DV Berkom Books

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    • Leine Basso Thriller Series, Vol. 1
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    • Kate Jones Thrillers, Vol. 2
    • Claire Whitcomb Collection

Researching the Wild West

Write a Western set in the 19th century, they said. It’ll be easy, they said.

Sheesh.

When I set out to write Retribution, a Western set in 1880s Colorado, I went in with the optimism of a writer with 15 books under her belt. I’ve researched plenty of different subjects, from dirty bombs to picking locks to witch doctors and Voodoo priestesses to submarines and drug cartels. I figured the Wild West would be a breeze. So much information available! So many sources!

Yeah. Well. Turns out those sources tend to contradict each other. Not only that, but the year I chose, 1880, turned out to be pivotal for both Leadville, Colorado, the town in which the story takes place, and for one of the historical figures we meet in the book, Marshal Mart Duggan.

But once I commit myself, I am doggedly determined.

Well, at least I’m dogged.

Leadville, Colorado was a booming mining town in 1880. Horace and Augusta Tabor and Horace’s partner, August Rische, discovered silver there in 1877. Once word got out, miners, investors, and all kinds of enterprising folks soon followed. Leadville’s population swelled from a small tent city to a thriving metropolis of 15,000 in a matter of months. A vacant lot that was worth $250 one morning might be re-sold for $10,000 that night.

Leadville, 1880 (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Day drinking was the norm for many of the citizens of Leadville, being a rough and tumble kind of town, and fisticuffs and gunfights were common. Needless to say, the town’s lawmen didn’t last long.

The first Leadville marshal was run out of town a few days after he was appointed, and his replacement was shot dead within a month. Realizing that Leadville required a firmer hand, Horace Tabor sent to Denver for someone with a fearsome reputation.

Enter Mart Duggan.

Described as a feisty Irishman with ice-blue eyes, Duggan preferred to render justice in his own way. Often, the most effective lawmen had experience on the other side of the law. Wyatt Earp certainly landed in that group. So did Duggan.

Mart Duggan (photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Underappreciated in Western lore, Mart Duggan was known at the time as one of most feared gunfighters around. He was also multi-talented, having been a bronco rider, a bull-whacker, a member of a variety act, and a thief.

When Duggan took over as marshal of Leadville, his first order of business was to fire every deputy that had anything to do with the unsavory elements in town and hire all his own men. He skirted the law, but that’s the kind of law Leadville needed. He stood down mobs and arrested anyone he thought he should, rich or poor. He also protected those who needed it, like the time a conman cheated a group of dance hall girls by selling them fake jewelry. Duggan hunted the man down, pistol-whipped him (a favored method of persuasion), and made him return every cent, using what money the man had left to pay for drinks for everyone at the dance hall until he was broke. Duggan then ran the swindler out of town.

Mart Duggan had his flaws, of course. What great character doesn’t? It’s said he had quite a fondness for the bottle along with a nasty temper, especially when liquor was involved. He quit his job as marshal several times, but Tabor kept luring him back. At one point, Duggan quit and bought a livery stable, but that soon failed because of his penchant for killing people he didn’t like, but that others did.

Claire Whitcomb, the main character in my new Western Retribution, meets up with Marshal Duggan when she’s accused of murdering her family. He believes her story and takes her under his wing, teaching her how to defend herself. After what I learned about Mart Duggan, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what he would have done.

In April 1888, Mart Duggan died of a gunshot wound to the back of the head, allegedly fired by a man employed by his enemies. As he lay dying, someone asked who’d shot him. Duggan refused to say, taking the name of his assassin to the grave.

Although not as well-known in Western lore as, say, Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson, Mart Duggan was larger-than-life, and definitely deserves a place in the pantheon of Wild West lawmen.

Retribution: A Claire Whitcomb Western, Book 1

***Want to read more? Retribution is available now! Click dvberkom.com/book/retribution/ for links.

They took everything. Now she wants revenge.

Spring 1880: Claire Whitcomb and her family are building a good life near the boomtown of Leadville, Colorado, when tragedy strikes: a group of renegades attack, killing everyone but Claire and burning their home. Not knowing who to turn to, Claire teams up with Mart Duggan, the town’s tough-as-nails marshal, to track down the outlaws responsible. Duggan and his friend, Thomas, a local Ute, skirt the law to get results, but that’s fine by Claire.

