Now available at Amazon for the introductory price of $.99, and free with Kindle Unlimited.
Amazon
Save $2.00 to $3.00 - $.99 sale
A serial killer thriller with a touch of Choctaw Lore. Just $.99 for two days.
Amazon
A different PI book. Investigative reporter, Andi Carter and her amusing sidekick, Shamus O'Conner, are out to save a young girl, but is she a victim, or a serial killer? Just $.99 for two days.
Amazon
Ah, this one brings back memories. The first book I ever published, originally published by Echelon Press in 2006. Just $.99 for two days.
Amazon
If you love mysteries and thrillers with a touch of paranormal, similar to Kay Hooper's novels (by the way I love Kay Hooper and have most of her novels), then I think you'll enjoy this one. Just $.99
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Enjoy the discounts and Happy Reading!
Showing posts with label New Release. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Release. Show all posts
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
The 13th Victim - #TuesdayTease
It's been a long time since I had two books coming out back to back. The 13th Victim is now in the hands of the final editors and should be available by late October or early November. The beginning and I hope not the end of a new series starring Andi Carter, an investigative reporter, and Shamus O'Conner, her apprentice. The relationship between Andi and Shamus was a true joy to write, and no it isn't a romantic relationship. Here's a little teaser to wet your appetite. As any author knows, this may change slightly after the final edits and proofreads.
PROLOGUE
“Tell
me what I want to know and I won’t hurt you again.”
Andi
Carter stared into the deep green eyes of Richard Thomas as she tried to
collect enough saliva to swallow. Pain
had dulled her senses, and her throat was raw from screaming. She wasn’t sure
she could speak, or if she did somehow manage to utter a few words if they
would be coherent. “I don’t…I don’t know
what you want…to know,” she whispered.
Thomas
sighed as he followed her gaze to the door leading out of the basement. “Still
think Jerry is going to barge through that door and save you, Andi? He isn't,
you know. In fact, dear old Jerry is the reason you're here. He's the one who
told me what you were up to.”
A
burning river of rage flowed through her, much like the sensation from the
whiskey he kept feeding her, but instead of dulling her senses it cleared her
mind. He's going to kill me anyway. “Jerry Palano is a good cop. Scum
like you would never understand that. If he told you anything it was because he
was your partner and he trusted you.”
Even
white teeth flashed, but the green of his eyes darkened. “That's my Andi,
spirited and loyal to the end. Would you like a drink?” He reached for the
bottle of whiskey on the table. “If you spill it, you know it’s going to hurt.”
He inserted the tip of the bottle between her lips. “Drink up now, like a good
girl. Then we’ll talk some more.”
Andi
tilted her head back, guzzling the alcohol. Tears ran freely down her face as a
tiny stream of alcohol dripped from her chin onto the raw blistered flesh of
her legs. The pain was excruciating and she struggled not to scream as she
continued to drink, praying for oblivion.
Only
when the bottle was empty did Thomas pull it away and pick up the scalpel. “Tell
me what I want to know and I won’t hurt you again.”
“Gambini! Gambini was running young girls. I was going
to expose him.” Her words began to slur, and came from a long way off. “Please.
Please just kill me.”
Thomas
began to laugh, his roar filling the damp, musty room. “I can't believe that crap
actually works.” He leaned in close, his breath hot on her cheek as he
whispered, “I'm not going to kill you, Andi, but you're going to wish I had.”
His
threat seeped through the alcohol induced fog as bile rose in her throat. A
tiny pinpoint of satisfaction surged through her as she opened her mouth and
spewed vomit on both of them.
“Son
of a bitch.” Thomas leapt up, knocking over his chair. “You'll pay for that,
Carter.”
Andi
tried to smile, but the acidity of the vomit had reignited the pain from her
cuts and burns. She began to tremble, her breath coming in short gasps as she
watched his hands clench and unclench. Three days as his captive had convinced
her of one thing—Thomas was crazy. His moods swung from euphoric enjoyment of
torturing her physically and mentally to angry depression and occasionally to
apologetic sympathy for having caused her pain. I don't really want to die.
Thomas
pushed the table bearing his torture instruments into her view and lit the
blowtorch. “You shouldn't have done that, Andi. I was going to let you go.”
“Please
don't, Richard. I told you what you wanted to know. You promised you wouldn't
hurt me again.” She struggled against the ropes binding her arms and legs.
