Sunday Snippet: Standing Out

Whew. What a week. Ohio got a lot of the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, and it was kind of eerie seeing the hazy gray skies for most of the week. Good time to stay inside due to the high danger air quality alerts.

The weather at least stayed just under sweltering. My garage cleanout went much smoother since the temperatures weren't as high as they have been. Going out very late at night and only staying there for under an hour also helped.

Work projects moved along. I finished up a few odds and ends and started a new copy edit. I also touched base on a few back burner projects. I got to review some back cover copy and book blurbs, which is always a fun change of pace.

Had an okay viewing week. Didn't quite make it through all of my usual shows but made a decent stab at them. Between the cleanup and a lengthy run with my own writing, my watching took a back seat.

Started with another bonus episode of Foyle's War behind the scenes. An interview about the details of the final episode with the writer and the show historian. Very much enjoyed it.

Also finished up Tales of Irish Castles. Really liked this series and its deep dive into the seriously large number of castles in Ireland.

Caught an episode of Silent Witness and made it about halfway through. I'm going to take a break, I think. This season is kind of dark, which I enjoy most of the time but, in all honesty, I kind of need something lighter right now.

Watched another episode of Poirot and really enjoyed it. It's always fun when familiar people pop up in these movies. And this one was very twisty, which I enjoy.

Elementary ended up being really good. I really like getting backstory and even though Marcus's is full of strife and pain, it tied into the current happenings really well. Also loved Sherlock being there for Marcus at the end.

That's all for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Standing Out, a follow up novella to Blending In.

Here's the miniblurb:

Wren Bingman and Ethan Scott stop a planned attack on their fae city and take down some key members of the group responsible. But when Ethan is kidnapped the following week, Wren suspects retaliation and vows to bring him back. To do so, she'll have to dig deep into the hierarchy of the ruling council, because she's convinced there's a mole in the organization.

And preview snippet…

Wren got up and went to the window to watch Ethan leave, feeling pretty happy about being with him. When he went to cross the road, a dark van drove up, and three masked guys jumped out and dragged him inside.

Wren stared in open-mouthed disbelief. "Fuck. What the hell just happened?" Stupid question.

She knew exactly what happened. Someone kidnapped Ethan.

Her heart jumped. "Someone kidnapped Ethan."

Fuck.

Wren's brain spun with rapid-fire questions. Do I call this in? Why Ethan? What the hell is going on? But the biggest, scariest, deepest, darkest question flared like a beacon in her mind.

"Who the hell can I trust?"

Right now? Not one single person. And as much as she hated the idea of doing nothing … she couldn't risk his life … and maybe hers … by raising the alarm.

Unless she planned carefully before she did.

She paced back and forth. "Something smells rank." Did anyone know Ethan would be with her?

If so … how?

She decided to play the situation like her day should have started … as if she hadn't spent the night with Ethan. Her phone alarm chirped, and she turned to grab it from the nightstand beside the bed. Heading for the bathroom, she grabbed a quick shower and dressed for a normal day. Even if her skin itched with inactivity. She waited another fifteen minutes before she sent a text to Ethan's superior officer, Zeb Marconi. "What's up with Ethan? He was supposed to pick me up this morning." Her knee bounced up and down with impatience.

Her device vibrated with an incoming call.

She swiped to answer with raised eyebrows. "Hey, Zeb. What's going on?" She tried to make sure she sounded curious instead of catty.

Marconi gave a surprised response. "Ethan's not with you?" Something in his voice sounded off.

Wren frowned, a small gleam of unease. "I wouldn't have sent the text if he was." She added a layer of truth. "He was supposed to bring coffee with him." She stalked toward the window and glanced outside.

Zeb huffed out a breath. "Huh. That's strange. I sent him out really early this morning to a drop site and he should've been back by now." His chair creaked loud enough for her to hear it. "Let me make some calls."

Wren's gaze narrowed. "Yeah, fine. I'll head out alone then." She waited to see what he'd say.

Marconi sputtered. "Wait 'til I get back with you. I don't want Ethan to have to go looking for you when I track him down." The sound of papers rustling followed his statement.

Wren feigned agreement. "Right. Okay. I'll stand by for now." She ended the call without signing off.

Yeah, no way would she stick around at this location. "Something's hinky." She stashed her phone under the pillow then grabbed the burner and exited the room.

She'd stop by the studio apartment, grab some extra weapons—and coffee—then head back to the room above the diner.

She would also hold off on updating Sutcliffe until she had more information. If Ethan didn't turn up or if Marconi sent up a flag for a missing undercover operative, her captain might pull the surveillance on the SoO. And she'd lay odds they were the ones who took Ethan.

She headed out into the chilly morning. "And I will get him back … no matter what."

Kind of happy with where this story is going. Wren and Ethan have to dive deep to figure out who they can trust.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye