And how would Mio see him? How would she think of her father once she knew all he had done? How could he justify his cold-blooded murders, his mutiny, his lies? Would she ever speak to him again once she had absorbed the fullness of his sins?
But that was for another day.
For now, he had his little girl, and she needed her father, whether she could admit that to herself or not.
“Mio, you are my daughter. You always will be, and I couldn’t be prouder of that. But it’s okay to lay down your burdens with your dad. That’s what we’re here for. It doesn’t lessen you, and sometimes, no matter how strong you are, it’s okay to let someone else face down the monsters for you.”
She might have bristled for a moment under his hands holding her shoulders, but it passed. Finally, Mio looked up at him and smiled, relieved. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Benno nodded. It might only be for a moment, but looking into her eyes, he saw a hint of the innocent daughter he had left behind so long ago, with whom he was now reunited. He smiled. “For now, let’s allow ourselves a moment. Let’s take some time and get to know each other as we are, and remember that no matter what, what matters is that we have each other.”
“I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, Mio.”
She came into his arms again, but their hug was not as desperate this time.
Now it just felt like home.
# # # # #
About Chris Kennedy
A bestselling Science Fiction/Fantasy author, speaker, and publisher, Chris Kennedy is a former naval aviator and elementary school principal. Chris' stories include the "Theogony" and "Codex Regius" science fiction trilogies and stories in the "Four Horsemen" military scifi series. Get his free book, "Shattered Crucible," at his website, http://chriskennedypublishing.com.
Chris is the author of the award-winning #1 bestseller, "Self-Publishing for Profit: How to Get Your Book Out of Your Head and Into the Stores." Called "fantastic" and "a great speaker," he has coached hundreds of beginning authors and budding novelists on how to self-publish their stories at a variety of conferences, conventions, and writing guild presentations, and he is publishing fifteen authors under various imprints of his Chris Kennedy Publishing small press.
Chris lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is the holder of a doctorate in educational leadership. Follow Chris on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/chriskennedypublishing.biz.
About Thomas A. Mays
Thomas A. Mays (Tom) is the author of the hard SF/military sci-fi space opera A Sword Into Darkness and its upcoming sequel Lancers Into The Light, as well as his military AI short story collection REMO. His stories have appeared in The Four Horsemen Universe anthology For a Few Credits More, in Castalia House's Riding The Red Horse, in Daily Science Fiction, Jim Baen's Universe, and The Grantville Gazette Universe Annex. His short story "The Commuter" was nominated for a Hugo Award in 2016…and the story about THAT requires the liberal application of beer and/or whisky to be told properly.
Tom is a 23-years-and-counting active duty service member and veteran of the United States Navy, currently at the rank of Commander, at least until his Uncle Sam discovers how he spends his evenings writing trashy sci-fi. He has a couple of degrees in Applied Physics, has had command, and has served aboard destroyers, carriers, amphibious ships, and landing craft, worked with the Marines, the Army, the Air Force, and the Coast Guard alike. He has played with electromagnetic railguns and lasers, fired missiles, shot down missiles, and blown up stuff in space and on the water. Everything he writes about is REAL, except for the stuff that might get him in trouble, and that stuff is DEFINITELY FAKE. He tries not to let what he actually knows get in the way of a good story. Tom has three great kids, an awesome dog, and a really, really cool girlfriend. Tom lives wherever the Navy sends him, but his heart and his future remain in Texas.
Tom hopes y'all enjoyed The Mutineer's Daughter and looks forward to reading your reviews on Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Goodreads, Smashwords, Google or Apple Books, or the bookseller and/or blog/site of your choice. If you want to find out more or drop Tom a line, visit him at www.improbableauthor.com, @ImprobablAuthor on Twitter, or at The Improbable Author on Facebook.
* * * * *
Titles by Chris Kennedy
Red Tide: The Chinese Invasion of Seattle” – Available Now
“Occupied Seattle” – Available Now
“Janissaries: Book One of The Theogony” – Available Now
“When the Gods Aren’t Gods: Book Two of The Theogony” – Available Now
“Terra Stands Alone: Book Three of The Theogony” – Available Now
“Can’t Look Back: Book One of the War for Dominance” – Available Now
“The Search for Gram: Book One of the Codex Regius” – Available Now
“Beyond the Shroud of the Universe: Book Two of the Codex Regius” – Available Now
“The Dark Star War: Book Three of the Codex Regius” – Available Now
“Self-Publishing for Profit” – Available Now
“Leadership from the Darkside” – Available Now
“Asbaran Solutions” – Available Now
“The Golden Horde” – Available Now
“Alpha Contracts” – Available Now
“A Fistful of Credits” – Available Now
“For a Few Credits More” – Available Now
“The Good, The Bad, And The Merc” – Available Now
Titles by Thomas A. Mays
“A Sword Into Darkness” – Available Now
“REMO” – Available Now
* * * * *
Connect with Chris Kennedy Online
Website: http://chriskennedypublishing.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriskennedypublishing.biz
Twitter: @ChrisKennedy110
Connect with Thomas A. Mays Online
Website: www.improbableauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomas.a.mays
Twitter: @ImprobablAuthor
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The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Four Horsemen Cycle:
Cartwright’s Cavaliers
___________________
Mark Wandrey
Now Available from Seventh Seal Press
eBook, Paperback and Audio
Excerpt from “Cartwright’s Cavaliers:”
The last two operational tanks were trapped on their chosen path. Faced with destroyed vehicles front and back, they cut sideways to the edge of the dry river bed they’d been moving along and found several large boulders to maneuver around that allowed them to present a hull-down defensive position. Their troopers rallied on that position. It was starting to look like they’d dig in when Phoenix 1 screamed over and strafed them with dual streams of railgun rounds. A split second later, Phoenix 2 followed on a parallel path. Jim was just cheering the air attack when he saw it. The sixth damned tank, and it was a heavy.
“I got that last tank,” Jim said over the command net.
“Observe and stand by,” Murdock said.
“We’ll have these in hand shortly,” Buddha agreed, his transmission interspersed with the thudding of his CASPer firing its magnet accelerator. “We can be there in a few minutes.”
Jim examined his battlespace. The tank was massive. It had to be one of the fusion-powered beasts he’d read about. Which meant shields and energy weapons. It was heading down the same gap the APC had taken, so it was heading right towards that APC and Second Squad, and fast.
“Shit,” he said.
“Jim,” Hargrave said, “we’re in position. What are you doing?”
“Leading,” Jim said as he jumped out from the rock wall.
* * * * *
Get “Cartwright’s Cavaliers” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MRZKM95/.
Find out more about Mark Wandrey and “Cartwright’s Cavaliers” at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/mark-wandrey/.
The following is an
Excerpt from Book One of the Kin Wars Saga:
Wraithkin
___________________
Jason Cordova
Available Now from Theogony Books
eBook, Paperback, and Audio Book
Excerpt from “Wraithkin:”
Prologue
The lifeless body of his fellow agent on the bed confirmed the undercover operation was thoroughly busted.
“Crap,” Agent Andrew Espinoza, Dominion Intelligence Bureau, said as he stepped fully into the dimly lit room and carefully made his way to the filthy bed in which his fellow agent lay. He turned away from the ruined body of his friend and scanned the room for any sign of danger. Seeing none, he quickly walked back out of the room to where the slaves he had rescued earlier were waiting.
“Okay, let’s keep quiet now,” he reminded them. “I’ll go first, and you follow me. I don’t think there are any more slavers in the warehouse. Understand?”
They all nodded. He offered them a smile of confidence, though he had lied. He knew there was one more slaver in the warehouse, hiding near the side exit they were about to use. He had a plan to deal with that person, however. First he had to get the slaves to safety.
He led the way, his pistol up and ready as he guided the women through the dank and musty halls of the old, rundown building. It had been abandoned years before, and the slaver ring had managed to get it for a song. In fact, they had even qualified for a tax-exempt purchase due to the condition of the neighborhood around it. The local constable had wanted the property sold, and the slaver ring had stepped in and offered him a cut if he gave it to them. The constable had readily agreed, and the slavers had turned the warehouse into the processing plant for the sex slaves they sold throughout the Dominion. Andrew knew all this because he had been the one to help set up the purchase in the first place.
Now, though, he wished he had chosen another locale.
He stopped the following slaves as he came to the opening which led into one of the warehouse’s spacious storage areas. Beyond that lay their final destination, and he was dreading the confrontation with the last slaver. He checked his gun and grunted in surprise as he saw he had two fewer rounds left than he had thought. He shook his head and charged the pistol.
“Stay here and wait for my signal,” he told the rescued slaves. They nodded in unison.
He took a deep, calming breath. No matter what happened, he had to get the slaves to safety. He owed them that much. His sworn duty was to protect the Dominion from people like the slavers, and someone along the way had failed these poor women. He exhaled slowly, crossed himself and prayed to God, the Emperor and any other person who might have been paying attention.
He charged into the room, his footsteps loud on the concrete flooring. He had his gun up as he ducked behind a small, empty crate. He peeked over the top and snarled; he had been hoping against hope the slaver was facing the other direction.
Apparently Murphy is still a stronger presence in my life than God, he thought as he locked eyes with the last slaver. The woman’s eyes widened in recognition and shock, and he knew he would only have one chance before she killed them all.
He dove to the right of the crate and rolled, letting his momentum drag him out of the slaver’s immediate line of fire. He struggled to his feet as her gun swung up and began to track him, but he was already moving, sprinting back to the left while closing in on her. She fired twice, both shots ricocheting off the floor and embedding themselves in the wall behind him.
Andrew skid to a stop and took careful aim. It was a race, the slaver bringing her gun around as his own came to bear upon her. The muzzles of both guns flashed simultaneously, and Andrew grunted as pain flared in his shoulder.
A second shot punched him in the gut and he fell, shocked the woman had managed to get him. He lifted his head and saw that while he had hit her, her wound wasn’t nearly as bad as his. He had merely clipped her collarbone and, while it would smart, it was in no way fatal. She took aim on him and smiled coldly.
Andrew swiftly brought his gun up with his working arm and fired one final time. The round struck true, burrowing itself right between the slaver’s eyes. She fell backwards and lay still, dead. He groaned and dropped the gun, pain blossoming in his stomach. He rolled onto his back and stared at the old warehouse’s ceiling.
That sucked, he groused. He closed his eyes and let out a long, painful breath.
* * * * *
Get “Wraithkin” now at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0RGYZS.
Find out more about Jason Cordova and “Wraithkin” at:
http://chriskennedypublishing.com/imprints-authors/jason-cordova/
The Mutineer's Daughter Page 37
