Hannah Darby’s First Taste of Terror

 She only wanted a day at the beach.

But for Hannah Darby, that day becomes the beginning of a nightmare—one where killers track her every move, and survival depends on her mother’s every decision.

📖 Read a sample scene in Peril, then continue the story: Peril by Cole Steele

The virtue of patience always produces the sweetest fruit of opportunity.  Words that Valeria Tutov lived by when stalking her prey.  Guidance that had been given to her by an ex Mossad agent who instructed her in the arts of assassination.

Valeria had recently spent months at a training center outside Vienna.  The Guild were meticulous in their recruitment.  Only a handful of women like Valeri existed in the world.  All of them equally talented and deadly.  Their membership was governed by an anonymous group who had fought proxy wars for feuding nations that sought to influence regions and skirt existing treaties.   The landscape of war had shifted with the advent of technology since then.  A need for a more surgical approach was ripe to be filled.  The Guild had been more than happy to oblige.

Their services were available on every continent no matter the time of year.  They only accepted cryptocurrency for payment.  There was no face to face meetings.

The Guild could only be reached by a series of couriers with a handwritten coded message.  Its hub of communication was located in a swanky pastry shop outside of Vienna.  The tiny pieces of paper were placed deep inside a Sachertorte.  It was always located on the third row of their display case.  When the target had been eliminated, customers were provided pictures on a flash drive.  The pickup spot was an antique store a few doors down from the pastry shop where it was concealed inside an early 1900’s maritime lantern.  It was then shipped to the paying customer, hidden in some everyday household item.

Valeria seized the chance and boarded the Athena right before it left the dock.  There would be less of a chance in being seen far out in the open water.  She changed into a wetsuit and stuffed her clothing into a small plastic bag.  Her performance would have drawn the admiration of any contortionist given the small storage space with which she had to work. 

She listened to a conversation right outside the small door.  It sounded like crew members.  The vessel was headed to a secluded area so the guests could swim.