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Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert, Monday, March 28: 220+ FREEBIES including Aftershock: The Blast That Shook Psycho Platoon plus … Gary Ponzo’s A Touch Of Deceit is just 99 cents (Today’s Sponsor)

But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor
A Sicilian FBI agent, Nick Bracco, recruits his mafia cousin to chase down the world’s most feared terrorist in this award-winning, heart-thumping thriller from Kindle Nation fave Gary Ponzo – the first volume in the Nick Bracco Series, for the bargain price of 99 cents!

“This book grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.”
–Stephen Carpenter, author of the screenplay “Ocean’s 11” 

A Touch of Deceit (Nick Bracco Series) 
by Gary Ponzo
4.7 out of 5 stars   44 Reviews
Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.


(Editor’s Note: If you’re one of the many Kindle Nation readers who has sent a quick email to kindlenation+touch2@gmail.com so that we can let you know when the sequel is available, Mr. Ponzo has told us he is now expecting a release date about May 1. -S.W.)

Here’s the set-up for A Touch of Deceit… 
 

FBI agent Nick Bracco can’t stop a Kurdish terrorist from firing missiles at random homes across the country. The police can’t stand watch over every household, so Bracco recruits his cousin Tommy to help track down this terrorist. Tommy is in the Mafia. Oh yeah, it gets messy fast. As fast as you can turn the pages.

The reviewers are raving about it…
“Gary Ponzo is simply the best new thriller writer out there.”
–Judith L. Pearson, author of Wolves at the Door and Belly of the Beast


“Author Gary Ponzo has dashed off a fast-paced political thriller with the skill of a Tom Clancy or Ludlum. Loved the characters and the relationships and the insights into the world of counter-terrorism. Great book. Couldn’t put it down and now I want more. Bravo.”
–Stephen Carpenter, author of Killer

A Touch of Deceit” is a cleverly written thriller with plenty of twists and turns, action, and strong dialogue to keep you turning the pages well into the night. The characters show strength and depth. The plot moves quickly, leaving the reader to want more. The dialogue is direct and well written. Gary Ponzo is an author that everyone should add to their reading list. I highly recommend for thriller, suspense, and mystery fans.”
–Jennifer Chase, author of Dead Game & Compulsion

About the Author


Author Gary Ponzo began his writing career over a decade ago by writing short stories. He quickly discovered a knack for the short form. In just five years he’d published seven short stories in various publications, two of which were nominated for the very prestigious Pushcart Prize.


His first novel, “A Touch of Deceit,” took five years to write and one to pick clean. The story was born from his childhood experiences working in his father’s candy store in Brooklyn, NY. His father was Sicilian and became friendly with some local members of a different kind of Sicilian family. Since Gary was just fifteen at the time, these family members would make sure he was protected whenever he would work late at night by himself. He soon discovered a side to the mafia not many people knew. It was these relationships which caused him to write about Sicilian FBI agent, Nick Bracco, who recruits his mafia cousin to chase down the world’s most feared terrorist.


A Touch of Deceit went on to win the 2009 Southwest Writers Novel Contest, Thriller category. He is working on the sequel to the novel as well as continuing to publish his short stories. Gary currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Jennifer and two children, Jessica and Kyle.



Click here to download A Touch of Deceit (Nick Bracco Series) (or a free sample) to your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Android-compatible, PC or Mac and start reading within 60 seconds!

UK CUSTOMERS: Click on the title below to download
Each day’s list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.
Authors, Publishers, iPad Accessory Manufacturers:
Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.

Free Contemporary Titles in the Kindle Store 
HOW TO USE OUR NEW FREE BOOK TOOL:

Just use the slider at right of your screen below to scroll through a complete, updated list of free contemporary Kindle titles, and click on an icon like this one (at right) to read a free sample right here in your browser! Titles are sorted in reverse chronological order so you can easily see new freebies.

Aftershock: The Blast That Shook Psycho Platoon (Kindle Single)
By: T. Christian Miller
Added: 03/22/2011 4:03:03pm
Get Some
By: Daniel Birch
Added: 03/22/2011 4:02:55pm

Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert, Friday, March 11: Over a Dozen Brand New Free Contemporary Titles Added in the Last 24 Hours! plus … Now, just in time for the release of the sequel, get Gary Ponzo’s A Touch Of Deceit for less than a buck! (Today’s Sponsor)

 
Well, nothing against German language texts and obscure public domain listings, but we’re glad to see that Amazon has worked out the kinks that choked yesterday’s listings with a bunch of seriously non-contemporary listings! Today we’ve got over a dozen new freebies ranging from an immensely popular Marsha Canham regency romance to some decidedly naughty narratives, and nobody needs to know which ones you choose for your Kindle!

