Diane Capri - Fatal Bond

FATAL BOND

A JESS KIMBALL THRILLER

DIANE CAPRI

and

NIGEL BLACKWELL

Presented by:

AugustBooks

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Praise for

New York Times and

USA Today Bestselling Author

Diane Capri

Full of thrills and tension, but smart and human, too.

Kim Otto is a great, great character. I love her.

Lee Child, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Jack Reacher Thrillers

[A] welcome surprise. [W]orks from the first page to The End.

Larry King

Swift pacing and ongoing suspense are always present[L]ikable protagonist who uses her political connections for a good causeReaders should eagerly anticipate the next [book].

Top Pick, Romantic Times

offers tense legal drama with courtroom overtones, twisty plot, and loads of Florida atmosphere. Recommended.

Library Journal

[A] fast-paced legal thrillerenergetic prosean appealing heroineclever and capable supporting cast[that will] keep readers waiting for the next [book].

Publishers Weekly

Expertise shines on every page.

Margaret Maron, Edgar, Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity Award-Winning MWA Grand Master and Past President

Fatal Bond is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2017 Diane Capri and Nigel Blackwell

All Rights Reserved

Published by: AugustBooks

Visit the author websites:

DianeCapri.com

NigelBlackwell.com

License Notes:

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Publishers Note:

The publisher and author do not have any control over and do not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

eISBN: 978-1-940768-97-7

Original Cover Design: Cory Clubb

Digital Formatting: Author E.M.S.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for buying this copy of Fatal Bond. Im very excited to share this new Jess Kimball Thriller with you. Readers say Jess Kimball Thrillers are filled with fast-paced, believable characters, taut action, and surprises all the way to the finish. In all these ways, Fatal Bond will not disappoint!

Its been fun to write this book with my friend Nigel Blackwell, too. The most frequent question I receive from Jess Kimball fans is when will you write a new Jess Kimball book? With Nigels help, Im pleased to say the answer is very soon!

Im always working on a new book. Please sign up for my mailing list to receive advance notice of new releases and lots of other exclusive stuff for members only. You can do that here: http://dianecapri.com/get-involved/get-my-newsletter/

While youre waiting for a new Jess Kimball Thriller, please give my other books a try. I believe youll enjoy them. You can find a complete list of all my books here: http://dianecapri.com/books/

And please let me know what you think. I love hearing from you. You can write to me anytime, and I hope you will. Id love to get to know you better, and you can always reach me here: http://dianecapri.com/get-involved/message/

Meanwhile, thanks so much for reading. Readers like you are the reason I feel its an honor and a privilege to write for you.

Caffeinate & Carry On!

FATAL BOND

by

DIANE CAPRI

and

NIGEL BLACKWELL

Presented By:

AugustBooks

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Jessica Kimball

Gary Hadlow

Henry Morris

Carter Pierce

Mandy Donovan

Alex Cole

Debora Elden

Claire Winter

Rafa Lopez

Vanna Snchez

Ethan Remington

CHAPTER ONE

Gloriana Island, Angola

After Midnight

Rafa Lopez focused his sharp eyes on his workers as a starving wolf attends his dinner. The lights in the control room were low. Rows of LEDs blinked. Lines traced readings across monitors. Books and coffee mugs held down papers, combatting the ever-present blast of air conditioning.

In the corner behind him, Vanna Snchez leaned against the wall. Tall, austere, and platinum blonde with deep blue eyes and the long-limbed muscles of a distance runner, she was easily the most attractive woman in any room. A cell phone in her hands held her full attention. At her feet was a small backpack.

At regular intervals, a tinny and distant voice came from a small speaker in front of a large, thick window. The glass revealed six transparent glass-walled laboratories on the floor below.

In the middle of each laboratory was a circular stainless-steel drain. Around the clear walls, stainless-steel benches held complex looking glassware and machines protected with thick seamless plastic covers.

Each room had its own class III biosafety cabinet, a large structure with built-in rubber gloves for conducting experiments inside a hermetically sealed environment.

Only one of the six rooms was occupied. Two workers, both in full protective suits, breathed air through a hose that connected to a panel on the wall. The suits were constructed of material as transparent as the lab walls. The first worker was a bald, heavyset Texan. The second was female, half the Texans weight, with Asian features and thick black hair trimmed short.

The Texan stood at the biosafety cabinet. His hands were deep in the rubber gloves, pipetting liquids into a multi-well sample tray like a miniature ice cube tray.

The Asian woman divided her time, alternately operating a high-power digital microscope and a liquid chromatograph to monitor reactions.

Results were fed to the control room where a young man categorized them before they were displayed on two massive television monitors in front of Lopez.

The televisions displayed graphs and images side by side in squares. The graphs portrayed biochemical changes taking place in the visual image.

The Texans pipette appeared in the corner of one image. He had a steady hand. A single drop of clear liquid formed on the end of the fine glass tube and dripped onto a pinkish sample in the multi-well tray.

The pinkish sample was a sliver of muscle. It contracted to half its size in a single convulsion. Had it been the complete muscle, such a jolt would have been powerful enough to tear tendons from bone.

This is hopeless, said the Texan with the pipette. His electronic voice grated through the speakers. The electrochemical transfer process will have to be thousands of times slower.