Out for Blood: Mercer's War, #2

Out For Blood

Jordan Dane’s Mercer’s War Series – Book 2

By Jordan Dane

Out For Blood

Copyright 2017 by Jordan Dane

Copyright 2017 Cover Art by Croco Designs

Formatting Services by Wizards in Publishing

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

About the Author

Bibliography

Out For Blood

Mercer’s War – Book 2

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Mercer Broderick is haunted by the death of his wife and son. While on a covert mission as a CIA operative four years earlier, he’d been on foreign soil instead of protecting Keara and Braeden in America. His family’s killers were never found. With his entire world destroyed, he quit the CIA and struggled for a reason to live, wallowing in grief and an all-consuming guilt.

Mercer emerged from the fog of devastation, obsessed with swift justice and driven to honor the memory of his beloved wife and child. He forged a network of wealthy benefactors across the world—the Alliance—influential, high-powered people who secretly yearn for a new world order of vigilante justice. With the support of a mysterious Danish woman, Eva Henriksen, Mercer built Zion in the mountains of Wyoming, a fortified sanctuary for his handpicked team.

After Mercer gets a lead on who ordered the hit on his family, he’s drawn to El Paso to take on the Ruiz cartel and the faceless man known only as the Panther. Accompanied by his exotic bodyguard specialist, Keiko Kayakova—a blue-eyed Japanese beauty trained by her lethal Russian father—Mercer calls upon the Sentinels to join his Alliance team—Detective Mateo Vega, computer genius Axel Ballard, Liam Walker, and Jake Dunkirk. With the clock ticking, Mercer must take down the Panther before he closes up shop and disappears forever, taking his fortune and leaving a bloody carnage of dead witnesses.

But when his plan derails, Mercer is forced to risk his life to stop a mad man from getting away with murder.

Dedication

To Taco & Sancho

You helped me through the worst days of my life and I love that Karl is your amigo.

Dear Readers,

In a world where violence dominates our news and often seems to go unpunished, I was inspired to create a different kind of hero. Mercer Broderick is a brave man of uncommon humanity for our uncertain times. He’s formed a unique band of heroes who live in the beautiful mountains of Wyoming in a fortress named Zion (Heaven) where they train, strategize in a high-tech underground command center, and launch their operations.

Mercer has a support network of wealthy benefactors across the world—the Alliance—high-powered people who secretly yearn for swift vigilante justice that isn’t limited by jurisdictions or international borders. Since the Internet has influenced the actions of a new kind of predator, anonymous criminals can operate anywhere with the world as their hunting ground. Mercer and the Alliance hunt these predators where they live.

Aiding Mercer is his unique four-legged partner, Karl (Porn Dog), a black Tibetan Mastiff. In researching this series, I ran across a real news headline that stirred me to craft a search dog with the ability to sniff out electronic data devices, computer microchips, and SIM cards. Dogs like this do exist, although they are rare. One of them uncovered evidence on the long time spokesperson for Subway, Jared Fogle. Fogle was convicted of receiving child pornography (among other charges) with the help of a search dog named ‘Bear’ that sniffed out a thumb drive police couldn’t find.

Mercer and Karl make a great team and vigilante justice has intrigued me for a long time. In fiction, authors can deliver their own brand of justice. I hope you enjoy book #2 in my Mercer’s War series.

One of the biggest hurdles for an author is ‘visibility’ online. A rating or review is invaluable and very much appreciated. Honest reviews and ratings boost a book’s placement in searches and that increases sales and discoverability. Please consider rating/reviewing this book and thank you for your support.

Jordan Dane

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Chapter 1

El Paso, Texas

11:10 a.m.

Gunfire erupted and echoed across the labyrinth of steel rafters and concrete of an abandoned cement plant, sending a flock of pigeons flailing toward a darkening sky. Mercer Broderick ran for cover in the drizzle, returning fire with his SIG Sauer P226. A shadow dodged from behind a barricade—one of the shooters on the move. He counted three.

They were closing in on him.

A bullet spat shards of stone and cut Mercer’s cheek as he ducked behind a cement column. He fired two more rounds and dropped a man with a head shot. One down, two to go. Mercer took cover with his back pressed against a rusted metal girder. Raindrops pattered the sleeve of his brown jacket as he reloaded his weapon. His chest heaved for air and sweat trickled from his scalp.

What’s your status, Lotus? he muttered into his com unit, his tone even and steady.

ETA two minutes. A woman’s urgent voice came through his earpiece. He heard the rumble of her motorcycle in the background.

It’ll be over by then.

Why didn’t you—

He knew what she would say. His call for backup had been cut too close—for a reason. He wouldn’t endanger his team for something purely his play. Keiko Kayakova, code name Lotus, would die to protect him. His bodyguard specialist had taken a bullet meant for him not long ago. Only her bulletproof vest saved her life. He couldn’t put her at risk—not for his personal agenda.

Part of the plan, Lotus. Wolf, out.

A barrage of bullets pummeled his position in rapid fire. Shit! He slid low and crawled on his belly to get a glimpse of the shooter. When the man stopped to reload, Mercer pushed from the ground, raced toward him and leaped over a barricade.

After he saw an elbow, Mercer heard the man slam a full magazine into his Glock 19 machine pistol and chamber his first round. He’d run out of time. On pure instinct and adrenaline, he rounded a corner as the man raised his weapon with his eyes wide in panic. The fat gangbanger wore gold chains around his neck and an El Paso Chihuahuas T-shirt, the local minor league baseball team. Mercer shot the guy twice in the chest—right through the face of the snarling cartoon dog.

Peering from behind cover, Mercer searched for the last gunman. When a sudden vibration seized his pants pocket, it jolted him and sent a rush through his body. What the hell? He’d taken off the sound to his cell phone, but it reverted to vibrate.

A bullet zinged by his ear. His kill shot had only made him a target for the last shooter. Mercer rolled across gravel and dirt to grab the dead man’s machine pistol where it had landed. He aimed at a shadow that eclipsed the daylight, a man who emerged from cover to take him out. Mercer used the machine pistol to riddle the assailant’s body.

His last attacker was dead before he hit the ground—and his cell still vibrated.

Panting, Mercer peered over the carnage as he stood in the rain. Blood pooled at his feet as he pulled his phone from his hip pocket. After he saw the name on the display, he took a deep breath and answered.

Zoey?

Uh, yeah. It’s me. Did I catch you at a bad time?

No. It’s great to hear your voice.

Without hesitating, he wiped his prints from the machine pistol before he placed it near the dead man at his feet. He wiped down his SIG Sauer P226 and placed it in the hands of the last man shot, to stage the scene. He hated giving up his unregistered SIG, but it had to be done.

You sound out of breath, she said. Did you just finish a run?

"Yeah, you could call it that.