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What Others Are Saying
About R.J. Patterson
“R.J. Patterson does a fantastic job at keeping you engaged and interested. I look forward to more from this talented author.”
- Aaron Patterson, bestselling author of SWEET DREAMS
“Patterson has a mean streak about a mile wide and puts his two main characters through quite a horrible ride, which makes for good reading.”
- Richard D., reader
“Like a John Grisham novel, from the very start I was pulled right into the story and couldn’t put the book down. It was as if I personally knew and cared about what happened to each of the main characters. Every chapter ended with so much excitement and suspense I had to continue to read until I learned how it ended, even though it kept me up until 3:00 A.M.
- Ray F., reader
DEAD SHOT
“Small town life in southern Idaho might seem quaint and idyllic to some. But when local newspaper reporter Cal Murphy begins to uncover a series of strange deaths that are linked to a sticky spider web of deception, the lid on the peaceful town is blown wide open. Told with all the energy and bravado of an old pro, first-timer R.J. Patterson hits one out of the park his first time at bat with Dead Shot. It’s that good.”
-Vincent Zandri, bestselling author of THE REMAINS
“You can tell R.J. knows what it’s like to live in the newspaper world, but with Dead Shot, he’s proven that he also can write one heck of a murder mystery.”
- Josh Katzowitz,
NFL writer for CBSSports.com
& author of Sid Gillman: Father of the Passing Game
DEAD LINE
“This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I didn’t really want to put it down. R.J. Patterson has hooked me. I’ll be back for more.”
- Bob Behler
3-time Idaho broadcaster of the year
and play-by-play voice for Boise State football
DEAD IN THE WATER
“In Dead in the Water, R.J. Patterson accurately captures the action-packed saga of a what could be a real-life college football scandal. The sordid details will leave readers flipping through the pages as fast as a hurry-up offense.”
- Mark Schlabach,
ESPN college sports columnist and
co-author of Called to Coach
Heisman: The Man Behind the Trophy
Other titles by R.J. Patterson
Titus Black series
Behind Enemy Lines
Game of Shadows
Rogue Commander
Line of Fire
Brady Hawk series
First Strike
Deep Cover
Point of Impact
Full Blast
Target Zero
Fury
State of Play
Seige
Seek and Destroy
Into the Shadows
Hard Target
No Way Out
Two Minutes to Midnight
Against All Odds
Any Means Necessary
Vengeance
Code Red
A Deadly Force
Divide and Conquer
Extreme Measures
Final Strike
Cal Murphy Thriller series
Dead Shot
Dead Line
Better off Dead
Dead in the Water
Dead Man's Curve
Dead and Gone
Dead Wrong
Dead Man's Land
Dead Drop
Dead to Rights
Dead End
James Flynn Thriller series
The Warren Omissions
Imminent Threat
The Cooper Affair
Seeds of War
FINAL STRIKE
A Brady Hawk Thriller
R.J. PATTERSON
For Dr. Will Power, an incredible
teacher and professor who cared
deeply for his students and others
CHAPTER 1
Baghran, Afghanistan
BRADY HAWK WIPED sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. September in the scorching heat of the Baba Mountains felt just as hot as east Texas in July. Lying prone in the dust, he eyed his target through the scope on his rifle. The man Hawk had been sent to kill bounced around from one conversation to the next, shaking hands and grinning widely.
This guy has no idea what’s about to hit him.
Hawk checked the wind once more, flinging a pinch of sand in the air. Nothing.
“How is it out there?” Alex asked over the coms.
His wife’s soothing voice always brought a smile to his face. “Like I’m lying on a bed of brimstone.” He paused before continuing in a sing-song tone. “Wish you were here.”
“I’m sure you do,” she said with a chuckle, “because misery loves company.”
“Who said anything about me being miserable?”
“You don’t have to because I know you are,” she said.
“How so?” Hawk asked as he kept the target in his sights.
“Because I’m not there.”
“Your circular logic won’t work on me.”
“Tell me I’m wrong then.”
Hawk chuckled. “This is a game I can’t win, isn’t it?”
“If you’re asking the question, I think you already know the answer.”
“Well, the real answer I want from you is this: Do I have a green light to take the shot?”
Hawk waited as furious clicking sounds came through her mic.
“From what I can see here on the satellite images, you’re safe to shoot,” she said. “There doesn’t appear to be a soul in sight.”
“Thank you,” Hawk said, returning his eye to the scope.
A half-mile away, Tahir Nazari stroked his beard as he listened to another man talk in an animated fashion. With hands waving wildly in the air, the man leaned in close before breaking into a jovial laugh. Nazari slapped the man on the back before draining a wine goblet.
From a distance, Nazari looked nothing like the monster mentioned in several intel reports. In a matter of weeks, Nazari had emerged out of nowhere, rising to a significant threat after being a simple rural goat herder. The story that emerged was that he had inherited a large sum of money from a dead uncle. Instead of investing the cash into his business, he sold all his goats and launched a terrorist faction. Nazari called his men freedom fighters, but he recruited soldiers so quickly and technical experts so effortlessly, that he’d built an organization from the ground up at such break-neck speed that Washington had taken notice. For the last six weeks, the intelligence community had been waving warning flags at everyone who would listen. Yet in the end, nobody wanted to be responsible for eliminating Nazari, at least, no one with official ties to the U.S. government. And Hawk fit the bill, a black ops agent working free from the trappings of military bureaucracy, not to mention he lived for these types of missions.
“This guy looks more like a Baptist pastor greeting his congregation at the door
