HOUSE OF CARDS - Romantic Suspense
Available October 15
By five o’clock, the story was all over the news. Within two days, it had gone nationwide. Every television reporter from CNN to Fox News had arrived in town setting up camp in the quiet neighborhood of Rancho viejo and their hunger for a story left little room for the truth.
Michael settled at his desk with a mug of coffee and opened the file they had started on Alicia Vega. Behind him, the late afternoon sun radiated through the open blinds, reflecting off the veneer top of his desk.
Over the past three days since Alicia Vega had been reported missing, they’d set up a recovery center, made several hundred flyers with her picture, launched a door to door search of the neighborhood and started a hotline offering a ten-thousand-dollar reward to anyone with information leading to her safe return.
He’d given a brief press conference on the evening news and because Michael knew the importance of the media in these situations, he’d encouraged Jesse and Marcus to use the press as well. However, since Jesse refused to stand with Marcus, Michael accompanied her to the local ABC affiliate to give a video interview with Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America while Oscar appeared with Marcus on the Today show.
Jesse had kept quiet throughout most of the discussion, leaving him to answer a majority of the questions. He could see she was trying her best to keep her hostility toward Marcus in check, but when the journalist
asked point-blank if Jesse thought her brother-in-law had something to do with his wife's disappearance; she'd looked directly into the camera and said yes.
Michael settled at his desk with a mug of coffee and opened the file they had started on Alicia Vega. Behind him, the late afternoon sun radiated through the open blinds, reflecting off the veneer top of his desk.
Over the past three days since Alicia Vega had been reported missing, they’d set up a recovery center, made several hundred flyers with her picture, launched a door to door search of the neighborhood and started a hotline offering a ten-thousand-dollar reward to anyone with information leading to her safe return.
He’d given a brief press conference on the evening news and because Michael knew the importance of the media in these situations, he’d encouraged Jesse and Marcus to use the press as well. However, since Jesse refused to stand with Marcus, Michael accompanied her to the local ABC affiliate to give a video interview with Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America while Oscar appeared with Marcus on the Today show.
Jesse had kept quiet throughout most of the discussion, leaving him to answer a majority of the questions. He could see she was trying her best to keep her hostility toward Marcus in check, but when the journalist
asked point-blank if Jesse thought her brother-in-law had something to do with his wife's disappearance; she'd looked directly into the camera and said yes.
Dark Obsession - Paranormal Suspense
The sun rose above the fields in a kaleidoscope of colors.Lexie stood on the back porch with a mug of coffee, admiring the first hours of daylight. It had always been her favorite time of the day and she took advantage of it as often as she could. In New York, she would rise early just to sit outside on the stoop of Christopher’s apartment and watch the sun come up over the brownstones.Though she knew it was silly,
sometimes she would make a wish on the first rays of light to skirt around the buildings.
A light breeze drifted through the air carrying the scent of grass and soil. In the far distance she heard the awakening crow of a rooster. The light of the new day glistened around her and seemed to fill her with a renewed strength. She closed her eyes to welcome the power of the morning as it flowed into her. The glow of a fresh start and a new life, she thought, lifting her face to the caress of the breeze.
A subtle shimmer started at the soles of her feet,winding its way slowly along her legs like tiny serpents of electricity. A faint buzz whispered at her ear, the warmth of it wrapping around her like a cocoon. Her lips curved. The buzz built to a hum. She swayed to its hypnotic sound.
You can’t hide from me, Lexie. You belong to me.
Lexie’s eyes shot open, her heart slamming against her ribcage. Jerry stood at the edge of the field, a fierce smile curving his mouth, his black eyes boring into her. Panic skittered like ice crystals down her spine. The safety of her cocoon turned into a cold, biting fear.
She willed herself to run but her feet stayed frozen to the deck. Jerry drifted closer and though his lips didn’t move, she heard the threat of his voice resounding in her head.
I’ll always find you, Lexie. I was always meant to find you.
sometimes she would make a wish on the first rays of light to skirt around the buildings.
A light breeze drifted through the air carrying the scent of grass and soil. In the far distance she heard the awakening crow of a rooster. The light of the new day glistened around her and seemed to fill her with a renewed strength. She closed her eyes to welcome the power of the morning as it flowed into her. The glow of a fresh start and a new life, she thought, lifting her face to the caress of the breeze.
A subtle shimmer started at the soles of her feet,winding its way slowly along her legs like tiny serpents of electricity. A faint buzz whispered at her ear, the warmth of it wrapping around her like a cocoon. Her lips curved. The buzz built to a hum. She swayed to its hypnotic sound.
You can’t hide from me, Lexie. You belong to me.
Lexie’s eyes shot open, her heart slamming against her ribcage. Jerry stood at the edge of the field, a fierce smile curving his mouth, his black eyes boring into her. Panic skittered like ice crystals down her spine. The safety of her cocoon turned into a cold, biting fear.
She willed herself to run but her feet stayed frozen to the deck. Jerry drifted closer and though his lips didn’t move, she heard the threat of his voice resounding in her head.
I’ll always find you, Lexie. I was always meant to find you.
Forget Me Not - Romantic Suspense
Casey glanced at the clock next to her bed and sighed. Sleep was a
luxury she didn’t pack for this trip.Tossing the blankets aside, she
crawled out of bed and grabbed her cigarettes from the end table. She had left the window open so she could listen to the sounds of the night and the crash of waves, hoping they would lull her to sleep. But three hours later, she was still wide awake. After lighting a cigarette, she climbed out of the window and stood on the deck. A gusty breeze blew in from the beach, carrying the lingering odor of burning wood from the bonfire. She waited a moment, straining to listen for Scott. She'd heard him go into his bedroom an hour after she did, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hear her. The man had built-in radar where she
was concerned. She didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed.
Satisfied he wasn’t nearby, she crept down the stairs to the deck below, feeling much like a thief on the prowl. The trill of crickets and cicadas broke through the silence of the night. The waves rolled in the distance like a subtle applause. She moved to the edge of the patio to watch them curl inshore. The full moon glistened an endless trail on the water. Lights from the oil-rigs glowed in the distance like a cityscape.The conversation she'd had with Scott earlier played back in her head. In two weeks it would be June. If his theory was right, in two weeks she could be dead.
luxury she didn’t pack for this trip.Tossing the blankets aside, she
crawled out of bed and grabbed her cigarettes from the end table. She had left the window open so she could listen to the sounds of the night and the crash of waves, hoping they would lull her to sleep. But three hours later, she was still wide awake. After lighting a cigarette, she climbed out of the window and stood on the deck. A gusty breeze blew in from the beach, carrying the lingering odor of burning wood from the bonfire. She waited a moment, straining to listen for Scott. She'd heard him go into his bedroom an hour after she did, but that didn't mean he wouldn't hear her. The man had built-in radar where she
was concerned. She didn't know whether to be impressed or annoyed.
Satisfied he wasn’t nearby, she crept down the stairs to the deck below, feeling much like a thief on the prowl. The trill of crickets and cicadas broke through the silence of the night. The waves rolled in the distance like a subtle applause. She moved to the edge of the patio to watch them curl inshore. The full moon glistened an endless trail on the water. Lights from the oil-rigs glowed in the distance like a cityscape.The conversation she'd had with Scott earlier played back in her head. In two weeks it would be June. If his theory was right, in two weeks she could be dead.
