by Tracy Brody
“This morning,” the boy answered.
Crap! Anticipation waned, and energy drained from his body.
“Is he coming back?” Lundgren remained calm.
Tony’s stomach muscles tightened the same way his fingers gripped his weapon in a gunfight. His trigger finger flexed and released.
This time, the boy only shrugged.
So far, Tony followed the conversation with ease—followed it to another dead end. Even Lundgren’s shoulders sagged. So damn close. What next? What were they missing?
“How did he get out of the house?” Tony asked in Pashto.
A grin tugged at the boy’s lips. He pointed to the dining table.
Okay, so my Pashto needs work. “Ask him how al-Shehri got out of the house,” he asked Lundgren.
“You just did.”
Their gazes locked. Both men turned their attention to where the boy had pointed. The low dining table sat atop a deep red rug woven with an intricate pattern
Tony rose to his full height. He ushered the boy to the edge of the room with his grandmother and sister, then handed him another packet of candy. The old woman was strangely quiet now, her head down while she held the girl close.
Together, the men turned the table on its side, setting it against the wall. They peeled the rug back to reveal a hole dug in the center of the room. Lundgren aimed his flashlight into the blackness and let out a whistle. It wasn’t just a rat hole. It led to a tunnel.
“Bring in Dita,” Lundgren said into his communications mic.
The prior adrenaline rush fizzled out like a firework’s show fading to black. Every brain cell told Tony that al-Shehri was gone. Long gone.
WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? You can read the whole story of Tony Vincenti and Angela Hoffman in A Shot Worth Taking.
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Acknowledgments
This book has been a long time coming. It’s not the first book I wrote—that one still needs a complete rewrite after all I’ve learned—but Deadly Aim required multiple rewrites as I learned the craft of writing and strategies of plotting.
Thank you to my critique partners, the BBTs, especially Paula Huffman, who pointed out the need for conflict and tension in early versions and listened to plotline ideas on our writing retreats and beach walks. To JJ Kirkmon, C.S. Smith, Mimi Tsuki, Pennie Leas, and others for all the writing meetups that keep the momentum going.
I appreciate the many people who gave of their time to teach at RWA® conferences, chapter meetings, and online workshops. Thank you to the contest judges who gave their time and expertise to provide helpful feedback. To my betas, Paula, Kathryn Barnsley, Carol Thorton, Karen Long, Becky Eien, and Judy Eien, who read every version of Mack and Kristie’s story as it changed time and again. I appreciate you hanging in there and continually cheering for me and their story.
Thanks to Cathy LaMarche for turning me onto Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooters series and asking that all-important that made me think beyond Mack’s story to a series featuring other members of the Bad Karma Team.
Supporting troops has brought many wonderful friends into my life. A huge shout out to my main go-to guy for military and Special Ops information—MSG Dale Simpson (US Army Ret.) Thank you for all your time, knowledge, suggestions, and telling me what you’re wearing. Ha! Any errors or artistic liberties are my own.
Thanks to now-retired Black Hawk pilot Jeremiah Powell for answering flight-related questions over and over due to story changes. I still want to ride in a Black Hawk, but getting input from you is the next best thing.
I made a few platoons of Army pilots and crews smile with care packages filled with cookies, brownies, footballs, books, letters, and goodies, but I was blessed to gain many Renegades as friends, along with a few Ghost Riders, Outlaws, Killer Spades, and an Outlaw. Thanks for answering questions and your support as my books deploy.
To my friend and copy editor, LTC Kathryn Barnsley (USAF Retired), thank you for your service. When you offered to do a beta read, I was a little intimidated when I learned your rank, but your experience in editing and your perspective in ensuring I portray my military characters and their families respectfully and accurately is invaluable. I hate I had to cut some of those favorite scenes, too.
Thank you to my developmental editor, Holly Ingraham, for helping me add those final polishes to this story.
Christy Hovland, you did a fabulous job creating another swoon-worthy cover. Thank you for all your input on covers and indie publishing.
To JJ Kirkmon, your super-proofing powers caught missing commas and tightened up my writing. You went above and beyond—again! Your friendship is a huge blessing to me.
Passing on early publishing offers was the right decision. Deadly Aim became a better story, and it allowed me to repeat the awesome experience of being a Golden Heart® finalist with other amazing writers. Being a Dragonfly, Mermaid, Rebelle, Persister, and Omega enriched my life and gave me a strong circle of friends and allies. Thanks especially to all my writer friends who’ve shared their insights, recommendations, and experiences related to indie publishing, so I’m not doing it alone.
Thank you to the friends who’ve repeatedly asked when this book is coming out and have celebrated my successes along this journey. Not only can you say you knew me when, but you still know me, and if you’re reading this, thank you! I hope to see you and give you a hug.
Most of all, THANK YOU to my family. My awesome husband has been supportive of my attending conferences and writing retreats and made time to read Desperate Choices, despite his demanding workload. Thanks to my wonderful children, who recognized I had a need beyond folding laundry and preparing several meals a day and rarely complained when I would disappear into my office. I appreciate your patience and cheers for the wins along the way. I love you and pray for your “happily ever after’s.”
About the Author
Tracy Brody has written a series of single-title romances featuring the Bad Karma Special Ops team whose love lives are as dangerous as their missions. A SHOT WORTH TAKING and IN THE WRONG SIGHTS won the Golden Heart® for romantic suspense in 2015 and 2016. DEADLY AIM was a four-time finalist in the Golden Heart.
She has a background in banking, retired to become a domestic engineer, and aims to supplement her husband’s retirement using her overactive imagination. Tracy began writing spec movie and TV scripts, however, when two friends gave her the same feedback on a script, saying that they’d love to see it as a book, she didn’t need to be hit over the head with a literal 2” x 4” to get the message. She joined RWA® and developed her craft and is still working on using commas correctly
Tracy and her husband live in North Carolina. She’s the proud mother of a son and daughter. She invokes her sense of humor while volunteering at the USO. You may spot her dancing in the grocery story aisles or talking to herself as she plots books and scenes while walking in her neighborhood, the park, or at the beach on retreats with friends.