Publisher's Synopsis
LEGEND OF THE SOUTHSIDE AND THE RED-EYE-MONKEY: is a relentless, high-octane urban saga that explodes with action, heart, betrayal, and the unstoppable power of redemption. In the heart of South Columbus, where loyalty is currency and survival is earned in blood, one man must rise above the chaos to protect his family, his legacy-and a genetically gifted monkey that could change the course of history.
Javon "J-Red" Carter has worn the crown of the streets since he was sixteen, building the Red Gang from corner hustlers into one of Columbus's most feared and respected criminal families. But the weight of leadership is heavy, and enemies come from every direction: rival gangs, undercover DEA agents, dirty cops, international mobs-and even betrayal from within.
When a drug war with the Hilltop Hustlers explodes, J-Red's crew is ambushed, and the streets run red. But what seems like a turf war soon spirals into something far more dangerous. Keisha, the mother of two of J-Redd's sons, reveals a secret that turns the game on its head: Rambo, a red-eyed monkey gifted to her by her estranged father Big Ron, is no ordinary pet-he's an escaped experiment with a photographic memory, expert-level combat instincts, and the ability to communicate through sign language with J-Redd's twin sons, Mansa and Musa.
The Triads want Rambo back. So does Zhang, a merciless Chinese mob lieutenant with a secret weapon of his own: the Zodiac Killers Gang, twelve ruthless assassins each named and trained after their star sign-from the brutal Aries to the cerebral Virgo, the seductive Scorpio, and the psychotic Gemini twins. Their mission: kill everyone who stands between them and the monkey.
Meanwhile, the alphabet boys-DEA, CIA, and FBI-have zeroed in on Columbus as ground zero for a massive sting operation. They don't just want J-Redd-they want Zhang, the Triads, the ZKG, and, most importantly, the red-eyed monkey rumored to hold the gene code for a new kind of super soldier.
What started as street beef erupts into all-out urban warfare, a multi-front showdown that pushes J-Redd to the edge. The safe house is compromised. Feds storm the hideouts. The Zodiac killers strike without warning. And Rambo? He takes a bullet to the head during a last-ditch escape-only to survive thanks to a titanium plate no one knew he had.
In a final act of brotherhood, D-Lo risks everything to save Rambo, vanishing into the night with the wounded simian, while Big Ron delivers a miracle: a private jet, four duffel bags of cash, fake passports, and a plan to get J-Red, Keisha, and their blended family to Africa. There, on the coast of the Serengeti, J-Red's great-great-great-great grandfather left behind a village-and a legacy untouched by slavery.
But just as they take off, Zhang emerges from the shadows, bloodied and unbroken. One of the ZKG shooters planted a tracker on J-Red, and now Zhang knows where they're headed. The battle may have left Columbus, but the war is far from over.
