Darrell Maloney

At last, the much awaited sequel to last year's blockbuster hit, "A Secret Life." Tony Hance was a good kid, two years out of high school and grappling with his future. He had a job, and while it wasn't glamorous, it paid his bills and kept him in shape. He had a loving family and great friends. The Vietnam War was finally over, and the country was more concerned with disco dancing than fighting wars. Life was good. But things sometimes change in a hurry, and one bad decision can sometimes destroy a future. Sharon was a looker who accepted Tony's advances a bit too quickly. A man with more experience might have seen that as a red flag. But Tony was still innocent and na ve to many of the ways of the world. He considered Sharon not as a threat, but as a lonely woman who wanted his company, and he was more than happy to oblige. It was over in a flash in a seedy motel room. A drunken Tony was attacked from behind by Sharon's partner and hit in the head. When it was over, Sharon and her partner both lay dead by Tony's hand. He panicked, and he ran. His brother Mark was the first to find him, at a military base just outside of Anchorage. The FBI was not far behind him. But as the authorities closed in on him, Tony was able to slip through their grasp. It was only temporary, he knew. But it bought him enough time to disappear into the Alaskan wilderness. Mark helped Tony get away, assuming his brother's identity when boarding a jet back to Seattle, and drawing the feds with him. Then the trail went cold. The FBI assumed Tony landed in Seattle and then disappeared into parts unknown. His family knew he was still in Alaska, but not exactly where. And Tony did his level best to disappear from everybody. Here, in "The Hunted," is Book 2 of the series.

In Book 1 of this series, "Final Dawn", we met Hannah and Mark. She was a brilliant scientist, working for a NASA contractor. He was a successful engineer and a bit of a cornball. Together they made the perfect pair. They were a young couple in love, and looking forward to a bright future. Everything changed the day Hannah found out the world was doomed. She discovered a meteorite headed for earth that would wipe out most of mankind. The United States government, led by a corrupt President more concerned with saving his cronies than his citizens, tried to silence her. When she was able to spread the word anyway, President Sanders did what politicians usually do. He lied. "Don't worry," he told his citizens. "We have a plan. We'll work with the Chinese. We'll send up a weapon with a powerful nuclear warhead, capable of diverting the meteorite onto another path." People around the world were conflicted. They desperately wanted to believe. No one wanted to die. But they knew they couldn't trust their governments. Some panicked. Some rioted. Some calmly accepted their fate. And some, like Mark and Hannah, continued their efforts to save themselves and the people they loved. A few days before impact, the mine they would call home for the next seven years was finally ready. Mark and Hannah gathered up family and friends and gave them shelter. It wasn't a tropical paradise, but it would keep them alive. "Final Dawn" ended when Saris 7 collided with the earth. Around the world, millions were dying. But deeply hidden in an old salt mine outside of Junction, Texas, these forty people would survive. Here, in "Hidden", is the story of their survival.