denyse Léonard, and James Slater for your extra effort in helping make this story a better reading experience.

Copyright © 2020 by Ernest Dempsey

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Created with Vellum

Purgatory

A Dak Harper ThrillerErnest Dempsey

One

Denver, Colorado

Dak had been waiting on this call for nearly two months. During that time, the warm embrace of late summer had rapidly given way to the chill of fall and the coming winter.

After the events in Mexico and the death of Luis, Dak Harper made his way back to the United States, circumventing the Border Patrol with the documents his friend Will had created for him back in Portugal.

It was the second time he'd been forced to sneak back into his own country, the country he fought and sacrificed for. The irony wasn't lost on him, but he did his best not to dwell on that. Those kinds of thoughts and feelings weren't productive.

He'd come to Denver, Colorado, immediately after re-entering the country. Luis told Dak that Billy Trask—one of the five men who'd left him for dead in Iraq—was holed up on a mountain somewhere in Colorado. Luis had failed to mention precisely where before he died in the firefight at the Mendoza cartel compound. Maybe he didn't know. Telling himself that made Dak feel a little better about the state of the unknown, but just barely.

Billy was a sniper and an excellent one at that. The obvious conclusion to Billy's selection of a mountain location was that he'd have a clear line of sight to any approaching threat. It was possible, of course, that Billy simply loved the mountains—a fact that Dak recalled from one of their conversations when they first met. If the sniper could have the best of both worlds, then that was just an added bonus.

Dak looked out the window of his seventh-story apartment. The downtown Denver skyline spread out across the plains leading into the Rocky Mountains. The city had witnessed a population explosion in recent years that resulted in rapid expansion both to the south and to the north toward Fort Collins.

 He pressed the answer button and held the device to his ear.

"I've been waiting for your call," Dak said, half cryptically, half-jokingly.

"I bet you have," Will responded. "I hope you’ve picked up a hobby or two during all of this."

Dak snickered. He had picked up a hobby. Since arriving in Denver, he'd been learning more about drones—specifically racing and freestyle models capable of reaching speeds beyond 90 mph while taking incredibly crisp video via GoPro-mounted cameras. He'd built four drones in the last two months. He lost one high up in the mountains when it crashed into a rocky crag. He crashed another one, but that unit managed to survive—for the most part. It needed some new propellers, two new motors, and two new cameras, but the aircraft proved to be far more durable than he would have believed.

Flying the drones gave him the feeling of being on a motorcycle with wings. It was fast, adrenaline-fueled, and filled a need for excitement he didn't realize he had. Being in one of the more picturesque, breathtaking places in the world didn't hurt, either.

"I've been doing some photography and videography," Dak said, downplaying the new hobby.

Will burst out laughing. "Not weddings and birthdays, I hope."

"Not really."

"Well, that's a relief. I couldn't imagine you standing around one of those events, taking pictures and video. Besides, you're supposed to be keeping a low profile."

"I am."

Will huffed. "Man of few words today, I see."

"Simple questions deserve simple answers."

"Fair enough."

"So, you have something for me, or you just calling to check on my routine?" Dak leaned forward to look out the window to his right. Dark clouds rolled in from the north and a few flecks of snow fluttered through the air around his building.

That was the downside of Denver. Winters were hard. That wasn't a problem for the people who loved to head into the mountains to hit the slopes. He fit into the other category, though he hoped that one day he might be able to return and visit Vail again. He'd been there once before and loved the little mountain village. It felt like being in Germany or Switzerland, two places he enjoyed visiting on his travels. For now, though, he had work to do.

"Your friend Billy Trask," Will said, "he's definitely in Colorado."

Dak felt a wave of relief crash over him, followed by an injection of adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"That's good to hear. Would be unfortunate if he was in Australia."

"No doubt," Will chuckled. "He's down in the south, in the Sangre de Cristo mountains area. It was difficult to track him down. Based on what you told me before, I wouldn't have thought this one to be as resourceful, but he clearly tried to