Lone Wolf, page 36
It presaged a conflict of the worst kind. Maybe even a war.
It took a moment for his hand to obey him and move to open the email.
There it was in black-and-white.
Thomas J. Stojack.
Acknowledgments
Great thanks to:
Jim Keller, my favorite stunt pilot, who happens to be the world’s most wondrous computer chip designer. He and Bonnie also make okay kids.
Van Lai, for sharing with me the texture of her own background so I could in turn share it with Melinda.
Al Gough and Miles Millar, who planted the seed of an idea for Melinda’s past.
Luis Urrea, for providing me with ongoing insight as well as unimprovable cursing-in-Spanish lessons.
John Rogers, who lent Joey (a version of) his motto: “The future is cool. Don’t let anyone frighten you into thinking otherwise.”
Michael “Borski” Borohovski, for continuing to supercharge Joey’s brain in ways I cannot.
Kurata Tadashi, for providing Evan a brilliant, meticulous continuing education in weapons and tactics.
Dr. Melissa Hurwitz and Dr. Bret Nelson, for helping me inflict injuries in violation of the Hippocratic oath. And yes, for sometimes helping me treat said injuries as well.
Philip Eisner, for his friendship and delightfully dark imagination.
Terry McGarry, for bringing Second Commandment–level copyediting expertise.
Lisa Erbach Vance of the Aaron Priest Agency, CEO of Orphan X.
Stephen F. Breimer, my lawyer of nearly three decades, and Keith Kahla, my editor for fifteen books. Gentlemen, you’ve given me so much.
Angela Cheng Caplan of Cheng Caplan Company, my manager who has expanded my creative scope in ways delightful and surprising.
Caspian Dennis and Rowland White, for overseeing Transatlantic operations.
Andrew Martin, Sally Richardson, Jennifer Enderlin, Kelley Ragland, Martin Quinn, Hector DeJean, Paul Hochman, Grace Gay, and the sales team of Minotaur Books, for making me the beneficiary of more hard work and creative talent than I can enumerate.
Louise Moore, Mubarak Elmubarak, Jennifer Harlow, Ciara Berry, Christina Ellicott, Anna Curvis, and the sales team of Michael Joseph / Penguin Group UK, for making me feel as at home in the UK as I do in America.
My parents, Alfred and Marjorie, who poured the foundation beneath me and gave me the tools to build upon it.
Zuma and Nala, my glorious Rhodesian ridgebacks, endless feedback loops of positive emotion, and perennial providers of oxytocin.
Natalie Corinne, for ever bending to the light.
And Delinah Raya, for being the light to which I bend.
Also by Gregg Hurwitz
THE ORPHAN X NOVELS
Orphan X
The Nowhere Man
Hellbent
Out of the Dark
Into the Fire
Prodigal Son
Dark Horse
The Last Orphan
OTHER NOVELS
The Tower
Minutes to Burn
Do No Harm
The Kill Clause
The Program
Troubleshooter
Last Shot
The Crime Writer
Trust No One
They’re Watching
You’re Next
The Survivor
Tell No Lies
Don’t Look Back
YOUNG ADULT NOVELS
The Rains
Last Chance
About the Author
GREGG HURWITZ is the #1 New York Times international bestselling author of many thrillers, including the Orphan X series. His novels have won numerous literary awards and been published in thirty-three languages, and he’s written screenplays and scripts for many of the major studios and television networks. Gregg currently serves as a copresident of International Thriller Writers (ITW). He lives with his Rhodesian ridgebacks in Los Angeles, where he continues to play soccer, frequently injuring himself. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraphs
Prologue
1. Pale Nothingness
2. Same Old, Same Old
3. A Once-Brutal Man
4. The Kentucky Fried Fuck
5. Loco
6. An Elegant Picture of Accidental Death
7. Orphan X and the Case of the Missing Dog
8. Laughing
9. The Man Himself
10. Lupine Menace
11. A Stolid Kind of Wisdom
12. An Odd Bit of Black Magic
13. Rough Treatment
14. Desecrated
15. Human Matter
16. The Wrath of God
17. Green-Screen Hero
18. Back to Lethal
19. Howdy, Officers
20. The Roiling Midst
21. Checkmate
22. Nowhere to Go
23. As Good Once as He Ever Was
24. A Nightmare of His Worst Imagining
25. Too Tired
26. The Space-Time Shit-Talking Continuum
27. Duh
28. No Voice
29. The Full Bezos
30. Bad Things for Good Reasons
31. A First-Rate Mind-Fucker
32. Unsafe Ground
33. None of Your Business
34. Home, Sweet Home
35. Stone-Cold Savant
36. Weapons of Mass Communication
37. Baby Hitler
38. Whateverthefuck
39. Wolf-Eat-Wolf
40. Permanent Damage
41. Vivid Reds and Charred Blacks
42. Any Violent Means Necessary
43. The Holding Pen
44. Objectively More Serious Shit
45. Help Burying a Body
46. That Fuckin’ Dog
47. Battle Within
48. The Permanent Hypnotic Drugging of the American Mind
49. The Second-Best Sniper Hide in the Kill Zone
50. Every Fucking Girl Bean Beetle Ever
51. A Window to Another Universe
52. The Waiting Nothingness
53. Cracking the Motherfucker
54. Nowhere Anyone Wants to Be
55. Psyops on Hugh
56. Skinlift
57. Removal of Troublesome Personnel
58. Dirt-Diving
59. A Trained Assassin Maneuvering with Ninja Dexterity
60. Shut Up and Hold Me
61. Shhh Shhh Shhh
62. Need No Praise
63. Vicarious Loneliness
64. A Place He Didn’t Belong
65. Together
Epilogue. No Please
Acknowledgments
Also by Gregg Hurwitz
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
LONE WOLF. Copyright © 2024 by Gregg Hurwitz. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
Cover art: sky © Dennis Fischer/Mauritius Images/Shutterstock.com; buildings © TierneyMJ/Shutterstock.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hurwitz, Gregg, author.
Title: Lone wolf / Gregg Hurwitz.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2024. | Series: Orphan X; 9
Identifiers: LCCN 2023036865 | ISBN 9781250871732 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250343277 (international, sold outside the U.S., subject to rights availability) | ISBN 9781250871718 (ebook)
Subjects: LCGFT: Thrillers (Fiction) | Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3558.U695 L66 2024 | DDC 813/.54—dc23/eng/20230830
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023036865
eISBN 9781250871718
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2024
First International Edition: 2024
Gregg Hurwitz, Lone Wolf
