Tag Archives: romance

Meet Darin Nilsson from Time Agents: Complications

Darin Nilsson rappelled down the wall in the rock-climbing gym as Fleur was climbing up to his left. It wasn’t a bad view. Although he’d say that Fleur Dupont didn’t really have any bad views. And he should know; he’d been watching her since his mid-teens.

He hit the ground, unbuckled, and looked around for a run with more challenge. He spied Oliver, stopped halfway to the top, pondering his next hand placement, and moved that direction, even though it would take him out of sight of Fleur— his main reason for being there. He’d never gotten any signals from her, though, that she felt anything for him, so he didn’t want to creep her out by hanging around too close.

Darin and Oliver Nilsson were brothers, although without the shared red hair, you might not guess they were related. Oliver was tall, broad and muscular while Darin was tall and wiry. Oliver wore his hair short, while Darin’s was longer on top. Oliver was capable in a number of different areas while Darin focused on one thing at a time. And right now, his focus was on the accelerated time agent program. His goal was to do so well that he’d be in the running for the next mission.

A mission that would most likely include Fleur.

Coming Soon!

Meet Cory Slowenski

From Time Agents: Complications

It probably wasn’t wise to eat anything right before getting onto a roller coaster, but he’d be damned if he’d throw away delicious pie. He continued to eat it as they moved forward, and Lynisa quizzed him about jumping with real lightning.

“It’s a crazy sensation, to be sure,” he said as they were loaded into the seats that felt far too insubstantial. “And we both had a pretty powerful headache for a day.” He looked around, and when nothing clamped over them or around them at all, he started to panic. “What the hell is going to keep us on this thing?”

“A gravity bubble.” She put a hand to his leg. “Don’t worry, it’s completely safe.”

Cory wasn’t so sure, but he had witnessed people exiting the ride hale and whole, so he supposed he could trust it.

Maybe.

He was grateful he wasn’t in the front where it would have to feel like you had no protection at all. His heart started racing anyway, and as the line of seats moved forward, he felt a twinge of panic. “They should make the bubble blue or something so you can see it,” he muttered.

 Lynisa laughed and slipped her arm around his. “Does this help?”

He looked over at her. “No. If I fly off, so will you.” He faced forward, knowing his heart had taken on an even more rapid rate. It doesn’t help one iota. If there was one thing he was certain wasn’t safe, it was the woman beside him.

Coming in May 2023!

Meet Tiffany Morrow from Red Rabbit on the Run

Tiffany Morrow

College student

Rescued trafficking victim, although she escapes her rescuers

Dealing with trauma, paranoia, and other issues

Sneak peek

Tiffany closed her eyes against the onslaught of thoughts swirling like a tornado in her brain as her hands slid over a strand of hair. The feel of it grounded her, even though she recognized that the gesture she couldn’t seem to stop meant she wasn’t as well as she was before.

She had thought she only imagined the demon horse with glowing red eyes at the airport, since it looked like so many of the demon creatures that had haunted her in the past, but there was no mistaking the mountain view she had seen out the window this morning. She was really and truly in Denver.

She was home. The nightmare of the jungle was over.

She had vague memories of the in-between. Men and women in white. Being tied down. The bearded man and the blond woman who had brought her here. She’d been trippin’ hard for days, so most of that was like a fever dream that had frightened even her. And she wasn’t frightened by much anymore.

She still didn’t feel normal—the noise of the bus was clawing into her head—but she was much improved over… before. She really didn’t know how much time had passed since she’d been carried out of that vile cabin in the Amazon. She did remember that—waking for a moment or two in the arms of someone strong—a red dragon. Whispered words she couldn’t recall. Words that had struck her as kind.

So why did you run from them? God, you do the stupidest things.

The voices that had been nearly eliminated before she had awakened in a Brazilian hell had been her almost constant companion without the meds whose job it was to hush them to a whisper.

She knew it would do no good to answer the voices. They never listened to her. But she did know why she was running from those who had helped her. Aaron McCain had spoken with kind and beautiful words. Justin Miranda had too. Kind words were often a trap. Who’s to say that those two weren’t taking her from one hell to another?

Meet Steve Elway from Red Rabbit on the Run

Steve Elway

TA in computer science at the University of Denver

Tiffany Morrow’s tutor before her kidnapping

She now wants him to help her prove that someone is embezzling money from her family’s corporation

Sneak Peek

A slap on Steve’s shoulder had him turning to find Prof. Thomson, a professor in the computer department. “What’s this? Steve Elway is actually dressed for the weather?”

Steve laughed and pulled his scarf down to speak. “It’s still not Lake Michigan cold, but I hate to flaunt my ability to withstand the single digits in front of the older set.”

This time Thomson laughed. “Be careful, Elway, or I’ll give your classes to Amal.”