He
studied her, tilting his head to the side. “I did, didn't I?” His lips puckered
as he turned off the torch. “Perhaps I'll give you some time to think about
your apology.” He leaned in close, staring directly into her eyes. “Your
punishment will depend on just how well you can beg.”
Sobs
shook her body as she watched him leave, the heavy steel door slamming behind
him. The alcohol had dulled the pain in her body, but not the emotional
devastation of realizing Jerry wasn't going to save her. He betrayed me.
Time
passed as she drifted in and out of consciousness until a scraping noise at the
door jerked her wide awake. The door slowly swung open and Stuart Gambini
peered inside.
“Jesus.”
He crossed the room and knelt in front of her grabbing the scalpel on the table
and quickly cutting the ropes around her wrists and ankles. “I'm gonna get you
out of here. Can you walk?”
“Why?
You’re just going to kill me anyway. Do it here.” Andi croaked out. Her mind
was still fuzzy, but she was pretty sure Gambini was the reason she was here.
Gambini
frowned, took off his jacket and lifted her from the chair. “We can talk about
that later. Here, wrap this around you. Patrick is waiting for us at the top of
the stairs.” He slipped her arms through the sleeves and pulled the coat up
around her shoulders.
“How
did you find me?” Andi leaned against him, taking a step toward the door, a
small trail of blood dripping from her swollen feet.
“I've
had my girls watching Thomas. This is the only place he kept coming back to.”
Stuart placed an arm around her and half lifted, half dragged her toward the
door. “We don't have a lot of time.”
Placing
her right foot on the first step Andi took a deep breath as she raised her left
foot and placed it on the second step. “Where are you taking me?”
“Put
your arm around my neck.” Stuart tightened his hold around her waist, placed an
arm under her legs and picked her up. “We'll hide you at the boarding house for
the time being.”
Andi
leaned into him and placed her head on his shoulder. “I need to call the
Tribune. I was on a case and they must be going crazy wondering what happened
to me.”
“You're
old news. They gave up on finding you after the first three weeks.”
“Three
weeks? I've only been missing three days.”
Stuart
grunted as he took the last step. “Honey, you've been missing for over a month.”
Darkness
closed in around her. A month? What the
hell did Thomas do to me before he tortured me?
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Sneak Peek! #SundaySample
As promised, here's a sneak peek at the Prologue and Chapter 1 of Innocent Blood. Enjoy your Sunday, and happy reading!
Amazon Pre-Order
Amazon Pre-Order
PROLOGUE
Loki
Redmond woke to the sound of a door softly closing. She tossed off the covers
and made her way to the window, welcoming the reprieve from her dark,
disturbing dreams. At least it wasn’t a
vision.
Her
brother Jules stood outlined in the moonlight, his fists clenched at his sides.
A well of sadness opened up inside her at the sight of him standing there with
his head bowed. If her dreams were dark and disturbing, his would be a thousand
times worse.
Loki
rummaged through her chest and donned shorts and a T-shirt. It was already warm,
and the day ahead promised to be blistering. Since they were both awake, they
might as well talk about what was bothering them. She tiptoed down the hall, through
the kitchen, and out the back door. If he woke, Jake would demand to know what
was bothering her, and she didn’t honestly know. Her dreams were most likely
the product of her grandfather’s call for help with an issue on the
reservation. He’d reminded her of her duty to her people.
Her people. Strange that Grandfather
should put it that way. He’d constantly criticized her and her brothers and
shouted more than once that they weren’t true Choctaw. He’d belittled their mother
right up until the day of her death. Loki shook off the emotions churning in
her gut. Grandfather was an old man now, and hating him would only hurt her.
“Hey.”
She approached Jules slowly, aware that at times he walked in his sleep. “Bad
dreams?”
Jules
picked up a rock and threw it into the trees that surrounded the back of the
property. “Horrible.”
“Want
to talk about it?”
He
shook his head. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
Placing
an arm around his waist, she stood with him, just watching the beauty of the early
morning breeze gently swaying the trees. “You didn’t wake me, but even if you
did, I’m glad. My dreams weren’t very pleasant, either.”
“Maybe
you shouldn’t go to the reservation today. After the way they treated us, you
don’t owe them anything.”
Loki
sighed and dropped her arm. “Is that what’s bothering you?”
“No.”
Frustration
overwhelmed her. For years Jules hadn’t said a word, trapped in his own mind
with a horror he didn’t know how to express. All that had changed last year
when she’d brought Jake to Grandpa Zachery’s farm to heal after his wife’s
murder. What was supposed to be a vacation turned into a fight for their life
against a madman and his mother, but for Jules it had been a miracle of sorts.
