BOOK 1 of the TEST series
"Her heart raced, sweat pouring down her face. Just a little further. The door came into view and with one last effort, she threw herself in. Ailin's eyes snapped open, her mind still in the dream. She looked around wildly, scanning for threats. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, squinting under the harsh lights. Tiny black dots danced around over her vision, blinding her even further. She tried to move, but found she couldn't. Something was restraining her. She lay, soaked with sweat in a pale grey room. Several minutes past until her eyes adjusted and her heart calmed. Exhausted with her struggle, looked around, trying to remember how she got here. She looked down at what she was strapped to. It was a tan surgical chair, next to it were implements straight out of a science fiction movie. Nearby, a monitor beeped steadily in sync with her heartbeat. The walls were bare, save a small screen above her head. There were no doors and no windows. She racked her brain for why she was there, and for how long. She found she couldn't remember either. She couldn't remember anything. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small buzz. The screen above her flickered to life, filling the room with a dim purple glow. Her eyes widened as the screen spelled out the words, "This is a Test".
A ragtag gang of teens teams up with a neighboring girl gang when a major cartel moves into town, threatening their families, their turf, and the community they've worked so hard to protect.
*****
Cash West formed the Seven 20s - a gang of six overzealous teens with guns - to keep his tiny, crime-infested town in nowhere California safe. His methods are unorthodox and frankly illegal, but the town loves his Robin Hood heroics. However, the gang gets more than they bargained for when the Mendoza cartel rolls into town, determined to knock them off the map. As the threat hits closer to home, Cash has no choice but to team up with his ex-girlfriend Tiana's neighboring girl gang, the Hearts of Spades. Soon allies become enemies, families get trapped in the crossfire, and romance brews as Cash fights to unravel a massive conspiracy that puts everyone that matters to him at risk. When the stakes are life and death, will the gangs be able to overcome an enemy more powerful than any of them could have predicted?
Book One of The Seven Twenties Series
Content and Trigger Warning: contains violence, drug use, mentions of domestic abuse, and mature themes.