If Steve didn’t need the money, he’d let Amal have them. It would give him more time to work on Tiffany’s Pragnalysis embezzlement claims. He had a comeback on his lips that froze with the remembrance of her offer of half a mil to help her break through Pragnalysis security. “You know what?” he shifted. “I really could use next week off if he wants to step in. I’ve had some… family business come up that I should take care of.”

Thomson looked suddenly sober. “Nothing serious, I hope.”

He shrugged. “Serious, but not deadly.” At least he hoped that was the case. Embezzlers were probably not Sunday School teachers.

“I’ll give him a call this afternoon and let you know. Just the week?”

Steve nodded, hoping that would do. “Yeah, I think so. I really appreciate it.”

Thomson nodded, and the two walked together out of the conference room and the building, chatting about some of their more challenging students. “Hey,” Thomson said as they both headed toward the parking lot, “weren’t you a tutor for that Morrow girl?”

Steve swallowed and pulled his scarf back up. “Yeah, she was struggling, but she had quizzed out of the lower-level classes.”

“Hell of a deal to be sold to a Brazilian brothel.”

Steve blinked. “A what? A brothel?”

Thomson hit the button on his key fob, and the lights blinked on the man’s car. “That’s what I heard, although it could just be a rumor.”

Thomson said a final goodbye before getting in his vehicle, and Steve walked to his car, feeling sucker punched. He sat a moment in the cold car, Thomson’s words going around again. He shook his head, suddenly angry with himself. What did you think happened to beautiful women who were kidnapped, Steve? They usually end up dead or trafficked.

Sexually trafficked.

He ground his teeth as he started his car. Tiffany hadn’t been the only one pretending she was okay. He’d been doing it ever since she’d gone missing.

Meet Will Yarnel from the soon-to-be-released Red Rabbit On The Run

Will Yarnel

Australian ex-military

Works as a private investigator to find missing persons and trafficking victims

Based in Brazil

Current assignment: Taking trafficking victim Tiffany Morrow home to Denver CO

Can’t help a growing attraction to Dani Harper, despite her engagement ring

Sneak peek

Rod yawned again and pushed back from the table. “Sorry guys, but I’m done. I’m heading back to the hotel.”

Will nodded, thinking Dani would probably want to do the same, but she didn’t move. He smiled. “You’re not tired, possum?”

She shrugged. “I got in a short nap after my shower this afternoon.” She tilted her head toward the champagne on ice. “And it’s not gone yet.”

Will hitched a brow as he reached for the bottle once again. “I suppose this big ole thing won’t fit in those little tiny fridges they give us.” He poured out two more glasses, and she lifted hers to her lips. “So I guess you like champagne. I suppose that fits.”

“Oh, really.” She set the glass back on the table. “Fits in what way?”

Will twigged he’d probably spit out a clanger with that line. “Oh, just that you’re looking very schmick tonight.”

“Schmick?”

“Stylish, classy.”

“And why do I get the feeling you don’t approve? Either of my clothes or the fact that I like champagne?” She drank another sip.

God, now he was in trouble. “No, I didn’t mean anything… You look… lovely.” More than lovely, but seeing her mussed and sweaty in the jungle had nearly stopped his heart. Now she seemed… too sophisticated. Unreachable. He quickly grabbed his own glass and guzzled a third. She should be “unreachable,” you drongo. She’s engaged.

She drank the rest of hers as though it were a challenge, then waved down a passing waiter for another bottle.

Will leaned forward over the table. “Dani, you’ve had a pretty traumatic day. Maybe you should go easy—”

She matched his posture, her eyes radiating her irritation. “You’re damn right I’ve had a dramatic… traumatic day, and if I want champagne, I’m going to drink champagne. You are welcome to go to bed without me.” She waved a hand at her very own clanger. “I mean, go to bed with Rod.”

Will couldn’t help smiling. She was well on her way to drunk already.

“Don’t laugh at me!” she insisted crankily as the waiter showed up with their next bottle. “You know what I mean.”

Will sat back slowly, running a hand over his beard as he tried to suppress a laugh. He wasn’t sure where this mood was coming from, but he suspected that the danger she’d put herself in this morning was finally hitting her, and he wasn’t about to leave her to drink with the flies.

After the waiter unwrapped and popped the cork, Will took it and poured two more glasses.

Meet Will and Rod from The Diamond Diva Vendetta

All the men jumped out to assess the situation, shining their headlamps at the ruined tire. “That’s a goner,” pronounced Will.

“It sure is,” Rod agreed.

Logan sighed. “Get the spare. I’ll get the jack.”

He started to move, but Will put a hand to his arm. “Why don’t we pull the jeep off the road, cover it with branches and camp here for tonight.” He nodded toward their guest who was holding her head in her hands. “She’s stuffed, and all this bouncing can’t be good for her ole lemon spread.”

“English, man,” Rod huffed. “What the hell did you just say?”

Logan looked around the area as he considered Will’s idea. “She’s tired, and the bouncing hurts her head.” He looked back to Will. “Is that right?”

“A course. What else would I be sayin’?”

“So why can’t you just say that?”

