Retribution:
Silent Death
by
Denyse Bridger
Blurb:
Adam Walker is one of
the Company’s best field agents, a highly trained, well-honed killing machine
when that’s what’s needed. But, he’s also a man of many secrets, and one of
them is that he’s a ninja, one of Japan’s mythical death warriors. When another
of Adam’s secrets, his lover Kiku, is killed, he turns to the one person he
trusts, fellow agent Shainna Barton. While Shainna covers for him on a mission,
Adam metes out his revenge, and discovers that his friendship with Shainna has
a much deeper meaning that either of them ever realized…
Tired of the confines of her office, and in need of a little night air, Kiku Shimoda emerged from the rear exit of the small Kabuki Theater, a place she owned and operated in the theater district of London, England. She didn’t find the soothing peace she wanted. Instead, she found herself shivering in the unnatural quiet permeating the night. Stillness filled the dark, made it static. She heard none of the busy sounds that normally dominated the night and made it pulse with intangible life. She hugged herself and looked around. There was no one else present. The theater was empty, for she’d bid the last of the employees goodnight almost an hour earlier. She stood in the doorway, frozen by indecision, faced once again with a fear to which she had grown happily unaccustomed to experiencing since arriving in the U.K.
He was late.
And he had never been
late—not in the entire year the theater had been open—not without first warning
her.
Still, she would wait
a little longer.
For a few minutes, she
dismissed her worry and allowed her thoughts to drift, allowed herself to
remember.
She’d been performing
in a club located in Hong Kong’s backstreets, and trying to avoid the
humiliation of becoming another of owner Chen-Li’s possessions, when Adam
Walker had stumbled into her tiny dressing room. The blood pouring from a gash
running from the center of his chest upward to his left shoulder should have
terrified her. But something in the fierce eyes of this stranger told her she
need not fear him. Chen-Li had not been so fortunate later when he discovered
Kiku was not alone to fight his clumsy advances. After that night, she had
never felt the isolation of loneliness, and it had been her last spent in Hong
Kong—it had also been Chen-Li’s last night anywhere.
In the weeks following
Walker’s dramatic entrance into Kiku’s life, she learned much about the man.
First, she discovered his injury had been inflicted by a katana—during a
confrontation only he had survived. She also learned quickly not to question
him—not because he refused to speak honestly to her, but because he would—and
his answers frightened her more than the possibilities her imagination created.
Over five years had
passed since then, and he’d become many things during those years: always her
protector, as well as a companion, then her truest friend. And in more recent
years, her sensei. He was teaching her to overcome her fear of the “darknesses”
in her life, and because of his training, it had been a considerable time since
she’d been truly frightened. They moved, often. London was his home, and she
was aware the people he worked for operated out of this European capital,
though they held a quiet presence worldwide.
There had been a time
when she believed Adam wanted her as a lover, but that dream was one she’d been
forced to banish. She’d met one of his few partners, a beautiful but dangerous
woman he trusted, and Kiku had seen what Adam and his lady friend had yet to
understand—they loved each other, and their bonds ran deep.
A chill passed over
her, a ripple of unease that caressed her spine and brought her back to the
present.
“Adam?” she whispered,
feeling unseen eyes watching her, though she knew immediately her watcher
wasn’t Adam.
She could feel his
presence when he was near. His ki was intense and filled with his strength. The
uneasy fear, which had haunted her throughout the day, flared to sudden, potent
life.
Control your
fear—listen to the voice of your instinct.
Buy Links: Amazon Crimson Frost Books
Canadian born and
bred, and a lifelong dreamer, I began writing at an early age and can’t recall
a time when I wasn’t creating in some artistic form. My life has had several on-going
love affairs that shape much of what I write, the American West, Victorian
England, cowboys, a passion for pirates, Greek Gods, and Ancient Egypt. The
other endless love affairs in my life are Italia and all its magic, beauty, and
dazzling culture, and a passion for Romania. Those loves spill into all aspects
of my life.
In the past half dozen
years, I’ve signed with over a dozen publishers, and have released books in all
lengths and genres, and it’s something I hope to continue to do for many more
years. A visit to my website will show the diversity of what is currently
available, and the mixing of genres and styles that will be employed in many
up-coming projects as well.
Voted Preditors and
Editors Best Author of 2012 and 2013
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