Quite a bit, actually. Whether we like it or not, people make assumptions about us based on what we wear.
I’m currently wearing a white short-sleeve T-shirt and a pair of black capri leggings with a hole just above the knee. What does that say about me? I like comfort. I’m relaxed at home. I’m not concerned about seeing people. Maybe I need to buy some new capri pants. 🙂 Or maybe, that I’m a writer on a deadline.
I have at-home clothes and clothes I wear when I go out into the world. It’s funny how my wardrobe changed after I quit my day job back in 2005 to write full-time. Over the years, the selection in my closet has dwindled. Now, it mostly consists of comfortable clothes. There are a lot of leggings and T-shirts—both short and long-sleeved in my closet. I tend to find something I like and buy it in multiples and different colors. Saves on shopping. These days, I even wear leggings when I go out, just not the grubby ones with the holes in them.
And we all know that everybody’s crazy about a sharp dressed man. Just ask ZZ Top.
Which brings me to Luther Henderson, the hero of Drakon Unchained, the latest book in my Blood of the Drakon series. He is the head of security for a member of the Knights of the Dragon, a secret society that traps and uses dragons for their own gain. Most of the men he works with wear your typical black combat-style clothes. Maybe they think it makes them look tough. Maybe it’s for ease of movement. Maybe it simply helps to hide the bloodstains.
But Luther wears custom tailored suits. Custom because he’s tall and extremely well-built. Nothing off the rack is going to fit him. Over the years, he’s discovered that him wearing a suit puts people at ease. They relax around him and tend to forget just how dangerous he really is. It’s a mistake they often regret as Luther doesn’t hesitate to use it to his advantage.
Drakon Unchained
Blood of the Drakon, Book 5
Victoria Marshall is living a lie. She works for a member of the Knights of the Dragon, a secret society that traps and uses dragons for their own gain. As a child, she made an unlikely friend—a drakon. He went missing, and she’s spent the past twenty years searching for him. The only thing distracting her from her mission is Luther Henderson, her boss’s new head of security.
Luther is also living a lie. One, if discovered, could lead to a fate worse than death. He’s attracted to Victoria, but can’t fully trust her, doesn’t know if she’s truly innocent or a true member of the Knights. It’s not only his life at stake, but those of the people he loves.
As they’re thrust deeper into the dangerous dealings of the Knights, they each have to share their secrets in order to survive.
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
UPDATE: The winners are…Kris, Colleen, Tamara, Katherine, Misty Dawn, and Buttons!
*~*~*
I have tons of series! I know it’s possible you might have missed one. Texas Cowboys is a sexy one, filled with those alpha-male, Texas men—six stories, so far! All are interconnected, so you get to see the characters you’ve met along the way. And they are available in print editions!
For a chance to win your choice from among the Texas Cowboys stories, answer me this…
Have you read any of the Texas Cowboys or Lone Star Lovers stories? Which series would you like to see more of?
Click on covers to learn more!
Soldier Boy
Just home from war, Mac McDonough is in a world of hurt only a woman can cure. Suki’s jealous stalker doesn’t stand a chance…
Fresh from war, “Mac” McDonough wants just two things: whiskey to drown the pain in his damaged leg and a woman. But one look into Suki Reese’s haunted eyes, and he knows she needs the kind of muscle only an ex-soldier can provide.
Mac’s brooding gaze and hard body leave Suki Reece breathless and disturbed. The rugged ex-soldier won’t listen to a word she says until Suki distracts him with a sexy striptease. That gets his attention. Suki may have gotten the upper hand, but Mac is going to be on top.
Mac McDonough’s body ached with the need to sink into soft, wet woman.
An escape, no matter how brief, from the constant, throbbing in his shattered leg.
Like an answer to his prayer, a familiar SUV crawled up the rough gravel road. His body tightened. Tara Toomey had offered the last time she paid him a visit, for old time’s sake, but he’d turned her down because he’d still had just enough pride and just enough affection for his old friend not to want to use her like that.
