Melissa Barker-Simpson

Hands of Evil is now available.

I have created a page, which you can visit if you haven’t had the chance to read the synopsis yet. Click here to visit the page, which also includes a sneak peak.

Below I have pasted a preview, taken from the opening chapter. I hope you enjoy it, and would like to take the opportunity to thank all of my blogging friends for your support and encouragement.

Hands of Evil – Preview

“How’s it looking from up there, J-bird?”

JJ’s brows lifted – the only indication he’d heard the voice in his ear.

His body was rigid from years of practice, his heartbeat slow and even. He looked exactly like what he was. A soldier. It was in every line of his body; the way he held himself, the way he behaved, thought, felt. Though he hadn’t served for a number of years, he still kept his dark blonde hair short. His green eyes, hidden now behind the scope, were intensely focused.

“You’re good to go, Tommy.” The voice was as controlled as the rest of him.

He switched to his range finder so he could monitor the movements below; his eyes following Tommy’s progress as he flanked the Ambassador’s son. Another of their comrades matched him step for step.

JJ recognised the two officers who fell in behind, he’d worked with them before and trusted them with the job.

The black SUV they ushered the principal into was being driven by Justin Chambers, an ace on their team. He brought him into focus, grinning when he clocked the goofy expression.

“If you’re not careful, your face will stay that way,” he said through his mic. Justin had an innate sense of timing and he loved nothing more than to get inside JJ’s head.

Laughter filled his ear a moment later. “You might be an authority on wind direction, but you need to work on your delivery.”

“Just keep your eyes on the road, kid,” JJ muttered, waiting a beat or two before the distinct sound of a goat drifted through his ear-piece. He’d long ago accepted Justin’s need for chatter. When they were assigned together, his two-way was a feed for every thought in Justin’s head. For someone accustomed to silence it had taken JJ a while to adjust. Now the voice in his ear was as natural as the weapon in his hand.

He swung his scope to the other senior member of the team. “Have you got this, Tommy?”

“We’re good to go. Thanks for the eyes in the sky, man.”

JJ watched them pull into rush hour traffic before turning to pack away his rifle. His part was over, a role which was precautionary at best. The others had a two hour round trip ahead of them, as they accompanied their principle to the private school he attended in Kent.

Based on traffic the drive back to headquarters would take JJ around twenty minutes, but he was in no immediate rush. The team briefing would be stalled until the others got back.

With one last look along Holland Park, he closed the window and secured the locks. As villas went, this one was state of the art, even before his team had procured it to run surveillance.

As he jogged down the steps his phone beeped, right on schedule. Susannah, their unofficial commander and chief always had her finger on the pulse.

“Like clockwork, Suez,” he said, with a smile.

“That’s my boy. Are you heading back in?”

“I’m on my way.” He was already at the door. “I’ll see you in twenty.”

“Give or take a few.”

He grinned at the challenge and slipped behind the wheel.

His extreme focus was inbred, as natural to him as breathing. There were times he could tune out and concentrate all his energy on one goal. At others, like now, he could afford to relax a little.

JJ had worked for the security agency, Morgan and Fairchild, since its inception. It hadn’t been an easy decision, leaving the Marines. It was true that being a sniper was a solitary profession at times, but his unit gave him a place to belong; a reason for being.

He had a new team now, a hand-picked selection of the best of the best. They worked together like a well-oiled, shit-kicking machine, combining skills earned in battle. Perhaps not as eloquently put as his team mates would like, but it was no less true.

The agency was the direct result of two good men combining forces.

One of those men, Kelvin Fairchild, was currently paging him. His face was flashing across the on-board communications device.

Since he was driving, he opted for audio only. “You checking up on me, boss?”

“Why, do you need me to hold your hand?” Kelvin’s mellow tone would have fooled some; he was patient and unhurried by nature. JJ heard the tension and pounced on it.

“What’s wrong?”

The responding chuckle went a long way towards cooling his jets. “I don’t need my hand held either. I just need you to run the briefing this morning.”

“Did you get caught up with the boys in blue?”

“Yep, I’m needed for a day or two. Think you can handle things without me?”

He was consulting on a specialist protection detail run by Security Command. Brad Morgan, his partner in crime, was honeymooning in Cuba, putting a strain on their own command systems.

“We both know Suez runs the show,” JJ said, wondering what he was holding back.

“Undisputed,” Kelvin mumbled, sounding distracted. “Charlie will be gate-crashing the party.”

Charles Macavoy worked within the Homicide and Serious Crime Division. He was also a close personal friend of Brad Morgan’s and the reason they occasionally worked with the Metropolitan Police.

“I’m on it.” He hesitated for a beat or two. “If I didn’t know you any better I’d say this was all a ploy to reduce my field time.”

There was another reason he’d left the marines and they were all reminded of it once a year when the anniversary came around.

“That’s not what this is about. But regardless, we have your back,” Kelvin replied, his voice dropping an octave. “It’s not unreasonable to take some personal time. Remember that, JJ.”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Understood. Will you be joining us remotely?” he asked, moving onto a safer subject.

“If I can,” he said, back to business. “Stay in touch.”

The line went dead a moment later, filling JJ’s ear with static. A sound he often associated with Justin. The thought made him smile.

***