Table of Contents
Blurb
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Epilogue
More from Eva Muñoz
About the Author
By Eva Muñoz
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Copyright
Impulse
By Eva Muñoz
Ten young drivers suit up to risk their lives in a deadly underground race called the Gathering, but only one will emerge victorious. If the dangerous course doesn’t kill them, other racers might. And even if they avoid the wrath of the Mob of Terra One, who controls it all, they still might not escape with their lives.
Because a killer is stalking the competitors, taking them out one by one.
Seventeen-year-old Rebecca “RC” Camille has clawed her way up from humble beginnings at the Open Arms orphanage, and she’s almost reached the top. She can’t let anything stand in her way now—not friendship or even love.
But she might be the only one who can put an end to a murderer’s bloody spree, and she must choose between ending the carnage and saving her own life through the race. But since she’s unlikely to escape both the killer and the Mob, is it any choice at all?
The race for the Impulse Cup must continue… even if the drivers are dodging bodies.
For Dad,
Gone but not forgotten.
Thank you for sharing your love for cars with me.
I miss you every second, every minute, every hour.
Acknowledgments
THIS YEAR has been particularly brutal, not just for me, but for my whole family. First, I lost the love my of life. Sweetie was the best cat in the world. I knew I had a limited time with her, but I never thought she would actually be gone. Follow that with my mother’s favorite cat, Garfield, passing away a few days later. We were reeling for a couple of months. Then my father gets sick with pneumonia and passes away. I’m not even mentioning the other things that’ve been happening to my family this year. Basically, it’s hard to think about being thankful in this moment.
But, no matter how much pain I am in, I can say that writing Impulse was one of the best experiences in my career as an author. This book calls to my car-loving heart. I first started loving cars because of my dad. He would always talk about his dream Mercedes and how he loved to own one. That dream finally came true a few years later.
Then my love for cars only grew when Sailor Uranus joined the Sailor Moon crew. She is my favorite because she was confident and loved racing. Because of this, my first thanks go to my dad and my second go to Sailor Uranus.
My third thanks go to Harmony Ink Press and Lynn West for taking interest on Impulse. It took me a few years to find the right home for this book and I’m thrilled that it will be released with Harmony Ink Press.
I’d also like to thank Nat for giving this book a great face. It’s always tricky creating a cover for a racing book because at the end of the day you don’t want the image to be of a car. When Nat mentioned The Fast and the Furious and Need for Speed, my heart began to beat faster. I knew at the end of the process the cover would be gorgeous.
Lastly, I’d like to thank all the people who supported my family during our hardest moments. I can’t name you all, but I am happy that you are many. I never think that anyone will help, which is why I do everything myself, but at our lowest moment, when I finally asked for help, all of you came to the rescue. I and my family are forever grateful.
Racing is a great mania
To which one must sacrifice everything,
Without reticence, without hesitation.
—Enzo Ferrari
Chapter One
THE STEEL tips of my boots click against the white marble. The surface gleams from light given by a massive wrought iron chandelier hanging above. Nothing occupies the cavernous space I stride across except for an ornately carved screen and an oxblood leather chair beyond—where the Bitterblade Mob Boss sits. Five people in Terra One know of his true identity, and I am not one of them. Maybe this is a good thing. Those who know the boss intimately have the tendency to die brutal deaths. Such is the consequence of being within the inner circle of power. I’m content with an outer orbit, as far removed from the center as possible. I race. That is my value to this family.
My mentor, Brody, on the other hand, by virtue of being Head of Security, is as close to the boss as it gets. I don’t envy him. He stands to one side of the screen. My gaze scans the rest of the receiving area. As far as I can tell, we three are the only ones in the room. I note the cameras on each corner of the ceiling. And if I’m not mistaken, there are at least a dozen armed men on standby behind doors that blend into the embossed wallpaper walls. One nod from Brody is all it takes to have this room overflowing with the best killers in our region. Knowing how he operates, they are probably the best killers in the entire continent. That being said, they don’t bother me. I drive the line between life and death nightly. On the asphalt, my life is in no one else’s hands but my own.
A couple of yards away from the screen and the silhouette of the man seated behind it, I drop to one knee. My fists rest on the floor, the burned caramel color of my skin a stark contrast to the white stone. As I bow my head, my hair, as black as a predawn sky, spills over my shoulders to pool beside my fists. I take comfort in the tactical knives inside my leather jacket, pressing
