Kestrel (Hart Briothers #3) (34 page)
Read Kestrel (Hart Briothers #3) Online
Authors: A. M. Hargrove
Five
Years Later
News Release
—New York, NY
StrongMeds, Incorporated, a subsidiary of Medical
BioPharma
has announced that it has received approval for two drugs: EX-Ells and
PRO-Ells. These drugs will alter all current cancer treatment protocols.
EX-Ells disables the cancer cells so they can no longer block the immune system
from destroying it. PRO-Ells tightens up the immune system so the cancer cells
can’t destroy it. In other words, the part of the immune system responsible for
destroying cancer cells, namely T-cells, will be protected by PRO-Ells so they
can go in and do their job, which is to destroy cancer cells before any cancer
cells have a chance to destroy them. StrongMeds claims that given together,
these two products will work side-by-side in the treatment of most cancers,
removing the necessity for many of the debilitating treatments that are commonly
used today.
Carter Drayton Hart, Ph.D., the genetic engineer who was
instrumental in the development of these two products, said, “Using EX-Ells and
PRO-Ells will strengthen the immune system and make most cancers completely
vulnerable to lysis, giving the patient a high chance for unbelievable cure
rates that we have not experienced before this. They were years in the making,
but we are pleased to see them finally hit the market. Our studies have shown
amazing cure rates with extremely low side effects. This is an unprecedented
breakthrough for cancer patients all over the world,” Hart went on to say.
Another spokesperson for StrongMeds said the products would be available for
use next week.
The End
My friend, Carter, who fights the battle against cancer
every day, inspired this book. Her amazing spirit and courage to live life to
its fullest each day is a treasure and something we should all be doing. Every
time I’m around her (which isn’t often enough), she has me laughing and
thinking about things in a way I never did before. So keep fighting, Carter,
and may we all strive to be more like you!
As for the research in the book, it is fiction. However,
there are two drugs that have recently been approved that are PD1/PD-L1 agents.
They are actually classified as monoclonal antibodies so they act differently
in the body than traditional chemotherapeutic agents (they target the cancer
cells only), which is why there are much fewer side effects. Currently, they
are being used to treat lung cancers and melanoma. It was just announced in
February 2014, that studies would now begin for bladder cancers and later in
the year other types of cancers as well. While my story is a pipe dream, cancer
treatment may be headed in that direction. Let’s all pray it happens sooner
rather than later.
If you
enjoyed
Kestrel,
please consider leaving a review at your
favorite e-tailer. If you could help spread the word, that would also be
appreciated. Tell your family, friends, aunts, cousins, uncles, (well, maybe
not your uncles—not unless they like romance novels!). Hell, tell your
frenemies, too. Whatever. Indie Authors appreciate any kind of buzz (even the
vodka kind!), so I’ll even take that, as long as it doesn’t come with a
drive-by rotten tomato or two. Just saying. This author thanks you in advance
for doing so.
Please look for the final installment of The Hart
Brothers Novels, which will be about Kade. The release date will be sometime in
early summer. Read on for a brief excerpt.
A.M. Hargrove divides her
time between the mountains of North Carolina and the upstate of South Carolina
where she pursues her dream career of writing. Her family considers her crazy,
her friends will agree, but she’s always game for some fun times. If she could
change anything in the world, she would make chocolate and ice cream a part of
the USDA food groups. Annie writes romance in several genres, including adult,
new adult, and young adult. Her books usually include lots of suspense and
thrills and she sometimes ventures into the paranormal, sci-fi and fantasy
blend.
The Guardians of Vesturon Series:
Death
Waltz, A Praestani Novel
The Edge Series:
The Tragic Series:
The Hart Brothers Series
Kestrel, Book 3
If you would like to hear
more about what’s going on in my world, please subscribe to my mailing list
here.
Please
stalk me. I’ll love you forever if you do. Seriously.
And now here’s a sneak peak at Kade’s upcoming book.
Please be aware this book is currently untitled and this excerpt is unedited.
Juliette
Emilie
Two
Years Ago
My car
was loaded with all my belongings. It was sad to leave my friends but wasn’t
that a part of graduating from college? Commencements had taken place two weeks
ago and we’d all decided to hang around for an extra week. That expanded into
two. My parents finally put their feet firmly down and said it was time to head
home. We all cried. I mean ugly cried. If that wasn’t bad enough, I was
teary-eyed all the way home, too.
As part
of my graduation gift, my parents promised to take the family on a vacation. We
were leaving next week for a trip to the Caribbean. We’d been once before when
I was a kid, but my little sister didn’t remember. She and I were both excited
because it had been ages since we’d hung out together. We’re three years apart
and I adore her so this will be a special trip for us.
When I
pulled in the driveway, I honked the horn. They knew when to expect me because
I texted them when I left my apartment. I thought it was weird that no one came
to the door.
Some
kind of homecoming, after all that
begging to get me back
here
. Instead of lugging my stuff inside, I
decided to enlist their help.
Barging
in the front door, all smiles, I came to a screeching halt. Furiously, I
blinked to clear my vision. The scene that greeted me couldn’t possibly by
real. It wasn’t possible to process what I was seeing. Was this some kind of a
cruel joke? Was this a staged scene to make me regret staying so long at
school?
I
squeezed my eyes shut, praying when I opened them again it would all be gone,
because I knew none of the above was possible. It was the scent of blood that
clued me in … that brought me out of my frozen state. I never knew what a
distinct and pungent odor blood had. And why would I? I had never been around
such an enormous quantity of it before. There were rivers and ponds of it,
forming pools as it still trickled from the bodies of my mom, dad, and sister.
“Oh,
God. Oh, God, oh, God.” I swallowed and then tried to scream, but only a weird
squeak emerged from my mouth. It was only when I tasted my own blood that I
realized my hand was clamped over my face so hard, my teeth had gouged into my
lips. My baby sister, Sylvie, lay slumped on her side, one arm bent across her
stomach, the other stretched out,
palm
open. My mom,
my beloved mother, was facing my sister, both arms reaching out to her as if
she tried to get to Sylvie before she died. And next to my mom was my dad, flat
on his
back,
vacant eyes open to the ceiling.
“
Noooo
!” I finally screeched. There was so much blood
everywhere. I wanted to hug all of them, hold them in my arms, but all I could
do was stare at the gruesome scene in front of me. The thought never occurred
to me that whoever did this could still be in the house. The shock of seeing it
all took every bit of rationality away from me. My head involuntarily jerked
between the three of them, eventually settling on my dad. On shaky legs that
carried me as far as the sofa, my hip slumped against it, then my butt slid to
the floor.
I sat
and stared at their faces for I don’t know how long. They say right before you
die, your life flashes through your mind. I don’t know if that’s true, but as I
sat there staring at my murdered family, memories zoomed through my
head—almost like a slide show on
fast forward
of
photos from family events. It began when I was a young and ended at my college
graduation just a couple of weeks ago. My whole being vibrated with agony,
knowing those were the final memories I would have of them.
My
entire family lay dead. Not just dead, but slaughtered, their necks ripped
apart, and their legs split open from their groins to their knees. Even though
they were the victims, I felt like my guts had been ripped out right along with
their throats. My belly heaved and twisted in agony. The piercing pain that
slashed my heart to shreds radiated through me ceaselessly. I hugged myself in
a stupid attempt to ease the pain, but I should have known better. That
would’ve been like putting a Band-Aid on an amputation. And that’s exactly how
I felt. Like someone had cut off my arms and legs. For some reason I was unable
to wrest my eyes away from the horror movie I was seeing. It was hideous. What
happened? Who could’ve done such a thing? And why? My mind raced. Suddenly, my
heart gave a massive lurch and a surge of adrenaline coursed through me. Body
tingling, a jolt of panic instantly flooded my veins and I found it impossible
to expand my lungs. My body crashed sideways to the floor and it was then I saw
it. Next to my dad’s hand, scrawled in his blood, he’d written two words.
JE Hide
J.E.
were my initials. Juliette Emilie. Why would he write my initials in his blood
and the word “hide” right after them? The “e” on the end of hide was barely
formed, as if it took all of his effort to complete it. Oh, Jesus. Oh, God. He
must’ve known something. He was telling me to hide.
Hide from
what?
What did he know? Did he know who did this to them? And if so,
were they looking for me now? Oh shit. If so, I needed to get out of here. But
where would I go?
Sometimes
a sense of intuition seeps into you and you have no idea where it came from. At
that very moment, something settled over me and I crawled toward my dad,
reached out my
finger
and slid it through my dad’s
blood, making the words look like smears. Then, not knowing what to do with my
bloody finger, I stuck it in my mouth, so as not to leave any evidence of my
presence behind. Scrambling to my feet, making sure I avoided any of the blood,
and nearly falling several times, I staggered out the door to my car. My hands
shook so violently I couldn’t put the key in the ignition. It took several
stabs until I was successful but I roared out of the driveway, tires squealing.
It was a battle to stay conscious as I fought hyperventilation, but I did. My
brain was scrambled eggs. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Shit! My
family was butchered and my dad left me a message in his own blood that told me
to hide! That meant I couldn’t call my friends. That meant I was alone. I
slammed my hands against the steering wheel. What the fuck was I going to do?