Today, she wouldn’t make it past the door. The thought of her blonde flyaway curls wrapped around his dick made his heart thud with anticipation.
As she slowly made her way up the winding, rutted road, Mac McDonough closed his eyes, turned his face into the gusting, humid air, and inhaled the fresh scent of the coming rain—a fierce reminder of just how far he’d come.
Over seven thousand miles and another lifetime.
The cabin nestled high on a ridge overlooking hills covered with live oak and cedar seemed as far removed from his version of reality as the face of Mars.
Sure, the ground was a bed of sand and rock, but the sand was grittier, the grains larger than the wheat flour a Hummer could kick up into the air, leaving a trail that could be tracked for miles across the desert floor.
The air was almost as hot but filled with so much moisture it felt thick as he dragged it deep into his lungs.
Mac curled his fingers around the porch rail and leaned into it, savoring the solitude he’d needed to heal his soul that no amount of therapy or medicine could compare with.
Only thing missing from the picture was another case of whiskey to help him sink into a stupor to ease the pain-filled tension in his body and shut out the memories that haunted his dreams.
And a woman. Not that he was willing to leave the cabin to go on the prowl for one, but the longer he remained in his self-imposed isolation, the more urgent became the need. Any woman would do—so long as she didn’t want to talk or be wooed. He hadn’t the time or the heart left for either. Read the rest of this entry »
Hi Delilah Fans! Fires across the western states this summer are worse than any previous year, and that’s what they’ve been saying every summer for quite a while now. Terrifying!
That’s what I envisioned when I first started writing my House of Rae series. Set forty years into the future, the stories dive off into a time where big changes are underway as humanity struggles to survive in a climate-changed world. But guess what! Sex is the answer.
Today, I’m sharing the first book, Salvation, for FREE with the coupon code CQ96Q at Smashwords, https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/491247. The coupon expires August 26, so don’t wait around to nab your copy.
Three people propel this intense story, two of them former lovers—Lu and Rae—who can’t get past their unhealed wounds and one of them—Josh—a young man programmed to kill.
Salvation
In the year 2056, Josh Carter sets out on his mission. The young terrorist’s assignment: destroy the Kansas City House of Rae, flagship establishment of a flourishing prostitution trade catering to women. Primary Brotherhood target? Rae Stewart herself.
In the decades since water sources began drying up, fire ravages the countryside and a mysterious ailment called Brown Death spreads its horror through the population. The nation’s strained resources have shifted away from war to focus on food, water, and healing energy centers supported by psions who channel energy from dance centers, sex houses, and meditation rooms.
Lu Hardin helped discover the healing power of sex energy and tries to protect Rae from her own worst instincts despite the failure of their long love affair. But he can’t stop her from welcoming Josh Carter who Rae hires as a pleasure partner. Lu’s gut tells him the kid is a plant.
Rae Stewart brushes off Lu’s warnings. A hardheaded business woman, she knows a good thing when she sees it. Josh Carter is just what her clients enjoy—young, virile, and angry. It’s her attention to such detail that has taken her successful franchise worldwide. Besides, she hasn’t been this excited about a man since, well, she’d rather not think about Lu.
Strict training has kept Josh pure, but he’s willing to sacrifice his virginity in order to fulfill the mission. Yet despite his revulsion as his body responds in overwhelming ways, a tiny voice starts to grow in Josh’s head questioning the mission.
Salvation takes the reader on a headlong rush through a future world not so distant from the present. Who will be saved?
About the Author
Lizzie Ashworth lives in the wilds of the Ozark Mountains with three cats, two hound dogs, and too many deer in her yard. She’s been writing her entire life and wants her readers to know how much she enjoys sharing her naughty stories.
Follow her for free erotic short works, hot photos, and the occasional rant on her blog at http://lizzieashworth.com/.
Sign up for Liz’s free e-newsletter. Liz’s Hot News features special notices with excerpts, freebies, pre-release deals, and much more. Your address will not be shared, guaranteed! Sign up at http://eepurl.com/bHOyS9.
