Lethal Journey

Manhattan
District Attorney, Lauren Taylor, is about to take on the most
important case of her career, prosecuting Gino Valdina, acting mob
boss of New York
’
s most
influential crime syndicate.

For three
decades, Gino Valdina has led New York
’
s
Valdina crime family. Since his recent indictment for murder, the
leadership of the family is in turmoil, appalled by the death of
one of their own, Gino
’
s wife,
Madelina. Without the support of the family behind him, Valdina
will do anything to save himself.

But
Lauren soon discovers, things aren
’
t
always as they seem when she
’
s tossed into a
mystery, a deadly conspiracy that reaches far beyond the criminal
underworld and a journey into the past makes her a target...and
anyone she
’
s ever
loved.

Kim Cresswell
resides in Ontario, Canada. Trained as a legal assistant, Kim has
been a story-teller all her life but took many detours including;
working for a private investigator, running a graphic design
business, and teaching computer classes at a local business school
before returning to her first love, writing.

Lethal
Journey
was a finalist
in Romance Writers of America
’
s (FTHRW) From
the Heart Romance Writers
Golden Gateway
contest (2003).

Kim’s
debut suspense novel,
REFLECTION
, has won numerous awards including;
UP Authors Fiction Challenge
Winner
(2013), Silicon
Valley’s Romance Writers of America (RWA),
“Gotcha!”
Romantic Suspense Winner (2004), and an Honourable
Mention in Calgary RWA’s
The Writer’s Voice Contest
(2006).

Her
action-packed thrillers have been highly praised by reviewers and
readers worldwide. As one reviewer said, "Buckle up, Hang on
tight!"

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Fiction

REFLECTION

LETHAL JOURNEY
(A Short Novel Thriller)

True Crime

Real Life Evil
– A True Crime Quickie (Book One)

Smashwords
Edition

Lethal Journey
© 2013 by Kim Cresswell

All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in
any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the author.

The characters
and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to
real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not
intended by the author.

Cover Art ©
2013 by Rocking Book Covers

Published by KC
Publishing

eBook ISBN:
978-0-9920841-1-0

First eBook
Edition *September 2013

For Justin,
Carla, Porter and Peyton

In memory of
Mary Beech

Death leaves a
heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can
steal.

- From a
headstone in Ireland

I want to thank
my critique partners and beta-readers who were in the trenches
reading early drafts to proofing final edits. You guys rock!

Much
appreciation goes to Patricia Green at
Room With Books
for her insight, comments and wise editing
suggestions. Your friendship and support is priceless.

A huge thank
you to all my fans, readers and reviewers. I hope you find Lethal
Journey an entertaining and thrilling read!

____________________________

A Short Novel
Thriller

by

"An
entertaining and complex novella with some solid twists at the
end." —
Cheryl
Kaye Tardif, international bestselling author of
SUBMERGED

“
The
Cops. The mob. The district attorney. Lethal Journey is an
intricate and suspenseful thriller that offers an action packed
thrill-ride with stunning revelations and a nail-biting
conclusion!”

—
Patricia,
Room With Books

“
The
action is very riveting...The characters are so personable...Two
thumbs up, five stars, and a profound desire to tell EVERYONE about
this book.”

—
Goodreads
Review

“
Kim
Cresswell’s talent shines through again! With a talent for setting
the stage, bringing in the characters and cuing the action, she
held me from page one. She is not afraid to write a tale that is
real, where the good guys do not go unscathed and they are not
perfect. There is grit in her style, and when she says you are in a
warehouse with a stench, you smell it. The romantic tension runs
high, and using character flashbacks to the past not only builds on
the development of each character as a flesh and blood entity, but
serve to eventually bring everything full circle with an ending
that you will NOT see coming!”
—
Dianne, Tome Tender's Book Blog

“
I
devoured this book and I wanted more especially at the end as I
couldn’t get enough of these characters...I thoroughly enjoyed this
novella and suggest it to anyone who wants a quick, fast paced,
action packed read with a little romance thrown in to steam things
up and divert from the drama for a little while. Be sure to put
this on your ‘to-read’ list.”
—
Sharon's Book Nook

“
Well I
must say Kim Cresswell has done it again. I finished up Lethal
Journey and absolutely loved the ride it took me on emotionally.
This book has a whole lot of everything suspense. Loss, love,
betrayal and those are just a few of the things it offers! And
let’s talk about her main characters for a minute She always writes
her woman strong and independent which I love and Lauren Taylor is
no exception Then you add Eric Brennan sexy alpha male that I would
have to describe as perfectly flawed and delicious! And you got
yourself a great love story that works right into the mystery of
the book.”
—
Jenni, First Class Books

“Perfection is
achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is
nothing left to take away.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

September
1997

Rain pounded
down.