She’s gunning for the men who destroyed her life—and won’t settle for anything less than retribution.

Launching During a Pandemic…

cover for Shadow of the Jaguar

So. Here we are.

In the middle of a pandemic, the likes of which has not been seen in over 100 years.

Covid-19 is a bitch and a half. Life has changed immeasurably—we’re scared, we’re confused, hanging on every news story that’s out there, hoping to get at the truth. (That can’t just be me, right?)

We’re suiting up to go to the grocery store, bleaching the crap out of everything coming into the house. We’re having Zoom parties, Facebook parties, Skyping and Face Timing with whoever wants to connect that way. We’re keeping our distance—6 feet away—afraid of our neighbor.

No meals out (unless you count ‘out’ as my backyard), no going to the movies, no hugs and kisses for/from my parents, who live in an apartment in that backyard. There are shortages of toilet paper, bleach, disinfecting wipes, and hand sanitizer. Possibly soon there will be a scarcity of food as supply chains break down due to infections.

There are lies, and happy talk, and obfuscation. There are people who will believe everything one person says, yet when confronted with the truth (facts, science) they dig in their heels and cross their arms, and refuse to be moved.

I get it. I really do. In this scary, unprecedented time, clinging to our closest held beliefs is comforting, a way to feel in control in an out of control situation.

But here’s the thing. When you cling to beliefs that can harm you and those you love, THAT’S the time to get humble.

Maybe you don’t know what’s right or what’s wrong.

Welcome to the club.

We’re in this thing together.

And launching a book is probably the absolute wrong thing to do.

Or the absolute right thing.

Don’t we need escapism? I know I do. When I’m especially freaked out, whether because of the news or some other problem that comes up, I escape by reading. And writing. Most of the time, I’ll sink my teeth into a thriller—the heart-in-the-throat excitement of someone else defying the odds—that’s where I’m all in. I know things will work out, somehow, for our heroine/hero. It mostly does, in fiction.

Or I write one. In my thrillers, I can absolutely control how things work out.

So, I’m going ahead with the launch, not because I want to stick my head in the sand and try to soldier on as usual. Not because I’m trying to trick myself into believing life will return to normal.

Is normal.

I’m launching Shadow of the Jaguar because I want to share what I do to get past real life when it sucks. I create jeopardy for my characters and help them find the resourcefulness to come roaring back, to vanquish the evildoers, or the ticking time bomb, or the terrorist threat.

Whatever. I want things to go right, right now.

When this is all over, I have a feeling life will not get back to normal. I kind of hope it doesn’t. I’d like to believe that this Great Pause, this collective slowdown, will help people remember what we as human beings hold dear: life, time with our family and friends, with ourselves. Clean air, clean water, less rushing around, less trying to do too many things, forgetting why we do what we do in the first place.

Call me naïve or overly optimistic, but I believe in us—even those I don’t agree with. Maybe especially them. Because when it comes right down to it, we really are in this together. When things get bad, we put aside our differences and help each other. I see it every day—on the news, in my community, wherever.

I try to be grateful every day, especially for the things we normally take for granted. Where would I be without my family, my friends? My community? Or all the amazing health care workers, grocery store clerks, Post Office workers?

The virus has given us a gift—the gift of time.

I hope I use it wisely.

One last thing—buy my book 🙂

image of book with Indiana Jones hat

Former assassin Leine Basso is back in Shadow of the Jaguar, an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning action-adventure thriller!

A lost civilization. A woman’s abduction. The promise of unimaginable treasure.

Deep in the heart of the Amazon, an expedition finds evidence of a fabled lost city of gold. It isn’t long before a ruthless drug trafficker learns of the possible find and kidnaps an expedition member, threatening to kill her and the rest of the expedition unless he’s given the coordinates to the city.

Leine Basso and her daughter are called in to rescue the kidnapped woman, who also happens to be a good friend’s niece. But in the jungle, danger lurks at every turn, and nothing is as it seems…

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Amazon DE

Amazon CA

Amazon AU

A Week of BADASS Women – Day #6

Welcome back to BADASS Women Week! Today’s the BIG DAY – DAKOTA BURN is live! I can’t stop myself from being excited–launching a new book never gets old.

Currently, Dakota Burn is available for Amazon, Nook, KOBO, and iBooks, but you need to hurry. On Friday, October 4, the book will go into Kindle Unlimited (good news for KU members!) and will no longer be available at other retailers. Here are the links to purchase your copy:

Apple Books 

KOBO

Barnes & Noble

AmazonUS

AmazonUK

AmazonCA 

AmazonDE 

AmazonAU

AmazonFR

AmazonES 

stay up all night graphic

As promised, I’m giving away a signed paperback copy of Dakota Burn, AND a limited edition Dakota Burn T-Shirt to one lucky winner (US or international). Fill out the form below and be entered to win (I promise I will only use your email address to notify you if you’ve won):

Congratulations Tom! Check your email for the particulars.

I’ll be resting tomorrow (Day 7, get it?), so thanks for coming along for the ride that was BADASS Women Week! I had so much fun, I think I’ll have to do this again…

Until then, have yourself a BADASS weekend, and don’t forget to pick up Dakota Burn!


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A Week of BADASS Women – Day #5

Welcome back to BADASS Women Week – Day #5! I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Carmen and Kristi, and watching the fight scene from Atomic Blonde.

Watch the Fight Scene

Meet Carmen Amato

Meet Kristi Belcamino

Since DAKOTA BURN goes live tomorrow (!), today I’m going to share with you a short excerpt, and a little bit about why I wrote the book. But first, here’s a link to an outstanding list of badass women through history: https://www.boredpanda.com/women-who-changed-history/

People always ask me where I get my ideas. I’m not gonna lie–I find a lot of them from the news. If something pisses me off, that’s a pretty good sign that I will probably write a book about it.

Case in point: Dakota Burn. I was sitting in the doctor’s office paging through Time magazine, and ran across an article depicting one woman’s battle to help trafficked victims in the Bakken oil fields in northwestern North Dakota.

A victim herself, this woman had been working to help others who’d been trafficked but wasn’t receiving a lot of support, either from the state of North Dakota, or anywhere else, for that matter.

After I read that article, it occurred to me that I might be just the person to shed some light on the problem. I’ve got family in North Dakota–specifically near the Bakken–and know the area pretty well. That, coupled with the fact that reading or hearing anything about human trafficking pisses me off, and I was determined to do something.

Enter Dakota Burn. And *bonus*, I got to bring back a series favorite, ex-poacher Derek van der Haar from Cargo.

An ex-poacher and a former assassin–what could go wrong?

Add in some unsavory, ruthless types who traffick kids, the East Coast Mob, and Leine’s penchant for exacting justice by any means necessary, and you’ve got an explosive storyline (I do like my incendiary devices 😀 )

Here’s an excerpt from Dakota Burn:

Lucky zipped the bank bag closed and handed it to her bouncer, Bruce.

“Make sure you deposit it before the bank closes.”

Bruce gave her a nod. “No problem, Lucky. You need me before my shift?”

Lucky shook her head. “Not tonight, hon.” She opened the cash register and handed him a fifty. “Go have a nice dinner with your girlfriend, what’s her name.”

Bruce accepted the cash and grinned. “You sure you don’t want to be my date?”

“Go on, get outta here.” Smiling, she waved him away, sending him out the door. He sure as hell knew how to make a gal blush. If she was thirty years younger she’d definitely give him something to think about. With a sigh, Lucky turned back to her laptop. Analyzing revenue trends wasn’t sexy, but it was the next best thing.

Lucky shook a cigarette out of the pack next to her laptop and lit up. Ever since the engineers figured a cheaper way to get oil out of the Bakken, business was up two thousand percent. That’s the way things went in a boomtown. One year you’re eating shit off of politicians’ shoes, the next you’re flying high and no one can stop you.

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Lucky and her stable of ladies had filled a vacuum—the other strip club operating in town went tits up, literally, after the last boom bottomed out, and couldn’t fund a reopening. Enter Lucky and her East Coast connections—a group of old-school mobsters that set her up in the former club, promising to help her expand as soon as she showed a profit.

