by C. J. Lyons
Angels Weep
a Renegade Justice Thriller
CJ Lyons
Contents
CJ Lyons’ Thrillers with Heart:
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Epilogue
About the Author
CJ Lyons’ Thrillers with Heart:
To download the complete list in PDF click HERE or visit CJLyons.net
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LUCY GUARDINO THRILLERS:
SNAKE SKIN
BLOOD STAINED
KILL ZONE
AFTER SHOCK
HARD FALL
BAD BREAK
LAST LIGHT
DEVIL SMOKE
OPEN GRAVE
GONE DARK (coming 9/17/2017)
RENEGADE JUSTICE THRILLERS, featuring Morgan Ames:
FIGHT DIRTY
RAW EDGES
ANGELS WEEP
FATAL INSOMNIA MEDICAL THRILLERS:
FAREWELL TO DREAMS
A RAGING DAWN
THE SLEEPLESS STARS
HART AND DRAKE MEDICAL SUSPENSE:
NERVES OF STEEL
SLEIGHT OF HAND
FACE TO FACE
EYE OF THE STORM
SHADOW OPS, ROMANTIC THRILLERS:
CHASING SHADOWS
LOST IN SHADOWS
EDGE OF SHADOWS
CAITLYN TIERNEY FBI THRILLERS:
BLIND FAITH
BLACK SHEEP
HOLLOW BONES
ANGELS OF MERCY MEDICAL SUSPENSE:
LIFELINES
WARNING SIGNS
URGENT CARE
CRITICAL CONDITION
YOUNG ADULT THRILLERS:
BROKEN
WATCHED
CO-WRITTEN WITH ERIN BROCKOVICH:
ROCK BOTTOM
HOT WATER
SINGLE TITLE STANDALONES:
LUCIDITY, a Ghost of a Love Story
BORROWED TIME
Praise For CJ Lyons’ Thrillers with Heart:
"Everything a great thriller should be—action packed, authentic, and intense." ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child
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"A compelling new voice in thriller writing…I love how the characters come alive on every page." ~New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver
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"Top Pick! A fascinating and intense thriller." ~ RT Book Reviews
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"An intense, emotional thriller…(that) climbs to the edge of intensity." ~National Examiner
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"A perfect blend of romance and suspense. My kind of read." ~#1 New York Times Bestselling author Sandra Brown
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"Highly engaging characters, heart-stopping scenes…one great rollercoaster ride that will not be stopping anytime soon." ~Bookreporter.com
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"Adrenalin pumping." ~The Mystery Gazette
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"Riveting." ~Publishers Weekly Beyond Her Book
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Lyons "is a master within the genre." ~Pittsburgh Magazine
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"Will leave you breathless and begging for more." ~Romance Novel TV
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"A great fast-paced read….Not to be missed." ~Book Addict
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"Breathtakingly fast-paced." ~Publishers Weekly
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"Simply superb…riveting drama…a perfect ten." ~Romance Reviews Today
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"Characters with beating hearts and three dimensions." ~Newsday
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"A pulse-pounding adrenalin rush!" ~Lisa Gardner
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"Packed with adrenalin." ~David Morrell
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"…Harrowing, emotional, action-packed and brilliantly realized." ~Susan Wiggs
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"Explodes on the page…I absolutely could not put it down." ~Romance Readers' Connection
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Copyright © 2017 by CJ Lyons
Edgy Reads
cover design by: George Mayer image courtesy of Adobe Stock
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All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CJ Lyons and Thrillers with Heart registered Trademarks of
CJ Lyons, LLC
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Library of Congress Case # 1-4836546081
Readers fell in love with Morgan in the Lucy Guardino thrillers and begged for more of everyone’s favorite teenaged psychopath…
Morgan’s story begins in the second book of the Lucy Guardino thriller series, with Lucy’s husband, Nick, playing a significant role as Morgan tries to shun her serial-killer father’s indoctrination and give up violence.
To see how Morgan’s story fits in Lucy’s world, the stories in order are:
SNAKE SKIN, Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers Book #1
BLOOD STAINED, introduces Morgan and Jenna
KILL ZONE, features Morgan and Jenna, introduces Andre
The Renegade Justice Thrillers (taking place in the year between KILL ZONE and AFTER SHOCK):
FIGHT DIRTY, Renegade Justice #1
RAW EDGES, Renegade Justice #2
ANGELS WEEP, Renegade Justice #3
Lucy Guardino Thrillers continue, chronicling Lucy’s departure from the FBI and her new adventures at Beacon Falls:
AFTER SHOCK
HARD FALL
BAD BREAK
LAST LIGHT
DEVIL SMOKE
OPEN GRAVE
GONE DARK, coming 9/17/17
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Want to be the first to have a chance to read the new books? Sign up for my Thrillers with Heart newsletter HERE—and you’ll also get a free copy of the first Lucy adventure, SNAKE SKIN!
