Forced Out: A Novel

THREE MEN, THREE SECRETS, ONE CHANCE AT REDEMPTION. Sarasota, Florida: Jack Barrett is down on his luck. Forced to retire from his job as a scout for the New York Yankees under a cloud of scandal, he's just barely getting by in a small Florida town when his daughter drags him to watch the local team play a home game. And that's when everything changes. On the field he spots a remarkable player, Mikey Clemant, a kid whose amazing natural skill on the field is counter-balanced by a terrible attitude and inconsistent play. In Clemant, Jack thinks he might have found his ticket back to the big time. But Clemant has no interest in Jack's big plan -- he insists he just wants to live out his days playing Single A ball, living the life of a loner on a team that's going nowhere. Jack won't be so easily deterred. Queens, New York: Johnny Bondano is the premier hitman for the Luchessi crime family. Ruthless but with a strict moral code, he is given instructions to find and kill the man who allegedly was behind the wheel during a hit-and-run accident that took the life of the grandson of a family underboss.He suspects the family isn't telling him everything that happened the night the little boy was killed, but to question his orders is tantamount to suicide.

As Jack, Mikey, and Johnny's destinies converge, loyalties will be tested and dreams will collide, with violent and unpredictable results. And on the green field of a small town baseball diamond, one man will have a last chance to find redemption.