I recently published two linked erotic romances with spanking themes. My original plan had been to go through a publisher I’ve worked with before, but staff felt the setting would be a hard sell and asked me to do a major rewrite. Instead, I self-published His Purchase and another I’ll talk about later.
The heroine of His Purchase is a professional softball player with a load of emotional baggage. I’d given her that career because as the mother of two sports-loving sons, I logged a lot of time at baseball fields. No research necessary. Besides, I love baseball.
After exchanging emails with the above mentioned publisher, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’m in the minority when it comes to loving both erotic romance and baseball or softball. I’m guessing the reaction would be different if my hero was a football player or rodeo rider, part of the macho mystique, but I made my heroine the jock in a male dominated sport.
Is that a no-no? Are romance readers turned off by female jocks especially one involved with a sport traditionally considered male? Although I understand why that publisher needs to keep a close eye on the bottom line and might have made the same decision if I was in her shoes, I’m hoping readers are open to more than traditional roles for the sexes.
As I mentioned, His Purchase is a spanking story. In other words, it falls under the power exchange umbrella. Because of the fictional world I created, my dominant male hero fully believes he has the right and responsibility to physically discipline the submissive heroine. Despite her physical skills, she accepts that she will be disciplined if the man in charge decides she needs correction—which he does more than once.
I was fascinated by how my characters handled her untraditional career while living in a society that condones and encourages spanking females. I think they pulled it off but it’s up to readers to agree or disagree.
Vonna
His Purchase
Alia is an Other, just another woman with few rights living in a world controlled by Society rules. At least her considerable athletic skill will save her from a life of drudgery. She knows her rare physical talent will be exploited but considers it an acceptable tradeoff for being able to do what she most loves in life. In addition, she’ll have a roof over her head, food in her belly, and hopefully an end to feeling like a failure.
Kade is an Elite, a wealthy and powerful man who has never questioned his privileged place within the Society. As the new owner of a professional women’s softball team, he’s determined to get the ultimate performance from his players. Never one to turn down a challenge, he knows how to bring his sexy but strong-headed latest acquisition into line.
Despite the team owner’s domineering presence, Alia has no intention of bowing to the commanding man’s insistence she keep nothing from him. She’ll perform to the best of her ability. What she doesn’t dare do is let him inside her head and heart where vulnerability lies.
Kade refuses to accept her resistance. He purchased, not just her talent but everything about her. She doesn’t yet know how far his control reaches, but he will teach her. Her correction begins the first day with a firm hand repeatedly applied to her backside. He spanks her bare bottom until it turns red then insists she display what he’s done. When she continues to defy him, he takes her in hand again, this time adding a butt plug. Despite her shame, she’s turned on. Changed. Desperate for more than just his finger or toys in her.
Everything changes for Alia. She spends her nights in a locked barn stall with the other players, must wait to use the bathroom, eats what’s put before her. She wants to hate the man who has done this to her, but there’s magic in his firm hand. He knows how to arouse her. Maybe he even cares about her.
It doesn’t matter because she’ll never trust him with her deepest secret. If keeping something so private from him displeases him, she believes she has no choice but to live with the consequences.
His Purchase includes spankings and intense sexual scenes. If you’re uncomfortable with such material, please don’t buy this book.
Hi. Imagine you’re doing some research for a new book and your friend has arranged for you to see the inside of a fabulous, luxury penthouse to help you envision your setting.
When you get inside, you find the sexiest man you’ve ever seen sitting in a chair. Blindfolded. Tied up with rope. And totally naked!
Hmm. Yeah. Could happen! 😉
The idea was inspired by a photograph my friend Evangeline Anderson posted on FaceBook quite a while ago. (Check out her FB page. She has some really fun and sexy stuff there!)
When I saw the picture, I immediately sat down and wrote a scene! I was so excited about it, I shared the idea with Jayne Rylon and Avery Aster and that’s how we came up with Mentor, the fourth book in our Penthouse Pleasures series.
The image above is a cropped version, but you can see the whole thing by clicking here!
