Today, I have the pleasure to introduce you to Rena, heroine of the new release, Fear Justice. She can’t wait to graduate high school so she can get out of town but her life plans swiftly change and she’s on the run. She’s stronger than she knows and I know you’ll love her story as much as I do. Please welcome Rena. *turns to Rena* Why don’t you introduce yourself?
Two days ago, I was a normal seventeen-year-old ready to finish her senior year and land a scholarship out of this town. Now I’m on the run with a government agent who insists my dad once worked for an agency that monitors people with special powers. You know, all that save the world crap. I’ve never felt fear, but staring into this agent’s green eyes makes me feel all sorts of emotions I’ve kept bottled up since my mama died. If only I could touch him, maybe I could figure out what secrets he’s hiding.
What is your greatest fear?
I have no fears.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My weakness in trusting people and forgiving those who probably don’t deserve forgiveness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Lying to me, hiding secrets.
Which living person do you most admire?
My mama. Ever since her death three years ago, I’ve missed her every day. She always insisted I’d go to college, that I’d have opportunities she never had. I want to be an aerospace engineer to make her proud.
What is your greatest extravagance?
We live in a camper. My dad is maintenance manager of the campground and we stay there rent free. He gives me forty dollars a week for lunch and to fill up his gas-guzzling truck. I hide any dollars left between the pages of an old book.
On what occasion do you lie?
I lie to protect my younger brother from Dad’s drinking habit. For the last three years, I’ve taken care of Alife while our father spends his nights out drinking.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I don’t have time to worry about my appearance. I tie my hair up in a ponytail and I don’t wear makeup. I’ve never dated anyone at my high school – that might derail my plans for college.
When and where were you happiest?
I was happiest when Mama was still alive, before Dad started drinking. We’ve always lived in a camper on a lake, but she made our camper feel like home.
What is your most treasured possession?
The emerald ring I wear on my right hand. I’ve never taken it off.
What do you most value in your friends?
People call my friend Piper strange because she believes in all sorts of magic, but she was there for me after the accident. Although I’m stuck on science, I appreciate how she doesn’t typically push her magical beliefs on me. At least, she doesn’t until blue sparkles appear on my hands in the cafeteria.
What is it that you most dislike?
I can’t stand people drinking. A drunk man hit our car and killed my mother. After the accident, my dad started drinking and I never understood why.
Thank you so much, Rena, for sitting down with me and sharing your story. Readers, to find out more, scroll down. . .
Title: Fear Justice
Author: C.C. Bolick
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Book Blurb
Seventeen-year-old Rena Mason counts the days until she can leave for college. Every night her father drinks himself to sleep, leaving her to care for her younger brother. When her father is kidnapped by terrorists, her dreams of freedom become a nightmare. Stunned that her father has a history with these terrorists, Rena knows she must run or be their next victim. She learns the tough guy at school has a reason to look after her – he’s working for a government agency with the same goal as the terrorists: find a woman who disappeared eighteen years ago. Time is running out since only this woman’s special gift can save the world from a looming nuclear attack. Rena can’t trust anyone, especially not the stone-cold agent she’s falling for. Can they save the world before Rena’s feelings trap her in an agent’s fight for justice?
Excerpt
Someone yelled my name from behind. Tony leaned forward and craned his neck to see around me. “Should I kill the engine while I wait?” The annoyance in his voice didn’t send me into motion, but the sounds of a siren approaching did. He gripped the wheel. “Well?”
I ran around the front of the car, to the passenger’s door. Tony leaned across the bench seat and opened the door for me. That’s when I realized I still had my backpack. I dropped the bag on the red carpet and jumped in the car, slamming the door at my side. With one hand, I reached for the seatbelt. With the other, I braced myself against the dash.
Tony shifted the car into gear and slammed on the gas. At the parking lot’s exit, he slid the car to the right in front of another car that swerved to miss us. The smell of exhaust fumes from the car made me cough. In the mirror to my side, blue flashing lights turned in front of the school. Cars behind us pulled off the road as wailing sirens approached. A car in front of us slowed and Tony went around the car, cutting into the other lane and nearly getting us slammed head-on.
“That was close,” I yelled. Thoughts of the accident surfaced and I twisted the radio dial in an attempt to block out the painful screaming. It didn’t matter if Tony couldn’t hear the cries. “Where’s the music?”
“Radio doesn’t work.”
Great. I leaned my head back against the seat. “Where are we going?”
He glanced in the rear-view mirror. “You can start with thanks.” Tony’s black-gloved hands gripped the steering wheel as he came to a light and turned right without slowing. He cut the turn wide enough he took up both lanes. Thankfully no one occupied the other lane. “I think it’s time we disappear.”
“Thanks.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “I have no idea what just happened.”
“You ran out of the school. Who was after you?”
“A man who beat up Coach Andrews. Knocked him to the floor with one kick. I think this man is working for another man who kidnapped my dad.” When Tony didn’t speak, I opened my eyes. “I just said he knocked our principal to the floor. He also had a gun. Why aren’t you freaking out?”
“Why aren’t you?”
“I don’t freak out,” I said. “It’s not me.”
Tony’s eyes stayed on the road. “Me either.”
I turned to stare at the signs we passed. He’d aimed the car for the center of town. “Why did you pick me up?”
“Something was wrong, I could feel it. I saw the man with the silver hair go into the office. He was packing inside his jacket with another gun in his pants. When you went in, I grabbed the car.”
“How did you know that man had a gun?”
“I told you before—my dad was a hunter. He taught me things about people like how to look for danger and when to run. It was definitely time to run.”
“I shouldn’t have left Coach Andrews, but he told me to run.”
Tony cleared his throat. “You said your dad was kidnapped?”
“Last night. Coach and my dad were friends. They joined the Army together.” Why was I babbling? Tony didn’t need to know my life story. “I showed up this morning because I thought he might know why these people were after my dad.”
“Did either of them tell you?”
I shook my head and looked at Tony. “The man who beat up Coach Andrews—he said he’d give me a head start before hunting me down.”
Again, Tony glanced in the mirror. “He didn’t happen to say he drives a black Lincoln, did he?”
As I spun in the seat and leaned over the headrest to see, the belt cut into my neck. Behind us, a black car crept closer with every second. Someone in the passenger seat leaned out of the window with a gun. “There’s a man with a gun following us and I’m not freaking out. At least, I don’t think I am.”
“No, you’re cool.”
With a bitter laugh, I turned back around and dropped down on the red vinyl seat. “Cool? When are you going to ask why I’m not afraid?”
Tony hit the brakes and made a turn that left me choking from the belt’s grip. “Right after you ask why I picked you up.”
Buy Link
99 cents or free to read on Kindle Unlimited!
Author Biography
C.C. Bolick is the author of nine young adult books, including the Leftover Girl series and The Agency series. She grew up in a small Alabama town where she learned the best roads were always the muddiest. An engineer by day and author by night, C.C. loves to mix teenage drama with her favorite genres—romance, sci-fi, and paranormal. She writes complex stories about seemingly normal teens who learn they're anything but normal. C.C. likes her characters with big hearts, room to grow, and the strength to fight for what they believe in. If you enjoy page-turning drama, family secrets, epic love stories, and a special power or two, her books might be for you.
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