Lauren Taylor
squinted through the windshield, a backwash of water battered the
glass. She flicked the wipers on high and tightened her hands
around the steering wheel. With a quick glance in the rear-view
mirror she noticed headlights behind her. The vehicle appeared to
speed up, fall back, and then speed up again.

Her muscles
tensed. “That driver behind us seems to be in a big hurry.”

Her father
leaned forward in the seat and peered into the side mirror. “He’s
all over the road. Might be drunk or something.”

“He’s crazy
driving like that in this weather. I’m letting him go by.” She
downshifted the Jaguar and steered onto the side of the road and
rolled to a stop.

As the van
raced by. A giant wave of water pelted the side of the car.

Her father
watched out the window. “Christ, he’s flying”

Taillights
flickered and quickly faded ahead into the blackened night.

With a quick
glimpse in the mirror, Lauren steered the car back onto the road,
her grip relaxed around the wheel. “That’s better.”

Her father
repositioned himself in the leather seat and stretched his legs.
“The Law Society’s dinner is next week. You going?”

God, the
dinner. She’d bought an expensive navy and white designer dress for
the occasion and even toyed with the idea of having her hair cut
into something more sophisticated and polished for a New York
district attorney.

“I’ll have to
check my schedule.”

“Not good
enough. I want you there, Lauren. My chance to show you off. Do
some bragging, big time.”

She couldn’t
help but smile. “Okay, Dad. Okay.”

“And don’t
forget to bring a date for protection. Don’t want a bunch of
drunken seedy lawyers groping you on the dance floor. And by the
way, I heard Eric was back in town.”

Her smile faded
as she remembered the annual dinner years before. She’d never
forgotten a single detail of that night—how Eric held her in his
arms and how his mouth devoured her willing lips then pulled away
and left her mouth burning for more...

“What else did
you hear about him?” she blurted out.

“Not much.
Can’t even remember where I heard the news. Thought you didn’t want
to talk about Brennan?”

“I don’t. I
just wondered when he got back.”

Her father's
jaw tightened. “Don’t know.” His voice turned hard. “Just heard
he’s back.”

At one point in
their relationship, Eric begged her to come with him and start a
new life in Florida. She didn’t have the courage to leave her
father and walk away from her job. Four years later, she was taking
on the most important case of her career—prosecuting Gino Valdina,
head of New York’s crime family, just like her father had done a
decade before. But this time would be different. Gino Valdina
wasn’t going to get away with murder.

The sky split
and lightning lit the wet road. Lauren eyed the exit sign to Hyde
Park.

The whining
squeal of an engine roared from behind.

Lauren glanced
over her shoulder. “God, that van is back.” She clicked on the
turning signal and steered onto the off-ramp. Her eyes darted back
to the side mirror.

Headlights
swerved from side to side.

A shiver drove
up her spine. She clutched the steering wheel.

“I’m calling
the police.” Her father grabbed his cell phone out of the glove box
and turned it on. “Damn it. I can’t get a signal.”

“Keep
trying.”

The van’s
driver gunned the engine.

The grill came
into view, massive and powerful.

Close. Too
close.

Metal connected
and scraped against the bumper.

The van shoved
the Jaguar ahead on the road.

High-beams from
the other lane blinded her.

Lauren blinked
and turned her head.

The van rammed
the back of the car. Metal popped as the back window disintegrated
into the back seat.

The seat belt
snapped across her shoulder. Her head slammed back on the head rest
then forward. “Oh my God!”

The cell phone
flew from her father’s hand. “What the—”

“Dad!”

Like a
slingshot the Jaguar shot down the slick road.

Lauren slammed
on the brakes.