Condensation dripped down the side of the shapely glass. He removed the purple umbrella, twirled the tiny sword-like handle, and puffed air into the rippled top, creating a fluttering noise. Taking hold of the green straw, he sucked in the last of the Mango Margarita as his toes curled under the cool white sand. The hollow slurping sound briefly reminded him of his last root canal when the dentist used a suction tube to remove blood from his infected mouth.
He winced, then a thin smile crossed his lips. This last extraction had been far less painful—for everyone other than his longtime friend and lawyer, Oliver Shapiro.
Harmless waves lapped against the pristine shoreline and kids frolicked in the knee-deep, turquoise water. He’d been amazed by the remarkable clarity of the beautiful Caribbean Sea, providing endless transparency into a domain of colorful fish, turtles—and who could forget Stingray City at the sandbar just off the coast. The distinct contrast of southern stingrays was simply fascinating. Shaped like a flat diamond with a mud-brown or gray top and a white underbelly, their movement was graceful and effortless, gliding along the sandy sea bottom. Yet, despite the beauty and grace, the thin, snake-like serrated tail slithering behind the sea creature was a reminder of its deadly potential. Like every other living creature on the planet, the stingrays were equipped with the necessary tools to survive.
“Sir, would you like another frozen drink?” The curvaceous waitress wearing an orange bikini top and a royal blue and white sarong tied at her waist, diverted Chuck Hagard’s attention from his mental excursion.
“Thank you. I’ll take another. I’m not driving home.”
“I’ll be right back.” He loved the purity of her British tone, especially when compared to his improper southern slop of an accent.
Chuck adjusted the rim of his visor, then pulled out one of his three remaining cigars and chewed on the end while turning his gaze back to the heavenly water. He’d been living on the largest of the Cayman Islands for nearly two months. As expected, he’d blended in with the rest of the European and American tourists. He was just another shell, a slightly different shape and color, but a shell nonetheless.
For the first couple of weeks, he wondered if he’d ever truly relax, stop looking over his shoulder, release his mind from the twenty-five-year mental treadmill. He inhaled the humid, salty air and thought about the long road traveled. Even before he got the CEO job at Omaha Gas, somehow Chuck knew the day would come when he could no longer exist in his previous life. Too many half-truths or bold-faced lies to get where he was predestined to be—at the top, holding all the cards, an expert at manipulating the puppets around him until their usefulness had expired.
Behind the façade of every corporate takeover executives pull levers this way and that, squeezing the last profitable nickel out of the deal. But no one knows the true intent of every so-called merger.
No one knows the secret bonds that exist.
An Indian technology giant swallows up another private company that has deep roots in North Texas. For one unassuming man the thought of layoffs, of losing his own job to a bunch of arrogant assholes feels like a kick to the jewels.
Until the day Michael’s life changes forever.
Perverse alliances. An affair of the heart. A grisly murder. A spiraling string of events thrusts Michael into a life-or-death fight to save a tortured soul and hunt down a brutal killer…one who lurks closer than he ever imagined.
Greed knows no boundaries.
No one knows the secret bonds that exist.
An Indian technology giant swallows up another private company that has deep roots in North Texas. For one unassuming man the thought of layoffs, of losing his own job to a bunch of arrogant assholes feels like a kick to the jewels.
Until the day Michael’s life changes forever.
Perverse alliances. An affair of the heart. A grisly murder. A spiraling string of events thrusts Michael into a life-or-death fight to save a tortured soul and hunt down a brutal killer…one who lurks closer than he ever imagined.
Greed knows no boundaries.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Suspense, Thriller
Rating – R
More details about the author
Website http://www.johnwmefford.com
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment