: Matthew Betley
: The Neighborhood
: Blackstone Publishing
: 9781665064606
: 1
: CHF 10.50
:
: Krimis, Thriller, Spionage
: English
: 100
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB

It' not such a beautiful day in the neighborhood ...

Fr m the critically acclaimed author ofOverwatchcomes a can't-miss, brand-new novel that proves Matthew Betley is the modern master of the unputdownable page-turner.

F r most of the citizens of Hidden Refuge, it's an ordinary Friday night in an ordinary American town. But when men claiming to be police officers show up at their doorsteps in the middle of the night, ordering them to evacuate for their own safety, it's only the beginning of a long, dark night that will prove to be anything but ordinary. Unbeknownst to most of its residents, Hidden Refuge contains something that very dangerous men desperately want, and they are more than willing to kill to get it.

But Hidden Refuge contains another secret-Zack Chambers, a seemingly unassuming programmer and suburbanite family man who is far more than meets the eye. And while Zack dearly hoped that he'd never again need to use the deadly skills he'd acquired in his former life, when push comes to shove, he'll do whatever it takes to protect himself and his neighbors. Even if it means taking on a small army of trained killers with only his wits and a ragtag group of allies.

Before the night is over, the blood of the innocent and the guilty alike will be shed, old scores will be settled, and shocking twists will be revealed. Propulsive, brilliantly plotted, and packed with Matthew Betley's trademark blend of gritty realism and edge-of-your-seat action,The Neighborhood is a can't-miss thriller.



Matthew Betley is the author of the Logan West Thrillers and a former Marine Officer of ten years. Trained as a scout sniper platoon commander, an infantry officer, and a ground intelligence officer, his experiences include deployments to Djibouti after September 11, and Fallujah and Iraq prior to the Surge. A New Jersey native who considers Cincinnati home but now resides on the East Coast, he graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a BA in psychology and minors in political science and sociology.

Chapter
Two

Zachary Chambers—Zack to everyone he introduced himself to—kept walking toward his neighbors’ driveway, the Thomases’ mail in hand. It was an inevitable annoyance of suburban life that mail was occasionally delivered to the wrong address, but it felt like it had been happening more frequently.Maybe a sign of societal decay? As goes the Post Office, so goes theworld.

The cool fall late afternoon felt refreshing, and he inhaled deeply as the Amazon van turned the corner onto his street.Another sign of societal decay, forsure.

As the driver approached, Chloe Thomas shot down her driveway toward the street, triggering alarms inside Zack’s calculating mind. An old habit, he took a mental snapshot instantaneously—Chloe on the scooter, the boys on bikes, the distracted driver—and he realized the imminent danger.Oh no.

He dropped the mail and broke into a sprint. The Thomases’ driveway was only twenty feet away, and he prayed he’d started running intime.

A woman’s screams assaulted his ears, but he blocked it out, focusing on his objective—thegirl.

The Amazon van kept coming, its driver distracted by the boys on bicycles. Zack ran straight toward it, engaged in a game of chicken, man versus vehicle, with Chloe Thomas stuck in the middle.

Chloe shot out into the street as the driver finally spotted her, and he slammed on his brakes.

Zack reached her asplit-second before the skidding van and hooked her with his right arm around her waist as he turned toward the curve. With the van looming like a monster right next to him, he wrapped Chloe in his arms as she shrieked, and launched the two of them into the air. As they sailed over the curb and toward the Thomases’ lawn, Zack rotated his body so that his back was to the ground. His feet cleared the curb as he watched the Amazon van slide across the space he and Chloe had occupied a moment ago. He smiled to himself in relief, at least until his back slammed onto the grass, expelling his breath, and slid to a stop, Chloe secure in hisarms.

He looked down at the adorable girl, who seemed to be taking it all in stride, and he felt his breath come back, inhaling deeply, which seemed to amuse Chloe, who smiled up at him.

Sherry Thomas was screaming, even as Zack asked Chloe, “Are you okay? Sorry aboutthat.”

“Can we do that again?”

Zack sat up and placed Chloe on the ground next to him. “Maybe another time. That was exciting enough for oneday.”

Sherry Thomas reached her daughter and wrapped her up with both arms, shouting at the African American Amazon driver, who now stood on the street, concern written all over his face. “How could you not see her? She was on the driveway!”

“It was the boys on the bikes. He got distracted by them as they approached him. I’m sure he was just being careful,” Zack stated, intentionally calm, momentarily ignoring the driver. He stood up, ignoring also the dull pain in his lowerback.

Zack’s presence seemed to calm her, and she shifted her eyes from the driver to him. Sherry paused, exhaled, and said, “Thank you, Zack. Thank God you were there.”

“Thank the Postal Service. I was bringing you some mail that got delivered to us by accident.” Zack turned to the driver, whom he found staring at him in an unusual way, as if assessing him with a purpose. The driver was no older than thirty, clean cut,light-skinned, with a short, faded haircut. His deep brown eyes shone with alertness and intelligence,more so than the last Amazon guy we had inhere.

For two weeks during the summer, an Amazon driver had