Be sure to open the Thrillers with Heart emails; they’ll arrive every few weeks with info on contests, new books, and exclusive offers for my readers!
Chapter One
All stories are about wolves. Anything else is sentimental drivel.
~ Margaret Atwood
Morgan Ames had died. There was no arguing that. The only fact currently under debate was: exactly how many times?
One of the nurses helping to change Morgan’s bed insisted the chart said three: twice in the ER and once more in the OR. His breath smelled of chili peppers and onions as he rolled Morgan’s lifeless body toward him and hugged her close to allow the other aide to wad up the bottom sheet and shove it below Morgan’s hips.
The second nurse then rolled Morgan toward her, overtop the heap of soiled bedding. Her breath was minty toothpaste. Her arms were strong against Morgan’s limp limbs, but there was nothing affectionate in her embrace. Morgan was simply one more chore to be crossed off a list before end of her shift.
“Four,” she argued. Somewhere in the avalanche of memory that kept Morgan buried, she knew the woman was talking about her, but it was as if everyone—including Morgan, or the girl who had once been Morgan—was so far away, they could have been on the dark side of the moon. It had nothing to do with Morgan; certainly it wasn’t as important as clean sheets with no wrinkles to irritate and rub bedsores into her motionless, dead-weight body. “You’re forgetting she had no vitals at the scene. Still can’t believe she flew an ATV off the side of a mountain to take out a serial killer. Must’ve been a brave kid once upon a time.”
“Or stupid,” the man answered. “Besides, that first time doesn’t count—she was hypothermic. You’re not dead until you’re warm and dead.”
With brisk motions, they tucked the sheet below the mattress, turned on the air jets that made Morgan float and prevented bedsores, and moved on to the next bed in the ward with its own not-quite-dead, not-quite-alive occupant.
Morgan never did learn how many times she’d died before the avalanche buried her deep in a grave filled with white static and pain.
As Morgan drifted in a place where time was meaningless, she tried to create a list of what she knew for certain. Facts. Road signs to guide her back to her life.
1. Fact: She’d died. Get over it.
2. Fact: She was in a coma but the nurse was excited because she’d now moved into a “minimally responsive state” …words were weird… people were weird… why did they keep poking her and then clapping when she swatted them away?
G. There were numbers more than two but they floated out of reach.
Zelda. Her nose itched and she couldn’t scratch it. Was this hell?
% Given what little she remembered of her life, she definitely deserved to be in hell.
42. Her father was dead. And rotting in hell.
? So maybe she wasn’t in hell since he wasn’t here with her.
! No hell could be worse than an itch she couldn’t scratch.
R. There was a fly buzzing near her eyes. Sticky goop made her eyelids itchy, too.
> Micah brought sweet smells when he came to visit. Hmmm…so nice.
@ She more than liked Micah.
& Micah knew to swat the fly, wipe the goop, and scratch her nose for her.
Coda. Micah left and the world turned cold, the avalanche tumbling her back down into oblivion.
FACT. People dug themselves free of avalanches.
Fact + Secret & Fear - Powerless = Need: Someone was hurting the patients here.
# Query * Was she next?
Chapter Two
Micah Chase stood outside the Pittsburgh School for the Creative and Performing Arts and waited for his mom to pick him up. He was trying hard not to feel frustrated at losing his driving privileges, reminding himself that when he was younger and attended the middle school where Mom taught English, he’d actually enjoyed their daily commute, loved having her all to himself for a few minutes each day.
But he was seventeen now, a full-grown man who had faced more than most adults ever would. Watching the other students rush to their cars and drive off wherever the hell they wanted, he couldn’t help a surge of anger. All he’d done was help a friend—a girlfriend? The word was too small to describe his relationship with Morgan. Some days he felt as if he didn’t know her at all; other times she made him feel as if he were the only person on Earth she’d shared her secrets with, who she really was. Then there were the days he felt as if he wanted to spend the rest of his life getting to know her.
Anyway, they hadn’t done anything wrong. They’d stopped a serial killer and saved a bunch of people. That was a good thing, right?