“It ain’t the first time ya heard cockney, ya nong.”

“They’re completely nonsensical! How can I possibly remember them?”

Will shook his head and pointed a little further up the road. “I thought there was something familiar about that last bend. There’s the burned spot we cleared last month for our tactical exercises campie.”

“I thought it smelled different here,” Rod said, but Will looked at him skeptically.

“It still smells burned after a month?”

Rod shrugged and tapped his nose. “Some of us got it, and some of us don’t.”

Meet Logan Stafford from The Diamond Diva Vendetta

Will got to his feet, but before he could help her up, Logan put out a hand. She took it and slowly stood. He moved her forward, his hand on her elbow, but her wobbly gait had him throwing an arm around her, making her stand still for a moment. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, and he felt guilty for rushing her. Guilty for other sensations that fluttered through him as well. He tried to remember all the unflattering things he’d read about the Diamond Diva, but it would take a bucket of ice water to douse his body’s reaction to her. “Maybe you should lie down. We can do this later.”

She shook her head and pushed her hip away from him. “No, I need to see.”

He started forward again, and this time she seemed steady, so he walked her out of the room and to the door where Will was waiting. He opened it, and she pulled away from Logan’s support completely, shuffling out into the small clearing. After a few moments, she turned back, a mystified look on her face. “Does America even have a jungle like this?”

Logan nodded. “South America does. You know you’re in Brazil, right? You had a meeting with the sex trafficker Justin Miranda and were nearly killed by someone who thinks you’re the Diva de Diamante, the infamous, almost completely anonymous, head of a very lucrative diamond smuggling organization that milked blood diamonds out of the native-owned lands of Brazil for a decade.”

She put a hand to her temple and started to sway again, and Will leapt to her side, putting an arm around her. “Godammit Logan, cut it out. You’re hitting her with too much too fast.”

Logan’s lips went tight at the scolding. He felt every thread that had led them so close to finding Tiffany Morrow come completely unraveled. If this woman was just a lady from Kansas City with a lousy ex-husband and a cheap phone from a Brazilian lover, they had nothing. No inside information. No bargaining power. Nada.

And he could be in deep shit for having her here at all.

He spun in irritation. “Bring her back inside.”

Meet Rita Miller from The Diamond Diva Vendetta (Coming Soon!)

The next safehouse turned out to be more rustic than the first, and it was obvious the jungle had tried to reclaim it. Rita took one look at all the spiderwebs, and ran back out. She was not spending the night with big ass rainforest spiders. While they cleaned the place out, they put her to work knocking down webs in what looked like some kind of outdoor shower stall. A very long stick got the job done, and she only screamed twice.

She hoped there wasn’t anything living in the large suspended rubber sheet above it that had a shower head in the middle, as she was not tall enough to see. And she really didn’t want to know anyway. She wanted a shower in the worst way, but was she really going to use this thing? How did it work? There was obviously no plumbing.

Throwing down her spider stick, she turned in time to see Will and Rod sneaking out with something they obviously didn’t want her to see. Dear God in heaven, are there snakes in there?

She walked the small clearing around the cabin, trying to calm her beating heart, and stopped in front of what was probably an outhouse. She scowled and wrinkled her nose at the thought. She continued on to the front where there was a fire pit. She looked in the door of the open cabin and saw no sign of a kitchen.

She loved communing with nature on occasion as much as the next person, but she also had no problem professing that at the end of the day, she wanted to use a flush toilet and take a hot shower inside the house before slipping in between her 700 count Egyptian cotton sheets in the middle of very urban Kansas City. C.G. loved camping, but Rita had never been a fan. She sent a desperate prayer heavenward that they wouldn’t be in this particular “safehouse” long.

Mars Madness: Meet Katrina McKenna

Francesca reached for a piece of bacon, her baby blue eyes wide. “How can you not want to go to Mars? It’s a two year adventure — the chance of a lifetime! If I was old enough to buy a ticket, I would.”

Katrina had no doubt of the truth of that statement. Francesca had been fighting Katrina’s plans for her since she popped out of the womb. And that had been way before Katrina was ready for her and the crazy thing called marriage.

Their wedding vows had not been specific enough, she realized. Where were the vows that dealt with globs of toothpaste in the sink, dirty underwear on the ceiling fan, and ancient books everywhere? Why weren’t there promises recited that dealt with “adventure” and “spontaneity” — code words Katrina now knew meant utter chaos?

The “worse” in “for better or worse” didn’t begin to cover the ways that Doug had ridiculed her for her “irrational fears,” which Katrina knew was just her ability to see coming grief and avoid it.

The whole “love and cherish” thing needed a major revamp, in her opinion, as well. How about keeping each other’s feet on the ground and heads out of the clouds? Literally. Katrina had no love for roller coasters, anti grav parks, or skycars.

Of course, there were dangers on the ground too. Spelunking was a respiratory nightmare, and the bacteria in a hot tub could change your DNA.

This was just common sense.

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