BRAINRUSH, a Thriller (48 page)

“Well, Josh, not everyone has a memory like yours. Most people would find it very difficult to keep track of
every
turn.” Daniel Springfield dwarfed the tiny wooden desk-chair he sat on. He was just shy of six feet, with the trim body of an avid cyclist. The rich tan of his skin and a jaguar-like grace reminded Francesca of the star soccer players from her home in Italia. He wore khakis, a button-down white shirt with rolled up sleeves, and an Ohio State baseball cap that he never took off. The children adored him. 

Josh scratched his chin as he considered Daniel’s comment. Finally, he said, “Then they shouldn’t have gone in the cave in the first place.”

“I can’t argue with that, big guy.”

“Well, I can!” Sarafina said in a voice that came out much louder than she intended. When everyone turned her way, she immediately dipped her head so that her dark shoulder-length hair hid most of her face. The fingers of one hand danced unconsciously on her lap, playing an unheard melody on an imaginary keyboard. She wore a pink sundress and sandals that were sprinkled with sparkles. Peeking up tentatively with a shy expression that accented her big brown eyes, she said, “I…I mean, sometimes when you’re on an adventure, you have to take chances, right? Otherwise it wouldn’t be a real adventure.”

Francesca knew Sarafina was drawing on memories of recent escapades, the painful portions of which Francesca had learned to bury in the past few months. She’d met the young girl three years ago at the Institute for Advanced Brain Studies in Venice, Italy, after Sarafina’s parents had been killed in a car accident. Francesca had been a teacher at the institute, specializing in children with mental and emotional challenges. She’d cherished the position—that is, until she’d discovered that the institute was a cover for an international terrorist organization. When she and Sarafina had been taken hostage and held in the caves of the Hindu Kush Mountains, it was the courage of Jake and his friends that had permitted them to narrowly escape with their lives.   

“You make a good point,
cara
,” she said. “But you shouldn’t take risks that could end up getting you hurt—”

Francesca cut off when she heard the buzz of an aircraft outside.  She recognized the distinctive pitch immediately. 

It was Jake’s plane.

###

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Wait, there’s more.  Flip the page!

Want more thrills? Check out
New York Times
Bestseller CJ Lyons'
SNAKE SKIN: a Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child has called CJ's work "Everything a great thriller should be--action packed, authentic, and intense."
Just your average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock...
A loving mom and wife, dutiful daughter, consummate professional, and kick-ass federal agent, Lucy Guardino is living the perfect life.
Until the day she comes up against a predator more vicious and cunning than any she's ever tackled before, one who forces Lucy to choose between the life of the young victim she is fighting to save and her own daughter's....and Lucy's dream life is shattered.
"Combine Dirty Harry with a loving wife and mother and you might end up with Lucy Guardino…You won't be able to put this one down." 4 1/2 stars,
RT Book Reviews
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And you won’t want to miss this last one.  Flip the page!

Want more thrills?

Check out USA Today/Amazon Bestseller Rebecca Forster’s

Hostile Witness: a Josie Bates Legal Thriller.

"
An enthralling read, with colorful, well-developed characters and the unique atmosphere of the California beach communities." -
 Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
"
Blending complex psychological character portraits with spot-on accurate courtroom drama, Forster's riveting legal thriller keeps the plot twists coming until the last, satisfying page."
- Alafair Burke

When sixteen-year-old Hannah Sheraton is arrested for the murder of her step-grandfather, the chief justice of the California Supreme court, her distraught mother turns to her old college roommate, Josie Baylor-Bates, for help.

Josie, once a hot-shot criminal defense attorney, left the fast track behind for a small practice in Hermosa Beach, California. But Hannah Sheraton intrigues her and, when the girl is charged as an adult, Josie cannot turn her back.

But the deeper she digs the more Josie realizes that politics, the law and family relationships create a combustible and dangerous situation. When the horrible truth is uncovered it can save Hannah Sheraton or destroy them both.

“Some books are a good story; others well-written. This book is the best of both..." –
Joe, 5 stars

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