Sunday Snippet: Along the Shore

Gotta say, the whole limiting of physical distance and having my youngest's senior year pretty much cancelled is both easier and harder than I thought it would be. I have three people in the house who are pretty much deemed essential workers. One is in food production and the other two are grocery workers. If the reins get tighter on limiting movement, I'm pretty sure they won't get a break.

For me, as someone who's worked from home for the past decade or so, it's business as usual for the most part. I have more interruptions than usual but otherwise, my routine hasn't changed overmuch. There's something comforting in that.

Had a semi-decent week of watching television. I finished up the Heart Guy from last week and I'll give it a go. I have a feeling this one is going to have messy relationships and I always like train-wreck shows.

Also caught another arc of Classic Who. It's always fun to see the effects from the late sixties and early seventies. Doctor Who isn't any better or worse for shows of its time.

Watched another episode of Peak Practice and enjoyed it. I'm finally starting to get into the relationships and getting to know the villagers. I love the scenery in the show.

Caught the livestream of the Dropkick Murphys concert on St. Patrick's Day. Terrific show and highly entertaining. I hope to catch some of the Broadway shows that are available for streaming also.

Watched the rest of season one of Danger Man. I'll be starting season two in the upcoming week.

Started episode three of Strike Back. Nice to have a familiar face back in the fold. Also, Chetri is really growing on me. She's got quite a personality and interacting more as an equal with the rest of the team. I love that.

That's pretty much it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Along the Shore, a South of the Border novella.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Vail Ericsson, a freelance security expert and skilled tracker, can find anyone for a price. But when he trails Ellery Quantrell to Mexico, he discovers she's not an escapee but a target and his role changes from pursuer to protector, whether Ellery wants him as a shield or not.

And a snippety peek…

Vail kept Ellery close, dodging through the busiest streets he could find. Every couple of blocks a pop followed by a bullet striking near them started pissing Vail off. They had to have spotter somewhere. He needed to find a secure location and make a call. He had a contact close by, if scuttlebutt proved accurate. He and Ellery could take cover there and figure out what to do next.

Another shot narrowly missed his shoulder and Vail snarled. "Son of a bitch. That one was too close." He stuck his head around a corner and found the alley filled with delivery trucks.

Ellery snorted. "Not fun when you're a target, is it?" She stepped back, but another bullet landed several inches away.

Vail frowned. Either Puchenko hired incompetent idiots or they were missing on purpose. Even the shot that landed close to his shoulder wouldn't have killed him, only incapacitated him, leaving Ellery vulnerable.

He took a moment to assess the situation. Ellery had a biting tongue and bitchy attitude, but she'd either cooperate with him … or risk dying. Her options sucked worse than his and Vail didn't think she had a death wish, although stealing from Puchenko called her intelligence into question.

"Hello." Her fingers snapped in front of his face. "The gunfire stopped. Are you paying attention here?"

He growled. "Yes, dammit. We're going to make a run for the stone building across the alley and up two blocks. Do you see the one I mean?" He glanced down, meeting her bold stare.

She peered over his shoulder then nodded. "Yeah, I see it. And then what?" Her head swiveled and she checked behind them.

Vail didn't respond until they were in the alley. "Then I make a call to a friend of mine." God damn, he hoped he still had a friend.

Word had gone around his contact no longer did covert ops. But once an agent, always an agent. He'd still have calls forwarded to whatever number he happened to be using at the moment. And the guy owed Vail at least one ginormous favor for stitching up the deep and ugly wound he received in a wicked knife fight. Damn fool man.

A lot like Vail at the moment. He cursed his employers for wanting Ellery Quantrell found. He lamented the fact she'd taken money from Ivan Puchenko. Why the hell a woman who looked like her would cross Ivan had Vail stymied.

But the agency wanted her, and they'd get her … if Vail didn't kill her first. Or the team shooting bullets their way didn't take them out. A flash of guilt gnawed his gut. Ellery had walked away from Puchenko—no easy feat—and managed to stay hidden for two months. Okay, six weeks. He'd tracked her to Mexico and spent two weeks learning her habits and movements. But she'd pegged it earlier. Ivan's men showed up on the very day he finally made contact? Too much of a coincidence. Either they'd followed him or Ivan had someone at the agency feeding him information. Which sucked balls. Because Vail wouldn't reach out for backup and put their lives in even more danger. Instead he'd call in a favor and hope like hell it didn't bite him in the ass.

Vail found an unlocked door, pushed it open and shoved Ellery inside. She whirled around, shooting him a death glare.

He kicked the door shut, but not before she planted a hand on his chest. "If you drag, push, shove, or in any other way manhandle me, I swear you'll be heaving your guts up…" Her gaze dropped to his groin area. "Is that perfectly clear?"

Vail smirked. "Yes, ma'am. Crystal." He set about securing the exit, barring the heavy wood with some metal rebar then stacking several wooden crates in front to provide some cover.

Ellery folded her arms under her breasts. "A little overkill, isn't it?" She lifted a brow. "There wasn't any more gunfire once we crossed the alley."

Vail snarled. "They're regrouping and planning their next move." He dug his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his list. "Time to make that call." He pushed send and hoped like hell the old code he planned to use would let his friend know Vail needed some serious ass-kicking help.

The call went to voice mail and Vail uttered one word. "Apollo."

God of the hunt but also a healer. The code lingo might be old, but the meaning should be clear.

Ellery heaved a sigh. "Now what?" She wandered around the small storage room.

Vail found an old folding chair and set it in front of her. "Now, we wait."

I'm having a ton of fun writing the dialog between Vail and Ellery. She's not thrilled Vail found her and at this point neither is he.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin