Sneak Peek!!

Anybody want a sneak peek of Book 2 of the Reese Hawking Series? Well, here she is.

The Crew: Chapter 1

Desperation. More powerful than money. More motivating than power. And Benny was motivated. He pulled his ball cap down and watched the night sky through the passenger side window of the dark blue SUV. When G made the left onto Louisiana Ave towards the Garden District, Benny thought back over the last year. He remembered every tear he’d shed. He felt the pang of guilt as the faces of those he’d let down flashed across his mind. The anger rose in him at the thought of every single wasted dollar he had spent. He took the sorrow and the guilt and the anger and packed them all into that place in his chest that pushed him to do things he never thought he’d do. That place of desperation. He turned his focus to the faces of his targets. And their perfect white house on the corner.

He scoffed, thinking of their pristine white walls. The two-foot wrought-iron fence surrounding the front yard. The ivy-covered wall around back. And the perfectly pretentious couple, fast asleep in the upstairs master bedroom. Benny wondered if they would ever figure out why they’d been targeted. He doubted they ever would. Maybe he would tell them. As he stared into their terrified eyes, maybe he would recount everything their greed and hate had taken from him. Isn’t that what all the greatest villains did in movies? Explained to their victims exactly how it was all their fault. That he would never have done any of this if they hadn’t been so evil and heartless.

He dropped his head and stared at his hands. Was he a villain now? He couldn’t be. Not in the traditional sense. They did what they did for personal gain. Something inane like money or fame. Benny had higher motivations. He was a hero villain, like the Count of Monte Cristo. His sole focus was righting the wrongs that truly evil people had inflicted upon him.

A barking dog returned him to the SUV, the dark night, and the four men who rode with him. He watched the familiar houses go by and took a deep breath. By the time G stopped the car on the street behind the white house on the corner, Benny had decided that he was no villain at all. He was retribution. He turned in the seat to face his crew, his eyes darting to each man as he gave final instructions.

“One last time before we do this. As soon as we’re over the fence, D cuts the electricity. V cracks the glass on the back door. Once the door is open, we’re in and out in six minutes. J, you get the wife. D, you get the old man. I’ll do the rest. No shots. We don’t need a mess tonight.”

Benny turned to his driver. “G, leave the car running. When we leave, don’t peel out. No tire marks. Drive out of here just like you came in, slow and steady.” He turned back to the others. “Everybody got it?” Nods from everyone. He spoke into the walkie talkie on his lap. “We clear?”

Her voice came back, calm and quiet. “All clear.”

Benny took off his ball cap and replaced it with a black ski mask. He pulled it down over his face, leaving only his eyes visible. The others did the same before filing out onto the street. Getting over the fence took less than twenty seconds. D had the electric line cut ten seconds later. At forty-five seconds, they were inside. Benny punched in the alarm code on the panel by the back door before the fourth beep sounded. Then he flipped on the light attached to the barrel of his gun. He led the others through the dining room, past the kitchen and family room, to the base of the white carpeted stairs. The master bedroom door at the end of the second-floor hallway was wide open. Didn’t they know how dangerous that was? Benny heard the man snoring before his foot hit the top of the landing. If the wife could sleep through that, there was no way she heard them come inside.

He shone his small light down to the floor. Careful not to let the beam fall on their hosts’ faces. He motioned for J to turn his light off and go around to the right side of the bed, where the woman slept. D did the same, walking around to the husband’s side. Both men pointed their guns at the sleeping couple and looked back at Benny. He gave them a nod. D and J each put a hand over their targets’ mouths and shook them awake. The woman tried to scream. It came out more like a muffled gurgle. The man braced himself to fight. He settled down when he saw the gun pointed at his forehead. The woman was already crying. Her tears almost made Benny laugh.

He walked to the end of the bed and spoke quietly. “Stop fighting. No screaming. Give me what I want and we won’t hurt you.” Two minutes. Three minutes. Four. He checked his watch after closing the door to the SUV. Five minutes and thirty-two seconds.

He handed the papers to V and removed his mask. V already had the laptop open. “Get to work. Masks off. Heads down.” Benny put his cap back on and lightly hit G on the arm. “Let’s go. Nice and easy.” As they pulled off, Benny picked up his walkie talkie and gave her one final instruction. “All good. Let’s go.”

“Meet you there,” she answered.

He watched her in the rearview. She started the car and slowly pulled off in the opposite direction, car lights off. That’s my girl, he thought, his lips slightly turning up at the corners. He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. They had been quick, but it was messy. They couldn’t afford those kinds of missteps. He would have to get that under control before the next one.

He pictured their next mark in his mind. Pristine front yard. Perfectly polished floors. Pictures of the family arranged on the mantel just so. He felt no guilt, just deep resolution. He was resolved to what had to be done. Resolved to the notion that someone had to pay. Might as well be them.