And you really should go look because he is sooo sexy! 😉
Elle slid the key card into the slot and pulled it out, but the door didn’t unlock. She tried again but was still greeted with a red light.
Red. Stop. Walk away. That’s what the universe was telling her.
This wasn’t meant to be.
Or… was it telling her to try harder?
She wouldn’t give up on writing this book. That’s why she’d come up here in the first place. She’d decided it was long past time to finish the story she’d started and this was the first step. Everley had arranged for her to see the inside of one of the infamous penthouses in Beekman Place—the setting for her erotic romance story.
She pulled her shoulders back, deciding she would find a way to get into this place and look around. Everley had told her the new owners would be moving in this coming weekend, so this might be her last chance. She tried the key card a third time, and when it still didn’t work, she dug through her purse and pulled out her cell, then started to dial Everley, determined to show her friend she was committed to succeeding.
Before she could dial, she heard the door unlock. She stared at it, the green light blinking at her.
“Come in,” a deep voice said, and she realized it was coming from a speaker in the wall.
She grasped the handle and pressed it down, then pushed the door open tentatively and peered inside. Dazzling sunshine filled the large room beyond the foyer. Large windows spanned the wall facing the door, and continued around the corner to the left. A fabulous view of the water glittering in the sunlight took her breath away.
She saw that the place was furnished with high-end contemporary furniture—glossy walnut cabinets and tables, and leather couches and armchairs—which was odd because Everley had told her the place was empty until the new tenants moved in next week.
She stepped inside and let the door close behind her. She slipped off her shoes and walked past the marble-floored foyer, her stocking feet sinking into the plush carpet of the large room beyond. Now she could see the whole first floor of the two story open concept penthouse.
Her eyes widened as her gaze caught on a plain wooden chair facing the windows. In the chair was a man, his arms bound behind him.
Her heart stuttered as she darted forward to help him. But then she stopped cold as she realized he was stark naked.
And blindfolded.
His muscular arms were pulled tight behind him, the rope around his wrists threaded through the back of the very simple chair. A chair that didn’t fit the sumptuous luxury of the penthouse she’d barely had a chance to appreciate.
But now her focus was totally on him.
He was leaning back in the chair and seemed totally comfortable being naked and tied up, even with a stranger in the room. His head was turned toward her.
His face, what she could see of it, was exceptionally handsome. His chin rough with dark whiskers, neatly trimmed. His thick hair combed back from his face. His lips full, his nose perfect.
And his body was… breathtaking.
At this angle, his thick, muscular thigh blocked her view of his more intimate parts, but she got an eyeful of his tight, hard ass.
His body could have been sculpted by a master artist. It was perfect.
Utterly and intensely sexy.
And, God help her, she wanted to touch it.
“I’ve been waiting for you, baby. Come over here.”
His deep sexy voice took her breath away.
“You wanted to try something different. So here I am.”
His words startled her. Had Everley set this up?
Everley had been worried about Elle ever since she’d broken up with the jerk. Everley didn’t know the whole story, but she’d noticed how withdrawn Elle had become and had made it her mission to get Elle back in the saddle again. She’d even offered to set Elle up with one of the two sexy guys from the seventh floor that Elle couldn’t help drooling over every time she saw them. But Elle wasn’t ready to put herself in a vulnerable position again.
When that hadn’t worked, Everley, who knew Elle was the adventurous sort, had urged her to try something totally different. Something spontaneous and wicked.
Like fuck a complete stranger.
Oh, God, had this been a ruse to get her up here? Not to see the penthouse, but to do something wild and crazy?
Here she was being handed a chance to have sex with a stranger—a perfect sex God from the look of him—in a way where she felt safe. The guy was tied up. That meant she would be in total control.
As a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of erotic contemporary and sci-fi romance, Opal Carew writes about passion, love, and taking risks. Her heroines follow their hearts and push past the fear that stops them from realizing their dreams… to the excitement and love of happily-ever-after. Her books have won several awards, including The National Readers’ Choice Award (twice), The Golden Leaf Award (twice), The Golden Quill (4 times), CRA Award of Excellence, JABBIC (multiple time) and Silken Sands.