They’d managed to save Grace, a thirteen-year-old who had been kidnapped and
abused by the serial killers, and her month-old baby, Hope. And Grace had
helped Jules heal. The two of them shared a bond that few people would ever
understand. “I can’t help you, Jules, if you won’t talk to me.”
“Talking
won’t change it, Loki. You and I both know that.”
“No,
but sometimes it helps to share things.”
“Why
do we call this the Redmond Farm?”
Loki
chuckled. “Because Grandpa loved our mother so much that when she married our
father, he changed the name of the farm. Sometimes I think he did it just to
piss off Grandfather Redmond.”
“There’s
something evil about Grandfather Redmond, Loki. Don’t trust him.”
“I
didn’t before, and I’m not going to now.” She studied Jules’s face, looking for
clues about what was truly behind his pain. “If there’s something you know
about what’s going on at the reservation, you should tell me.”
“Have
you ever known something was wrong but you didn’t know what it was or how to
stop it?”
Loki
dropped to the ground, hugged her knees to her chest, and patted the spot
beside her. “You know how my visions work. I get images or feelings, and it’s
always after something horrible has happened. I can never stop it.”
Jules
finally sat beside her. “Some of the spirits are angry. Some are very sad. They
say innocent blood has been shed, and the blood of more innocents will be shed
in the coming days.”
“Have
you talked to Grace about this?”
“She
feels the same thing. I think she knows more, but she’s not ready to share it
yet.”
“Do
you know when this is supposed to happen?”
“Today.”
Loki
shuddered. She and Dadron were leaving for the reservation first thing this morning.
The sun began to rise, but it did nothing to dispel the chill sinking into her
bones and encompassing her. “Does this have anything to do with Grandfather?”
Jules stood, brushed off his jeans, and walked
toward the forest. His voice was sad and filled with pain. “No, but you should
tell Jake you love him before you leave.”
CHAPTER
ONE
The
early morning sun blazed down on the small ravine as Jake Savior knelt beside
Jules Redmond and studied the ground. In a few more hours the heat would be
unbearable. “Anything at all?” Jake asked.
“Nothing.”
Jules stood and wiped the sweat from his brow. “A child couldn’t have gone into
that brush pile without leaving some trace.”
Jake
removed his neckerchief and wiped his face. “So I guess it was a spirit or
ghost or whatever it is you guys see that the rest of us don’t.”
“Loki
doesn’t see spirits.”
“Well,
she certainly saw something, and it’s happened three times now.” Jake started
the slow climb to the road. It had been a long shot, bringing Jules here, but Jake
felt helpless when it came to the things Loki experienced. This one had upset
her more than usual.
“Maybe
it was a vision.” Jules followed close on Jake’s heels.
“Water or beer?” Jake lifted the hatch on the
Highlander and pulled out the cooler. “Is it always this hot here in April?
It’s not even eight o’clock yet.”
“Water.
It’s too early for beer.” Jules took the bottle, splashed half of it on his
face, and drank the rest. “The winter was strangely cold, and no, it isn’t
normally this hot in April. Doesn’t bode well for the summer months.”
Jake
popped the top on a can of beer and took a long drink, his eyes scanning the
terrain. “There aren’t any houses anywhere near here in either direction. If
this is a vision of something destined to happen in the future, where would a
child come from?”
Jules
shrugged and grabbed another bottle of water. “Loki’s visions usually come
after something has already happened.” He pointed at the ravine. “But there are
no spirits here. We could have Grace search the computer databases and see if
there were any car wrecks where a family was injured or died and a young girl
survived and ran away. ”
“Sounds
like a plan.” Jake slammed the hatch. “It’s too hot to stay out here any longer,
and I’m hungry. You want to drive?”
The
young boy’s face lit up. “Really?”
Jake
tossed him the keys. “You’ve got your permit, and you have to learn sometime.”
He held up the beer and grinned. “And I’ve been drinking before breakfast.”
Jules
adjusted the seat and mirrors, waited for Jake to buckle up, and started the
car. “So what exactly did Loki see?”
“A
young girl, maybe five or six years old, running across the road. Loki thinks she
was Choctaw, but she can’t be sure.”
“And
you didn’t see her?”
“Nope.
The first time she screamed stop, I
almost flipped the car in the ditch. Loki ran after her, but she disappeared
into that cluster of brush we just searched.”
“And
is it always the same time of day?” Jules’s eyes locked on the road in front of
him.
