The Long Road (ePub)

The year is 1984. Carl is a teenager in a Chicago suburb. He's lived in the same neighborhood his entire life. He has turned to a life of petty crime to help his parents pay the bills. He goes to parties with friends. He has a girlfriend with a wild streak. And he only has one adult he really trusts, the owner of a local mechanic's shop, Slim. After being talked into breaking into a hotel and stealing a briefcase, his friend is shot, and Carl finds himself traveling down an unfamiliar path. He turns to Slim, who has a side business stripping stolen cars and shipping parts out all over the country. To help save Carl's life, Slim sends Carl and his acquaintance Rick on a delivery out of town.

As the two travel, they come across bikers who have deep secrets hidden in their hideout, a group of mysterious men acting as guards, mercenaries, rich folks having an elegant party, a group of terrorists, and a girl who doesn't quite fit in. And who is the pale, blond man from the hotel where the failed theft took place. And what does he have in common with Rick?

Having rarely left the safe confines of his Chicago neighborhood, Carl is tasked with abandoning the delivery and going into hiding for the rest of his life... or seeing the delivery through to the end. Will he complete it successfully? Will the leader of an organized crime outfit catch up to him? Or will things that go bump in the night end his terrifying journey before he can get back home to his family?