 
But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor
 
PRICE CUT SPECIAL!
A Sicilian FBI agent, Nick Bracco, recruits his mafia cousin to chase down the world’s most feared terrorist in this award-winning, heart-thumping thriller from Kindle Nation fave Gary Ponzo – the first volume in the Nick Bracco Series.  
  
“This book grabbed me and wouldn’t let go.”
–Stephen Carpenter, author of the screenplay “Ocean’s 11”

 
A Touch of Deceit (Nick Bracco Series)
by Gary Ponzo
4.7 out of 5 stars   39 Reviews
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.


Just in time for the release of the Nick Bracco  sequel, A Touch of Revenge, later this month, A Touch of Deceit is now available for the special promotional price of just 99 cents!


Would you like us to give you a heads up when A Touch of Revenge, the new book, is live in the Kindle Store? 

 


Winner of the Southwest Writers Novel Contest, Thriller category, and a Kindle Exclusive!

as soon as it becomes available in the Kindle Store,
about March 31

 

A Touch of Revenge

 

and we’ll send you a link to

 

Just send an email to KindleNation+Touch2@gmail.com

 

 

Here’s the set-up…

FBI agent Nick Bracco can’t stop a Kurdish terrorist from firing missiles at random homes across the country. The police can’t stand watch over every household, so Bracco recruits his cousin Tommy to help track down this terrorist. Tommy is in the Mafia. Oh yeah, it gets messy fast. As fast as you can turn the pages. 
The reviewers are raving about it…
“Gary Ponzo is simply the best new thriller writer out there.”
–Judith L. Pearson, author of Wolves at the Door and Belly of the Beast


“Author Gary Ponzo has dashed off a fast-paced political thriller with the skill of a Tom Clancy or Ludlum. Loved the characters and the relationships and the insights into the world of counter-terrorism. Great book. Couldn’t put it down and now I want more. Bravo.”
–Stephen Carpenter, author of Killer

A Touch of Deceit” is a cleverly written thriller with plenty of twists and turns, action, and strong dialogue to keep you turning the pages well into the night. The characters show strength and depth. The plot moves quickly, leaving the reader to want more. The dialogue is direct and well written. Gary Ponzo is an author that everyone should add to their reading list. I highly recommend for thriller, suspense, and mystery fans.”
–Jennifer Chase, author of Dead Game & Compulsion

About the Author

Author Gary Ponzo began his writing career over a decade ago by writing short stories. He quickly discovered a knack for the short form. In just five years he’d published seven short stories in various publications, two of which were nominated for the very prestigious Pushcart Prize. 

His first novel, A Touch of Deceit, took five years to write and one to pick clean. The story was born from his childhood experiences working in his father’s candy store in Brooklyn, NY. His father was Sicilian and became friendly with some local members of a different kind of Sicilian family. Since Gary was just fifteen at the time, these family members would make sure he was protected whenever he would work late at night by himself. He soon discovered a side to the mafia not many people knew. It was these relationships which caused him to write about Sicilian FBI agent, Nick Bracco, who recruits his mafia cousin to chase down the world’s most feared terrorist.


A Touch of Deceit went on to win the 2009 Southwest Writers Novel Contest, Thriller category. He is working on the sequel to the novel as well as continuing to publish his short stories. Gary currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Jennifer and two children, Jessica and Kyle.



Click here to download A Touch of Deceit (Nick Bracco Series) (or a free sample) to your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Android-compatible, PC or Mac and start reading within 60 seconds!

UK CUSTOMERS: Click on the title below to download
Each day’s list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.
 
Authors, Publishers, iPad Accessory Manufacturers:
Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.
Free Contemporary Titles in the Kindle Store
HOW TO USE OUR NEW FREE BOOK TOOL:

Just use the slider at right of your screen below to scroll through a complete, updated list of free contemporary Kindle titles, and click on an icon like this one (at right) to read a free sample right here in your browser! Titles are sorted in reverse chronological order so you can easily see new freebies.