That was two years ago, and she’d made a hefty profit both years. It was hard not to, what with the overabundance of single, bored, horny men, pretty strippers, hookers, and booze. Hell, the food she served—if you could call it that—was an afterthought. All cheap, pre-frozen appetizers that only needed a microwave or a toaster oven. No one cared. Early on, one of the waitresses had come to her with the idea of expanding the menu, but Lucky stopped her cold. The overhead stank, and spoilage would have been too much of a concern.

Besides, Lucky knew she wasn’t anything other than a madam who ran a covert stable of prostitutes out of a titty bar in Small Town, North Dakota. Wasn’t much sense in Lucky’s trying to be an upscale supper club. She didn’t want to hire more waitresses, for one thing. Most of the dancers worked two-week contracts except for a couple of regulars. No full-timers, no insurance or set wages, no paid time off. Kept things fresh for the customers.

And cheap for her.

“Hey, Lucky.” Chloe waved as she walked in the door. A dry cleaner bag with her costume for the evening was draped over her arm. “You hear about that big explosion outside of town?”

“I sure did. That’s the most excitement we’ve had around here in months.”

“Any news on where or what caused it?”

Lucky shook her head. “Should be hearing something soon, though. News carries fast in this town.”

“Sure does.” Smiling, Chloe shook her head and continued to the changing room. Lucky watched the Nordic blonde disappear down the darkened hallway, and then returned to her numbers.

That girl was a find. Not only a pro dancer who didn’t do drugs and showed up when she was supposed to, Chloe was also working toward becoming a paramedic. Lucky just wished she could talk her into turning a few tricks. The boys from the Bakken liked big, strong blondes with back and shoulder tats—there wasn’t a night that went by someone didn’t offer big bucks to take her home. They’d both be rich.

Who was she kidding? The boys from the Bakken liked women, full stop. And Lucky was already rich.


 What  early readers are saying about Dakota Burn (pre-order here): 

“…a clever, fast moving, and thrilling story.” ~Christine

“…it’s a fast paced, adrenaline junkie ride, full throttle all the way.”~ Looseboots

“Another cracking thriller from a cracking author. She is certainly one deadly lady. And you all know what I feel about feisty females. Cannot wait for the next one. Highly recommended.”~SilverSurfer

“Intense. I purposely only read this during the day. Good thing. Reading this at night would’ve caused me to lose sleep.”~KC

“…You cannot possibly stop reading till you have finished. Nor can you manage to keep your blood below the boiling point. Another great read, another page burner. Actually a chapter burner…IT IS A MUST READ.”~T. Hart

Be sure to stop by tomorrow and enter to win a signed paperback copy of Dakota Burn and a limited edition Dakota Burn T-shirt!

Until then, be your badass self 🙂

graphic for Dakota Burn preorder

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A Week of BADASS Women – Day #4

Welcome back to day #4 of the Week of BADASS Women! Today I’d like to introduce you to badass thriller author, Kristi Belcamino. She writes fierce women characters–her latest series features Eva Santella, badass protector of the innocent, and a woman you don’t want to cross. Ever.

graphic of One-Eyed Jack

To celebrate BADASS Women, Kristi’s giving away a signed paperback (US) or eBook (international) of her new thriller, ONE-EYED JACK, to one lucky winner. Just fill out the form at the bottom of this post to be entered to win. (Your email address will only be used to notify you if you’ve won. I promise not to put you on a mailing list unless you ask me to 🙂 )

ONE-EYED JACK launched this week and is the second in the series. Here’s the description:

The men, mostly virgins, gather in the darkest corners online, drawn together by a common bond: hate.

They hate the way they look.

They hate their disastrous sex lives.

They hate alpha males.

They hate themselves.

There is only one thing they hate more: women.

Even before they first hear about her, Eva Santella, independent, beautiful, confident, represents everything they despise.

So they get together online and feed on each other’s rage and disappointment and frustration. And there, in their shadowy forums, they plot revenge.

On a massive scale.

It’s been done before and they can do it again. 

When Eva tries to stop them, they turn their deadly sights on her.

