The Sleepless Stars
THE SLEEPLESS STARS
Fatal Insomnia Book #3
CJ Lyons
Praise for New York Times Bestseller CJ Lyons:
“Everything a great thriller should be—action packed, authentic, and intense.” ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child
“A compelling new voice in thriller writing…I love how the characters come alive on every page.” ~
New York Times
bestselling author Jeffery Deaver
“Top Pick! A fascinating and intense thriller.” ~ RT Book Reviews
“An intense, emotional thriller…(that) climbs to the edge of intensity.” ~National Examiner
“A perfect blend of romance and suspense. My kind of read.” ~#
1 New York Times
Bestselling author Sandra Brown
“Highly engaging characters, heart-stopping scenes…one great rollercoaster ride that will not be stopping anytime soon.” ~Bookreporter.com
“
Adrenalin pumping.” ~The Mystery Gazette
“Riveting.” ~Publishers Weekly Beyond Her Book
Lyons “is a master within the genre.” ~Pittsburgh Magazine
“Will leave you breathless and begging for more.” ~Romance Novel TV
“A great fast-paced read….Not to be missed.” ~Book Addict
“
Breathtakingly fast-paced.” ~Publishers Weekly
“Simply superb…riveting drama…a perfect ten.” ~Romance Reviews Today
“Characters with beating hearts and three dimensions.” ~Newsday
“A pulse-pounding adrenalin rush!” ~Lisa Gardner
“Packed with adrenalin.” ~David Morrell
“…Harrowing, emotional, action-packed and brilliantly realized.” ~Susan Wiggs
“Explodes on the page…I absolutely could not put it down.” ~Romance Readers’ Connection
CJ Lyons and Thrillers with Heart are registered trademarks of CJ Lyons, LLC
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems-except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews-without permission in writing from its publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2016, CJ Lyons, LLC
Edgy Reads
Cover Images: NASA/ESA/Hubble
Library of Congress Case # 1-3490426461
THE SLEEPLESS STARS
CJ LYONS
Welcome to the finale of the Fatal Insomnia Medical Thriler trilogy. The adventure starts in
FAREWELL TO DREAMS
, followed by
A RAGING DAWN
, and finishes in Book #3,
THE SLEEPLESS STARS
.
To be the first to hear about my next book, be sure to sign up for my
Thrillers with Heart
newsletter. You’ll also receive a
FREE
copy of the first in the Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller series, SNAKE SKIN.
Happy reading!
CJ
“We are born in debt, owing the world a death.”
~David J. Morris
Prologue
MY NAME IS
Angela Rossi, and this is the story of how I die...
I once was a doctor, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a lover... Now I’m a fugitive, hiding from an enemy targeting everyone I hold dear.
This is a story of good and evil, of temptation and betrayal, of love and obsession.
I’m dying and alone, exiled from the people I love most, and this is the story of how I save the world.
At least I hope so.
Because, if I fail, you may be next...
A TIGER RAGED
inside Devon Price. Claws shredding, teeth gnashing, fighting to tear its way out. He desperately wanted to set it free, to give life to his fury and pain as he paced the makeshift dormitory twenty-one children now occupied, trapped below the streets of the city, their families gathered at their bedsides.
As Devon stalked the crowded space the size of a basketball court—best they could do on such short notice with only a few hours’ warning to evacuate and hide twenty-one families from their enemies on the streets above—he tuned out the muffled weeping and anguished, hushed conversations echoing from the concrete walls.
The tunnels stank of damp and disuse. The constant gurgle of water streaming through the pipes overhead combined with the grumble of the air circulators to grate nerves raw, and the bunks and linens were military surplus, not designed for comfort. Yet, no one complained, not about their new accommodations in an underground bunker built to be the last resort in case of a nuclear emergency nor about being driven from their homes aboveground on Christmas Eve.
These families, all residents of the Kingston Tower, had spent their lives at the whim and mercy of gang wars, random and often conflicting government imperatives, and the hopeless grind that came with working as many hours as humanly possible and still being unable to provide for your family. Bunker mentality came naturally.
Devon himself had escaped the Tower a decade ago, fleeing to Philadelphia, where he’d clawed his way up the ranks of the Russian mob—a seemingly impossible feat for a mixed-race gangbanger, but he’d eventually earned their trust if not their respect. Last month he’d left Philly to return home to the daughter he’d never met...only to now be fighting to save her from a disease so rare most doctors had never heard of it.
This was not how his life was meant to be. Devon took care of himself, no one else. He was damn good at it—a trait inherited from his father, Daniel Kingston, even though Daniel had never acknowledged his bastard son.
Devon came to a stop at the bed in the far corner of the room. The one he’d been avoiding—despite wanting nothing more than to throw himself on the small form swaddled in sweat-stained sheets and cradle her in his arms, promise her everything would be all right, that her daddy would fix everything. Empty words from a man emptied of hope.
The overweight Labrador retriever nestled on top of Esme’s covers looked up at Devon with mournful eyes.
“It’ll be okay, boy,” Devon promised the dog, Ozzie. More lies.
He looked down on the girl twitching in her fever-sleep. The nighttime low-level illumination shadowed her face in shades of red. Devon couldn’t help himself as he crouched beside her and soothed her hair back from her brow. He caressed her cheekbones—so much like her mother’s. Another loved one he’d failed.
This was what love did. Made you weak, exposed, left you vulnerable in places you didn’t even know existed.
“Esme,” he whispered her name like a prayer. Her body calmed, her face relaxed. He couldn’t help himself, couldn’t stop from promising the impossible. “I’m going to get them, the men behind this. I’m going to make them give me the cure. I’m going to save you. I promise. Whatever it takes.”
Then he stood, finishing his vow in silence:
And then I’m going to shred the flesh from their bodies as they scream for mercy.
His fists clenched so tight his palms grew slick. He forced his hands open, surprised to find only sweat and that they weren’t already stained with blood.
“Devon?” It was Flynn, beckoning him to the door. He joined her outside in the empty hallway where they could speak in private. She was dressed all in black, down to the formfitting lambskin gloves that covered her scarred hands. Her dark complexion made it difficult to see where the clothing ended and her flesh began.
“Where do we stand?” he asked, the weight of responsibility settling on him. Twenty-one children and their families to protect against an unknown force with massive resources. Fifty-four people total, most of them women, many elderly, caring for their grandchildren, the generation in between lost to drugs, prison, or worse. Their only advantage was this tunnel complex, and he intended to defend it with everything he had.
“I’ve added extra cameras at all the entrances. You can view the feeds on your phone. I selected a group of parents to monitor them on rotating shifts—they’ll alert you if they see anything suspicious.”
He nodded his approval. Who better to trust with their security than a girl tasked to circumvent the most sophisticated surveillance systems? Thanks to his father, Daniel Kingston, who had trained Flynn in the ways of corporate espionage.
Funny how every person Daniel touched became corrupted: Flynn was still a teenager, her youth twisted by Daniel as he forged her into the perfect weapon; Daniel’s son and Devon’s half-brother, Leo, a brilliant chemist turned sadistic serial killer; and Devon himself...