Moving across the polished wood floor on the lower level of the ship, the top of his head was no more than a few inches from the cylindrical light bulbs stretched horizontally across the ceiling. A towering individual standing at least a handful of inches taller than my own six-foot-three.
An obvious edge in size that was enhanced by his being several years younger. A man just months past his thirtieth birthday, still in the prime of youth.
Physical leads made more pronounced by the fact that he hadn’t been through nearly what I had the last several days. Despite his unique role as the right hand for his boss stowed away somewhere nearby, it was unlikely that he had missed a meal or even an hour of sleep over the course of the week.
To say nothing of the multiple skirmishes I’d been through, all in the name of standing here. Squaring off with an opponent who even carried a damned knife that dwarfed the hawksbill blade clutched in my hand. A menacing piece of stainless steel that was almost the size of a sword, the blade flashing as it caught the overhead light from him carving it back and forth before him.
Taken as a whole, it probably didn’t look like much of a challenge. Every surface category was checked off in his favor, imbuing him with a well-founded sense of confidence. An air of hubris that was etched into his features, his lips twisted into a sneer visible amidst the dark bristles of his thick beard.
Lithuanian genetics that only added to his choice of attire and the trio of chains swinging from his neck and the rings lining his fingers. A cultivated look that he probably thought heightened the disparities between us.
A cocksure manner that would be his undoing. A sense of self blinding to him to the fact that this wasn’t going to be like most fights he’d been in before.
Knife fights are never what they look like in the movies. They aren’t a match between two men both lowered into crouches, each jabbing tentatively at the other. A choreographed dance ripped straight from some music video featuring guys in leather jackets and earrings pretending to battle over street supremacy.
In an actual confrontation, people get cut. There was no way to avoid it. No chance at deftly parrying one blow after another, waiting for the precious opening before sliding forward and making the fatal blow.
A war of attrition predicated on trading shots. Calculated real-time risk assessment, hoping that luck or skill or whatever else will make it so that your blows cause more damage than your opponent’s. A conscious trade-off, willing to take a few wounds in the name of subduing whoever you’re squared off against.
A maxim I learned many times over the years, bearing more than a few scars to prove as much.
One I was all too happy to embrace again now, knowing it more than anything else was how I was going to get by this overblown bastard and on to the real reason for my being here tonight.
Keep reading Friendly Fire fall 2021: dustinstevens.com/FFwb
Thank You
Welcome back!
I know many of you have been missing Reed and Billie as of late, and rest assured, the feeling is mutual. Whatever gap may have existed between this book and The Driver was simply a result of having a great many other projects going simultaneously, and certainly not from a waning lack of interest in the series.
If anything, I hope this work proves quite the opposite.
I’m guessing many of you found your way to this book by virtue of having read one of the others in the series, meaning you probably noticed that this book marked a notable shift. A transition that began a couple of books ago, moving Reed and Billie from their original role with the 8th Precinct into a new hybrid position with the state.
A decision that was quite deliberate, for a number of reasons, the most notable being that I wanted to open up the possibilities for them. A way to put them in new locations – many of which will be quite unfamiliar – and have them work and interact with new characters.
Hopefully, a means both of keeping things from becoming repetitive, and to heighten the credibility of the series as a whole (because, at a certain point, the believability of so many major cases occurring within a single precinct’s jurisdiction starts to become a bit strained).
For this maiden effort with them in their new role, I wanted to get them as far removed from the inner city as possible. Having grown up in southern Ohio, that immediately called to mind the slew of towns resting right along the river, and all the forested wonder that they contain.
As always, let me close by saying thank you. At a moment in time when digital content has never been easier to come by, the unwavering support I continue to receive means the world to me.
Until next time, happy reading.
Much love,
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About the Author
Dustin Stevens is the author of more than 50 novels, the vast majority having become #1 Amazon bestsellers, including the Reed & Billie and Hawk Tate series. The Boat Man, the first release in the best-selling Reed & Billie series, was named the 2016 Indie Award winner for E-Book fiction. The freestanding work The Debt was named an Independent Author Network action/adventure novel of the year for 2017 and The Exchange was recognized for independent E-Book fiction in 2018.
He also writes thrillers and assorted other stories under the pseudonym T.R. Kohler.
A member of the Mystery Writers of America and Thriller Writers International, he resides in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Let’s Keep in Touch:
Facebook: dustinstevens.com/fcbk
Twitter: dustinstevens.com/tw
Instagram: dustinstevens.com/DSinsta
Dustin’s Books
Works Written by Dustin Stevens:
Reed & Billie Novels:
The Boat Man
The Good Son
The Kid
The Partnership
Justice
The Scorekeeper
The Bear
The Driver
The Promisor
Hawk Tate Novels:
Cold Fire
Cover Fire
Fire and Ice
Hellfire
Home Fire
Wild Fire
Friendly Fire
Zoo Crew Novels:
The Zoo Crew
Dead Peasants
Tracer
The Glue Guy
Moonblink
The Shuffle
Smoked
(Coming 2021)
Ham Novels:
HAM
EVEN
RULES
My Mira Saga
Spare Change
Office Visit
Fair Trade
Ships Passing
Warning Shot
Battle Cry
Steel Trap
Iron Men
Until Death
(Coming June 2021)
Standalone Thrillers:
Four
Ohana
Liberation Day
Twelve
21 Hours
Catastrophic
Scars and Stars
Motive
Going Viral
The Debt
One Last Day
The Subway
The Exchange
Shoot to Wound
The Ring
Decisions
Standalone Dramas:
Just A Game
Be My Eyes
Quarterback
Children’s Books w/ Maddie Stevens:
Danny the Daydreamer…Goes to the Grammy’s
Danny the Daydreamer…Visits the Old West
Danny the Daydreamer…Goes to the Moon
(Coming Soon)
Works Written by T.R. Kohler:
Hunter Series:
The Hunter
Street Divorce
Co
ming 2021
Jumper Series:
Into The Jungle
Coming 2021
Out To Sea
Coming 2021
Bulletproof Series:
Mike’s Place
Coming 2021
Translator Series:
Translator