Blood and Treasure (Paperback or Softback)

The destruction of the International Space Station and the discovery of an ancient scroll are inextricably intertwined in this debut crossover thriller from a former Navy helicopter pilot.

The International Space Station suddenly loses contact with Earth. When a NASA tech devises a way to restore the feed, the images that come through are unfathomable: a scene of terrible violence, the crew unresponsive, droplets of blood hovering in zero gravity. But which of the astronauts on board would have done such a thing? And why?

Off the coast of Mozambique, former special ops pilot and current treasure hunter Ethan Cain sees something he can’t believe: an object shot out of the heavens plunging deep into the Indian Ocean. When he investigates, the mystery deepens. A space capsule has crashed into the sea, and inside is a woman—alone, unconscious, and injured. Ethan knows he must save her. What he doesn’t know is who she is, how she got there . . . or why she’s the only survivor from a killing spree conducted 254 miles above the earth.

Ryan Pote is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force, deployed throughout Central and South America. He was medically separated after sustaining injuries during an emergency landing. Ryan currently works for the Department of Defense. Before his time in the Navy, he worked as a scuba diving instructor in Hawaii and as a microbiology lab tech conducting algae-biofuels research. He holds a master's degree in history from Ashland University. He lives with his wife and children in New England.