"Nonstop action at a machine gun pace. If you aren't reading Nick Petrie, now is the time to start."--C.J. Box Peter Ash tangles with dangerous enemies and terrifying technology in the newest thriller from bestselling author Nick Petrie. A man wanted by two governments, Peter Ash has found a simple, low-profile life in Milwaukee, living with his girlfriend June and renovating old buildings with his friend Lewis. Staying out of trouble is the key to preserving this fragile peace . . . but when Peter spots a suspicious armed man walking into a crowded market, he knows he can't stand by and do nothing. Peter does interrupt a crime, but it wasn't at all what he'd expected. The young gunman appeared to have one target and one mission--but when he escapes, and his victim vanishes before police arrive, it seems there is more to the encounter than meets the eye. Peter's hunch is proven correct when a powerful associate from his past appears with an interest in the crime, and an irresistible offer: if he and June solve this mystery, Peter's record will be scrubbed clean. While Peter and Lewis trace the gunman, reporter June digs into the victim of the incident, a man whose face rings a bell in her memory. As their parallel investigations draw together, they're thrust into the path of a ruthless tech thief, an eerily cheerful assassin, a brilliant and troubled inventor, and a revolutionary technology that could wreak devastation in the wrong hands. But for Peter, even more is at stake: this investigation is his only path to a life free from the threat of prosecution or prison. Before the end, he'll have to fight harder than ever before to ensure that freedom doesn't come at too high a cost. . . . “Nonstop action at a machine gun pace.”—C.J. Box "Another outstanding offering in the celebrated Peter Ash series, with Nick Petrie's trademark complex and fascinating characters inhabiting a tightly woven story that will keep thriller lovers riveted.  The hype about Nick Petrie is real- he's just that damn good!"—Mark Greaney “What seems simple and predictable turns complex and surprising in this thriller, the sixth in the Peter Ash series. The swiftly paced, action-dominated plot rushes headlong from its outset...Brisk, terse, and diverting.”— Kirkus Reviews "Petrie excels at propulsive pacing while keeping his characters compelling, daring, and, best of all, morally courageous."— Minneapolis Star Tribune “[A] grand-scale actioner.”— Booklist "[A]drenaline-laden plot…Petrie continues to show his affinity with melding action and character in The Breaker ."— South Florida Sun-Sentinel Nick Petrie is the author of five novels in the Peter Ash series, most recently The Wild One. His debut, The Drifter , won both the ITW Thriller award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel, and was a finalist for the Edgar and the Hammett Awards. A husband and father, he lives in Milwaukee. 1 Peter The flatbed Toyota was too big for tight city parking, so Peter and Lewis left it behind a gas station and walked up St. Paul and across the river toward the Milwaukee Public Market, four blocks away. It was lunchtime on a blue-sky October day, and they were dirty and cheerful from a morning of demolition on a property Lewis owned in the city. Peter Ash was tall and bony in a faded gray T-shirt and double-front work pants torn at the knees, a blue hooded sweatshirt slung over one shoulder. He hadn't cut his hair since a large-animal veterinarian had shaved his head the year before and it now hung in a dark surfer's shag streaked with premature gray. He didn't like dealing with all that hair, but it changed the shape of his face, which was helpful. Most of the pictures they had of him were from his old Marine Corps ID, with the classic jarhead cut that revealed the shape of the skull beneath. June Cassidy liked to tease him by saying he'd be cute with a man bun. He found her seated on the far side of a table outside Colectivo Coffee, across the street from the Public Market. She sat sideways in her chair, looking in the opposite direction. He tossed the blue sweatshirt onto the table. "Hey, toots," he said. "You order yet?" June held up her hand, still staring up the street. "Hang on." She wore a black Pussy Riot shirt under a running pullover and crisp mountain pants. Her bike was chained to a meter twenty feet away. She did not seem relaxed. Lewis eased onto a stool like a lion into a crouch, following her gaze. He had coffee-brown skin and tight-cropped hair, black Levi's and an NWA sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off. "Lemme guess," he said. "Weird-looking dude with the beard, coming our way?" June nodded. "Red hat and jacket. Something's wrong with him, but I can't figure it out." Searching the sidewalk, Peter walked around the table and took the seat next to June, his back against the building's brick. Old habits weren't always bad habits. The weird-looking dude was a quarter-block away. His baseball cap was