Protection For Hire

Protection For Hire

Creator: Camy Tang

Characters

Tessa Lancaster

Charles Britton

Ichiro

Uncle Teruo Ota

Wayne Lancaster

Paisley Kingsley

Evangeline

Alicia Kingsley

Eddie Britton

Elizabeth St. Amant

Karissa Hoshiwara

Nezuyabu (Nez or Nezumi)

Kenta

Ayumi Ota Lancaster

           

            Tessa Lancaster’s dark hair hangs halfway down her back, and twisted into a French knot.  Her eyes are dark brown with flecks of green. She has long dark eyelashes, soft lips, full and pink. Half Japanese, her father left them when she was ten years old. At age 16 she became an enforcer for her yakuza mob boss uncle, Teruo Ota. She was trained in mixed martial arts, Muay Thai & Brazilian jiu jitsu, no holds barred street fighting, and tae kwan do. When her uncle’s son kills his girlfriend, Tessa takes the blame to protect her uncle from the authorities investigation, and is sent to prison for seven years. Her cellmate brings her to a saving knowledge of Jesus, and she becomes a Christian. Upon release from prison she refuses to return to the service of the yakuza and her uncle’s employ, yet she still loves him as the father she didn’t have.

            As an ex-con she’s having a hard time finding employment, however, and volunteers at Wings Shelter for abused women. It’s here that she meets her first client, and becomes a bodyguard to protect her against an abusive husband.

            Charles Britton was the young court clerk who investigated Tessa during her murder trial, and because of her criminal background encouraged the judge to add two years to her sentence. But now, after meeting her again, and seeing the change in her, he slowly falls in love with the woman he sent to prison.

            Elizabeth St. Amant is from a rich and powerful New Orleans family. She married a young man against her family’s wishes, only to discover he was cruel and abusive. After they moved to San Francisco, he began beating her, and when he struck their son she left him in fear. Ending up at Wings Shelter she meets Tessa and hires her as a bodyguard, then hires Charles Britton, a young lawyer to get her inheritance back from her husband, setting the stage for her possible murder if Tessa cannot protect her.

            Wayne Lancaster is never seen, but may still be around. Tessa doesn’t know why her father suddenly left, and has mixed feelings about him. He is a mix of English, Scottish, and Italian, we’re told. He married the San Francisco yakuza mob boss’s sister, Ayumi Ota, and they had two daughters, Tessa and her older sister, Alisa Lancaster Kingsley. Alisa and her daughter Paisley are separated from her husband.

            Evangeline was Tessa’s cellmate, and responsible for bringing her to Christ. She now works at Wings Shelter, and talked Tessa into volunteering at the shelter while she looks for regular work.

            Ichiro (or Ichy) is Tessa’s cousin, and fellow yakuza soldier in her uncle’s mob. He’s afraid she’ll beat him up if he doesn’t help her.

            Kenta is a captain in her uncle’s mob, and was once her boyfriend. He’s still there for her, should she ever need him. But being high in the ranks of the mob, he would have to pick someone else to marry, regardless of his feelings for Tessa.

            Eddie Britton is Charles’ younger brother. A sportsman, he also wants Tessa to train him for MMA bouts.

            Nez runs one of Uncle Ota’s restaurants, and a close friend of her uncle.

            Karissa Hoshiwara is the daughter of a café owner, and helps out Tessa.

            Uncle Teruo Ota is the San Francisco yakuza boss. Although he is involved in many criminal activities, he loves his extended family, and thinks of Tessa as his own daughter, instead of granddaughter.

            This is a great new series. Tessa must go up against bad guys and trained assassins, and her martial arts skills are put to the tests. Although she doesn’t work out of an office yet, her Protection For Hire brings her up against criminals the FBI has not been able to touch, and some may even connect indirectly to her own yakuza background. As a Christian, she doesn’t wish to kill, but she can use guns, knives, and her hands in deadly earnest to protect her clients. The reader wont find sex and profanity here, but you will find a good story and plenty of action. It shows that vulgar writing is not needed to tell a good pulp yarn. There have only been two stories so far, but a third is almost completed.

“Protection For Hire” Zondervan Publishing

“A Dangerous Stage” Zondervan Publishing