Sunday Snippet: Zip Cuffs

Ugh. Turning the clock back is a bummer. I've been reading arguments for staying on standard time or making daylight saving time permanent. I think I'm coming down on making DSL permanent, but either way, it would be nice to not have to turn the clocks in any direction.

Had a busy work week and hit my daily goals to stay on target for project dates. I also got a lot of writing in and updated some completed manuscripts for my new venture. I truly hope to launch it before the holidays.

Not a bad week of watching television. I'm debating on how many streamers I'm going to keep because they keep raising their prices. I'm okay with paying more if it's not all going into shareholder pockets. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of deal SAG-AFTRA can make with the studios. That might also help me decide which streaming platforms I'll be keeping.

I ended up starting a new Silent Witness two-parter and struggled a little with this one. Domestic violence is a hard watch and there aren't many clues to who the culprit is. I'm hoping to finish the second half later today.

Caught another Death in Paradise and enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of Humphrey and can't wait to finish his run so I can watch the spin off Beyond Paradise.

Watched another episode of Only Murders in the Building and enjoyed it even if a lot of the scenes were goofy. It's kind of nice to have the comedic skills of the cast on display.

Got another episode of Battlestar Galactica in on my rewatch. This one had some good moments with a lot being left unsaid, which ends up biting a few people later.

Enjoyed another episode of The Batman, which finished up the two-part origin story of Clayface and put Yin on the tentative side of the Batman.

Watched another episode of Classic Rugrats. I remembered the first part with the submarine imagination scenario but forgot about the one where they discover Chuckie is left-handed. I love going back to these episodes and seeing them again.

Caught another episode of VIP and enjoyed it. It's fun to see the characters out of their element. It's also fun to see Val figure out what's actually going on.

Enjoyed another episode of My Life Is Murder. Nice to have a bit of Alexa backstory about her husband and how his death still affects her.

And that's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Zip Cuffs, which will soon be renamed Falling from Thrayce.

Here's the miniblurb:

Thrayce Stratton finally has the man she wants, Dino Singer, but when all evidence points to him as the culprit behind several gruesome fae murders, she'll absolutely do her job as an enforcer—including using zip cuffs to get what she needs from Dino.

And a preview snippet…

Thrayce let the curtain fall when Dino pulled into her driveway. "Betrayal cuts deep." His earlier hesitation sent up a red flag for her.

Why else would he be reluctant to meet unless he had other plans … of the killing kind? But thankfully, Dino walked into her trap right on time. As soon as he popped the door open, she knocked him out with a siren song. He dropped like a stone in her entryway.

She grabbed his feet and dragged him into her private interrogation room—something she added after he got nominated to his position. Securing his feet first, he came to when she cuffed him to a chair with his arms behind the back.

At first, Dino found the scenario kinky. "Damn, Thrayce, I had no idea you were into this stuff." His lips quirked in a sexy grin.

She put that thought out of his mind quickly. "I'm not." She finished pulling the zip cords around his wrists. "Someone got tipped off. They know we spent the night together." Pushing down the anger at his betrayal, she yanked on the cuffs. "This is an actual interrogation, you moron." Her heart hurt when she thought about what would come next.

Dino's eyes went wide. "What? Why? You can't possibly think—"

She cut him off. "Really? I can't? How convenient the one night you're fucking me, there's no body found?" The truly damning fact.

Dino frowned but stayed silent. His thighs flexed and his shoulders shifted. No doubt discomfort hit him on all levels. As designed.

Thrayce walked around him. "No wonder you did such a fast turnaround on the whole being together thing." Bile rose in her throat.

Dino cocked his head. "Who planted this little seed?" His gaze narrowed in on her.

Thrayce didn't see the harm in telling him. "Watson Kincaid."

Dino snorted. "How convenient it's the one person who opposed my nomination." He shook his head.

Thrayce paused in front of him. "You know him?" How come I don't?

Dino jerked his head. "Only by sight and by the nastygrams he sends to the board, decrying the lack of a certified election." He grimaced. "Apparently, I was nominated and appointed by underhanded tactics and Kincaid is not happy about it."

Thrayce grabbed the information Watson gave her. "They why were you in the vicinity of all the murders?" She tapped the paper. "I verified this intel. I didn't just take his word." The confirmation of Dino's whereabouts kind of sealed the deal.

Dino growled. "You didn't call the council, did you? Because if you had, they would've informed you I had meetings in those locations, scheduled over a month ago." He shifted his position again, trying to keep the blood flow to his hands and feet.

Thrayce paced back and forth, her mind spinning. "And the bodies started dropping this week. Except on the one night you spend with me." She gnashed her teeth. "Maybe just a bit too convenient. Dammit." She hated how far apart they'd grown … so far she couldn't, with certainty, discount the so-called proof she'd been given.

Dino laid her out with his next words. "Sure as shit it's too convenient. And dammit, Thrayce, I can't believe you didn't trust me. How could you let someone get between us?"

Thrayce's shoulders slumped because she shouldn't have. "Well, fuck." So much for being good at her job.

This story is coming together in a way I didn't expect and I love it.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye