Sunday Snippet: Voltage

Whew. Can I say transferring data from old computers to new computers is a pain in the waz? It seriously is. Gah.

Anyway, moving files didn't stop me from watching my appointment television. Gotham is keeping me interested. Banshee, with only one episode left, has me hanging on the edge of my seat. Bitten keeps improving on the books. And I don't mean it's better or anything, but I like the changes so I don't always know what's coming next. And finally, The Walking Dead is actually kind of riveting lately. I absolutely love the almost scaled back tension and how it's building to hopefully something big.

Patiently waiting for Strike Back to return and Orphan Black very soon now. Need to watch the first two seasons again just to ramp up.

Tonight's post is from Voltage, a super hero / meta-human novella where my main female character gets caught between two hunky heroes.

Here's the tagline:

Tess Truvient, Gentry Malloway, and Hunter Keepman use their meta-human abilities for the cause of justice by working for a covert organization with a global reach. Tess and Hunter have a volatile relationship, on one day and off the next. Enter new recruit, Gentry, and Tess finds a much needed distraction—if only for a few months—except something about Gentry draws her in and she's caught off guard when it's time for him to ship out to his permanent post.

And a preview snippet…

Tess shot a Hunter a sideways glance. "You know what? Bite me." She manipulated the circuitry and the door slid open. "It's not easy to finesse this shit without tripping the alarms." She generated another current, making it flare into flame before holding it out for Hunter to extinguish.

He studied the dancing flicker for a moment then lifted his chin. The blaze fizzled, leaving a trail of smoke behind. The curly tendrils drifted into the vault, revealing the criss-crossed, zigzagged laser triggers. Tess heaved a sigh.

Hunter quirked an eyebrow. "Nothing I can't handle." He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and directed the colored lines out of their path.

Tess rolled her eyes. Sometimes working with Mindmaster drove her mad. But damned if he didn't have a flair for getting the job done. And the lion share of this job belonged to him.

But her skills came in handy, too. Especially when locked doors were tied into mainframe networks. She quickly crossed the space while Hunter held the laser triggers at bay. Working her magic, she got the storage container opened and dragged the cargo out, keeping a firm hold on the end of the box.

She glanced back over her shoulder. "Okay, is it out far enough for you to get a visual?" She only had about thirty seconds before she'd become contaminated and they'd trip every alarm in the building.

Hunter gave a terse nod. "Got it. Step away."

With one hand he kept the red lasers back. The other he used to direct the case toward him. Tess waited until the unit fully cleared the containment bay and gently closed the hatch. She followed at a safe distance, trying not to flinch whenever a red beam slid back into place behind her. Several yards away from the safe zone, the heat from the trigger almost singed her, amping up her discomfort.

Her step faltered. "Cutting it a little close there, Mastermind." She fought the urge to run the final few feet.

Hunter flicked his gaze in her direction and the unit wavered, dipping dangerously low. He growled low in his throat but righted the device and moved it clear, holding it in place. Tess moved beyond the reach of the triggers and the last one went back to its regular position.

Hunter finally spoke. "Do you think you could hold off on the bitch fest until we get out of the building?" His shoulders squared and he brought his hands close together.

The case moved ahead of them, floating above the floor with ease. The extra burden of splitting his focus gone, he moved at a rapid pace.

Tess frowned, trotting to keep up, blipping the security cameras almost out of habit. He wanted to give her crap over making a snide remark when he'd been tossing out worse since they left HQ? And, okay, her timing sucked, but he didn't feel the almost sizzle of getting burned.

And with the way they'd be going at each other lately?

Kind of made her wonder if he'd been sloppy on purpose.

Wait. No way. She stopped, letting Hunter get further ahead of her. Did she really think he'd put her in danger because they were in one of their downward swings?

Hell, no.

She zapped a current toward the last camera and dashed to catch up with Hunter. She owed him an apology, one she'd wait to give him when they got back to headquarters.

And so the tension begins again between Tess and Hunter—a not unusual occurrence. LOL

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye