For Danny Carter, retired thief turned respectable businessman, sharing a normal life with his loving girlfriend seems like the ultimate score--until his former partner comes looking for him. A hardened killer fresh out of Stateville, his partner wants to kidnap the son of Danny's millionaire boss, and needs help to pull it off. Doing the job could cost Danny his career, his relationship, and his freedom; refusing could cost him his life. With all he loves on the line and nowhere to turn, Danny realizes his new life hinges on a terrible choice: How far will he go to protect his future from his past?

Marcus Sakey is an award-winning advertising writer. While researching The Blade Itself he shadowed homicide detectives, toured the morgue, and learned to pick a dead bolt in sixty seconds. Born in Flint, Michigan, he now lives in Chicago with his wife.