Read Breaking Creed Online

Authors: Alex Kava

Tags: #Action & Adventure, #Fiction, #Suspense, #Crime, #Thrillers

Breaking Creed

BOOK: Breaking Creed
11.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
Breaking Creed
Alex Kava
Penguin (2015)
Tags: Fiction, Action & Adventure, Thrillers, Suspense, Crime
Fictionttt Action & Adventurettt Thrillersttt Suspensettt Crimettt

New York Times– and internationally bestselling author Alex Kava’s thrilling new series introducing Ryder Creed, ex-marine turned K9 search-and-rescue dog trainer as he teams up with fan-favorite FBI profiler Maggie O’Dell.   Ryder Creed and his dogs have been making national headlines. They’ve intercepted several major drug stashes being smuggled through Atlanta’s airport. But their newfound celebrity has also garnered some unwanted attention.   When Creed and one of his dogs are called in to search a commercial fishing vessel, they discover a secret compartment. But the Colombian cartels’ latest shipment isn’t drugs. This time, its cargo is human. To make matters worse, Creed helps one of the cartel’s drug mules escape—a fourteen-year-old girl who reminds him of his younger sister who disappeared fifteen years ago.    Meanwhile, FBI agent Maggie O’Dell is investigating a series of murders—the victims tortured, killed, and dumped in the Potomac River. She suspects it’s the work of a cunning and brutal assassin, but her politically motivated boss has been putting up roadblocks. By the time she uncovers a hit list with Creed’s name on it, it might be too late. The cartel has already sent someone to destroy Creed and everyone close to him.   But Creed and his dogs have a few surprises in store on their compound in Florida. Will it be enough to stop a ruthless cartel determined to remove the thorn in its side once and for all?From the Hardcover edition.

ALSO BY ALEX KAVA

THE MAGGIE O’DELL NOVELS

Stranded

Fireproof

Hotwire

Damaged

Black Friday

Exposed

A Necessary Evil

At the Stroke of Madness

The Soul Catcher

Split Second

A Perfect Evil

THE STAND-ALONE NOVELS

Whitewash

One False Move

THE E-BOOK ORIGINALS WITH ERICA SPINDLER AND J. T. ELLISON

Storm Season

Slices of Night

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

Publishers Since 1838

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC

375 Hudson Street

New York, New York 10014

USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

Copyright © 2015 by S. M. Kava

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kava, Alex.

Breaking creed / Alex Kava.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-698-16067-5

1. Police dogs—Fiction. 2. Drug traffic—Colombia—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3561.A8682B74 2015 2014028557

813'.54—dc23

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Version_1

FOR MY BOY, SCOUT

March 1998–May 2014

 

Miss you like crazy, buddy.

CONTENTS

ALSO BY ALEX KAVA

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

AUTHOR’S NOTE

 

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

One Week Later: Monday

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Tuesday

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Wednesday

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Thursday

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Friday

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Saturday

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Sunday

Chapter 69

Three Days Later

Chapter 70

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special Excerpt from SILENT CREED

AUTHOR’S NOTE

From the time I was able to crawl, I’ve been enamored with dogs. I even have a few scars that could have and probably should have discouraged me. My earliest memory is of the day I decided to follow our two farm dogs anywhere they went. They were my constant companions when my older brother and sister were in school and my younger brother was too little.

On this day I remember joyously trotting along with the dogs until I glanced over my shoulder and saw that our farmhouse was quite tiny in the distance. I must have been three or four years old at the time, and of course, I don’t need to tell you that my mother was frantic by the time I wandered back with my two friends.

For years now I’ve included dogs in my novels, but I’ve been itching to create a character who not only shared my love and my awe of dogs but who would be truly happy and most comfortable living in the company of dogs. And wouldn’t it be interesting to have the dogs be strong characters, as well? As much as I love research, finally I would be writing about a subject I knew quite well.

Needless to say, I’m excited about this new series, but never once did I realize nor could I predict how very difficult it would be to write about dogs while losing one of my own. And not just any dog, but my sixteen-year-old buddy, Scout, who had been at my side—literally sitting next to me—while I wrote all fourteen of my novels. He even waited until I finished this one before telling me he’d had enough of fighting kidney disease for two years.

My good friend Sharon Car said it perfectly: “Big personalities leave a big hole, and I’m sure Scout has left a crater in your heart.”

That, he has certainly done. But one of the privileges of being a writer is finding some small way to honor those we love. At the end of the book, you might notice that Jason names his puppy after Scout Finch from
To Kill a Mockingbird
. But in truth, Jason’s dog is named after my Scout who was actually named after my favorite literary character. In future books you’ll get a glimpse of my Scout’s quirks, like chasing his tail, giving kisses on demand, and making everyone—including the other dogs—laugh . . . a lot.

In addition, this book is dedicated to my boy, Scout. And although he was a West Highland terrier, something tells me he would have approved of being represented by a Labrador. His spirit is definitely big enough.

BOOK: Breaking Creed
11.43Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Eight Christmas Eves by Curtis, Rachel
Retraining the Dom by Jennifer Denys
The Alibi by Sandra Brown
The Testament by Elie Wiesel