Kolek brushes aside Valac’s palm. He steps closer, his clear blue eyes cold. Flat. They remind me of my eyes in the mirror. The eyes of a killer. “How is your mother these days, Joe?”
“I wouldn’t know,” I say, but the roughness of my voice betrays me. “Haven’t talked to her in years. She could be in Arizona for all I know.”
“You should call her,” he says. “Family is important.”
I nod.
He leans in close enough that I can smell his aftershave and lightly smacks my face twice with his palm. It stings, but I hold absolutely still. He grasps hold of my face and whispers, “Don’t disobey one of my orders again, Joe.”
“No, sir,” I say quickly.
He turns away, dismissing me with his back, and wanders over to where he left his drink.
I’m going to live, at least for the moment. Which only means I’ve burned my chance to escape into the afterworld, whatever that is, with just my life. Without anyone else getting killed along with me. Now I either have to stay in Kolek’s mob forever or get out and find my mom before he does.
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The Debt Collector Serial
EPISODE 6 –Fallen
Available 5.15.13
Lirium’s hopes for escape from Kolek’s mob are threatened when Valac seems to be coming unhinged.
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Thank you for cheering along as I write, edit, revise, pour over endless photos for covers and photo teasers, and generally wrestle this story into something worth sharing. Your reviews and posts make this labor of love an awesomely shared one! Thanks especially to everyone who is participating in Debt Collector Blitz week! Seeing Lirium splashed all over the interwebs makes my heart grow warm.
We’re halfway through the first season! Thanks for all your support along the way!
Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy, which is young adult science fiction. The Debt Collector series is her more grown-up SF.
Susan grew up in California, got a bunch of engineering degrees (B.S. Aerospace Engineering, M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering) and worked everywhere from NASA to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). She designed aircraft engines, studied global warming, and held elected office (as a school board member). Now that she writes novels, her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but she mostly sits around in her pajamas in awe that she gets paid to make stuff up.
All her engineering skills come in handy when dreaming up dangerous mind powers, future dystopic worlds, and slightly plausible steampunk inventions. For her stories, of course. Just ignore that stuff in the basement.
Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle.
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Table of Contents
Driven Cover
Driven Title Page
Driven Copyright
Driven Chapter One
Driven Chapter Two
Driven Chapter Three
Driven Chapter Four
Driven Chapter Five
Driven Other Works
Driven Thanks to My Readers
Driven About The Author
Table of Contents
Driven Cover
Driven Title Page
Driven Copyright
Driven Chapter One
Driven Chapter Two
Driven Chapter Three
Driven Chapter Four
Driven Chapter Five
Driven Other Works
Driven Thanks to My Readers
Driven About The Author
Driven Page 5
