Excerpt: 'Off the Grid' by Cassandra Carr

Cassandra Carr joins HEA to share an excerpt from Off the Grid, the first part of her new Underground serial, which kicked off this month. The other two stories out this month: Creating Slapshot (out now) and Initiation by Fire (out today). Off the Grid is free for now.

What the Underground series is about:

Follow this 10-part serial throughout 2015 featuring Ethan, aka Slapshot, a hockey player whose life is ruined, forcing him to disappear forever. Ethan joins Underground, a black ops organization and is trained as a deadly operative. There, he meets Ciana, a woman with a dark past of her own. As Ethan and his Underground colleagues embark on dangerous missions worldwide, he finds a new purpose in life. But will his former problems come back to haunt him?

About Off the Grid, part one:

The seemingly impossible has happened. The unthinkable. Those I trusted most have betrayed me. I'm a hockey player, and gave control of my finances to my parents so I could concentrate on my game. Big mistake. They stole from me, bankrupted me, in fact. And then someone came looking for money I don't have and I did something terrible that will haunt me forever. After that, I took off with no thought about where I'd go or what I'd do.

But a secret organization found me and offered a new start, a salvation. I would no longer be a hockey player, I wouldn't even be an actual person. Doing this would require me to go totally off the grid. I'd be a shadow, fighting crime with a group that's underground, literally. Do I want that life?

If I went back, what kind of life would I have? Probably one in prison orange. The choice to join Underground is painful, but necessary. As my hockey coach always said, though, pain is weakness leaving the body. I will not be powerless ever again.

Cassandra sets up the excerpt from Off the Grid …

Cassandra: Ethan has faced the ultimate betrayal, by his own parents. They lied to him and had stolen all his money. After a terrible tragedy, Ethan flees, and Underground finds him. Knowing he has few options, he agrees to see what the facility and operations were all about.

EXCERPT

In many ways, though he had no clue what might lie ahead, Ethan felt a weight lifting from his shoulders. When he'd left Carolina he hadn't exactly had a plan, except to get away. He had no idea how a person went looking for work off-the-books. Ethan couldn't very well go into any place where he'd have to give his name or social security number to get a job. No way. So maybe working for Underground was his best option. He shivered.

Hours later, they entered Miami and Andre exited the Interstate before taking them on a winding route to a small bodega. After parking in a garage around the back, he and Maline hopped out, with Ethan trailing. Andre typed in a code on a keypad before a door inside the garage opened. He turned to the right immediately and punched in another code, and that door released.

A dark staircase awaited. Maline had mentioned three floors, but Ethan couldn't quite picture it. No windows at all? No sunlight, ever, unless they left the premises? As they descended to the first level, the air grew cooler, and Ethan regretted not bringing a jacket or sweatshirt from the van. But the temperature outside in late afternoon sat at about seventy-seven degrees and he hadn't seen a need.

Andre now used a fingerprint reader and retina scanner to get a third door to open and, as soon as it did, the noise, almost familiar in its pitches and tones, swept over Ethan. The buzz of computers and other equipment soothed his frazzled nerves, as it reminded him of the sights and sounds of the arena. A pang of pain, or regret, or some other emotion he couldn't even name made his breath catch, but he forced himself under control. This is not the time to wax nostalgic.

A couple of people stood by the computer area, while a few others huddled around a workstation of some sort.

Maline led him into an office while Andre peeled off and approached the guy sitting at the bank of computer monitors. "Welcome to Underground. Have a seat."

The door shut behind him, a strangely ominous sound, and then the room was silent. Absolutely silent. Soundproof walls. Interesting.

"Thanks," he answered, and sank into one of two buttery-soft leather guest chairs. They reminded him of the uber-comfy furniture in his house. Probably repossessed soon if they don't need it for evidence.

Maline sat in a chair on the other side of the desk and then moved a monitor that Ethan could now see was doing some kind of furious calculations to the side so she could see Ethan. Did everyone use computers around here? If so, that could be a problem. Ethan had gone to college and he wasn't dumb, but his recent experience with computers primarily consisted of playing games and surfing the internet.

"So, Ethan, we've got a lot to discuss."

He took a deep, shaky breath. What have I gotten myself into?

Find out more about Cassandra and her books at www.booksbycassandracarr.com.