Drawing Dead – Andrew Vachss (2016)

The man known only as Cross and his skilled team of urban mercenaries are back (Blackjack, Urban Renewal), but this time they are on the defensive as they receive a series of cryptic messages. The question is, are they being warned-or hunted? Chicago-the reigning number-one city in homicides-has no shortage of deadly gangs. They all know the Cross Crew occupies a cinderblock bunker called Red 71, and it’s the last place you’ll ever want to go, unless you’re willing to risk it being the last place you do go. The Crew is notorious for its deadly efficiency and its disinterest in anything but money. Why, then, would anyone be foolhardy enough to threaten them-and more importantly-their loved ones? As Cross catches the scent of a far-reaching conspiracy in the making, he realizes that it all connects to an unexplained event from the past, a massacre in which he emerged inexplicably unscathed, except for the blue mark on his face that pulses when danger is near. And if he’s reading the signs right, he might find himself again facing a terrible danger that is not altogether human.