Iron House by John Hart

Iron House by John Hart is an action-filled thriller about a man trying to escape a life of crime.  Michael is a character with flaws.  At least he could be considered such if you count murder as a sin.  For years he has worked as a hit man for the mob leader who pulled him from the streets as a teenager and treated him like a son.  Now that man is dying, and Michael wants to leave with his pregnant girlfriend Elena.  He hopes to live a normal life, but his co-workers consider this unacceptable behavior, and they try to kill him and Elena.  Michael would like to hide with her, maybe move to a foreign country, but Jimmy, the sadistic killer who wants to seize control of the crime family, delivers an ultimatum.  Michael must kill his girlfriend and return to the organization, or Jimmy will kill Michael’s brother.  Michael has not seen Julian since they were both children living in a horrible orphanage, but Michael knows that he cannot let anyone harm his brother.  He rushes to western North Carolina where Julian lives in a compound with his adoptive parents, a US senator and his wife Abigail.  Things are not as they seem there, and Michael learns that the guards cannot or will not protect Elena or him or even Julian.