{"id":971,"date":"2009-01-06T15:40:04","date_gmt":"2009-01-06T20:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/\/?p=971"},"modified":"2009-01-06T15:40:04","modified_gmt":"2009-01-06T20:40:04","slug":"blood-lines-by-mel-odom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/?p=971","title":{"rendered":"Blood Lines by Mel Odom"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is time to play a Wild Card<\/span>!<\/strong> <\/span>Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour<\/a>. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his\/her book’s FIRST chapter!<\/p>\n

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Today’s Wild Card author is: <\/strong><\/div>\n
Mel Odom<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

and the book:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Blood Lines<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tyndale House Publishers (December 8, 2008)<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mel Odom is a best-selling author with many published works to his credit. Mel has been inducted into the Oklahoma Professional Writers Hall of Fame and received the Alex Award for his fantasy novel The Rover. Paid in Blood was the first book in Mel\u2019s three-book Military NCIS series. He has also published four military thrillers with Tyndale House; Apocalypse Dawn, Apocalypse Crucible, Apocalypse Burning and Apocalypse Unleashed. Mel teaches courses in forensic investigation, crime-scene investigation, profiling, and cold-case investigation. Mel and his family reside in Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

Visit the author’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Product Details:<\/p>\n

List Price: $13.99
\nPaperback: 432 pages
\nPublisher: Tyndale House Publishers (December 8, 2008)
\nLanguage: English
\nISBN-10: 1414316356
\nISBN-13: 978-1414316352<\/p>\n

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:<\/span> <\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gymnasium<\/p>\n

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina<\/p>\n

1203 Hours<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you come here to play basketball or wage war?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shelton McHenry, gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, shook the sweat out of his eyes and ignored the question. After long minutes of hard exertion, his breath echoed inside his head and chest. His throat burned. Despite the air-conditioning, the gym felt hot. He put his hands on his head and sucked in a deep breath of air. It didn\u2019t help. He still felt mean.<\/p>\n

There was no other word for it. He wanted the workout provided by the game, but he wanted it for the physical confrontation rather than the exercise. He had hoped it would burn through the restless anger that rattled within him.<\/p>\n

Normally when he got like this, he tried to stay away from other people. He would gather up Max, the black Labrador retriever that was his military canine partner, and go for a run along a secluded beach until he exhausted the emotion. Sometimes it took hours.<\/p>\n

That anger had been part of him since he was a kid. He had never truly understood it, but he\u2019d learned to master it\u2014for the most part\u2014a long time ago. But now and again, there were bad days when it got away from him. Usually those bad days were holidays.<\/p>\n

Today was Father\u2019s Day. It was the worst of all of them. Even Christmas, a time when families got together, wasn\u2019t as bad as Father\u2019s Day. During the heady rush of Christmas\u2014muted by the sheer effort and logistics of getting from one place to another after another, of making sure presents for his brother\u2019s kids were intact and wrapped and not forgotten, of preparing and consuming the endless supply of food\u2014he could concentrate on something other than his father.<\/p>\n

But not today. Never on Father\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

The anger was bad enough, but the thing that totally wrecked him and kicked his butt was the guilt. Even though he didn\u2019t know what to do, there was no escaping the fact that he should be doing something. He was supposed to be back home.<\/p>\n

Usually he was stationed somewhere and could escape the guilt by making a quick phone call, offering up an apology, and losing himself back in the field. But after taking the MOS change to Naval Criminal Investigative Service, he was free on weekends unless the team was working a hot case.<\/p>\n

At present, there were no hot cases on the horizon. There wasn\u2019t even follow-up to anything else they\u2019d been working on. He\u2019d had no excuse for not going. Don, his brother, had called a few days ago to find out if Shel was coming. Shel had told him no but had offered no reason. Don had been kind enough not to ask why. So Shel was stuck with the anger, guilt, and frustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hearing me, gunney?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shel restrained the anger a step before it got loose. Over on the sidelines of the gym, Max gave a tentative bark. The Labrador paced uneasily, and Shel knew the dog sensed his mood.<\/p>\n

Dial it down, he told himself. Just finish up here. Be glad you\u2019re able to work through it.<\/p>\n

He just wished it helped more.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Shel said. \u201cI hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. \u2019Cause for a second there I thought you\u2019d checked out on me.\u201d Remy Gautreau mopped his face with his shirt.<\/p>\n

He was young and black, hard-bodied but lean, where Shel looked like he\u2019d been put together with four-by-fours. Gang tattoos in blue ink showed on Remy\u2019s chest and abdomen when he\u2019d lifted his shirt. Shel had noticed the tattoos before, but he hadn\u2019t asked about them. Even after working together for more than a year, it wasn\u2019t something soldiers talked about.<\/p>\n

Before he\u2019d entered the Navy and trained as a Navy SEAL, Remy Gautreau had been someone else. Most enlisted had. Then whatever branch of military service they signed on for changed them into someone else. The past was shed as easily as a snake lost its skin. Men and women were given a different present for that time and usually ended up with a different future than they would have had.<\/p>\n

But they don\u2019t take away the past, do they? Shel asked himself. They just pretend it never happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere you been?\u201d Remy asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight here.\u201d Shel broke eye contact with the other man. He could lie out in the field when it was necessary, but he had trouble lying to friends. \u201cPlaying center.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remy was part of the NCIS team that Shel was currently assigned to. His rank was chief petty officer. He wore bright orange knee-length basketball shorts and a white Tar Heels basketball jersey. Shel wore Marine-issue black shorts and a gray sweatshirt with the sleeves hacked off. Both men bore bullet and knife scars from previous battles.<\/p>\n

The other group of players stood at their end of the basketball court. Other groups of men were waiting their turn.<\/p>\n

Shel and Remy were playing iron man pickup basketball. The winning team got to stay on the court, but they had to keep winning. While they were getting more tired, each successive team rested up. Evading fatigue, learning to play four hard and let the fifth man rest on his feet, was a big part of staying on top. It was a lot like playing chess.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve been here,\u201d Remy agreed in a soft voice. \u201cBut this ain\u2019t where your head\u2019s been. You just been visiting this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGuy\u2019s good, Remy. I\u2019m doing my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other team\u2019s center was Del Greene, a giant at six feet eight inches tall\u2014four inches taller than Shel. But he was more slender than Shel, turned better in the tight corners, and could get up higher on the boards. Rebounding the ball after each shot was an immense struggle, but once in position Shel was hard to move. He\u2019d come down with his fair share of rebounds.<\/p>\n

Basketball wasn\u2019t Shel\u2019s game. He\u2019d played it all through high school, but football was his chosen gladiator\u2019s field in the world of sports. He had played linebacker and had been offered a full-ride scholarship to a dozen different colleges. He had opted for the Marines instead. Anything to shake the dust of his father\u2019s cattle ranch from his boots. None of the colleges had been far enough away for what he had wanted at the time. After all those years of misunderstandings on the ranch, Shel had just wanted to be gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re doing great against that guy,\u201d Remy said. \u201cBetter than I thought you would. He\u2019s a better basketball player, but you\u2019re a better thinker. You\u2019re shutting him down. Which is part of the problem. You\u2019re taking his game away from him and it\u2019s making him mad. Problem is, you got no finesse. He\u2019s wearing you like a cheap shirt. If we had a referee for this game, you\u2019d already have been tossed for personal fouls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well, he doesn\u2019t play like a homecoming queen himself.\u201d Shel wiped his mouth on his shirt. The material came away bloody. He had caught an elbow in the face last time that had split the inside of his cheek. \u201cHe\u2019s not afraid of dishing it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong. I didn\u2019t say that fool didn\u2019t have it coming, but I am saying that this isn\u2019t the time or the place for a grudge match.\u201d Remy wiped his face with his shirt again. \u201cThe last thing we need is for Will to have to come down and get us out of the hoosegow over a basketball game. He\u2019s already stressed over Father\u2019s Day because he\u2019s having to share his time with his kids\u2019 new stepfather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shel knew United States Navy Commander Will Coburn to be a fine man and officer. He had followed Will into several firefights during their years together on the NCIS team.<\/p>\n

The marriage of Will\u2019s ex-wife was only months old. Everyone on the team knew that Will had taken the marriage in stride as best as he could, but the change was still a lot to deal with. Having his kids involved only made things worse. Before, Father\u2019s Day and Mother\u2019s Day had been mutually exclusive. This year the kids\u2019 mother had insisted that the day be shared between households.<\/p>\n

One of the other players stepped forward. \u201cAre we going to play ball? Or are you two just going to stand over there and hold hands?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shel felt that old smile\u2014the one that didn\u2019t belong and didn\u2019t reflect anything that was going on inside him\u2014curve his lips. That smile had gotten him into a lot of trouble with his daddy and had been a definite warning to his brother, Don.<\/p>\n

The other team didn\u2019t have a clue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way you guys are playing,\u201d Shel said as he stepped toward the other team, \u201cI think we\u2019ve got time to do both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind him, Shel heard Remy curse.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

