Cracked Chrysalis arrives next week! I’m beyond excited to share this latest DSA adventure with you. To get you as pumped as I am, enjoy a sneak peek at the book!
Cracked Chrysalis arrives June 12th!
Sneak Peek Chapter
Away from the dizzying lights of the city, and the roar of traffic on the highway, sat an innocuous complex. It took up what would have amounted to an entire block in a typical metropolis. These buildings, though, were far from civilization—east out of Millington in the nowhere town of Lakeland.
No one in the area questioned the complex. Few even realized it was there. The thick brush and the ten-foot chain-link fence certainly did their part in driving away any unwanted attention.
No signs marked the turnoff, and nothing indicated the purpose behind the complex. The lack of identification helped keep the site secure and out of the public eye. Every employee was scanned at the welcome gate, greeted by an armed guard, and then escorted to their proper parking lot. On the off-chance a visitor stumbled upon the site, the guard on duty spouted the prerequisite cover story. The business was called Signet and dealt in commercial storage for the government.
It was a half-truth. The security involved offered a glimpse at the full story. Military personnel roamed the property armed for war. Humvees drove in circles around the perimeter, a constant watch dedicated to the complex that spanned eight buildings and ten acres of land.
Signet was a government black site, though they dealt in maintaining critical records for multiple federal agencies. From Homeland Security to the Pentagon, each department held its specific secrets at Signet, and what went in rarely, if ever, left again. They were secrets few thought about, and fewer even considered when dealing with their government, which made it that much easier to keep them safe.
Few, however, ignored the rare exception to the rule. As long as one person was aware of the facility, the risk remained, and no matter the measures in place, nothing was ever guaranteed.
The problem with massive complexes came with the need to maintain personnel. Transports constantly ran into the compound. With an off-the-books military base nearby, shift changes took time to implement. The window was miniscule to observe, let alone memorize. It made for a difficult task—difficult, but not impossible.
Nothing Juniper’s boss required was impossible to achieve.
She hid in the brush outside the facility. The massive forest surrounding the complex blotted out all signs of the brightening morning sky. She had been stationary for hours outside the chain-link fence, tucked away from the sensor sweeps and the intricate perimeter cameras dotting the area. Holding the same position for hours at a stretch might have made most people stiff, but not her. Just breathing in the fresh air, Juniper had never felt more alive.
Each rotation of the guards had brought more clarity to her purpose. She’d trailed the positions of the buildings and what department operated within each just by tracking the arrivals and departures. Learning which building housed her prize had been critical to her mission’s success.
The master suggested stealth. It was the one sticking point in the plan she struggled against. Skulking in the shadows was how she’d lived her previous life, unassuming, and therefore passed over by those around her. Juniper refused to live that way again.
Nothing held power over her save for the master, and he trusted her to complete their objective. His request was considered and rejected. Stealth never amounted to any fun, and Juniper wanted her infiltration of the facility to be loud.
Standing from the brush, Juniper rushed for the fence. Barbed wire marked the top, adding an extra foot to the height. Her speed increased as she closed the gap from the foliage to the fence. Cameras darted in her direction, but they did not deter her approach. A Humvee caught sight of Juniper and swerved toward her position.
“What the hell is that?” one guard said. He leaped from the vehicle, service weapon in hand.
“Looked like a woman, but—”
Juniper smiled. She was much more than a woman now. The master saw to her transformation. She owed him everything, and this was the down payment—one she was more than happy to procure for him.
Fifteen feet from the fence, Juniper launched into the air. Her incredible musculature sent her soaring through the wispy wind like an autumn leaf free from a tree.
“Holy!”
She cleared the fence, then tucked in tight for her descent. A silent nod of thanks passed to the pair of guards who had parked their Humvee right in the path of her leap. She crashed atop the roof. The chassis dented under her impact, and she rolled off the rear of the vehicle to the ground.
“How the hell did she…” the guard’s question fell silent.
“Tower one, this is Hershaw,” the other said into their radio. “We have an intruder. Request backup at once, and lock down the complex.”
Spotlights shifted. Alarms rang out. All attention turned toward the newcomer, who remained wrapped tight in a ball.
“Don’t move, lady!” The guard crept closer, mindful of the sweat coating his hands as he gripped tight to his firearm.
Juniper didn’t bother to listen. She stood, unhurt and unafraid.
“I said—”
She grabbed the barrel of the weapon. The speed of her motion shocked the guard. He failed to depress the trigger, the moment gone in the blink of an eye. Juniper pulled the man toward her with one hand. The other caught him by the neck. One quick jerk and a hardy snap ended the soldier’s life.
