Guardian Down
A Luis Cortez Thriller
When the blast tore through the quiet streets of Austin, Air Force Pararescueman Luis Cortez lost more than his arm—he lost his wife and young son. The attack was meant for someone else. But the grief-stricken PJ, rebuilt with experimental bionics and driven by faith, loyalty, and vengeance, refuses to stay down.
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From the Texas Hill Country to cartel-ruled Veracruz, and into the shadow networks of the Chinese Triad, Luis uncovers a conspiracy that fuses blood money, stolen technology, and global power plays. With the help of his best friend, a retired Combat Controller, and a fractured alliance of law enforcement and intelligence operatives, Luis sets out to dismantle the empire responsible for his family’s deaths—piece by bloody piece.
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Guardian Down is more than a story of revenge. It’s a journey of resilience, brotherhood, and the cost of justice when the battlefield follows you home.
Why I Wrote Guardian Down
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I believe thrillers should do more than entertain—they should wrestle with the hard questions of right and wrong. Guardian Down is my way of exploring the moral weight carried by those who stand in the gap to protect what they love. Having served in uniform, I’ve seen how loyalty, sacrifice, and grief shape people long after the shooting stops. This story grew out of that reality: what it costs to hold the line, and what it means to keep faith when the world seems determined to break you.
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What I Hope It Accomplishes
I want readers to feel the rush of action and the grit of realism, but also the heartbeat beneath it—the struggle for redemption, the duty to defend, the choice to love in a broken world. If you finish this book with your pulse racing and a deeper reflection on what truly matters—brotherhood, justice, sacrifice—then I’ve accomplished what I set out to do.
Guardian Down is just the beginning of Luis Cortez’s story. Every novel in this series will dig deeper into its characters and their own will to protect what they hold dear—and I will never shy away from letting them be human in the process.