Swept Away
By: Marsha Canham
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:36pm

 

Jerome and the Seraph (Quantum Cat)

By: Robina Williams
Added: 03/10/2011 4:02:00pm
Gemini Moon (Moon Series)
By: Elysa Hendricks
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:57pm
ONE SMALL VICTORY
By: Maryann Miller
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:54pm
No Fear
By: Allie Harrison
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:51pm
Spring House: Book 1 in the Westward Sagas
By: David Bowles
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:48pm
Grave Illusions (Jess Vandermire, Vampire Hunter)
By: Lina Gardiner
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:45pm
Tremolo: cry of the loon
By: Aaron Paul Lazar
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:42pm
How I Wrote My First Book: the story behind the story
By: Anne K. Edwards
Added: 03/10/2011 4:01:39pm 
Love Pursued
By: Sandra Heath
Added: 03/11/2011 3:01:51am
Holiday Hostage
By: Kelly Fitzpatrick
Added: 03/11/2011 3:01:47am
Bride's Holiday Gift
By: Solange Ayre
Added: 03/11/2011 3:01:44am
Shelley's Secret
By: Jean Hart Stewart
Added: 03/11/2011 3:01:41am
Ten Days That Shook the World
By: John Reed
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:57am
Noites de insomnia, offerecidas a quem não póde dormir. Nº3 (de 12) (Portuguese Edition)
By: Camilo Ferreira Botelho Castelo Branco
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:48am
Molly Brown's Senior Days
By: Nell Speed
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:45am
The Man Who Knew
By: Edgar Wallace
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:41am
The Lady of the Shroud
By: Bram Stoker
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:36am
Comedies of Courtship
By: Anthony Hope
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:29am
Ballads in Blue China
By: Andrew Lang
Added: 03/10/2011 3:01:27am
Walpurga, die taufrische Amme (German Edition)
By: Berthold Auerbach
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:33pm
Toys - Free Preview: The First 21 Chapters
By: James Patterson
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:30pm
Tobias Guarnerius (German Edition)
By: Ignaz Franz Castelli
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:24pm
That Fortune
By: Charles Dudley Warner
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:21pm
Sinaide (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:18pm
Pan und die Geheimräte (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:15pm
Nach dem Ball (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:10pm
Letzte Musterung (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:04:02pm
Kriegslied für die österreichische Armee (German Edition)
By: Ignaz Franz Castelli
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:59pm
Im Kahne (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:56pm
Grundzüge allgemeiner Naturbetrachtung (German Edition)
By: Carl Gustav Carus
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:52pm
Frau von Saverne (German Edition)
By: Achim von Arnim
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:49pm
Facino Cane (German Edition)
By: Honoré de Balzac
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:45pm
Eröffnungs-Manifest, 1. Dada-Abend (German Edition)
By: Hugo Ball
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:42pm
Emil der Verstiegene (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:39pm
El Verduro (German Edition)
By: Honoré de Balzac
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:37pm
Ein geistlich Liederbuch für Emmy (German Edition)
By: Hugo Ball
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:31pm
Die rote Sphinx (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:28pm
Die Mondmarie (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:21pm
Die Lavendel-Ehe (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:17pm
Die Kriegspfeife (German Edition)
By: Berthold Auerbach
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:15pm
Die karmesinrote Kerze (German Edition)
By: Ambrose Bierce
Added: 03/09/2011 4:03:01pm
Die Haare der heiligen Fringilla (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:58pm
Die falsche Kindbetterin (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:54pm
Der Negerkomiker (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:51pm
Der mutige Revierförster (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:47pm
Der Mord an der Jungfrau (German Edition)
By: Maurice Barrès
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:43pm
Der Mohr (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:38pm
Der Mesner-Michel (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:19pm
Das Madei (German Edition)
By: Otto Julius Bierbaum
Added: 03/09/2011 4:02:07pm

Free Kindle Nation Shorts, February 16, 2011: A Sneak Preview of A Touch of Revenge, the forthcoming Nick Bracco suspense novel by Gary Ponzo, author of A Touch of Deceit

By Stephen Windwalker
Editor of Kindle Nation Daily 
Here’s a special treat that is available only to the citizens of Kindle Nation.

Thousands of Kindle Nation readers have enjoyed Gary Ponzo’s first Nick Bracco novel, A Touch of Deceit, which has previously been excerpted as a Free Kindle Nation Short. That Kindle Exclusive debut novel is currently among the top 1,000 bestselling books in the Kindle Store and it’s #12 on the “Police Procedurals” category bestseller list.  

The verdict among Amazon customer reviewers for the first book is as stellar as I have seen for an indie author. 34 readers have reviewed A Touch of Deceit. 28 have given the novel 5 stars. The rest? All 4 stars.