1229 Hours<\/p>\n

At the offensive goal, Shel worked hard to break free of the other player\u2019s defense. But every move he made, every step he took, Greene was on top of him. Shel knew basketball, but the other guy knew it better.<\/p>\n

A small Hispanic guy named Melendez played point guard for Shel and Remy\u2019s team. He flipped the ball around the perimeter with quick, short passes back and forth to the wings. Unable to get a shot off, Remy and the other wing kept passing the ball back.<\/p>\n

Shel knew they wanted to get the ball inside to him if they could. They needed the basket to tie up the game. They were too tired to go back down the court and end up two buckets behind.<\/p>\n

Melendez snuck a quick pass by the guard and got the ball to Shel. With a fast spin, Shel turned and tried to put the ball up. But as soon as it left his fingers, Greene slapped the shot away. Thankfully Melendez managed to recover the loose ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you try to bring that trash in here,\u201d Greene taunted. \u201cThis is my house. Nobody comes into my house.\u201d Sweat dappled his dark features and his mocking smile showed white and clean. \u201cYou may be big, gunney, but you ain\u2019t big enough. You hear what I\u2019m saying?\u201d<\/p>\n

Shel tried to ignore the mocking voice and the fact that Greene was now bumping up against him even harder than before. The man wasn\u2019t just taunting anymore. He was going for an all-out assault.<\/p>\n

Melendez caught a screen from Remy and rolled out with the basketball before the other defensive player could pick him up. One of the key elements to their whole game was the fact that most of them had played ball before. Greene was a good player\u2014maybe even a great player\u2014but one man didn\u2019t make a team. Special forces training taught a man that.<\/p>\n

Free and open, Melendez put up a twenty-foot jump shot. Shel rolled around Greene to get the inside position for the rebound. Greene had gone up in an effort to deflect the basketball. He was out of position when he came back down.<\/p>\n

Shel timed his jump as the basketball ran around the ring and fell off. He went up and intercepted the ball cleanly. He was trying to bring the ball in close when Greene stepped around him and punched the basketball with a closed fist.<\/p>\n

The blow knocked the ball back into Shel\u2019s face. It slammed against his nose and teeth hard enough to snap his head back. He tasted blood immediately and his eyes watered. The sudden onslaught of pain chipped away at the control that Shel had maintained. He turned instantly, and Greene stood ready and waiting. Two of the guys on his team fell in behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want none of this,\u201d Greene crowed. \u201cI promise you don\u2019t want none of this.\u201d He had his hands raised in front of him and stood in what Shel recognized as a martial arts stance.<\/p>\n

Shel wasn\u2019t big on martial arts. Most of his hand-to-hand combat ability had been picked up in the field and from men he had sparred with to increase his knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a big man,\u201d Greene snarled, \u201cbut I\u2019m badder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the tension that had suddenly filled the gymnasium and the odds against him, Shel grinned. This was more along the lines of what he needed. He took a step forward.<\/p>\n

Remy darted between them and put his hands up. \u201cThat\u2019s it. Game\u2019s over. We\u2019re done here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen who wins the game?\u201d another man asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe win the game,\u201d one of the men on Shel\u2019s team said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour big man fouled intentionally,\u201d Melendez said. \u201cThat\u2019s a forfeit in my book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood thing you ain\u2019t keepin\u2019 the book,\u201d Greene said. He never broke eye contact with Shel. \u201cIs that how you gonna call it, dawg? Gonna curl up like a little girl and cry? Or are you gonna man up and play ball?\u201d<\/p>\n

Remy turned to face the heckler. \u201cBack off, clown. You don\u2019t even know the trouble you\u2019re trying to buy into.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greene was faster than Shel expected even after playing against the man. Before Remy could raise his hands to defend himself, Greene hit him in the face.<\/p>\n

Driven by the blow, Remy staggered backward.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2008 by Mel Odom. All rights reserved<\/p><\/div>\n

MY REVIEW:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blood Lines<\/a> is one of those books that can keep you up at night – first because you can’t put it down and second because it reminds you of the evil that might be lurking just out of sight. The plot of Blood Lines<\/a> is masterfully woven\u00a0 with interconnecting secrets and relationships both from the path and the present coming to light at just the right moments. It is a story of how events of one night an affect a man’s entire life and shape his entire family’s future. It is also a story of how God’s grace and redemption can restore what has been lost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is time to play a Wild Card! Every now and then, a book that I have chosen to read is going to pop up as a FIRST Wild Card Tour. Get dealt into the game! (Just click the button!) Wild Card Tours feature an author and his\/her book’s FIRST chapter! You never know when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=971"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":984,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/971\/revisions\/984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.daysongreflections.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}