“I
never really thought about it, but yeah, it was close to the same time all
three evenings. Dark enough to have the lights on but not totally dark,” Jake
said.
Jake
leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. In the past year, he’d accepted
Loki’s visions, as well as the fact that Jules and Grace saw things no one else
could. For Loki, the visions were simply part of her Choctaw heritage. Grace’s
ability was brought on by trauma and loneliness during the years she was held
captive by a madman and his crazy mother. Jules’s abilities were probably a
combination of his Choctaw heritage and trauma. Jake had learned firsthand what
trauma and grief could do to the human psyche. His friends’ abilities might be preferable
to the insanity that had seized him after his wife’s murder. His heart still
ached for Cara at times, but with Loki’s love, he was healing a little more
each day and building a new life in Mississippi.
“Have
you heard from Loki and Dadron?”
“She
called to say they had arrived. I don’t expect to hear anything else until later.
Cell service out there isn’t the best in the world. She said she’d call if they
were staying overnight.” Jake shot a glance at Loki’s younger brother. Worry
lines wrinkled Jules’s forehead, replacing the earlier gleeful face, and he
gripped the wheel tightly. “Something bothering you, Jules?”
“Grace
says the spirits are restless, and something terrible is about to happen. She
doesn’t know what, but it has something to do with innocent blood.”
“And
you think that has something to do with what’s going on on the reservation, or
the kid Loki keeps seeing?”
“I
don’t know. I don’t think so, but there are those in the tribe who love and
respect Loki, and those who hate and fear her.” Jules’s voice faltered for a
moment. “The hate is because of me.”
“She
only promised to listen to what her grandfather had to say. Besides, Dadron is
with her. He’s not going to let anything happen to her.”
“I
still don’t think she should have gone there.” Jules turned in to the driveway
leading to the farm. “This is not her fight, and she doesn’t owe Grandfather
anything.” He parked in front of the house, turned off the motor, and handed
the keys to Jake. “Thank you. Tell Grace not to set a place for me.”
“Where
are you going?” Jake exited the vehicle quickly, but Jules was already disappearing
into the forest behind the house.
The
door to the farmhouse opened, and Grace came out on the landing. “Let him go,
Jake.”
“Any
idea where he’s headed?”
“He
built a sweat lodge yesterday. He’s gone there to fast and pray for those who
are about to die.”
~ ~ ~
Loki
Redmond grabbed the door handle and held on tight as the vehicle hit a pothole.
“With all the money pouring in from the casinos, can’t they do something about
this section?”
Tim
“Bearclaw” Whitefeather jerked the wheel to avoid another hole. “Politics.”
Loki
glanced in the rearview mirror, meeting Dadron’s angry gaze. She understood his
anger as they passed another section of clapboard houses, the yards littered
with empty liquor bottles and piles of trash. They’d left the more prominent
sections of the reservation over an hour ago and were now traveling through the
parts hidden from tourists. She also understood Tim’s comment about politics.
Even here, miles from what was referred to as civilization, the rich got richer
and the poor continued to suffer.
Tim
pulled into a section of trees and parked. “The basin is about a half mile
through the forest. We’ll walk from here.”
Loki
motioned for Dadron to hang back as she rushed to catch up with Tim. “Why did
Grandfather want to meet out here?”
“You’ll
have to ask him.”
Grabbing
Tim’s arm, she turned him to face her. “I’m asking you. You haven’t said ten
words to us since we got here. We were friends once. And you know how
Grandfather feels about us. Please, tell me what this is about.”
“Nalusa
Falaya.”
“You
can’t be serious.” Loki laughed and shook her head. “Nalusa Falaya is a myth.
Like the boogeyman, something made up by parents to keep the children inside
after dark.”
“We
have two missing hunters, Loki.”
“That
doesn’t mean anything. If they’re unfamiliar with the area, they probably just
got lost out here.”
“We
found the third hunter.”
Dadron
joined them. “Dead or alive?”
Tim’s
jaw set in a hard line, and his eyes darkened. “Mostly dead. We’re wasting time,
and your Grandfather doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Loki
hung back to walk with Dadron. She really didn’t care what her grandfather
liked or didn’t like. Tim had been her cousin Harry’s best friend all through
childhood. They’d gone through the police academy together, and Tim had joined
the tribal police when Harry had moved to Corpus Christi and joined the police
department there. Living on the reservation kept some of the old myths and
culture alive, but no one believed in Nalusa Falaya. “What do you think he
means by ‘mostly dead’?”
