The Devil's Contract

Jack learned early in life how to survive in a cruel world. When he was five years old, his drug-addicted mother abandoned him to live with the homeless. By age eight, his feral qualities had caught the attention of the Colonel, an enigmatic man who recruited such lost souls into his fold. Through only a verbal contract, binding for life upon penalty of death, the Colonel would care for and train Jack in his academy until accepted into Horus, a mercenary security company. An offer is made, and the boy finds a home.
The academy is everything Jack could wish for, and the skills he learns come as natural as the beat of his heart. In youth, Harold and Myra are his closest friends, but while one will be a lifelong comrade, the other becomes a rejected lover with a vendetta. Over the years, the role of an assassin suits Jack well. He's exceptional in every mission, shining like a favored son in the Colonel's eyes until the day arrives in Afghanistan where conscience forces Jack to make a dreaded decision. He kills the warlord he's assigned to protect, and breaking the Colonel's contract, flees. Now, even his friends will hunt for him.
For years Jack ran, always looking over his shoulder. Then he met Valerie and hoped for a fresh start. Yet peace comes at a price, as Jack finds himself entangled in the web of a ruthless criminal organization and the Colonel, who tracks down his whereabouts. With nowhere to turn, the former assassin must choose between old friends and new, the chance to renew his life, or killing the man that had become like a father to him.

Glenn Starkey is an award-winning author living with his family in Texas. He served in the Marine Corps, is a Vietnam veteran, worked in Texas law enforcement, was a security manager for a global oil corporation, and was the interim security director of a major Gulf Coast port. For eleven years, Glenn volunteered as a reading mentor to elementary school children.