Now Ponzo has completed an exciting sequel to A Touch of Deceit. It’s called A Touch of Revenge, and it is scheduled to be released on March 31.

Where you can get your hands on it?
Nowhere but here.  

That’s right, Gary is rewarding his loyal Kindle Nation following by offering a 9,000-word sneak preview as a Free Kindle Nation Short.

Then, if you like the preview, we’ve set up a special mailbox so that you can ask us to give you a heads up when A Touch of Revenge, the new book, is live in the Kindle Store!
 

Just send an email to KindleNation+Touch2@gmail.com 

 

and we’ll send you a link to

 

A Touch of Revenge

 

as soon as it becomes available in the Kindle Store,  
about March 31

 


 

Or click on the title or cover image below below to download the first Nick Bracco novel to your Kindle or Kindle app for just $1.99       

 

  

A Touch of Deceit
by Gary Ponzo

  
 
 4.8 out of 5 stars – 34 Reviews
  

Kindle Price: $1.99
Text-to-Speech: Enabled 

excerptA Brand New Free Kindle Nation Short:   

February 16, 2011  

A Sneak Preview of
 A Touch of Revenge

 

 the forthcoming Nick Bracco suspense novel  
by  Gary Ponzo

author of A Touch of Deceit  

Copyright © 2011 by Gary Ponzo and reprinted here with his permission.

Chapter 1

The bullet left the sniper’s rifle at 3,000 feet per second.  Unfortunately, Nick Bracco didn’t hear the shot until it was too late.  He was sitting on his back porch staring at a pregnancy test his wife had just handed him.  It was positive.  After eight long years their dream of raising a child was about to come true.   

        Those plans were made long before the sniper’s bullet made it halfway across the small, calm lake sitting in their backyard.  It was the same lake that lured them to into buying the mature cabin.  After years of city living they’d decided to move to northern Arizona and breath the mountain air.
        As the bullet cleared the lake, Nick was focusing on the positive line of the pregnancy test and imagining what it would be like to be a father.  Until recently he’d never allowed himself the luxury of relishing the concept.  As the head of the FBI’s terrorist task force he wasn’t sure he’d even survive long enough.  Now, though, he beamed with pride.  Nick had complied with his wife’s desires to get out of harms way.  He left the bureau to become a small town sheriff and raise a family.  The happy couple had reached the pinnacle of their dreams.
        That’s when the bullet hit him in the chest.