“Grandfather
asked you to bring Jules with you, didn’t he?” Dadron asked.
“Maybe.”
Loki watched Tim’s back as he stalked away from them. Grandfather hadn’t asked
her to bring Jules, he’d demanded she bring Jules. He’d wanted all three of
them here. “Don’t worry, Dadron. It will be a cold day in hell before they get
their hands on Jules again.”
Monday, March 6, 2017
RELEASE PARTY GIVEAWAY! Two - $50.00 Amazon Gift Cards
So excited to announce the release of The Forgotten by Bloodhound Books! Follow the instructions to enter for some great prizes. All entries and emails will be confidential and used for no other purpose than this giveaway.




a Rafflecopter giveaway
Enter some daily - Winners will be announced on 3/15/17!
Saturday, December 31, 2016
It's Pub Day! Happy New Year!
When Mel and I decided to write a book together, which quickly turned into writing a series together, we never dreamed we'd fall in love with out characters, and that our reader response would be so fabulous. Today is publication day for Book 2 in the Deception series, and we're thrilled with the response we've received so far from early reviewers. Below is a little snippet from Book 2.
PROLOGUE
Looking for a great New Year read?
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PROLOGUE
Slap.
“I’ve warned you before about messing with my man.”
Candy Granger rubbed her burning cheek. Why did her mother always have
to take their side? It had been the same with the
lowlife who had warmed her mother’s bed before the detestable Duke. The scumbag
made her skin crawl each time he dared to look at her, always thrusting his
crotch in her direction and running his tongue around his lips. “Messing with
your man, Mom? He’s the one who had his hands all over me. Open your eyes—he’s
been trying to feel me up ever since I turned fifteen.”
She ducked to avoid a second slap as her mother screamed at her. “Get
your bags and get outta my sight. When I was fifteen…”
Candy stopped listening. She’d heard the “when I was fifteen” story for
the last ten years. It always ended the same—with her mother extolling how much
she’d sacrificed and how ungrateful Candy was. “Forget it, Mom. I’ll leave.”
She glared at Duke as she stalked through the living room and into her
tiny bedroom. Now that he knows Mom is going to take his
side, the gross son of a bitch will get even braver. The sound of her
mother screaming at Duke gave her some comfort. What Candy couldn’t figure out
was why her mother had come down so heavily on her instead of him. Any decent
mother would have thrown out the boyfriend, not her only child. She strained an
ear—the shouting had stopped. Then the trailer began to rock. It was always the
same.
Candy packed her backpack and left her bedroom. The sound of her mother
and Duke having sex filled her with disgust. Mother was never going to change;
neither were the men she dragged home with her. All her lovers had tried it on
with Candy, eventually. Candy opened the front door then let it slam shut
behind her. Dammit, all I needed was one more month. Ms.
Tyson had promised to help me get my work paper.
Leaving the trailer park, she sighed heavily, relieved in a way to be
out of there. The park was well known to the NYPD. Her mom’s drug habit in
particular had brought several officers to their door over the past few years.
Nevertheless, it had been a place to sleep. What now?
The conundrum played on her mind during her trek to the city. Without
any money, no close friends, and no family she knew of, there was no place to
go. She couldn’t go to the shelter, not after the problems her mother had
caused the last time she’d found Candy there.
“Shit!” she exclaimed as a pebble pushed its way through the sole of
her shoe. She glanced at the sky. “Is that all you’ve got? My feet were already
hurting.” A sudden gust of wind struck up, driving the dust from the road into
her tired eyes, blinding her for a second. Candy laughed and sat beside the
road, rubbing at her eyes. Cursing God might not be the
brightest idea I’ve had.
Candy heard the sound of a vehicle pulling up beside her and peered
through the darkness as the door to a Winnebago opened. An older woman smiled
at her.
“You look lost, child. What are you doing out here in the middle of
nowhere all by yourself?” the kind-looking woman asked.
Candy hesitated for a moment, thinking of all the horror stories she’d
heard on the news recently, but her aching feet and the way the woman was
smiling warmly at her soon dispersed her fear. “I was headed into town, but the
road dust blinded me.”
A robust older man leaned forward over the steering wheel and asked,
“Do you need a lift?”
“No, it’s okay. Besides, you’re going in the wrong direction. I don’t
want to put you out.”
“Nonsense,” the woman said quickly. “When was the last time you ate a
decent meal, child? You look like a good strong wind would blow you away.”
Candy realized she hadn’t eaten anything but snacks in two days. “I’m
all right. I’m not hungry.” Her stomach rumbled noisily, disputing her claim.
