Pattern of Vengeance (A Maria Sanchez Thriller Book Two)

Someone is killing street kids in Minneapolis and Detective Maria Sanchez is determined to stop the evil menace responsible for pushing the drugs. As the investigation deepens, an undercover cop is executed and evidence points to a diabolical L.A. crime boss, who has picked up where his uncle left off. Sanchez and her partner have their work cut out for them when they team up with the FBI and a beautiful Russian born agent masquerading as a troubled teen to end the nightmare. When the agent and a young accomplice find themselves too close to the "family" in more ways than one, time quickly expires. Out of options, Maria and her partner make a trip to California, one that could well prove fatal.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

PrologueTwo men came out of nowhere. Stan Bauer almost made it to the curb with the last bag of garbage. His immense frame staggered forward, half-asleep. Dressed in only sweats, despite the cold, it went against his grain to hurry. His wife was after him to lose weight-called him a heart attack waiting to happen, and his friends laughed at his expense. Larry liked to point out his bad case of Dinky-do-his belly hung longer than his dinky do. That always got a giant laugh. Garbage pickup was early in the morning, and he had suddenly remembered the large bag of cat shit in the basement, while listening to his wife snore. Carrie had three fuckin' cats that stank to high heaven. It would sit down there fermenting if he left it for another week. Two men grabbed him from behind-one on each side. Clouds of spent breath and grunts of exertion clouded the frosty air as his abductors kicked and punched him repeatedly, immobilizing him into submission. With Stan bound and gagged, they struggled, quickly shoving him into the van. Stan knew his gig was up-all part of the job. The downside so to speak. He tuned them out and reached inside himself, putting his training to use as the driver drove, and his new friends continued their abuse. Finally, the vehicle screeched to a stop. Pants pulled down to his ankles, Stan barely heard a young male voice instruct him to bend over. He did not comply, focused on his inner turmoil. Panic surged through him despite his training. He prayed for himself, for his loved ones. "Fuckin' snitch, this is what you get. Sweet dreams, fat motherfucker."Pop! Pain assaulted Stan's senses, as the van resumed moving. A deep wrenching agony encompassed him as he thought of his last hunting trip and the trophy buck he and his son shot, up North. A keeper. The head proudly hung in the basement. The two men dumped the dying Stan Bauer next to the garbage he'd set out for pickup in about three hours, then slowly drove off. Face down in the snow, bound, gagged, and bleeding, Stan prayed to God again. But now prayed to be taken, begging.... Too weak and consumed with pain to squirm further than a few inches in the wrong direction, tears streamed down his face, freezing as they hit the frigid atmosphere. A slow bleed ensued in his guts as a white-hot knife of misery divided the center of him. Too much time to think, that was their plan. Think...about being a snitch...going against the Family...being a cop...leaving behind those he loved...begging for death. The pain-he imagined where the bullet lodged. Somewhere past his rectum, the intestines perhaps. Will I freeze to death or have to endure this...for how long?Please God, take me...please. Closing his eyes, he watched a final slide show set in slow motion as his life played out in vivid detail behind tortured lids.

About the Author

C. Hyytinen is a Wisconsin transplant and has been a Minnesotan for more than twenty years, embracing the land of 10,000 lakes as her home. Living in a male dominated household with her husband and two sons has proven to be a challenge at times, but has also given her insight into the finer qualities of life. With a demanding career in the fast-track computer world, she uses her writing as a form of escape. When she's not busy with her family or work, you'll find her hunched over her laptop, pounding out another crime thriller.

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