*                    *                    *

        FBI Agent Matt McColm heard the gunshot from a mile away.  Before his new partner and girlfriend, Jennifer Steele, knew which direction it came from, Matt knew it was a Remington 700 sniper rifle.  He also knew the target.
        “Hunters?” Steele asked.
        “That’s no hunter,” Matt said.  They were heading down a dirt path on mountain bikes.  He twisted his bike around and hustled down the narrow trail toward the source of the shot.
        “How do you know?”  Steele pumped her legs hard to keep up.
        Matt wanted to say, “Because I’ve been dreading this day.”  Instead, he pointed to an opening to the right while he veered left.  “Go back to the Bracco’s cabin,” he said.  “And call for an ambulance.”
        Her tires spewed dirt as she sped away.
        Matt pulled up on the handlebars and forced his torso down into a rhythm with the stride of his long legs.  As he passed the lake to his right, Julie Bracco’s wail carried over the water like a wounded animal.  There were no trees to buffer the helplessness of her howl.   Matt knew Steele was qualified to handle the situation at the cabin.  Nick Bracco was probably dead and the thought made him pump even harder.  His job now was pure revenge.
        Matt realized he could be heading into a sniper’s lair, but he banked on the sniper retreating.  Adrenalin surged through his bloodstream as he dodged low-hanging limbs and made hairpin turns on the sliver of dirt between the pines.  He put the shot at 500 yards to Nick’s cabin.  There was very little wind.  Good shooting weather.  From that distance a sniper should get within five inches.  The average human head is ten inches.  Matt prayed it wasn’t a head shot.
        As he flew over a rise in the path, gunshots exploded all around him.  He dove from the bike and slammed headfirst into a pine tree.  When he opened his eyes, he was staring straight up into a fuzzy group of treetops.  As his vision cleared, he touched his forehead and felt a knot growing already.  His fingers came back gooey red.  That’s when his Special Forces training kicked in.  He took deep breaths and tried to sort things out.  There were three shots.  Four including the shot at Nick.  The full magazine of a Remington 700.  The sniper had to be reloading.
        The sniper had been impetuous and it was the only reason Matt was still breathing.  You don’t unload your weapon on a moving target unless it’s moving out of range.  If the sniper were experienced, he would have used one shot to immobilize Matt, then the other two to finish him off.   
        Matt rolled to his side and crawled behind a tree.  He knew more about a Remington 700 than anyone on the planet.  After all, he was the FBI’s current sharp-shooting champion.  The sniper was using the 7mm Magnum bullet instead of the .308 caliber.  There was a distinct difference in the sound which is how he knew the sniper had only four bullets.  The .308 caliber held five.  The sniper didn’t know about his expertise and Matt was prepared to take full advantage of his ignorance.
        Matt pulled his Slimline Glock from the holster under his tee shirt.  Fully loaded, it held twenty rounds.  “I’m all in,” he whispered.  
        A shot blasted just under his right foot and ricocheted over his shoe.  Matt quickly tucked in his thin frame and moved farther left with his back to the tree.  He ripped off his bright orange shirt.  It was worn to stand out for hunters, not snipers.
        A second shot blew away the side of the tree spraying shards of wood across his face.  Matt spit out wood fragments and readjusted his position.  The shooter was close, inside a hundred yards.  The sound of the bullets breaking the sound barrier echoed throughout the forest and brought a creepy urban feel to an otherwise serene mountainside.
        Matt knew more than just the weapon the sniper was using, he knew the organization he belonged to as well.  Matt and Nick had chased terrorists for a decade with the bureau.  During their final mission together, Nick had finished off the leader of the Kurdish Security Force.  Matt had always feared someone from the KSF would go after Nick, even after he’d resigned and became sheriff of the Arizona mountain community.   
        Now, Matt waited behind a pine tree and counted bullets.  He needed to use the sniper’s impatience against him.  He grabbed his shirt and quickly stuffed it with loose leaves and pine needles, then tied the bottom into a knot.
        A third shot whizzed past.  Close.  The one vulnerability of a sniper was the need to be somewhat exposed.  The barrel of the rifle needed a clear path to its target.  This meant the sniper wouldn’t be behind a tree or a rock.  He would be flat on his stomach with camouflage as the main source of cover.
        The fourth shot came dangerously close.  It cracked off a large branch above Matt’s head that swung down into his face.  Matt deflected the limb, then snapped off a thin piece of the branch and jabbed it into the sleeve opening of his stuffed shirt.  He worked on his breathing while he waited for the sniper to reload.  He actually heard the bullets clip into the bolt-action rifle.    
        Matt gripped his Glock with his right hand and swung the stuffed shirt out into the open, quickly, before a trained eye could determine the dupe.  It worked.  Four quick shots blew apart the shirt full of leaves.  He saw the muzzle flashes under a canopy of bushes just fifty yards away.  For someone with Matt’s skills, the shooter might as well have hung a neon sign around his neck.
        Matt jumped up, pointed the Glock at his target and fired once.  That’s all he needed.  The barrel of the rifle flipped upward on its bipod and remained still.  Matt charged up the hill toward the sniper’s den.  He was sweaty and shirtless and anxious to see the son-of-a-bitch who murdered his ex-partner.  Julie’s cries still haunted the forest as he scrambled the last few steps, his Glock out in front of him.  Matt kicked away the brush and pulled off the layers of branches that covered the sniper.  He tugged on the shooter’s shirtsleeve and rolled over his limp frame.  Then he froze.
        “Rami,” he gasped.
        Afran Rami moaned and squeezed both of his hands over the entrance wound just below his heart.  His shirt was already saturated with blood.  He didn’t have long.  
        Matt’s mouth went dry.  “Where is he Rami?”
        “He’ll find you first.”  Rami tried to grin, but failed.  
        “Where?” Matt asked again, but it was too late.  A pair of dead eyes stared up at him while an ambulance siren wailed in the distance.  Matt turned and saw the open view the kid had of the Bracco’s front porch.  Nick was down behind the wooden railing and Julie was hunched over him, moving with frantic urgency.   
        It was starting all over again.  Nick had thought the move to Payson was the answer, but he was wrong.  Terrorism doesn’t have a neighborhood.  You can’t just move away.  There are simply hot targets and cold targets.  And Nick and Matt were hot targets.
        The ambulance screeched to a stop next to the cabin.  Two men flew open the doors and ran to the porch with their black bags.  The flashing red and white lights seemed out of place at the edge of the lake.  They belonged back in Baltimore swirling against row houses and illuminating darkened alleys.  
        Matt took a long look down at Rami’s corpse.  For the first time in his career he’d lamented his marksmanship.  He wanted to keep the terrorist alive, just so the warrior could see Matt capture his new leader.
        The familiar squeak of a mountain bikes suspension came rushing up the path behind him.  Matt turned to see Jennifer Steele jump off her bike and wrap her arms around his bare torso.
        “Are you okay?” Steele asked.
        Matt gave her a gentle squeeze.  “I’m all right.”
    Steele pulled away and examined his banged up face.  “That’s a relative term.”        