“Guess that’s my body’s way of calling me a liar.”
The three of them laughed. “Hop in. Our girls have already eaten and
gone to bed. Plenty of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans left.”
She patted her husband’s protruding stomach. “I’d be shot if he didn’t get at
least two proper meals every day. What do you say, child?”
Candy hesitated again. She was hungry, and maybe if she were lucky,
they would let her sleep in the motor home, giving her one more day to figure
out what she was going to do next. “I don’t want to impose on your kindness.
I’ll be fine. I can see the city from here, and it won’t take me long to make
it on foot.”
The man revved the engine of the Winnebago. “Leave the girl be, Elisa.
You’re too pushy sometimes.”
The woman swiped her husband’s arm. “Hush now, John, what if it was one
of our girls? I’m only trying to keep the child safe.” She turned to face Candy
again. “Does your momma know you’re out here all on your own? We can drop you
off at home.”
Her head dipped. “She doesn’t care. She kicked me out a few hours ago.
She was in bed with her boyfriend when I left.”
“Such a shame. What about the rest of your family? Maybe we can drop
you off at one of their homes.”
“I don’t have anyone else. I was going to stay at a shelter tonight
until I figured out what to do.”
Tears welled up in the woman’s eyes. “How dreadful. Then you’re
definitely accepting a ride from us. We’ll take you into the city, and if we
can’t find a decent shelter, we’ll put you up in a hotel for the night.”
The more the couple interacted with her, the more she trusted them. Her
view of adults was skewed by her years in the trailer park. What
harm could it do to take a ride into the city? It would only take ten
minutes instead of the hour or so she predicted it would take her to walk.
“Okay, if you’re sure I’m not putting you out.”
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill.
“Here, honey, take this. It should get you a decent room for the night.”
“Thank you.” Candy stuck the money in her jeans pocket.
The woman jumped out of the vehicle and opened the side door. “Get in. I’ll
fix you something to eat before we drop you off.”
“Wow, this is beautiful.” Candy placed her bag on the floor. “I can’t
thank you enough for pulling over and offering to help me out like this.”
“Nonsense.” Elisa shushed her. “Do you want to use the bathroom to
freshen up? I’ll heat up the food for you. Third door on the right.”
Candy made her way to the bathroom, glancing into the bedroom on the
left. The two bunk beds were occupied, but all she could see was long hair. She
felt better knowing John and Elisa had children of their own. The smell of
fried chicken seeped through the bathroom door, making her tummy rumble even
more. Elation wrapped around her at her good fortune. So
there are some kind people left in this crazy world. She rinsed the dirt
out of her eyes, washed her hands and face, and dried them on the monogrammed
beige towel hanging on the rail. Then she opened the door and rejoined her
hosts. Glancing out the window, she realized how close they were to the city.
Elisa placed the scrumptious food on the plate and set it on the table.
“Well, don’t let it go cold now. I’ve poured you some milk. Do you want coffee,
too?”
“No, thank you. This smells fabulous.” Elisa motioned with her hand for
Candy to tuck into her food. She did so with gusto before she downed her milk
in one go. “That was great. Again, I can’t thank you…” Her tongue refused to
work, and her jaw went slack as the woman standing before her suddenly started
to look blurry. Before she could figure out what was happening, she tipped sideways
onto the bench.
~ ~ ~
Candy woke several
hours later, her head pounding as she struggled to remember exactly what had
happened. Forcing her head off the pillow, she groaned as bright light hit her
aching eyes. She pushed herself up off the bunk. She was no longer in the back
of the Winnebago but in an ice-white room, wearing a matching white hospital
gown. Maybe John and Elisa had an accident. Candy checked her body over,
feeling for injuries. I’m not hurt, so where the hell am I?
She walked to the door and tried the knob. Locked.
She turned to survey the room. It had a sterile quality that screamed
hospital, but Candy couldn’t remember any hospital with nothing more than a
bed, a sink and commode in the room. Her gaze homed in on the red numbers on
the pillow. Thirty-Seven. She moved to the bed and pushed the pillow aside. The
sheets had the same number printed on them, as did the blanket. What the hell? Curiosity overwhelmed her, and she pulled her
arms out of the gown and turned it around. The number thirty-seven was stamped
across the back in red. She pushed her arms through the holes and sat on the
bunk. Looks like I’m number thirty-seven, and from what I can
see, I’m in the loony bin. Looking for a great New Year read?
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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