Links to buy:

Kindle: https://geni.us/One-EyedJackAms

Nook: https://geni.us/One-EyedJackNook

Kobo:  https://geni.us/One-EyedJackKobo

iBooks: https://geni.us/One-EyedJackiBooks

CONGRATULATIONS, TAMARA! You’ve won a copy of ONE EYED JACK. Kristi will be getting in touch with you via email!

author photo
Kristi Belcamino

Kristi Belcamino is a USA Today bestselling author, an Agatha, Anthony, Barry, & Macavity Award-nominated author, a newspaper cops reporter, and an Italian mama who makes a tasty biscotti.

She writes books featuring strong, fierce, and independent women facing unspeakable evil in order to seek justice for those unable to do so themselves.

Sign up for her newsletter HERE.
Follow her on Bookbub for information on new releases, free books and deep discounts.
Find out more at http://www.kristibelcamino.com.
Find her on Facebook  or on Twitter @KristiBelcamino.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for Day #5 of BADASS Women! Until then, have a badass kind of day!

Pre-order Dakota Burn:

graphic for Dakota Burn preorder

A Week of BADASS Women – Day #3

Happy BADASS Women Day #3! Today I want to share one of my favorite fight scenes EVER. It’s the stair scene from ATOMIC BLONDE, and Charlize Theron absolutely kicks ass! If you haven’t seen this movie yet and love strong, kickass women characters, what are you waiting for?

And in case you’re wondering, no, I don’t think that women are only badass when they’re fighting a boatload of bad guys–but I absolutely LOVE the choreography in this scene. Theron’s character, Lorraine, takes a LOT of hits but keeps on fighting. To me, this represents badassery at its most vital–literally getting knocked down and then pulling yourself back up. It takes a lot of stamina to be a badass 🙂

Content Warning: the following scene depicts a brutal, violent fight, so if you’re not a fan, I’d recommend you don’t watch.

Thanks for stopping by BADASS Women Week! Come back tomorrow when another badass author, Kristi Belcamino, stops by to giveaway a signed paperback (US) or eBook (international) of her new thriller, ONE-EYED JACK!

Have you pre-ordered Dakota Burn yet? Click on the image below to find links to your favorite retailer:

graphic for Dakota Burn preorder

A WEEK OF BADASS WOMEN – DAY #2

Today I’d like to introduce you to fellow badass writer, Carmen Amato, and her infinitely badass female character, Detective Emilia Cruz. When I read CLIFF DIVER, the first book in the series, I knew Emilia was the kind of kickass female character I could root for. She’s strong, determined, and has to contend with the male-dominated, chauvinistic culture of the Acapulco Police Department. Talk about a proving ground!

Carmen herself has a list of impressive accomplishments, having worked for the CIA for over 30 years. Today, she’s offering readers a signed paperback of 43 MISSING (Detective Emilia Cruz mystery #6) and a signed mini poster. (See below for details. **US only).

cover for 43 Missing

Without further ado, here’s Carmen:

5 Reasons Why a Badass Female Character Should be Your New BFF

To celebrate D.V. Berkom’s new book, I’m giving away a signed copy of 43 MISSING, a Detective Emilia Cruz mystery set in Mexico, plus a Frida Kahlo quote mini-poster. 43 MISSING is based on a real 2014 unsolved crime. It takes some badass moves by Emilia to finally uncover the truth.

Besides Detective Emilia Cruz, there are some great badass women in literature these days. They are cops, private detectives, the random assassin looking for a career change (wink, wink). Their professional lives are full of murder and mayhem, their private lives are messy, and in book after book they leap off the page.

A Badass Character makes a great Best Friend. Here’s why.

1. Her filter is off

The Badass Character has a tongue sharp enough to perform brain surgery. Basically, she says all the things you wish you could, exactly when those words need to be said. No “Dang, wish I’d said that” self-recrimination because she said it already. In her outside voice.

 2. She swipes on her mascara

A Badass Character is so cool she doesn’t even need it, but when she does, even her makeup runs at a higher RPM than the rest of us. No dabbing on powder or settling for a nude lip. She swipes on jet-black mascara and a slash of red lipstick and is ready to rock the crime world.

3. She doesn’t cry on your shoulder

Sure, the Badass Character has bad days, the occasional Wrong Man in her life, and economic downturns, especially if she’s a PI with an unsteady income. But crime keeps her too busy to be an emotional wet rag. No clogging your inbox with “why me” emotional spasms, sobbing on your shoulder or stealing your boyfriend.

