Home Fire: A Suspense Thriller (A Hawk Tate Novel Book 5) Read online

  Home Fire

  A Hawk Tate Novel

  Dustin Stevens

  Contents

  Free Book!

  Praise

  Prologue

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Part II

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Part III

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Part IV

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 70

  Chapter 71

  Chapter 72

  Chapter 73

  Chapter 74

  Chapter 75

  Chapter 76

  Chapter 77

  Chapter 78

  Chapter 79

  Chapter 80

  Chapter 81

  Chapter 82

  Chapter 83

  Chapter 84

  Chapter 85

  Chapter 86

  Chapter 87

  Chapter 88

  Chapter 89

  Chapter 90

  Chapter 91

  Chapter 92

  Chapter 93

  Part V

  Chapter 94

  Thank You For Reading!

  Dustin’s Bookshelf

  Free Book!

  About the Author

  Home Fire, A Hawk Tate Novel

  Copyright © 2018, Dustin Stevens

  Cover Art and Design: Paramita Bhattacharjee, www.creativeparamita.com

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work, in whole or part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, is illegal and forbidden, without the written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Characters, settings, names, and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, places or settings, and/or occurrences. Any incidences of resemblance are purely coincidental.

  Free Book!

  As thank you for reading, please enjoy a FREE copy of my first bestseller – and still one of my personal favorites – 21 Hours!

  Praise

  Praise for the Reed & Billie Series by Dustin Stevens:

  Must love dogs. Great story and great characters. I hope there will be many more about Reed and Billie. It took a while for me to figure out the why, but I like a good mystery and this is one. Thanks again Mr. Stevens. I look forward to reading the next one. – Amazon Customer

  Thrillers are some of my favorite reads because I love to be pulled into a story and through intense situations, all in the safety of my own home. I've read some pretty good ones lately and can now add to that list author Dustin Stevens' "The Boat Man". The story of Detective Reed Mattox, who is attempting to lay low after the death of his partner, yet is pulled into a pretty intense serial murder investigation. The killer is called The Boat Man and is name after Charon from Greek mythology, who carries souls across the rivers Styx into the world of the dead. This is essentially a story of vigilante justice and the mystery involved is a very good one. I found the read to be both intense and very enjoyable. Would definitely recommend and I now plan on checking out some of this author's other novels. – Top 500 Amazon Reviewer

  One of the best books I have read since getting my Kindle. The book is very suspenseful while dealing with a subject that has generated a great deal of controversy through the years. While reading the book there is a definite struggle between your heart and your brain over how you should be reacting to the events in the book. I wish every book I read was close to the quality I found in this book. – Kindle Customer

  Best book I've read in a long time and I read for hours every night. It was so good to read a police thriller without the main character being "saved" from himself by some hot woman. Fantastic character development and being a dog lover, loved that he is K-9 cop. The book held my attention and I didn't figure out what was going on until the end. I read so much that I rarely leave reviews but I want the author to know how much I enjoyed his work. I highly recommend this book. – Amazon Customer

  It certainly was a Thriller. I was intrigued by the complexity of sub-plots, the difficulties experienced by Maddox just trying to do his job; trying to do the right thing. Because doing the right thing is all we have to define our character once the cards are dealt. And in what was left of The Boat Man's mind he believed in his cause, too. First exposure to this author's excellent, engrossing work of art. – Amazon Reviewer

  I had never put much thought into the work life of highly-trained military and police dogs, and found it quite fascinating. Billie, along with the human she has trained to supply her with food, was an interesting character. The most interesting character was the Boat Man himself, both because of what he was doing and why and how he was doing it. It was impossible not to feel empathy for him. There were several other interesting people who helped make this book very readable. – Kindle Reviewer

  Praise for work written as T.R. Kohler:

  The twist and turns the writer uses keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. I love the way the characters are revealed. I also love the way the reader is allowed to follow all the characters. A book I would highly recommend. – Amazon Customer

  5 Stars ! Well done, well written. Great character development and suspense. Look forward to more by T.R. Kohler. – Kindle Reader

  Very well written and interesting plot. Making a clear statement about the misguided actions of a nation poignant. Forgoing the standard parades and eternal gratefulness of the nation is another unique touch. Thank you T.R. Kohler – Kindle Unlimited Reviewer

  Just finished 'Shoot to Wound' virtually in one sitting. It's that sort of novel so be prepared. Well drawn characters, another vengeful veteran and a clean writing style that is easy to read. Highly recommend. – Kindle Customer

  To me the mark of an excellent thriller writer is me having my idea of who the REALLY bad guy (because even some of the "good
" guys are a bit bad sometimes) and getting to the end and being really surprised. This is that kind of author and this is that book. T. R. had me guessing the whole way through and just when I had it figured out - BAM! - I was wrong. Way wrong. – Amazon Reviewer

  The law of unintended consequences

  is the only real law of history.

  -Niall Ferguson

  People protect what they love.

  -Jacques Cousteau

  Prologue

  The first time I heard her voice, it stopped me where I stood.

  If it had been a scene in a movie, it would be that moment where the background peels away, the camera focusing on my face. My gaze would have gone from looking at the ground to staring straight ahead, my pupils dilating, all sound falling back.

  None of that actually happened, though I would be lying if I said I didn’t have an immediate clutch in my chest. Not a palpitation in my stomach, not the small blip of a roiling in my system, an honest-to-God tensing behind my left pec.

  My jaw fell open. All breathing ceased.

  It was impossible. There was no way I could be hearing the voice that was coming through the line. Not after so many years, after everything that had happened.

  “Hawk? Are you there?”

  The second time she spoke, some of the initial shock passed. With it went the overload that had surged into my system, freeing me from my momentary paralysis. A flicker of recognition set in, shifting my response.

  It had been just as many years since I had heard this voice either, the scathing hatred that had been there during our last conversation still plainly obvious, sitting just beneath the surface.

  “Dammit, Hawk, if you’re there, say something.”

  I was there, just as I had been every day for more than half a decade, and not one word had been shared between us. And with good reason. She had made it quite clear during our last conversation that she had no desire to ever speak to me.

  That as far as she was concerned, I too had died in that fire along the Mexico border.

  Standing along the edge of the Gibbons River, I raised a boot onto the slab of limestone before me. I kept the phone pressed to my face, leaning my weight forward, feeling a slight stretch run along my Achilles and up through my calf.

  Still, I said nothing. Not because I didn’t want to, but because after all this time I had no idea what to say.

  Even less why she had made such a point to track me down.

  Lifting my gaze to the horizon, I stared out at the valley floor before me. Mid-September, autumn foliage was in full swing, the world awash in shades of gold and tangerine, the river cutting through it in lazy loops, a ribbon of blue matching perfectly with the sky above.

  “Hawk, please. I need your help.”

  Part One

  Chapter One

  The hour of the meeting was chosen deliberately. Ten o’clock at night meant there was no need to provide a meal, no false pretenses about the gathering being about anything other than business.

  Which was the general maxim that Sirr Asai applied to all his dealings. He was not a friendly man, had no interest in networking or building acquaintances or whatever else the PC term for such interaction was these days.

  There was only one universal truth that every person on the planet required these days. It wasn’t human contact. It wasn’t friendship. Damned sure wasn’t love.

  It was money, every move Asai made done with an eye toward how to make it, how to maximize it, how to leverage it.

  All else was secondary, needless effort spent on the non-essential.

  The guest list for the night was limited to just two men. Both already present and accounted for, they had been ushered inside Asai’s home and shown into his library, a room filled with books he’d never read and overstuffed leather furniture he’d barely sat in.

  Window dressing for moments such as this, times when he was forced to act the part.

  Sometimes to make money, one had to play to expectations, no matter how uncomfortable it could be.

  Standing in the small anteroom connected to the library, Asai swirled the glass of single malt clutched between his fingers, the dark amber liquid standing a half-inch deep. Splashing against the sides, it caught the dim overhead light, the aroma permeating the tiny space.

  Not that Asai much noticed, his focus instead on the video monitor displaying the two men inside the room. Known to work as a team, each was present for their respective skillset. They had come highly recommended, though whether or not they would be deemed worthy of inclusion still remained to be seen.

  “Initial thoughts?” Asai asked. Shifting at the waist, he looked to Paco, the man a cross between a bodyguard and a consigliere, the closest thing to a confidante Asai had.

  The same early-thirties age as Asai, Paco had thick dark hair crowding in on his forehead, combed straight back. Dressed in a dark suit and burgundy dress shirt open at the throat, a heavy shadow had formed along his jaw, the result of sixteen hours since his last shave.

  An inch taller than Asai, he stepped forward, his arms folded, one hand raised to his chin.

  “They came highly recommended,” Paco said, echoing the thought Asai had just a moment before. “And their checks came back clean.”

  Neither response was what Asai had meant, though he assumed Paco knew that, the two having worked together long enough at this point to be beyond such bland commentary.

  “But it’s a risk,” Paco said. “They’re both more visible than we’re used to. Both seem to think they serve nobody but themselves.”

  Each thought was one Asai had pondered as well, though he was glad to hear Paco mention both.

  “At the same time,” Paco said, “we don’t have much choice at the moment.”

  To that, Asai grunted in agreement. Neither one had yet voiced the obvious, though it had been hanging over things for the better part of a day now.

  In an ideal situation, this meeting would not be necessary. The work they had put in already would be sufficient. The timeframe they had meticulously mapped out would still be valid.

  What had happened the night before had completely obliterated any chance at an ideal situation, though. It had taken their plans and turned them on a side, leaving them with something that was less than whole.

  Only a single imperfection, but an important one, large enough on its own to undo everything that they had worked so hard for.

  “There’s always a choice,” Asai replied, lifting his drink and taking down half of the liquid, a slight burn settling through his throat as it slid by, warming him from within. “But I agree.”

  There was no need to say anything more. The men before them weren’t their first choice, or even their second. The request that they might be putting on the table in a matter of minutes wasn’t one either wanted to make, but they didn’t really have a choice.

  Not if they wanted things to proceed as promised.

  Raising his glass once more, Asai finished his drink, setting the tumbler down beside the monitor. Extending his left arm, he gave a flick of his wrist, rotating his watch face upward and bending his elbow back to check the time.

  “Shall we?”

  Chapter Two

  The rules were simple. Nobody – regardless of age or experience – was ever allowed straight into the S-2. Everybody had to go through an initiation process first, a two-year training program that was designed to weed out those that were worthy of consideration from those that only had a faint idea of what the life was really like.

  Scads of people thought they had what it took, figured themselves of the mettle to join the ranks. Very few actually did, the acceptance rate less than twenty-five percent overall. Fewer than one in four people could do everything that was asked of them, had the grit to crawl through whatever obstacles were placed before them.

  Ronell Brinks had no doubt that he would be among those fortunate few. That he would get through the initiation process and would ascend in record time, showing everybody
in the organization that he was ready for this, that his entire life had been grooming him for it.

  Seated in the passenger seat of a dented Honda Accord, that single thought rested in the front of his mind. It dominated the faint sound of rap lyrics floating through the speakers just a few inches away, the rustle of fast food wrappers ground into the floorboard beneath his feet.