Ex-army musketry trainer, Jay Benson and his wife Lucy's dream of running a shooting school turns sour as the school heads towards certain closure. They need money - quickly, and a lot of it. At the eleventh hour Augusto Savanto, head of a vast corporation in Venezuela, walks into their lives with a proposition they can scarcely refuse - he will pay them $50,000 to turn his son into an expert marksman, in nine days. Desperate for money they accept the challenge but find themselves in a deadly game of ruthless vendettas and vengeful murder.
Extract 1:
‘Let’s look at the other side of the blackmail coin,’ I said.
‘Suppose I tell you to go to hell?’
He shook his head.
‘You won’t, Mr. Benson. I am sure of this because I am a judge of men. I know you are in love with your wife.’
‘I want to hear from you what will happen to her if I didn’t play.’
He grimaced, then shrugged.
‘Look at the symbol…the symbol of the Red Dragon. I’ll send her back to you but she will have that brand on her face if you fail.’
Extract 2:
‘Did my father do that to you?’ he asked in a shocked, husky whisper.
I saw he was looking at the Red Dragon brand.
‘Does that bother you?’ I said. ‘Does that bother you more than stealing my wife? Your father isn’t fit to live. I’m going to kill him. ‘I moved around so that I stood in front of Lucy. She jumped to her feet, backing away from me.
‘Look at this, Lucy,’ I said, pointing to the brand. ‘His father said he would put this on your face if I didn’t kill a man this slob is too gutless to kill. He branded me to show that he meant business. Do you still want this gutless creep who hasn’t the guts to spit in the face of the animal who calls himself his father? Do you?’
She stared with horror at the brand mark, then she put her hands to her face.
‘Lucy! Do you want me or do you want him?’ I yelled at her.
I saw by the expression on her face I had lost her.
‘I’m sorry, Jay…We love each other.’
The effect of those words was like a bucket of iced water poured over me. My rage sparked out. I remained fixed in the mud, realizing what I had already suspected was true.
Extracted photes from Panther paperback edition:
More Covers
No comments:
Post a Comment