Unraveled (End of an Assassin, Book 1) by Jordan Everett

Release date: August 18, 2020

Subgenre: Action thriller

About Unraveled:

 

Wanted: Effective killer. No experience necessary.

Kaden Rivera expected another dull shift at the restaurant. Instead, the 23-year-old left wearing her own blood.

An armed robber had attacked. She surprised everyone, including herself, by knocking him out. An impressed businessman offers a gig as an assassin, training included. The side job was supposed to be simple.

And it was, until her colleagues start dying. The boss is useless, and police aren't an option. Her only help is her best friend and a new AI mouse that he dubbed her "assistant." While still completing assignments, she plummets deeper into the criminal underworld—without her consent.

Her only choice is to claw her way out.

 

Excerpt:

 

Kaden slammed the window closed harder than she'd meant. She glared at the "Mr. Ng" entry on her phone for only a moment before pressing "Call."

He answered on the third ring. "Hello, Kaden."

She barreled through his cool tone. "You're not surprised to be hearing from me."

"I am not. Cleanup crew recovered your target's pistol."

"A bullet missed my head by millimeters. Not only that, guy expected a fight."

"I see."

Her voice rose. "Are you kidding? That's the thing—you didn't see, or you lied. Which is it?"

"That’s news to me, unfortunately. I apologize. I can only find out the source of the inaccuracy and prune it."

"You asked for my trust during my training. I gave it, but now I'm second-guessing it. How do I know you can be trusted? Better yet, how can I be sure you're making the right calls? There's not much room for error."

"You don't know if I can be trusted, but it doesn't change my sincerity. And that man was no mistake. He's been on the run for a week, trying to avoid the consequences of his actions. How about I double the pay for today? To show true remorse, and as a bonus for quick thinking. You are an exceptional Minnie."

He’d admitted a mistake and offered a bribe to stop complaining, to again let the opaqueness of the business slide. That was already more than she expected, so this conversation was fully squeezed. Kaden reached to yank her ponytail. “Fine.”

"Your openness to reason is always appreciated." The line disconnected.

The phone clattered on the bathroom counter as she gritted her teeth. That was accepting her position in the hierarchy, not openness to reason. Her confidence flickered, but there was nothing else to do. When she called, she had no idea what she’d hoped to gain. The answer was suddenly obvious—she wanted to know he was on her side. At least she had that.

A spot of blood blemished the phone screen, and she remembered the gunshot wound to her ear. The stinging had sunk into the background until she could address it. A band-aid would have to suffice.

The top of the ear was a difficult site for a band-aid, and the mirror hardly helped. She sighed at her reflection, wearing a band-aid that was a shade lighter than her warm beige skin. Madeline would comment at work tomorrow.

Exhaustion blindsided her. Even if she didn’t break a sweat, analyzing every detail of the world always siphoned her energy. She could puzzle over it tomorrow, but already the hit didn’t seem as bad. After a quick shower, she wholeheartedly burrowed into her bed.

 

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About Jordan Everett: 

 

Jordan weaves her sense of adventure into thriller and science fiction novels, catching inspiration from a lifetime of daydreaming when she should have been learning or working. She adores a good, buttery pastry and watching wildlife webcams.

Jordan's main characters are all flawed yet powerful in their own way, and they invariably end up thrown in a pressure cooker. Her ideas come from her musings into sociology, technology, and her own multi-racial heritage.

 

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