Matt wiped his forehead and came back with bloody fingers.   He’d been going so hard, the adrenalin had disguised the pain
She looked past him at the corpse.  “Who is he?”

        Matt looked down.  “Afran Rami.”
        “He’s with the KSF?””      
       “Yeah,” Matt said.  “Temir Barzani’s nephew.  Barzani probably offered him the opportunity to kill Nick.”
        “You mean try to kill Nick.”
        Matt snapped his head to face her.  Steele’s wobbly smile said it all.  She pointed to a spot between her left shoulder and her left breast.  A spot where no major organs resided.  A survivable spot, even from a 7mm Magnum.
        “He’s alive?” Matt said.
        Steele shrugged.  “You don’t want to see the exit wound, but he’s going to make it.”
        Matt thought for a moment.  “I need to see him.”
        “I’m sure he’s on his way to the hospital by now.”
        Matt nodded absently, trying to figure out the best way to proceed.  Without Nick by his side, he was at a momentary standstill.
        Steele tilted her head.  “What are you thinking?”
        “Did Nick say anything?”
        “Yes,” she said.  “He was in shock, but he urged me to get to you.  He wanted you to know that it wasn’t a pro.  Otherwise, he said, he’d be dead already.”
        “What else?”
        Steele shook her head.  “He’s lying there practically bleeding out and he’s telling me to go back and help you.  Like I need incentive.”
        She turned sad and Matt gathered her in his arms.  “It’s all right,” he said.
        She dug her face into his neck and sighed.  They stood there embracing for a moment, letting their heartbeats settle into a steady rhythm.
        Then Steele said, “It’s just starting isn’t it?”
        Matt smoothed her hair and never even considered lying.  “Yes.”  
        “How well do you know Barzani?”
        “Well.”
        “Are you better than him?”
        “Yes.”
        The two stood there for a moment sorting things out in their heads.  Finally, Steele pulled back and said, “You can’t kill every terrorist in the world, you know.”
        Matt smiled.  He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.  “I’ll try to remember that.”  
   

Chapter 2

 