“My God,” Hershaw muttered. It was the last thing he ever said. Juniper pounced at the man. Shots erupted, yet none hit their mark. She slapped the gun aside. The force broke the man’s trigger finger. Before he could cry out in pain, she grabbed his head and slammed him onto the pavement.
More guards closed in on her position. A smile greeted them. She thrilled at the exhilaration of the fight, and the pleasure that came with extreme violence from those who sought to keep her from her prize.
Juniper ducked out of the line of fire, sweeping toward the closest building. She dove between jeeps and SUVs that carried government plates. Each plate carried the Signet name, followed by a two-digit number to identify the vehicle in the lot.
Bullets followed her every movement. A stray shot caught the fuel tank of the SUV to her left.
The explosion ripped through the complex. Juniper soared forward; the shockwave caused her to crash into the side of the building. By the time she found her feet again, six guards surrounded her.
“This ends now,” one announced.
“Don’t you dare move!” another one shouted.
Juniper raised her hands. She interlocked her fingers behind her head. She sensed their approach, slow and cautious. Their wariness was well-advised, but also afforded her the time she required to find the window she’d been searching for in the building. She crouched down, and the approach of the guards paused for a second.
The delay cost them. Juniper bounded for the third-floor window and crashed inside the building. She rolled with the landing, then jumped to her feet.
“What the hell?” a woman cried from behind her desk.
“Breach!” another yelled. “We’ve been breached!”
It was a records room. Four desks, one in each corner, kept the records in question directly between them. The four keepers shot to their feet, weapons in hand. They were unaccustomed to action, yet their training suited them well.
Bullets cut through the room. Juniper ducked under the first barrage, and two of the women took each other out in the crossfire. The second pair were luckier, and the guards from outside joined them in their fight.
Juniper closed the gap on the squad. She needed time, and if they would not provide any for her, she would simply take it. Bodies collapsed under her blows. People screamed, but their cries fell on deaf ears. They stood in her way and paid for it with their lives.
When Juniper’s vision cleared, blood ran in thick globs from her knuckles. Her clothing was torn, yet no apparent injuries decorated her flawless skin.
“You… you killed them all,” a demure young woman said from behind her desk. She lifted her weapon and fired. Fear caused her to close her eyes.
The bullet pierced Juniper’s shoulder. She did not falter from the impact. The smile, the rush from her actions, mellowed. Juniper lifted the closest corpse. Secure in her tight grip, she tossed the body at the armed woman. Bones snapped in the collision and the woman fell.
Juniper rounded the desk, then stepped over the body to view her struggling victim beneath. The records keeper reached for her weapon, to no avail. Juniper stared, curious at the woman’s struggle. Slowly, she lifted her foot over the woman’s face and brought it down hard.
Alarms continued to blare outside. The sound of rushed steps ran through the corridors of the building. Juniper slammed the door shut. She clicked the lock, then started in on the records.
A quick search provided her with the paperwork and IDs her master required. His research was a thorough enough guide to make the process easy. That was the first part of the mission. From there, Juniper started for the bodies on the ground. She sized them up and stripped the appropriate soldier of their uniform. Quickly donning the stolen clothing, Juniper gathered up her belongings. IDs slipped into her pockets, the records tucked securely under her arm. A set of keys joined the ill-gotten goods, lifted from the chain near the door. The fob attached was marked with a red 13.
Outside the room, security filled the hall. Their shadows ran beneath the door frame. They would breach within seconds. Instead of preparing for another fight, Juniper headed for the window.
The moment the first soldier stepped foot in the room, Juniper jumped out of the third-story window. She held tight to the records and the keys. Her feet hit the pavement, and she started for the parking lot.
Shots rang out from above. More rose in the distance. The guards scrambled for her position. Juniper raced for the vehicle marked SIGNET-13 in the lot and ducked inside. It started up immediately, and she barreled from the spot toward the front gate.
Soldiers dove out of the way at her approach. They fired, but their shots were wasted; they attempted to wound instead of ending the threat the way she had been taught. Juniper seized on their hesitancy. The transport slammed through the barricades, tore through the fence, and reached the empty road beyond.
Satisfied at her escape, Juniper tapped the communication device nestled in her right ear. “I have what is required.”
“Good work,” the master replied. His enthusiasm brought a smile to her face. “The rendezvous is in one hour. Make haste, my dear.”
“On my way.”
Who is this dangerous woman and who does she serve?
The answers will change everything for the DSA and for the Witness…
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