I can’t believe it’s mid-August! Where did the summer go? Yesterday was the first time the pool felt cool. 🙁 I’ll be lucky to get a full month more of swimming. And, tomorrow the kids go back to school—including the almost-5-year-old. Her mom and I are feeling a little sad about that. The baby’s growing up. Double- 🙁
In the meantime, I have plenty on my plate to keep me too busy to cry, and I’d better get to it. Hope you enjoy the excerpt and the contest!
For a chance to win one of my Uncharted SEALs stories,
winner’s choice, answer me this… If you were dating a SEAL, where would you prefer to vacation?
Mexico? Destin? Fiji?
Through Her Eyes
Ex-SEAL and expert sniper, Wolf Kinkaid, is taking a little downtime while he considers his options. Being wooed by two elite spec ops groups, he’s enjoying Charter Group’s beach house in Cancun while he considers his options. A loner by nature and occupation, he wonders if he’ll ever really be able to connect to people around him. Afraid his loner nature will sentence him to spending his life alone, he’s not even sure he wants to continue looking down a scope, even if the pay’s good.
Bounty hunter Piper Ames loves the adrenaline rush she gets from her high-stakes hunts, but, now, she has time on her hands as she waits for her collar to pop up his head, so she can take him down. While she’s waiting, it doesn’t hurt that a big, buff, ex-military type is staying right next door. Not the least shy about going after what she wants, she’s surprised when he’s equally as aggressive. Their chemistry is off the charts, and the sex is the hottest she’s ever had.
While Wolf and Piper connect in the only ways their independent natures allow, danger lurks. When, at last, her target arrives, guns blazing, Wolf and Piper have to pull together to make it out alive.
Wolf hated the wait. Especially in the white-hot heat. Even at this elevation, the sun was merciless. Hot wind gusting through the pass provided no relief.
Sweat dripped from his hair down the side of his cheek, but he ignored it. His muscles cramped. His eyes grew dry. And still, he kept staring through the scope of his Macmillan Tac-50, watching the long line of insurgents trudge along the goat trail of a road below his position. Waiting for them to get close enough…
“A thousand yards. They’re coming within range,” came the voice of the mission commander through the comm in his ear.
Wolf reached for his box magazine, sitting on a rock beside him. He’d been heating the rounds in the sun to increase their range, but now, the time had come to lock and load.
Below were a couple dozen of the enemy, seemingly unaware of the weapons trained on them from above. All fresh from a battle in Ghazni. Intel said his target, Khalil Alam, would be among the group. So far, he’d searched every face but hadn’t found one that perfectly matched the grainy photo lying beside his mat.
The soldiers were all dark-haired. All wore beards or had the lower halves of their faces covered by cloths. His mark should be a little taller and gaunt. He’d spent months hiding in the mountains, orchestrating attacks from afar—a high-ranking Taliban commander who’d stepped out of the shadows to lead their latest attack, which left half a dozen Marines dead and fifteen more wounded, some maimed for life.
Again, the silence was broken. “Crosswind from the east.”
Wolf didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the wind to die down. He might have only one shot. One kill. If he was lucky.
Beside him, his spotter shifted, crunching the sand. “I see him,” he whispered, although they were nearly a mile away from the rag-tag army ambling through the mountain pass. “He’ll be coming over the hill, facing you. Best time to clip him. Nine hundred twenty yards.”
Quickly, Wolf rechecked the data he’d entered in his scope. He’d maxed out the windage. Maxed out the elevation drum. He’d need a one mil lead—aiming just ahead of the target for the four seconds the .50 Cal round took to travel.
Five seconds later, a tall angular figure climbed the trail. A weapon was slung over his bony shoulders. His robe billowed outward, caught by a sudden breeze.
Wolf kept his sight trained on the enemy’s center of mass—he’d aim for his heart. The distance was too far to even attempt a head shot. But he wasn’t the only sniper on this mission, although his was the most important target.
“Snipers, everyone found their mark?” their commander’s voice sounded. “Chime in when you have your target.”
In quick succession, the snipers called out.
“Sniper One, ready.”
“Sniper Two, ready.”
Wolf squinted down his scope at the tall Afghan he was about to take out. “Sniper Three, ready.”
He kept his breathing even, readying for the command to kill. All shots had to break at the same time, or the group below would scramble for cover and the opportunity would be lost.
“This is Foxtrot One. I have control. Shoot on my command.”
Wolf expelled a quick breath then drew in a long one and held it.
“Three…two…one…execute.”
He pulled the trigger and stared down his scope.
Beside him, his spotter cursed. He’d followed the vapor trail of the round Wolf fired and watched it splash in the dirt. He called out adjustments, which Wolf made in a second.
Still staring down the scope, he watched as everyone around Khalil Alam dove for cover. Not his target. The Afghan insurgent stood still, his head raised, his gaze narrowing as though he could see Wolf where he lay with his rifle, hidden in the shadows of a large rock. And then he did a strange thing.
Khalil Alam raised his arms out to his sides and bared his teeth.
Again, Wolf took aim and fired.
This time, his target dropped.
But so did the much-smaller figure behind him. One with a beardless, bloodied face…
Wyatt “Wolf” Kinkaid awoke and threw off the covers tangled around his legs. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he set his elbows on his knees as he drew in deep, cleansing breaths.
He didn’t know why that particular kill haunted him. He’d killed kids before. Some intentionally. But that one…
Maybe because of the shock frozen in the young boy’s eyes. Khalil Alam’s son, he’d been told later. No blame, no censure came from his team. The boy was a terrorist in the making, following in his father’s footsteps. A “preemptory kill” someone who’d been trying to be helpful said. And yet, the memory still sickened him.
He wiped a hand over his face. Sleep-time was over. Daylight was burning. Not that he was on any kind of schedule. The sound of surf washing against sand in the distance reminded him he was as far from Afghanistan as a man could be. Rising, he strode to the window overlooking the beach. The large sea-side villa hadn’t impressed him nearly as much as the sight of the strip of pristine white sand. By the placement of the sun, he’d guess the time was around nine AM. He’d slept a full nine hours. And he wasn’t dead.
The peaceful view didn’t do a thing to slow his heart rate. To shake off the last sticky spider webs of his nightmare, he turned, rifled through the duffel sitting on the floor beside him, and pulled out his spotting scope. Cupping the compact Hensoldt in his hand, he stared through the lens.
If he’d needed confirmation before, he knew he was losing it when a few adjustments brought the surf closer, and, at last, he stopped hearing his pulse pound against his temples. Maybe he wasn’t meant to be up close and personal with anything. Ever.
The name he’d been given by the Team—Lone Wolf, which had been shortened over time—had never felt truer. Read the rest of this entry »
On August 21st, Lion in the Shadows releases! It’s a very erotic story—so consider yourself warned! 🙂
This opening scene I’m sharing today includes details of rescue procedures I gleaned from reading articles and speaking to a fireman in the Texas Hill County, who specialized in cave rescues. That was one fun conversation!
In Lion, things get hot…and weird…really quick. So, if you love a hot paranormal with hints of ghosts/demon possession/shapeshifting, Lion might be what you need.
For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me whether you could see yourself crawling through caves for fun!
Lion in the Shadows
When a teen dies inside an unexplored cave, it’s Lani Kimmel’s job to bring him out. This is not a pleasant job, but one she’s handled many times as a member of the local fire department and an expert in cave rescues. The trek into the cave awakens a creature that will push this no-nonsense woman’s boundaries of belief and test her newly emerging love for one man.
Rafe Chavez, the new sheriff in this small Texas town, has already staked a claim on Lani. He’s a man with a goal in his sights, and he’s not letting anything get in his way—until he dreams about an Indian brave who died in that unexplored cave, savaged by a mountain lion. When his dreams cross into reality, Rafe realizes he may be possessed by the Indian’s spirit—but the spirit isn’t alone, and it wants Lani.