Given his recent brushes with the law—defending a woman from her drunk boyfriend had cost Micah a year of his life in juvie, not to mention the scar from where the boyfriend had tried to slice Micah’s neck open with a broken bottle—his moms did not think so. Especially his Ma, who was definitely stricter than schoolteacher Mom, the result of running an underwater welding crew, where following the rules was what kept them alive every day.
Still… Mom’s cheerful yellow Prius pulled to the curb. Several of the kids chatting nearby stopped to watch as Micah folded his six-foot length into the passenger seat. “I get my car back next week, right?”
“And how was your day, sweetheart?” she replied, with an arched eyebrow. “Mine was fine, thanks for asking. And you’re welcome for the ride home.”
He slumped back, in no mood for what grownups considered witty banter. So lame. Why couldn’t they ever focus on what was important? “Can you take me straight to the rehab center? I’ll take a bus home.”
Her lips tightened enough they went pale, making her lipstick look like too-bright paint. “Why not come home with me? We can cook dinner together. Ma texted she’ll be home early. We can all go to the movies or do something fun.”
As if sitting at the bedside of his comatose girlfriend—friend—the girl who’d saved his life more than once—weren’t fun? “No thanks. I want to get my homework done.”
“It’s Friday night. If you don’t want to hang out with your Ma and me, maybe some of your friends?”
As if he had any friends left. After spending a year in juvie, they were all seniors, prepping for graduation, while he’d been taking double the class load just to finish junior year. Thankfully, Mom had pulled a few strings to enroll him in the Arts high school, where, with its flexible academic program, he could catch up. But all the kids he’d grown up with and known all his life had been left behind back at Schenley High.
“Mom.” He turned to face her, even though she had her eyes on the road. “Morgan is my friend.”
Her too-fake-sweet-voice spiked a nail in his hope she’d someday accept that fact. “I know, sweetheart. But, your Ma and I, we don’t think it’s healthy for you to be spending all your free time cooped up in a hospital.” She waved a hand toward the world outside the Prius. “It’s April, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming—I hear rumors of some kind of junior prom?” She ended the last on a hopeful uptick. “Bethany called the other day asking for your new cell number. Did you ever get back to her?”
Bethany was cute—they’d been friends in grade school and middle school—but that was ages ago. Bethany sure as hell was no Morgan. “Morgan needs me.”
“Morgan doesn’t even know you’re there.”
“You don’t know that. Dr. Lazarus said patients in her condition—”
“Honey, she’s been in a coma for almost three weeks.”
“No, she was in a coma.” He rolled his eyes. Did no one ever listen to what he told them? “She’s been upgraded. Minimally responsive state.”
“Which is medical jargon for may or may not ever wake up, and who knows what she’ll remember or be able to do if or when she does?” They came to a red light. She glanced at him, her eyes creased with concern. “I love that you care so much. Especially about a girl who has brought nothing but trouble into your life.”
“She saved my life!”
“She’s lied. To everyone. Did you even know she was only fifteen? Or who her father was? I mean, seriously, Micah, she’s the daughter of a serial killer. And she’s a killer herself—”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she shushed him with a wave of her hand. “I don’t care if it was self-defense. She’s violent. Dangerous. Your Ma and I have supported you because you’re a good person and have such a big heart and she did maybe save your life and we know you think you owe her your loyalty. But enough is enough. You need to move on with your life. You’re only seventeen. Much too young to be pining for a girl you’ll never have a future with.”
He slumped back as far as the seat
would allow and crossed his arms over his chest. “She doesn’t have anyone else.”
That wasn’t exactly true. Morgan’s employers, Jenna Galloway and Andre Stone, visited her almost daily. Well, Andre did. Jenna mainly sent flowers and was footing the bill of the private neurorehab clinic. And Micah had seen Dr. Callahan, Morgan’s psychologist, there along with his wife, who was some kind of hotshot FBI agent who’d sent Morgan’s dad to jail before he escaped. But when the authorities learned she was only fifteen, they had made Morgan a ward of the state. So Dr. Lazarus and some social worker, who as far as Micah could tell, never came to visit Morgan, were the ones in charge of what happened to her.
That was going to totally piss her off once she woke. Morgan did not like anyone interfering with how she ran her life or telling her what to do. As soon as she woke, she’d probably run away, and return to her life of lies and deception.
Which scared Micah more than her coma. He was certain she was going to wake up—when she wanted to. He wasn’t as certain if she’d let him stay in her life. Every time he walked in the door of the ward she shared with five other patients, he braced himself to see her empty bed, to be told that she’d woken and left him behind.
Mom misinterpreted his silence for sulking. “I’ll take you there today. Give you a chance to say goodbye. Then we’re moving on with our lives.”
