hitman – Vintage City Publishing

January 14, 2020

VICIOUS CIRCLE – CHAPTER SEVEN

In her bedroom, Audrey peered through the sliver of space between the curtains. She was a kidnapped princess, the quintessential damsel in distress, locked away in the tower of the evil king’s castle, waiting for the hero to ride up and rescue her. She watched one potential hero now, a knight in shining black sharkskin, as he talked to his faithful manservant.

She watched Dominic and Manny talk, not knowing what they were discussing but getting a general idea it was family-related by their body language. She watched the gaudy Corvette pull up and the two men stiffen. She watched Dominic exchange words with the blond, pony-tailed man she didn’t recognize and thought for a moment they would come to blows. From her perch, she was able to read the utter disdain on their faces.

December 15, 2019

VICIOUS CIRCLE – CHAPTER SIX

Paul woke tangled in sheets damp with sweat and twisted in knots, as if he had spent the night thrashing from a fever dream. The phone was blaring beside his bed. He couldn’t remember his dreams, but he was sure Audrey featured in them. He was sure Matrix had made an appearance, as well.

His hand found the phone and managed to bring it to his ear without him having to open his eyes. “Yeah?”

“What do you mean, ‘yeah’?” Joey’s voice. “Paulie, is that how you answer the phone? Not hello, but yeah?”

August 11, 2019August 25, 2019

New Fiction (and Commentary)

For those of you clamoring for new fiction from me (all five of you), here’s the first chapter of an unpublished novel. Every few weeks, I’ll post another chapter along with my author commentary. I hope you like it. And if you don’t…well… just keep scrolling.

VICIOUS CIRCLE

by Slade Grayson

Chapter One

A year ago:

In a Northern New Jersey strip mall, Charlie Grace sat at the brass-railed bar of Kelsey’s Food and Sprits and sipped his drink—a mixture of Kahlua and cream. It tasted like chocolate milk but had a decidedly stronger kick. The cream gave his stomach a thick coating to buffer the alcohol, which was good because Charlie had been having stomach problems, probably the start of an ulcer, although he refused to admit it. He resolved to lay off Mexican food for a while and maybe chew some Tums. He thought thirty-six was too young for a man to have to worry about his diet, but he didn’t relish the thought of going to a doctor either. What if it wasn’t an ulcer? Thoughts of stomach cancer nagged at him and kept him awake at night. Charlie also thought thirty-six was too young to have to worry about ulcers and cancer.