I’m blessed with an amazing family whose lives are full of the wonderful and weird. Special thanks go out to my niece Lydia and my nephew, MacGreagor. They allowed me to liberate the incident of the mouse fart and Froggy from their original circumstances and twist them for use by a little girl named Amelia.
Lark. What can I say? Even with my devious, creative mind, never in a million years could I have come up with the story about the green Army men heads. Truth is stranger than fiction, indeed. Thank you for that bizarre tidbit and letting me incorporate it into Cass’s childhood.
Jerry, o brother of mine, your advice on how a badly abused leg would heal and the various devices with which I could torture Mitch during his recovery was fantastic. As was your repeated demonstration (without actual bullets, thankfully) of what could happen if Cass was shot in the shoulder. She was, and hopefully, I’ve done your explanations justice. If not, the fault and any errors about the medical stuff and anatomy are entirely mine. And Terry, o other brother of mine, thanks for your help with my questions about handguns. Yes, yes, any screw-ups with the weapons are mine alone. Both of you, stop laughing like that. You’ll get a hernia.
As for you, Kathy Shelton, it’s been an absolute delight to work with you. Your candor and eye for detail have made this a much stronger read. I can’t wait to finish the next book just to hear what you have to say.
And to Lillian, thank you so much for pointing out my errors regarding twelve-step programs. You are a strong, courageous woman, and I thank you for making contact and letting me know where I’d gone wrong. You’re the kind of reader every writer longs for, and I’m so glad to know you.
Many, many thanks to those who read the first Cass Elliot novel, The Devil of Light, and waited with much impatience for the second book. Your pushing and shoving and encouragement have kept me going, and I appreciate you greatly.
For you brave souls who have picked up this book by an unfamiliar author, you have my sincere gratitude. Diving into a world created by an unknown author can be a bit scary. I appreciate your willingness to risk your hard-earned cash on a book of mine and hope you’ve enjoyed reading Avengers of Blood as much as I enjoyed writing it. I can’t wait to see what terror reigns down on Forney County next.
If you’d like to know more about the real-life events that led me down the path to Avengers of Blood, check out this blog post: Genesis of a Novel: The Horrific Death of James Byrd Jr.
Gae-Lynn Woods
February 2013
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AVENGERS OF BLOOD
Copyright
Dedication
PROLOGUE
WEDNESDAY
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
THURSDAY
CHAPTER 14
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
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
FRIDAY
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
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
CHAPTER 94
CHAPTER 95
CHAPTER 96
CHAPTER 97
CHAPTER 98
CHAPTER 99
SATURDAY
CHAPTER 100
CHAPTER 101
CHAPTER 102
CHAPTER 103
CHAPTER 104
CHAPTER 105
CHAPTER 106
CHAPTER 107
CHAPTER 108
CHAPTER 109
CHAPTER 110
CHAPTER 111
CHAPTER 112
CHAPTER 113
CHAPTER 114
CHAPTER 115
CHAPTER 116
CHAPTER 117
CHAPTER 118
CHAPTER 119
CHAPTER 120
CHAPTER 121
CHAPTER 122
CHAPTER 123
CHAPTER 124
CHAPTER 125
CHAPTER 126
CHAPTER 127
CHAPTER 128
CHAPTER 129
CHAPTER 130
CHAPTER 131
CHAPTER 132
CHAPTER 133
CHAPTER 134
CHAPTER 135
CHAPTER 136
CHAPTER 137
CHAPTER 138
CHAPTER 139
CHAPTER 140
CHAPTER 141
CHAPTER 142
CHAPTER 143
CHAPTER 144
CHAPTER 145
CHAPTER 146
CHAPTER 147
CHAPTER 148
CHAPTER 149
CHAPTER 150
CHAPTER 151
CHAPTER 152
CHAPTER 153
CHAPTER 154
CHAPTER 155
CHAPTER 156
CHAPTER 157
CHAPTER 158
CHAPTER 159
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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