Collateral

In a world where loyalty is a line item and lives are written off as losses, one mistake can cost everything.When ambitious young accountant Chris James is framed for theft by his jealous boss, his career implodes overnight. Fired in disgrace, convicted on falsified evidence and sent to prison, he loses his home, his reputation and the family he loves. By the time he walks out, he is penniless, broken and still branded a thief.What Chris never knew is that his boss, a drunken, addictive gambler drowning in debt to a brutal crime syndicate, has already taken the coward's way out. Under threat from the mob, he chooses suicide over repayment, leaving his enemies hungry for blood and money. They turn their sights on the only target left: Chris.Unable to pay what he never stole, Chris is hunted down and silenced in a vicious killing.. But death does not bury the truth. After his friends fight to clear his name, a court finally recognises Chris's innocence and awards his widow a life-changing compensation payout. For the mob, it is the perfect opportunity—collateral they believe belongs to them.Now a young mother with a baby daughter, she finds herself the focus of relentless threats and escalating violence as the gang closes in. Desperate and running out of time, she turns to the only people willing to stand between her and the men who murdered her husband.Detectives Thomas and Grey are drawn into a case that begins with financial fraud and spirals into a war with a ruthless criminal network. As they peel back layers of corruption, addiction and betrayal, they must identify the hidden killer, dismantle the gang's operations and protect a family marked for death—before the past claims another victim.Collateral is Book Seven in the Thomas & Grey detective series: a gritty, unflinching thriller about what happens when one man's ruin becomes another man's leverage.