Sunday Snippet: Zipline and Sinker (a South of the Border novella)

Happy Kendrick Lamar Does the Halftime Show to all who celebrate. I'll be feasting on food that's terrible for me because that's my favorite part of this weekend.

I'm still doing small things for Tip Jar Shorts. I'm trying to get my other blogs and my author website updated with the new material and I'm looking at possible setting up immediate downloads. That's a goal and I hope I can get there. Trying to gauge interest first. I also kept up with drawing one oracle card a day and posting the results on Bluesky.

Had a fairly busy work week. I finished up a copy edit and completed a combination copy edit proofread. I also had a terrific meeting with a new client, and I'll be working on evaluating their manuscript over the next few weeks. Very exciting!

Slow week for viewing. I had a lot of distractions and couldn't focus on watching very much. I think lack of sleep played a role there. I'm trying to figure out what kind of sleep schedule I need right now.

I did get a few shows in, starting with Elementary, which ended up being a really great episode and I enjoyed it.

Also caught an episode of Batman Beyond. I'm very nostalgic for this show right now and thoroughly enjoying the rewatch.

Watched another episode of Classic Rugrats. Again, the two vignettes were new to me. Although, I think they were out of order with the rest of the season because one showed how Chas and Kira ended up with the coffee shop.

I started an episode of One Lane Bridge and should finish it up today. This show has some twists, and I enjoy those but also need to be able to focus so I don't miss important details.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Zipline and Sinker, a South of the Border novella.

Here's the miniblurb:

Vaughn Dyson is a relic hunter who goes out of her way to save old treasures and preserve their place in history. But when Faulkner Roush gets word she's trying to smuggle a priceless artifact out of South America, he has to track her down before a rival, out for profit, group gets to her.

And a snippety peek…

Faulk woke up with Vaughn's naked body curved around his.

Fuck. I caved. I always do.

Every time he swore he'd never get sucked into the whole bump into Vaughn, fight like crazy people, then fuck like maniacs again, he ended up falling under her spell and giving her exactly what she wanted. Namely his dick. He sucked at keeping self-made promises, and damn, if he didn't fucking hate her sometimes.

Vaughn stirred and stretched then gave him a beautiful smile. "Hello, handsome." She rolled to her side and fished around for her clothes. "I gotta go get the artifact then we can head out. I stashed it close to where I came out of the river." She shrugged her tank top over her head.

Faulk shook his head while shoving his feet into his fatigues. "I don't think so. We go now. There's no time to waste." Did she really think she could lead him around by his cock?

Vaughn's brow furrowed and she started packing her gear.

She thinks it'll be business as usual, but I've got other plans. Namely getting her out of Cramer's reach.

She attempted to cajole him. "You know, Faulk, we make a great team." She zipped her pack and hoisted it up onto her back. "If we split the difference by having you refill the bottles and me going to retrieve the jaguar … then we can head north and take the ravine bridge to cross back into Mexico."

Faulk jerked his head back and forth. "No can do. The bridge is toast. I noticed when I parachuted in." He had a possible contact on the Mexican side that could help, but Faulk hadn't been able to reach him.

Vaughn slumped. "Fucking Cramer." She straightened, squaring her shoulders. "I'm not leaving without the artifact. You do what you have to."

Faulk raked a hand through his hair to avoid punching the nearest flat surface. "Do you always have to make things difficult?" Stupid question … of course, she did.

Vaughn gave him a look. "Fill the bottles. Then we go. End of story." She started for the entrance of the mission.

Faulk snarled. "If you're not back in fifteen minutes, you're on your own. Cramer's team is still on your ass, and it won't take long for them to double back … if they haven't already." He stuffed his bedroll into his pack. "So, yeah. That'll be the end of the story. We gotta move and get going." He checked his weapon, tucking his spare clip of ammo into his thigh pocket.

Vaughn grunted. "Fine. Fifteen minutes or I'm on my own." She cracked the door open and checked the area before she exited.

Faulk growled. "Clock's ticking, sweetheart." He grabbed the bottles and headed for the spring behind the mission.

I love this couple so much. Faulk and Vaughn are a lot of fun to write.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin