Title: Border Lines
Author: LE Fitzpatrick
Series: Reachers, book #2
“We all remember that kid in Piccadilly. That determined look he had on his face as he willed all those people to him. Just using his mind he pulled them close then blew them all to pieces. It could be anyone. Your neighbour, your friend, your lover. Remain vigilant. Reachers are everywhere.”
When the perfect job comes up Charlie doesn’t think twice about taking it. This is the break he’s been looking for and nobody, not even the rest of his team, can persuade him otherwise.
The job means working for an old enemy and crossing the border into London. Both are risky but Charlie has no idea how high the stakes really are.
The team will have to confront their past, each other and a killer who is closer than they realise. But can they all make it out of the city alive?
This is the second installment in the Reacher series.
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Excerpt
There were rich men and women lolling around in secluded booths, with whores or groupies or just people having a good time. She guessed they were from London, slumming it in S'aven where depravity was a little easier to find and then leave behind. But Lulu's wasn't totally depraved – not like some of the whorehouses in S'aven. These whores were here freely. Clean and tested frequently. Lulu ran a tight ship and she looked after her staff, this much even Rachel knew.
If they pulled off the job they could blow their whole fortune in Lulu's in just one night and as Rachel stared at the party around her she couldn't deny she wasn't tempted. But then her eyes were drawn to the stage at the back of the room and the man clutching a microphone like it was keeping him from falling off. He sang with a voice rich with broken promises, tainted with despair and arrogance. There was a drunken slur to his words. By the look of him he'd been drunk for days. His blonde hair had tangled in places, falling over his face as he dipped to reach the lower notes. Circles adorned his eyes, marking his drinking binge like tree rings – how many days? How many weeks? And as she looked closer Rachel swore it was the same suit he was wearing when he put her into the boot of Riva's car. "Roxy looks rough," she murmured.
Charlie frowned, more concerned than she'd expected given what Roxy had done to them.
"Let's get a table," he said, gesturing to a free one in the centre of the room.
They weaved around the other tables and secured a seat with a prime view of the stage. On closer inspection Roxy looked worse. This wasn't just a few late nights. This was something deep rooted. There was sadness in his eyes and bitterness in his voice. As he sang out the words Rachel realised he meant every morose thing he said. When she had last seen him he was closing the boot of Riva's car and she was so angry with him for that, but to see him like this, so lost and vulnerable, made her relent just a little.
She stared up at him transfixed by the sudden change in character. The confident outgoing Roxy was gone. He barely looked at anyone, keeping his eyes on the distant bar or just closed. Rachel's glare grew deeper. She concentrated, filtering out the sounds around her, fixing her attention on Roxy and only Roxy until she could feel him vibrating in her head. Look at me! She yelled internally and Roxy's eyes snapped open. He looked at her in confusion and then surprise, stumbling through his song. Quickly he recovered himself and twisted the microphone stand in his hand. Putting on the bravado she recognised, he resumed his song like a different person. But it was all an act and they both knew it.
He tipped his head to them and finished his song. The crowd noticed the change in music and applauded loudly, bellowing for an encore until a voluptuous woman with nothing on but her snake started belly dancing. Roxy kissed the dancer on the cheek, patted the snake and jumped off the stage, waving to the barman and sitting down at the table with them – a pretend king in a pretend castle.
If they pulled off the job they could blow their whole fortune in Lulu's in just one night and as Rachel stared at the party around her she couldn't deny she wasn't tempted. But then her eyes were drawn to the stage at the back of the room and the man clutching a microphone like it was keeping him from falling off. He sang with a voice rich with broken promises, tainted with despair and arrogance. There was a drunken slur to his words. By the look of him he'd been drunk for days. His blonde hair had tangled in places, falling over his face as he dipped to reach the lower notes. Circles adorned his eyes, marking his drinking binge like tree rings – how many days? How many weeks? And as she looked closer Rachel swore it was the same suit he was wearing when he put her into the boot of Riva's car. "Roxy looks rough," she murmured.
Charlie frowned, more concerned than she'd expected given what Roxy had done to them.
"Let's get a table," he said, gesturing to a free one in the centre of the room.
They weaved around the other tables and secured a seat with a prime view of the stage. On closer inspection Roxy looked worse. This wasn't just a few late nights. This was something deep rooted. There was sadness in his eyes and bitterness in his voice. As he sang out the words Rachel realised he meant every morose thing he said. When she had last seen him he was closing the boot of Riva's car and she was so angry with him for that, but to see him like this, so lost and vulnerable, made her relent just a little.
She stared up at him transfixed by the sudden change in character. The confident outgoing Roxy was gone. He barely looked at anyone, keeping his eyes on the distant bar or just closed. Rachel's glare grew deeper. She concentrated, filtering out the sounds around her, fixing her attention on Roxy and only Roxy until she could feel him vibrating in her head. Look at me! She yelled internally and Roxy's eyes snapped open. He looked at her in confusion and then surprise, stumbling through his song. Quickly he recovered himself and twisted the microphone stand in his hand. Putting on the bravado she recognised, he resumed his song like a different person. But it was all an act and they both knew it.
He tipped his head to them and finished his song. The crowd noticed the change in music and applauded loudly, bellowing for an encore until a voluptuous woman with nothing on but her snake started belly dancing. Roxy kissed the dancer on the cheek, patted the snake and jumped off the stage, waving to the barman and sitting down at the table with them – a pretend king in a pretend castle.
The Running Game
Her father called it the running game. Count the exits, calculate the routes. Always be ready to run because they’ll always be coming for you. Whatever happens, they’ll always be coming for you.
Rachel had let her guard down and they had found her. She could run now, leave the city and try her luck beyond the borders, but with no money and a dark secret to hide her chances of survival are slim.
But then she meets two brothers with a dangerous past and secrets of their own. Can they help her turn the game around?
This is the first installment of the Reacher series. Set in a grim and not too distant future, this urban thriller will keep you hooked until the last page.
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About the author
L E Fitzpatrick was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, but now lives in West Wales, with her family plus lots of dogs and cats. She manages an office, volunteers as a room steward for the National Trust and also supports independent authors as a proofreader and beta reader. She obviously has no spare time because of this, but if she did it would probably be invested in walking in the countryside and enjoying the peace and quiet.L E Fitzpatrick published her first series Dark Waters in 2011 and is currently working on her Reacher series.
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