Assured Destruction (15 page)

“Lock the door as you leave,” my mom says with a proud grin.

It’s Saturday afternoon and Assured Destruction is closed for a family day.

I take a final look at the dark interior before crutching into the light. Almost immediately my phone rings and I give Mom and Peter an apologetic smile.

“Go on,” my mom says.

It’s the Ottawa Police Department.

“Hello, constable,” I say and my voice squeaks.

“We need you, Janus. As soon as you can get here. There’s been a terrible crime.”

I hope you enjoyed Book 1 of the Assured Destruction Series. If you did, please be sure to let others know on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or wherever you purchase or review books. To learn more about the series or to connect with other readers and the author, join us on
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About the Author

After crewing ships in the Antarctic and the Baltic Sea and some fun in venture capital, Michael anchored himself (happily) to a marriage and a boatload of kids. Now he injects his adventurous spirit into his writing with brief respites for research into the jungles of Sumatra and Guatemala, the ruins of Egypt and Tik’al, paddling the Zambezi and diving whatever cave or ocean reef will have him. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and SF Canada, and the author of the Assured Destruction series, 24 Bones, The Sand Dragon, Hurakan, Ruination and several award winning graphic novels for young adults. Find out more about him on his
website
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Acknowledgments

Where to start? This project is huge, spilling far beyond the edges of these pages. With the blogging, the art, the cover, the tweets and Facebooking, the editing, and all of the incredible support, I’m bound to miss someone.

So I’ll bend a knee in no particular order. To my wife and family for the freedom to do what I do. Thank you. To Kendra Brown, Alexandra Williams and the Writer’s Workshop for your beta reads. To Catherine Adams of Inkslinger Editing, please, keep on slinging. You’re amazing. To Michele Mortimer for your editing, agenting and for believing in this project. To Don Dimanlig for your art, artistry and inspiring graphics. To Janak Alford of PrototypeD for everything technical and for making the Assured Destruction storyworld come to life. And to Julie Giles of Green Hat Digital for getting the word out. Thank you all.

And back to my wife, Andrea. I dedicate this book to you.