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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
EXTREME MEASURES
A Brady Hawk Thriller
R.J. PATTERSON
For Cam Middleton, for his
friendship and ever constant
enthusiasm for life
CHAPTER 1
La Paz, Bolivia
BRADY HAWK TIGHTENED his grip on the leash of the gray pug trotting in front of him, while Alex clutched her shawl, their free hands clasped together. Despite overcast skies, they wore sunglasses and scanned the building across the street for any activity. Hawk preferred this method of surveillance over any other he’d ever conducted.
“I could get used to this,” Alex said, casting a quick glance up at her husband and partner.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Hawk said with a wry smile.
A gust of wind kicked up, bouncing a pair of plastic bottles along the cobblestone street outside the Russian embassy. At the park across the street, children squealed with delight, darting back and forth like water bugs skittering across a pond.
Hawk’s pug attempted to break out of his trot when he saw the armed guard standing watch outside the gates of the Russian facility.
“Despacio, Señor Bonaparte,” Hawk called, speaking in Spanish to avoid drawing extra attention.
Mr. Bonaparte slowed down before refusing to move any farther. Alex knelt next to the pug and coaxed him to continue forward. Once he started moving, Hawk shot a quick glance over his shoulder. The guard was gone.
“What time is it?” Hawk asked in a hushed tone.
“Sixteen-thirty,” Alex replied. “Right on time.”
He nodded. “Three days now and they’re all eight hours apart at the same time.”
“And these guys aren’t waiting around for their replacements, are they?”
“Nope,” Hawk said. “They’re in a rush to get somewhere, anywhere but standing outside an embassy that nobody is ever going to attack.”
Alex pulled her glasses down and winked. “Until tonight.”
Hawk tugged on Mr. Bonaparte’s leash, signaling for him to stop. The pug obeyed and waited for permission. Hawk checked both directions before clucking his tongue to get the dog to start walking again, a command he happily complied with.
“Fantasy land for us ends tonight,” Hawk said. “It’s time to go to work.”
* * *
HAWK SUITED UP in the van as Alex prepped the tech for the operation. He glanced out the window and took in the snow-capped peaks of the Illimani towering in the distance, aglow beneath the light of a full moon. The surrounding hillsides were a sea of glittering lights, rolling like waves over the quiet city. For a moment, he stopped and stared, wishing that he wasn’t in Bolivia on assignment.
“We’ll come back, hon,” Alex said, patting him on the knee while staring at her monitor.
La Paz had been on Hawk and Alex’s bucket list, just not like this. Exactly one week earlier, a valuable CIA asset named Marco Lopez had been abducted, disappearing without a trace. The Bolivian authorities seemed uninterested in spending any precious resources on finding him, despite impassioned pleas from Lopez’s family to do so. And that didn’t come as a surprise to his agency handlers.
Lopez was working as a guard at the La Paz transit hub, ushering goods and products in and out of the city, when he was approached by the CIA. After Lopez’s wife filed for divorce and then