        Payson Memorial Hospital was a small forty-bed brick building which sat on a hill at the east end of town.  Nick Bracco’s room seemed appropriately dreary with the window blinds narrowed and the overhead fluorescent lights beaming.  It was the following morning and Nick was still sleeping off the effects of the anesthesia.  
        Matt sat cross-legged and watched Julie Bracco gently sweep loose strands of hair out of her husband’s face, while Jennifer Steele sat next to him, her tablet computer on her lap, reading the latest FBI updates.  She nudged Matt and handed him her tablet.  The front page of the Washington Post was displayed on her screen.  The cover story was about the murder of FBI agent Dave Tanner last night.  Matt took a breath and tried to take it all in.  Dave was their teammate back when they were terrorist specialists.  It didn’t take much imagination to understand why Nick and Dave were targeted.  The KSF was trying to eliminate the team which silenced their leader.  He read the full article, but there was no word about any of the other three members of the team being targeted.
    He handed Steele back her tablet and shook his head, letting her know it wasn’t time to tell Julie about Dave.  Matt’s mind raced as he watched Nick, eager to see a sign of him regaining consciousness.  He desperately needed his ex-partner’s help and he tried to will Nick awake with the weight of his stare.
        “You look worried,” Julie said.
        “Does that bother you?”
        “Actually, it does.  You’re his guardian angel.  If you’re worried, what should I be feeling?”  Her voice cracked on the last word.
        “I’m not worried, Jule,” Matt said.  “I’m just working it out in my head.”
        “He already knows who’s behind the shooting,” Steele said absently while tapping her keyboard.
        Julie’s eyebrows rose as she looked at Matt for an explanation.
        Matt glared at Steele.
        “She deserves to know,” Steele said.  “Nick would tell her.”
        “Who is he?” Julie asked him.
        Matt sighed.  He knew Julie too well to give her the company line.  “His name is Temir Barzani.  He was one of Kharrazi’s top lieutenants.  When we raided the KSF’s safehouse, Barzani was one of the few who escaped.  That always bothered me.”
        “And he wants Nick dead for killing Kharrazi?”
        Matt shrugged.
      “How many members of the Kurdish Security Force are still roaming around the area?”
        Matt had to think.  “If I were to guess, I’d say ten.  Maybe less.”
        Julie looked away.  She appeared to be struggling to hold it together.
        “Jule?” Matt said.
        Julie focused on the bed sheets.  “It’s just never going to end, is it?”
        “Jule, listen-“
        The door opened and the deputy who was guarding the door stuck his head inside and said, “There’s a Tommy Bracco here.”
        Matt lowered his head and sighed.  “Great.”
       Julie’s face brightened.  “Yes, send him in.”
        A dark-haired man wearing a brown leather jacket walked in with a purple toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth.  He immediately frowned at the sight of Nick in bed.  Julie jumped up and threw her arms around him.
        “I’m so glad you came,” she said.  Tears glistened in her eyes.
        “Like I’m gonna sit in Baltimore while someone takes pot shots at my big cousin here.”
        Matt covered his face with his hand.  Tommy coming to Payson only made his job that much tougher.  It was a family hurdle he’d jumped through in the past and he wasn’t eager for an encore.
        Tommy Bracco pulled back from Julie’s embrace and smiled.  “You still got the prettiest eyes I ever seen.”
        Julie blushed.
        Tommy’s face turned severe as he moved toward the bed and examined Nick’s bandaged shoulder.  Nick had a tube coming from the crook of his elbow and his mouth hung open helplessly.  
        Tommy pulled the covers up a little and said, “How is he?”
        “He’ll recover,” Julie said.  Her voice sounded braver now that Tommy was there.  It was a naïve confidence Matt never fully understood.  He simply chalked it up to a Sicilian thing.  Something Matt always contended with whenever Nick’s family was involved.
        Tommy meticulously made his way around the bed, tugging on the blanket, moving Nick’s limp arm to a more masculine position, pulling up on his blue gown to cover his shoulder.  As he tended to Nick’s appearance, he glanced at Matt briefly, just long enough to let everyone know who he was about to speak with.
        “I just want one thing from you,” Tommy said, adjusting Nick’s pillow.  “I want a name.”
        Matt stuck a piece of gum in his mouth and began a slow chew.
        Tommy let it go almost a minute before he stopped fussing over his cousin, then pulled his purple toothpick from his mouth and pointed it at Matt.  “Let’s you and me take a little walk.”
        Matt stood.  His six-foot-three frame loomed a good three inches over Tommy.  He chewed his gum with more fervor.
        “Knock it off,” Steele said.  She dropped her tablet onto the chair next to her and stood between the two combatants.  “Both of you want the same thing so let’s not allow testosterone get in the way.”
        Tommy smiled a big affable smile.  He returned his toothpick to the corner of his mouth.  “I always did like you,” he said to Steele.  “You’ve got . . .uh . . .” he snapped his fingers, “what’s the word I’m looking for?”
        “Chutzpah,” Julie said.
        “Yeah, that’s it, chutzpah.”
        Now everyone smiled except Matt.  Here was Tommy being Tommy, getting everyone comfortable with his streetwise humor, acting dumb, playing the innocent buffoon.  It was something he did so well, Matt almost fell for it.  But Matt had seen Tommy operate and there was nothing innocent about his motives.  He never made a move that wasn’t calculated.   
        “Why can’t you two work together?” Julie asked.  
        “Come on, Jule,” Matt said.  “Be sensible.  I know he’s family, but . . .” he waved his left arm toward Tommy.  “He’s also part of a different family.  A family that doesn’t have a lot of respect for the law.”
        “Oh really.”  Julie folded her arms.  “I’m curious.  When Kemel Kharrazi was terrorizing our nation and killing innocent civilians, who did you and Nick go to for help to track him down?”
        Matt just shook his head.  Some decisions came with ghosts, but that one was going to haunt him a lifetime.
        “And who did the FBI go to when they needed underground information about the blasting caps,” Julie continued.  “And why did . . .”
        Julie went on, but Matt didn’t need to hear any longer.  He knew the direction she was headed and Matt’s argument was tepid compared to the solace Tommy’s presence offered.  After all, her husband was just a few feet away recovering from a gunshot wound.
        Matt moved to the window, pulled up the blinds and looked out over the stretch of grass that surrounded the hospital.  A camera crew from a local TV station was setting up their equipment in the parking lot.  The sheriff had just been shot and it would certainly remain the lead story for another day or two.  A slow parade of cars meandered past the news crew, while pedestrians were pulled aside by a female reporter eager for a scoop.
        Matt still felt like a foreigner in the mountains of Arizona.  He wouldn’t be there if not for reuniting with Steele . . . or his ex-partner deciding to leave the bureau for a simpler life.  Matt wasn’t sure which circumstance drew him more.
        He felt Steele’s fingertips on his shoulder.
        “Tommy just wants to help,” Steele said.
        “I know what he wants,” Matt said to the window.  
        The truth was, Matt didn’t know how hard to press.  He missed Nick’s direction.  Nick and Tommy were closer than most brothers.  It would be so much easier if Nick were lucid enough to share his thoughts.
        A hearse slowly made its way around the perimeter of the parking lot.  It was there for Afran Rami’s body.  Something about seeing the hearse gave him a sudden sense of perspective and he reached over his shoulder to touch Steele’s hand on his back.  She responded by leaning closer.  He’d never thought about spending his life with the same woman before he’d met Steele.  Now he was getting caught up in the moment.  The hearse slowed as it passed in front of the room.  Hodgen’s Funeral Home was stenciled on the side of the door.  Matt got a good look at the driver as he went by.
        “Maybe we should all go and have ourselves a talk,” Matt said.
        “Now you’re making sense,” Tommy said.

