Sunday, January 14, 2018

Sunday Snippet: Down the Middle

Brrrrr!! It's crazypants cold in Ohio. We're having the standard bizarre weather. At the beginning of the week, we had an icy snow mix. My middle kidlet had his second spinout and almost took out a road sign. Luckily, the damage to his car is minimal and he didn't get a ticket. Thank you, Deputy H! On Thursday, it was almost sixty degrees. Friday started out around fifty-eight then steadily dropped over thirty degrees and dumped freezing rain and eight inches of snow. I'm at the point where I'm over the crappy driving conditions. I don't mind winter weather for the most part but I hate driving when ice is involved. Bleh.

The nice thing about the frigid temperatures is settling in with a good manuscript and watching movies or television. This week I got through the most of the back half of Chicago Fire. Some very emotional through lines, which I enjoyed. I'm liking the later season episodes much better than the first part of the season.

I'm hoping to start The Punisher this week. I've heard some terrific things about the season. Looking forward to more Frank Castle.

Also rewatching Hollywood Dirt on Passionflix. This steamy movie is so much fun. I'm a fan of the male lead anyway so I'm thrilled to have him in a hot and sexy role.

My regular shows return this week and I'm excited. Can't wait for more Arrow episodes. Also looking forward to the Black Lightning premiere.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Down the Middle, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of having the main characters as bounty hunters going after the same target.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Bounty hunter Ursa Goode always gets her man… if Jake Weatherwax doesn't beat her to him. But when a target escapes and comes after her, Ursa has to take Jake up on his offer to work together and split the reward right down the middle. The need for a partner rubs her wrong, but Jake definitely doesn't.

And a snippety peek…

Jake answered his phone on the fifth ring, after untangling from the leggy blonde on the bed. "Weatherwax." He scrubbed a hand over his face, vaguely remembering how he'd ended up at the woman's apartment.
He'd pulled her out of a tense situation when he collected a bail-jumper just across the state line. She'd hopped a ride back to the city with Jake and they'd stopped at his favorite dive bar. The rest of the night became a blur, but he remembered the method she used to get him in her bed.
Tequila and body shots.
"Have you seen or heard the news?" Anton Gaffington never bothered with pleasantries when it saved time.
Jake sighed. Gaffington Incorporated threw a lot of work his way and Jake rarely turned them down, not when he wanted to get out of the business and find a nice, sandy beach to park his ass for the remainder of his days. An early retirement had been his end goal for a while now. At thirty-five, he had a ways to go. But bounty-hunting added nice bunch of coin to his coffers.
"Anton, it's been a long week. No, I haven't been near a television for three days." He got up and looked around for the bathroom, wanting a little privacy.
Anton cut to the chase. "Llewellyn Cavil escaped custody. We need your expertise to bring him in."
Damn. Cavil on the loose would mean bodies dropping in the near future. The guy couldn't help himself.
Anton lowered his voice. "Needless to say, we'd like to have him off the streets with as little noise as possible."
Cavil's family had a long history with Gaffington Incorporated, with several members on the board of directors. Gaffington would pay top dollar to keep the Cavil name from being dragged through the news any more than necessary.
Jake had something of a personal score to settle with black sheep family member.
In fact, Jake would bring the asshole in for no fee if he didn't have a huge pain in the ass to deal with.
Which Anton brought up. "We'd like you to keep that Goode woman out of it."
Jake snorted. "Not gonna happen, Anton, and you know it. She's got a bigger stake than anyone in this hunt." And the Gaffingtons were part of the reason she'd never see true justice.
Anton exhaled his frustration. "Jake, she'll be out for blood and we don't want to see Llewellyn caught in her crosshairs."
Like she was when Cavil held her captive for weeks on end?
Jake bit back the nasty retort. "I'll handle it. But no one can keep her from the hunt." In fact, Ursa Goode would probably be instrumental in bringing Cavil back in.
Anton responded with is usual aplomb. "I'm sure you'll get the situation under control with your normal efficiency." He ended the call.
Jake rested his forehead on the mirror. He'd have his work cut out but he planned to use Ursa to his advantage. And maybe keep her ass out of the fire at the same time.

I'm excited about the potential for this story. Jake and Ursa have some terrific chemistry.



That's it for this week. Happy reading!


Skylin

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