4. Her car is probably better than yours

If she doesn’t wreck it by the end of the book, the Badass Character might drive a pretty cool car. Some big SUV that lets her go off-road to either avoid or capture the baddies. Or maybe a BMW convertible. You’d look pretty good in that. Riding shotgun, of course.

5. She’s a linear thinker

With all the challenges thrown in her way, the Badass Character knows how to think, which is a fairly precious commodity these days. In order to solve crimes and save her own skin, she has to reason, deduce, hypothesize, and even follow a trail of breadcrumbs. If she can solve crime, think what she could do with your problems.

So grab a book and meet your new BFF!

Fill out the form below to be entered to win a signed copy of 43 MISSING and a signed mini-poster (Limited to US entries. Your email address will only be used to notify you if you’ve won. I promise not to put you on a mailing list unless you specifically ask me to 🙂

***The drawing is now closed*** Congratulations Ruth! You’ve won a signed copy of 43 Missing by Carmen Amato! Carmen will be in contact with you shortly.

Mystery and thriller author Carmen Amato draws on her 30-year career in the Central Intelligence Agency to craft intrigue-filled crime fiction. Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.

photo of author
Carmen Amato

Starting with CLIFF DIVER, her Detective Emilia Cruz police series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico’s cartels, corruption, and social inequality. Called “A thrilling series” by National Public Radio, the series was awarded the Poison Cup for Outstanding Series from CrimeMasters of America and has been optioned for television.

Catch the excitement with a free copy of the Detective Emilia Cruz Starter Library at carmenamato.net/starter-library.

carmen@carmenamato.net

Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorcarmenamato

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/carmen-amato

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/CarmenConnects

Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/carmenamato/

BADASS WOMEN WEEK!

Welcome to BADASS WOMEN Week! Where we celebrate all things BAD ASS. What makes a woman a true badass? Is it fearlessness? The ability to kick some serious ass? An indefinable something that you can’t quite put your finger on?

***Feel free to add your thoughts on badass women in the comments.

Many of you are familiar with my character, Leine Basso, who is as badass as they come. Throughout the week, I’ll introduce you to a couple of other badass characters and their badass creators (with giveaways), as well as give you a sneak peek of the latest Leine Basso thriller, DAKOTA BURN.

graphic for pre-order

Pre-order Dakota Burn here.

On Friday, September 27, DAKOTA BURN launches into the world, in both print and ebook (audio will be coming soon). To celebrate, I’m going to give away a signed print edition of the book along with some awesome swag to one lucky winner. Be sure to stop back here on Friday to win!

Today I’ll leave you with an excerpt from DAKOTA BURN. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

image of paperback copy of Dakota Burn

They were several feet from the back porch when a car door slammed shut in the front yard. Leine gestured for Mimi to freeze as she withdrew her gun and moved where she could see the driveway.

Four men in tactical vests had just exited a shiny black four-door pickup. The man in the lead had a semiautomatic pistol with a suppressor. The other three were armed with AR-15s. They headed for the door.

The lead gunman made it to the front porch first and signaled the second man, who hung back and waited for the other two to make their move. The first gunman eased his way up the concrete steps, gaze riveted on the door. He paused for a moment, then slowly turned the handle. Cracking the door open, he hesitated, then slipped inside. The second man followed while the third took a position on the steps, face out, scanning for threats. The fourth headed around the side of the house.

Leine sprinted back to Mimi.

“Come with me.”

Mimi’s face drained of color. “Who is it?”

Leine propelled her toward the barn. “Not sure, but they aren’t friendly.” Her terse comment left the young girl silent.

They raced across the yard and around the side of the barn. Leine stopped outside the broken window.

“Derek,” Leine called, her voice low and urgent.

Derek appeared out of the gloom. “What’s wrong?”

“Four gunmen. I’ll hide Mimi, then you and I need to set up.”

He glanced at Mimi. “You okay in the dark?”

“I guess,” she said, the wariness returning. “Why?”

He turned to Leine. “Storm cellar—north side of the barn. She’ll be safe there.”

Scarf craned his neck, trying to see behind him.

“The fuck’s going on?” he said.

“We’ve got company.”

He stilled. “It’s them.” The fear in his voice serrated the air. “They fuckin’ found me.”

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