Ex-con David Marion, last seen in Brody's Bleedout, must disappear after an explosive encounter with a hit man. David's efforts to discover who is trying to kill him eventually lead him back into the arms of Helen Freyl, friend and lover. Mourning David and intrigued by increasingly outrageous and mysterious offers to purchase the unique strain of venom created by the bees on her farm, Helen accepts a fellowship working for the Follaton Medical Foundation. In London, she joins a team on the verge of developing a cure for radiation poisoning.
But when her colleagues at the foundation begin to die, Helen starts to suspect the organization's purpose and motive. When she realizes her life is in danger, she looks for help and finds it in David. Together they fight for their lives against a background of corruption, corporate greed, and industrial espionage that has led to human tragedy.
Fans of Bleedout will be drawn in by the continued intrigue surrounding David Marion and the Freyl family. This international thriller takes readers from the suburbs of Illinois to the radiation-poisoned land of Belarus, with stops in Alabama and London. The tension slowly builds as Brady reveals the players in this game of corporate chess and what they're willing to do to win.
Physicist Helen Freyl owns a colony of bees with unique
venom given to her as a childhood present. When her lover
dies she accepts a job offer from a giant pharmaceutical
company who are close to finding a cure for radiation
poisoning. But when the mysteriously sudden death of a
colleague is followed by another, Helen begins to doubt her
employerβs motives and realises that her own life is in
danger too.
Recently released from prison, David Marion doesnβt expect
to find a hitman at his door. Their meeting is lethal β for
the hitman! Warned that a secret organisation is after him,
David disappears β presumed dead - until the moment comes
for him to strike back.
As their worlds collide, David and Helen are reunited as
they fight for survival against a backdrop of industrial
espionage, corporate greed and human tragedy. Will they win
through, or will the combined force of two multinational
companies bent on securing the precious Venom prove too
much. An exhilarating tour de force, Venom is a gripping
novel that leaves you desperate for more.
EXCERPT
Chapter 1 SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS
'David?β
βYes.β
βYou know who this is?β
βYes.β
βYouβre alone?β
βYes.β
βGet out. Now.β
There was a slight pause. David looked into the living
room. The pale cotton curtains were closed across the
patio doors; a light wind billowed them out towards him.
βHow many guys are there?β
βOne.β
βWho?β
βHeβs a professional, David.β
βSize? Build?β
βFor Godβs sake, what does it matter? Just get out. Right
now.β
David Marion snapped his mobile shut. When it had rung,
heβd been in the kitchen of his house, folding sheets with
the military precision that comes from years as a convicted
man in a prison laundry. His cupboards showed the same
influence: a couple of cans each of peaches, Heinz
spaghetti, baked beans, spam, an aerosol of Reddi-wip. He
shook out a pillowcase, tossed this whole store into it β
except for the Reddi-wip β carried it to the entrance
hall, set it beside the door and went back to the living
room.
It was the end of March, an unexpectedly warm night in the
Midwest; people had windows open all along the close where
he lived. He shut the patio doors behind his curtains.
Then he turned on the TV, lit a cigarette and sat down to
wait.
But David was hardly a man at ease watching a
TV quiz; he still had the Reddi-wip clutched in his hand
when he heard a gentle knock. He balanced his cigarette on
the edge of the ashtray and went into the entrance hall.
βWhat do you want?β he said irritably through the front door.
βIβm really sorry to disturb youβ β the voice was
frightened, wavery, old β βbut I saw your light. My wifeββ
βIβm busy.β
βI got to get her to emergency. You got to help me.β
βCall an ambulance.β
βOh, come on, mister. Please help us. Please.β
David sighed, more irritably than before. βGive me a
minute.β He turned the key in the lock and leaned against
the door while he slid back the bolt. The abrupt pressure
from the other side was all he needed to know. He yanked
the door open...
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