Sunday Snippet: Not Gonna Happen

Well, the end of June is going to be a welcome sight for me. It's been a long month and yet somehow flew by in a blink.

Work projects are finally slowing down a little and I feel like I can breathe again. I have to play catch-up on some things that I had to let slide while trying to get through the bulk of my work. Hopefully, I'll get back to some cleaning projects and get more writing done.

Actually made it through all of my shows and finished up two that I had on the back burner. We had a lot of rain and some severe storms, but the power stayed on, so I got a lot watched.

Watched another episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and it's one I always look forward to. I love getting into Phyrne's history and her time in France explains so much about her.

Enjoyed another episode of Art Detectives. Nice to have a little backstory for the characters. Also enjoyed the mystery of this one. Messy rock-star drama added a nice twist.

Caught another Death in Paradise episode … possibly the one hundredth ep because Camile made an appearance. Excellent throwback to the very first episode also.

Watched another Poirot episode where he's either still on holiday or taking another one. I had seen most of this episode before and it's nice to have all the pieces fall into place.

Enjoyed an episode of Elementary. Interesting to see Gregson decide to stay with the eleventh and Iiked him seeking Joan's help with vetting his possible replacement. The overarching mystery also ended up being nice and twisty.

Caught another episode of Batman Beyond. I remembered this one and liked the team-up of Terry and Max. Bruce had some good lines in this episode.

I think I finished up the Classic Rugrats rewatch. I might go back and make sure I didn't end up skipping a season or two. I'll probably switch over the new episodes.

Finally finished up the episode of Peak Practice I started a while ago. Did not expect to see Sam propose even though I knew it would happen at some point.

Also finished up the second episode of Reacher. Gotta say, I really love this show. Glad I have several more seasons to view!

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Not Gonna Happen, a novella that puts a couple in danger thanks to friends of friends.

Here's the miniblurb:

Gina Ames and Tuck Danvers sign up for a weekend of hunting for an urban legend. When their other team members start dropping, one by one, they take off for the safety of the city. Too bad the concrete and steel can't protect them from what follows them home.

And a preview snippet…

Gina stared at the … hell, she didn't know what to call it. A symbol? Sigil? Whatever. The thing had been etched into the wall above the landing of the stairs.

Tuck let out a low whistle. "Why would Jake and Marley let friends, let alone anyone, carve that into their home?" He took his phone out and held it up.

Gina snagged his arm. "What are you doing?" The creeped-out vibe she had screamed danger.

He slid his gaze sideways. "Do you know what it means?" His brows arched.

She shook her head. "Don't think I wanna know." Nothing good.

The symbol couldn't be anything but bad news.

Tuck grunted. "Right. I get that. But…" He held her gaze. "If we want to get rid of our shadow, we're gonna need help." He pressed the button on his app. "And that means we have to have something to use." He slid the device back into his pocket. "I don't plan on crossing that marking, which limits our options here."

She gave a reluctant nod. "Yeah, okay. You're right." Just looking at the thing made her skin itch. "We can't stay here." Her gaze darted to the door. "Check to see if Mr. Creepy is out there then head to the nearest occult store?" She swallowed against the ball of nerves lodged in her throat.

Tuck lifted his chin. "And if he is out there?"

Shit. She hadn't thought of that. Worth the risk or not?

Worth it. "We run like hell." They didn't really have a choice.

Tuck's lips twisted. "Right. But let's be smart about this." He grabbed his phone again and opened a browser, typing in the search bar. "Nearest place is three blocks south of here."

Damn. She loved him for thinking of finding the closest place they might get answers.

She started to twist the knob and had an idea herself. "Hey, let's grab some salt. It's used for protection, right?" But … they'd have to pass under the etching to get to the kitchen.

Unless…

Tuck voiced the thought before she could. "Basement. I know they've got rock salt down there." He started down the steps with Gina hot on his heels.

They found the partial bag and headed back upstairs.

Pausing at the door, Gina pressed a quick, hard kiss to Tuck's lips. "I love you. Never forget that." Pulling the door open, she peeked outside.

Tuck grasped her shoulder. "Love you too. Let's go."

This story is slowly revealing itself in interesting ways. It might end up not being about what I originally planned. I love it when that happens!

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye