Sunday Snippet: Sentinel's Watch

Welcome 2023! Here's hoping everyone has a great year filled with everything good and terrific!

The final week of the year ended up being crazy busy. The weather started out pretty frigid but by the final day, we had temperatures in the fifties. I'm taking extra precautions because rapid changes in the weather wreak havoc on my sinuses.

I got a few more episodes of Batman: The Animated Series viewed. "Harley's Holiday" is one of my favorites. There's a lot of good stuff in that episode.

"Make 'Em Laugh" is also a fun episode. Very interesting to see the Joker as a regular Joe … until he's not anymore.

Batgirl returned and became pals with Catwoman, which ended up being a lot of fun to watch. I do have some questions on how Selena knew to post her message on the campus message board. Just saying.

"Lock-Up" is one I'd forgotten about, but I enjoyed it. I loved the ending where he pretty much gets exactly what he wanted in a weird, twisted way.

I also got to watch "Deep Freeze" and enjoyed having Victor back for a bit. Also nice to see another familiar face, which if memory serves, we might see again.

I'll be continuing the rewatch and hopefully get through the rest of season two and all of three before they're removed from the streaming service. I'm very annoyed over losing great shows for someone else's bottom line. Grrr.

That's pretty much it for the life update. Tonight's post is from Sentinel's Watch, a follow-up to A Capsized Buccaneer with Zeb and Kallen having another adventure.

Here's the mini-blurb:

After gaining some unique super powers and being rescued from a not-so-deserted island, Kallen Bond and Zeb Bertelli go their separate ways because Zeb cut a deal with his family to leave Kallen alone. But the deal can't last long, because the Bertellis plan to kidnap Kallen so more highly profitable experiments can be done on her and Zeb won't stand for their interference.

And a preview snippet…

Zeb Bertelli listened carefully to a one-sided conversation Kallen Bard had with herself. His lips curved when she made a garbled choking sound and basically decided to get over herself.

Stirring his coffee, he chuckled. "I can almost picture her rolling her eyes." He didn't attempt to see through her window, even if he'd probably be able to with his enhanced sight.

Somehow, that kind of intrusion would be too much. Just listening to her crossed lines he should be stepping over. Not after he'd cut the deal of a lifetime with his family by guaranteeing Kallen's safety as long as he didn't have contact with her.

His hand fisted the spoon. "Should've known better." And, deep down, he had.

His relatives weren't great on honoring agreements that didn't suit their broader agenda.

Zeb snorted. "Which is why I'm sitting in a diner at two a.m., keeping vigil over someone I promised to never see again." But he'd keep watch, from a distance at least.

He'd spent the last six months having no actual contact with her. "I miss her." A lot.

Which surprised him … because he figured not being with her would get easier. He'd never cared about someone the way he'd cared for her.

But he'd been determined to hold up his end of the stupid bargain he'd made. Until he heard her name mentioned during one of the family confabs. They had plans for Kallen, nefarious ones, if they got their hands on her.

His hand fisted again. "She's off limits." Or she should be.

But, the general consensus had been she might be too dangerous to leave on her own and she could prove to be a profitable asset if they played their cards right.

Zeb didn't like that idea one damn bit. "Might be time to rock the boat with seismic waves." For the first time, he pondered breaking his promise to his mom.

His hearing picked up Kallen's footsteps coming down the stairs from her loft apartment. Downing his mug of coffee, he tossed several bills on the table and got to his feet. He'd be following her when she exited her building.

Not that Kallen couldn't handle pretty much anything. She had superhuman strength and speed. But … if he knew his family—and he did—they'd have a plan to counter her power, especially if she didn't see them coming.

He waited by the door until she started up the street. "Good thing they won't see me coming or expect anyone to have her back." After all, his family didn't think his enhancements made him dangerous…

"I aim to prove them wrong."

I have a lot of love for these characters. Zeb and Kallen keep surprising each other and it's fun to write their interactions.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye