ROGUE PREY - Book excerpts

 

ROGUE PREY – Published by Rough Edges Press

 

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Each hunter has the same equipment—a sniper rifle, five bullets and a machete. An even killing field.

A corrupt organization in Spain is selling the ultimate thrill. They cater to rich amateur game-hunters who hunger for the privilege of stalking and killing human prey. Their targets are non-persons. In effect, the vile process gets rid of illegal immigrants. Enter Leon Cazador—a half-English, half-Spanish private investigator who occasionally assists the authorities. Eager to take down this immoral organization, he’s tasked with going full cloak-and-dagger. But when his cover is blown and he’s forced to join nine other captives, will he become the hunters’ ultimate prey?

Here are a few excerpts:

‘Oh, I’ve made a kill or two,’ Leon said.

‘Which wildlife have you potted?’ Rudolf asked.

‘Plenty of wild animals.’ Mostly men.

‘Do you collect trophies?’ Harley pressed.

‘No. I just kill.’ Never for pleasure. (p24)

***

‘You’ve been in the wars, I see.’ Mateo indicated the scars on Leon’s torso and arms.

Knife and bullet wounds. But you should see the other guys – in the cemetery.

Mateo said, ‘Lost your tongue, eh?’

Leon recalled a Spanish proverb: Don’t mention the noose in the house of the hanged man. By now, his bruised stomach was advising him not to say the wrong thing anymore. He compromised and shrugged.

Mateo said, ‘No matter. We aren’t here to chat.’

Then the so-called ‘softening-up’ process began. (p40)

***

‘Your silly quips, they hide your insecurity, your fear, I know,’ she said.

‘I hope you don’t charge by the hour,’ Leon said. ‘Your psychoanalysis is sadly very wrong.’

‘You would say that, wouldn’t you?’ She came closer and touched his bare torso, running a hand over a couple of ancient scars. The tip of her tongue wetted her lips. ‘For a man of your age, you have kept yourself fit. A lesser man, taking such a beating…’ She lifted a shoulder fatalistically.

‘I’ll live.’

‘Not for much longer, though.’

‘We all must die sometime. Even you.’ (p49)

***

Baeza addressed Leon and the rest of the so-called targets: ‘I will signal the end of your thirty minutes with a single shot.’ He tapped his holster. ‘That will tell you that our hunters will begin tracking you down.’ He beamed sincerely. ‘And when they find you – which they will – they will not hesitate to eliminate you. All of you. Without exemption. This is an equal opportunity hunt!’

He unholstered his revolver – it looked like a Smith & Wesson Model 500 – and gestured with the barrel. ‘Get ready!’ he bellowed.

He consulted his fob watch and then fired the gun in the air. ‘Go! Run for your miserable lives!’ (p85)