Suspense Thriller /
Historical
Date
Published: 12/21/2011
Publisher: Dark Hour
Press, LLC
The novella is centered on Eddie Durante, owner of
a speakeasy who's supported by his mobster uncle—the boss of the Durante
family. Eddie is a young widower after his family's rival, the Caprice family,
murdered his wife over a territory dispute. After devising a plan that
retaliated against four of the rivaling capos, Eddie is left with the daunting
task to try and move on. That is, until he's notified that the Caprices have
put a hit man in the speakeasy—and Eddie's name is on the list. But things take
an unexpected turn when Eddie instead starts to find the dead bodies of his
relatives, the ones who had helped in the retaliation.
Behind the backdrop of jazz music and glistening
flappers, murder after murder begins to unravel as revenge takes center stage,
and Eddie soon learns that some secrets can’t be taken to the
grave.
Excerpt
Once the doors were closed, Sal didn’t take long to
get right to the point. “They know it was you, Eddie.”
The words slapped him across the face, but Eddie
didn’t respond.
“That you were the one who came up with the idea,”
Sal continued. “They’re out for retaliation, and it’s rumored that they’ve sent
a torpedo into this juice joint of yours. That’s part of the reason why I’m not
being too open with the information. Afraid of who might be
listening.”
A hit man in his speakeasy. Eddie stared out the
windshield, watching Sal begin to light a cigarette out of the corner of his
eye. “I had a lot of ideas,” he remarked hoarsely, fear and dread subtly mixing
into his thoughts.
“Only took one,” Sal responded as he lit the
cigarette. He silently offered one to Eddie, who refused with a shake of his
head. “Sorry, kid,” Sal explained as he took a puff. “After what they did to
your wife, I wouldn’t have blamed ya.”
Eddie remained silent, his eyes drifting to the
bootleggers who were moving the last of the crates. No wonder they weren’t
laying their eyes on him. He was a dead target.
Sal took another drag on his cigarette, taking a
moment for himself. “Don’t worry, though,” he finally remarked. “Your family’s
got your back. My brother-in-law, your dear uncle, has requested that Joe stay
by your side until we can square away if there’s a torpedo and who it
is.”
“What?” Eddie balked, shattering his calm
exterior.
“It’s temporary,” Sal cooed, trying to calm the
young man down. “He’s just some extra protection.”
Eddie gawked, unable to believe that they’d send
Joe, of all people, to protect him. “He’s crazy,” was all Eddie could summarize
when it came to his cousin.
“He’s happy,” Sal tried to smooth
over.
“Trigger happy,” Eddie
corrected.
Sal shrugged his shoulders. “He gets the job done.
And when the boss’ favorite nephew needs protection, the boss will only send
the very best.”
“I don’t need protection,” Eddie fought back, trying
not to raise his voice to the lunacy. “And even if I did, I have Anthony and
Marcus in there—”
“Little orphan Anthony and Baby Marcus?” Sal
choked, half laughing, half sputtering on the cigarette smoke. “Marcus is too
naive, and Anthony,” but Sal had to chuckle first before he could continue.
“Well, ya better just pray your killer isn’t a
female.”
“Thanks for warning me,” Eddie begrudgingly
admitted as he pulled the door handle…
About
the Author
A. M. Dunnewin grew up with a taste for mysteries and thrillers,
inherited ever so lovingly from her family. An affiliate member of the Horror
Writers Association, A. M.’s own stories cover a wide range of genres that tend
to take a dark turn when least expected. With a B.A. in Psychology, she’s a
gambler of words, obsessed with chai tea, and addicted to books – everything
from classical literature to graphic novels. Other hobbies include art,
history, music, equestrianism, and a good classic film. She currently dwells in
Northern California.
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