Jack This Heart by Landra Graf
Book 2 in the Full Throttle Cyborgs series
General Release Date: 8th November 2022
Word Count: 58,323 Book Length: NOVEL Pages: 235
GENRES:
ACTION AND ADVENTURE ENEMIES TO LOVERS EROTIC ROMANCE FUTURISTIC AND SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE SCIENCE FICTION
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Book Description
Love like you stole it.Jack Renfro lost his leg in a racing accident ten years ago. The cybernetic replacement he received from the moon techies has increased his strength, stamina and fortitude, making him prime for racing. But the racing dome doctor says Jack’s implants are poisoning his blood and his body. If he doesn’t get them fixed, racing will be the least of his worries.
Enter moon tech Shannon Moore, a survivor of the Humans First Terrorist cell purge. She’s known for her cybernetic work, but finds most racers and their philosophies disgusting. Especially since she was born on Mars and is spying on behalf of the Macintosh gang to pay off her betting debts.
Too bad close quarters make Shannon realize that she and Jack have a connection far deeper than simply saving Jack’s life, and his Full Throttle partners are supporting a town, not tearing it apart. When Shannon’s secret unravels, will the newfound relationship she and Jack have survive?
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of drug use, violence, and torture.
Excerpt
The rush of the wind, the scent of iron-rich dirt in the air, and the vibration tingling the pads of his fingertips—Jack Renfro had missed all these things. Add in the way his cyborg foot could put the pedal to the metal, and sitting behind the wheel of the new Full Throttle racer was the comeback he’d been waiting for.
They’d rebuilt the racer in less than a month after the explosion…the damn explosion that had taken appendages from his fellow driver, Hemi. An explosion with a victim, but no guilty party located.
Bastards.
Jack gritted his teeth as he slowly turned the wheel coming out of turn two on the track, loving the feel of the ground under the tires. This racer handled like a dream, and while he despised the circumstances that got him behind the wheel again, he couldn’t deny the immense pleasure coursing through his veins.
The test drive today was all about his control of the speed, the angles. They’d upgrade to running against obstacles in the next couple days. But if he passed this handling portion, he’d ask if he could trigger the NiteOx, or nitrous oxide in scientific terms. The liquid mixture ignited with the Marsanium sludge to create a faster burning fuel mix, which would allow him to speed up even more on the track. That same chemical compound had ruined his future, but circumstances were different now. Full Throttle had an engineer and mechanics team light-years past the competition his old gang, the Smiths, had supplied.
Dust or bust.
This had been Jack’s life prior to the accident. He’d been the top racer for the Smith gang-town. Then there had been the explosion from a new test engine—he’d lost his leg and his shot at a championship. He’d been lost for a bit after the crash, unsure of his future and whether life was worth living. The cybernetic test had given him another chance. No way would he screw it up.
Not this time.
No, he’d get this baby up to speed and past those barriers holding both him and the racer back. Even now, coming out of turn three, the racer was the perfect balance of tight and loose.
“Gina, you and Snapper really worked a miracle on this one. I’m about to hit top-out speeds. On the next straightaway, am I clear to trigger?” The moment of truth—he waited it out. The buzz in his ears was a mixture of the background static in his helmet communicator and the stupid hum of the engine roar as he started to come out of the last turn.
“If you feel she’s ready, you’re a go.” Snapper’s response came through with confidence in his tone.
The trust Jack picked up surged through him. They were leaving this in his hands, and damn it if he wouldn’t make them proud. For once in his life, he’d finally exceed beyond where he’d come from. He’d be more than the son of the town addict and her lovelorn sucker of a husband.
The shining metal of his cyborg foot glimmered as the sun’s rays reflected off it, the pressure on the gas pedal lessening. A sharp pain jolted into his right hip and Jack did his best not to jerk the wheel, especially when the pain spread. He had to release his hold on the pedal entirely.
The racer began to reduce in speed. No more wind. No more blur of the stands. No more testing.
“Jack, what the hell is happening out there?”
He could hear Snapper’s question echo, along with Gina’s repeated concerns in the background. But all he could get out in response was, “Help. It hurts.”
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