CHARACTERS
Candace Marks— long dark hair, green eyes. Architect. Father (Howard Marks) is a general in the army, her mother is was an officer in the army, but died in an accident on duty. She fell in love with Rick Savage eight years ago, before her left and broke her heart.
Rick Savage—dark hair, deep blue eyes, six-foot-five. Former surgical resident and green beret. Lives in NYC, works for Walker Security. Father was a surgeon, mother is deceased. Scar on his cheek. Goatee. Tattoos: a skull in a Green Beret, a snake and a knife on his chest, a heart that says San Antonio. Gave his heart to Candace, and left it with her when he joined the black ops team. Now he’s back to settle a score, and get his woman back.
Tag—led the missions Savage went on when he was a mercenary. Smoker. Father-like figure to Savage until he found out the truth. Savage owes him a debt, which he’s calling in on. Someone betrayed him and took a hit out on him. He thinks it’s Gabriel Manning (Candace’s fiancé) and he wants Savage to kill him.
Savage’s father—thick solid gray hair, thin frame. Alcoholic. Was horrible to his wife, yelled and shoved her, she had a heart attack and died—Candace was a witness. Savage assumes he’s working with Tag.
Howard Marks—Five-Star General. Pulled Savage into the black ops team eight years ago. Has been MIA since the beginning of the series. Is now being held by Prince Yasmin, who could kill him if Tag orders it. Savage’s men are getting ready to extract him.
Linda—pretty, petite, blonde. Candace’s best friend. Owns a floral shop.
Gabriel Manning—“Honest Gabe,” good looking, blond, sharp nose and sharper jawline. Candace’s fiancé. Set on running for president in 2024. In cahoots with Pocher and the Society—the underbelly of the US government. Former Associated Deputy Director of Military Affairs for the CIA. Now a US Senator for Texas. Knows Candace’s father well. It’s been deduced that he called a lot of the missions that Savage’s black ops team was operating.
Monica Martin—twenty-something, gorgeous. Gabriel’s campaign manager. Sleeping with Gabriel. Marilyn Monroe lookalike. Blonde hair.
Ted Pocher—Thin, fifty-something. Powerhouse of the Society (a deep state-like organization). Billionaire. Is controlling Gabriel to an extent.
Max—part of Savage’s black ops team. His wife, Kelly, called Savage in a panic because he’s missing. Savage arranged for Walker Security to get to Kelly so she’d be safe while he looks into Max’s disappearance.
Wes Casey—worked with Savage as a mercenary. His wife, Lily, and Savage were ordered to kill a child on a mission. Savage declined, Lily tried to, so Savage killed her and ended up killing the child, too, because Lily used him as a shield. Wes has been out to kill Savage ever since. Wes is still with Tag’s team now, and comes after Candace—on the cliffhanger for Savage Burn, he was holding a knife to Candace’s neck.
Kane Mendez—an associate of Savage’s in New York. Savage contacts him because he has connections to the Society.
Adam—former Navy SEAL Team Six. Walker Security employee. Tall and broad, dark
hair.
Smith—former Army Ranger, Walker Security employee. Sandy brown hair
Blake Walker—Savage’s boss at Walker Security. One of the founding brothers. Has been helping remotely.
Asher—former Navy SEAL Team Six. Walker Security employee. Hacker. Rockstar looks—long blond hair, tattoos.
Kara Walker—Married to Blake Walker, helping Kelly, Max’s wife.
Adrian Mack—Tall, dark and good looking with curly dark hair. Green eyes. Friendly. Ex-FBI. Lots of tattoos. Walker Security employee. Savage is unsure of him.
Reynolds—Walker Security employee, former SEAL, set to extract Candace’s father.
CHAPTER ONE
Savage
The graveyard is a haze of mist and shadows, the night silent but for the chirping of crickets. I stand with the tombstone of my mother beside me and my enemy holding a blade to Candace’s throat—the woman I love, the only woman I’ve ever wanted to call my wife. I’m sure he believes killing Candace with that blade is poetic justice, payback for me slitting his wife’s throat. His wife was going to kill a child. She deserved what she got.
I don’t regret the decision to kill her and Candace will not pay for her death.
I could play games with Wes, another person would, and likely play the negotiation game, but I am not another person nor is he bluffing or buying time. He’s going to kill her. That’s the only reality I require to decide on my action. He moves his head to the side of hers and dares to show me his face. A second later, the blade in my hand is in his forehead. Candace falls forward on her hands and knees, and I’m already behind her, standing over him. I’ve learned the hard way never to assume a man is dead, and in this case, that would have been a foolish assumption at that. Wes isn’t dead. Even with that blade in his forehead, he grabs my calf. Since we’re being all grabby, I make a grab, too, for the blade in his forehead. I pull it out and shove it into his heart. Now he’s fucking dead. But just to be certain, I grind it and twist it, finishing the job before I pull the blade out, wipe it on his shirt, and shove it in my belt for easy access.