Rendezvous

Swedish tennis star turned coach John Strand thought he had found paradise. At Brazil's exclusive Bonita Resort, he spends his days teaching tennis to the super-rich.

But the glittering facade hides a world of privilege and excess where John feels out of place. A friendship with a millionaire family—Julius, Mary, and their daughter Susan—reveals unexpected depths behind the wealth.

The perfect life unravels when armed gangsters invade the resort, plunging John into a fight for his life. Staring down the barrel of a gun, John learns the brutal truth: survival trumps everything.

"...and no shadow shall fall on you, my boy. We knew all along it was a long shot."

Another heavy silence on the line all the way to Virginia.

Without warning, tears began to well up in my chest, and I didn't know where they were coming from. I blinked hard, trying to hold them back. For the old man's sake, I wanted to keep it together.

"John?"

"Yes, sir..."

My voice carried, but just barely.