*                      *                          *

        Kemin Demir slowed the hearse to a crawl as he observed the reporters doing the dance of the news story.  Nothing excited Americans like a juicy story.  And Kemin was prepared to give them a grand one.  The sheriff who was shot would be killed while recovering from an assassination attempt.  An assassination which would have been successful had Kemin fired the rifle and not Temir Barzani’s nephew.  Unfortunately, Kemin wasn’t in the position to question the decisions of his leader.
        Barzani was clever enough, however, to allow Kemin to finish the job that his nephew couldn’t accomplish.  Nick Bracco and his partner were both going to pay for killing Kemel Kharrazi, the greatest leader the Kurdish Security Force had ever known.  The KSF needed to appear cohesive and there was no better way than retribution.
        Kemin parked the hearse in the exact spot the regular driver had instructed-just before Kemin slit his throat.  The ceramic knife he carried was sharp enough to decapitate a two- hundred pound man, yet light and invisible to a metal detector.
        Kemin got out of the hearse and pushed the buzzer next to the large white door in the rear of the building.  A moment later, a man in blue scrubs and a fabric mask dangling around his neck glanced at the hearse and waved Kemin in.
        “You here for the Rami kid?” the man asked.
        Kemin nodded.
        The man gestured to a silver gurney where a teenage boy lay naked.  Rami was a severe shade of white, as if his entire body was sucked dry of blood.  The room was dark, but for the silver spotlight which hung directly over the kid’s body.  The place smelled like a giant pail of antiseptic cleaner.  
        “Hey,” the man said.  “Where’s Larry?”
        “Sick,” Kemin said.  “I just started on Tuesday, so this is all new to me.”
        The man seemed to understand and as expected, he appeared eager to show Kemin how much he knew.  These Americans and their bold appetite to exhibit their knowledge.

        “Do you have the paperwork?” the man asked.
        Kemin produced the proper sheets of paper and the man pointed to a doorway.  “Through that door and up the stairs to the Administrator’s office.  Ask for Merle.  He’ll sign the papers for you, then come back and I’ll help you load the body.”
        Kemin smiled.  “Thanks.”
        Once he was inside the guts of the hospital, he knew precisely where to go.  His informant scouted the vicinity hours ago and relayed all of the necessary information.  One deputy was guarding Bracco’s door and two FBI agents were inside the room with Bracco’s wife.  They would not be expecting such a brash attempt and Kemin was salivating at the opportunity to surprise them.
        Adrenalin rushed through his veins as he walked up the stairs and entered the second floor of the patient rooms.  He spotted a directory and counted down the numbers on the doors like the launch sequence of a rocket ship.  When he was within thirty feet of Bracco’s room he spied the deputy sitting on a chair next to the entrance.  The man appeared tired.  His legs were spread and his arms were folded across his chest.  At first Kemin thought the deputy was examining something on his shirt, but as he got closer he realized the man was asleep.  His eyes were completely shut and his chest rose and fell with the cadence of a deep sleep.  It alleviated the need for Kemin to slit his throat.
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