Just when Lani’s resistance to his erotic persuasion crumbles, Rafe must push her away to protect her from another creature that has also cast its gaze upon her…
Sounds other than the usual chirping of cave crickets and the incessant drip of water intruded on the sleeper’s dreams, echoing down the cavern. Voices, laughter, feet scraping over stone.
The sleeper opened his eyes and found that, for once, the exercise wasn’t futile. A sliver of grayish light penetrated the gloom.
He stretched, willing blood to quicken through his body, to heat and ease muscles that had remained dormant too long.
Then a new scent—musky, warm-blooded, human—entered his tomb. He rolled to his feet.
Then gathering his strength he roared up the cave wall.
* * *
Lani Kimmel drove over the cattle guard onto the gravel road that marked the beginning of rancher McKelvey’s property. She followed the ridgeline of the steep, oak and cedar-covered hill, bouncing in her seat despite her truck’s heavy-duty shocks. The tires churned in caliche, the fine sandstone gravel pinging on the wheel wells.
She tried to keep her mind focused on the task of keeping her pickup on the rough road and away from the reason she climbed to the remote spot. But her stomach already burbled, her palms grew moist, and that little voice in the back of her mind—the one that sounded like her father’s—taunted her, What do you think you’re playin’ at, little girl? You aren’t strong enough.
As she rounded a curve, a long line of parked vehicles forced her to pull onto the shoulder to continue forward. Further along, she passed an EMS unit, two county squad cars, and the trucks and SUVs belonging to other members of the volunteer fire department. Parking in a narrow space between two vehicles, she had her door open before the engine finished chugging to a halt. Heat blasted her, and she grabbed her volunteer’s baseball cap to shield her eyes from the bright afternoon sun. Then she slid her duffel from behind her seat, kicked a booted heel against the door of her truck, and headed toward the mouth of the unnamed cave.
She nodded to the EMS team crouched beside two boys huddled beneath blankets, shivering despite the late afternoon heat. Compassion could have swamped her, but she quickly tamped down the emotion. If she thought too much about it, she wouldn’t be able to get through the next few hours. Their buddy likely lay on the bottom of the cave floor, and it was her job to bring him up.
Lani approached the group standing in front of a narrow black hole. Stones and gravel were already piled to the side as the men worked at widening the opening. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Anybody looked inside yet?”
Cale Witte, the captain of the volunteer fire department, turned and gave her a crooked smile that creased his suntanned face. “Glad you could make it, Lani. Did you bring your vertical pack?”
Lani lifted her duffel. “Got it here, boss. So, we have a drop-off? Anyone hear from the kid inside?”
He shook his head, his grave expression telling her he expected the worst. “Those skinny runts shimmied through that hole carrying ropes and Maglites,” he said, sounding disgusted. “Said they didn’t know there was another level until their friend dropped out of sight.”
Lani swore under her breath.
Cale spat a stream of chewing tobacco. “A couple of us crawled in. The entrance is blocked with loose-packed gravel and stone. It’s pretty unstable, but the cave opens wide once you’re through the mouth. About twenty feet inside, it bottoms out. We shined our lights around, but it was too deep to see much. We need to climb down.”
“Well, that’s what I’m here for, huh?” Lani said, willing confidence into her voice.
He nodded. “No one knows caves like you do—that’s a fact. You better have a look for yourself.”
Randy Brandt, another member of the department, leaned on his shovel. “Think we’ve got this hole wide enough for your butt now?” His grin stretched across his handsome face.
Not for the first time, Lani thought Randy’s lean, muscled frame, and sun-tinted brown hair belonged in a firemen’s calendar. “Better put your back into it.” Lani gave him a teasing glance. “Gotta make room for that big head of yours, too.”
The men chuckled.
Lani took no offense. She’d long ago figured out she was one of the team when the men included her in the insults they traded. Besides, the banter helped drown out the voice that ate at her composure. The sooner she was in the cave—her world—the sooner she’d be in control. Read the rest of this entry »
