Sunday Snippet: No Escape

Happy Easter tothose who celebrate. For everyone else, I hope your weekend is rocking withgood vibes!

We got someterrific news this week. My youngest, who will graduate from university in May,got accepted into grad school! She's so excited and will have a Master of Arts Administrationwhen she finishes.

Had a fairly busy weekwith work projects. Discovered one ended up with a corrupted file and had tofix some weird, random code that inserted itself into the file. What a pain!

Decent week of viewingtelevision. I'll admit some was mainly background noise while I worked on editing.But not bad overall.

Ended up gettingtwo episodes of The Batman in this week. Enjoyed both and should be ontrack to catch another one this week.

Also caught twoepisodes of Classic Rugrats. Weirdly, I remember two but from differentepisodes. They always did two per show and I distinctly remember one from eachof the episodes I watched. Weird.

Watched anotherepisode of My Life Is Murder and, once again, enjoyed it. Dueling bakersisn't something I would normally think of as a premise for murder.

Enjoyed another episodeof Midsomer Murders. I have one left for this season and then it's timeto wait for more again. Good thing there are plenty of other mysteries to keepme occupied.

Started the newseason of Silent Witness. Another new face or two for this season andI'm okay with that. I have a feeling things are going to get very interestingthis season.

Caught anotherepisode of Death in Paradise. We're getting closer to Humphrey's exitand Jack's entrance. I'll be able to start Beyond Paradise in the nearfuture.

Watched anotherepisode of Elementary. The new vibe between Holmes and Watson is fun.I'm enjoying a slightly softer version of Sherlock.

Started an episodeof Peak Practice. I skipped one because I really didn't care one bit aboutthe whole saga of Andrew and Kate. But it's interesting that Will is back.Should be a wild ride.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from No Escape, anovella that explores what happens after Viable Options.

Here's theminiblurb:

Lissa Albrecht, an unwitting enemy agent, questionseverything she believes when she's faced with the reality of what war reallylooks like. Caught in the heart of enemy territory, she won't give up hersecrets … not until she speaks with Matt Kandigan, a former substance addictand the only person who cares if she lives or dies. At least she hopes so.

And a sneaky peek…

Matt Kandigan paced back and forthin the landing bay. "What if Karlin fucks this up?" He needed toclose the chapter with Lissa and start a new book.

And he couldn't do that if hedidn't see and speak to her. Therapy taught him to face his demons head-oninstead of fighting in the shadows. And Lissa ranked as the top challenge he'dever face. Harder than kicking the stimulants. Tougher than suffering throughthe withdrawal. Cutting her from his life might be the most difficult thinghe'd ever do.

Because he'd fallen for her.Totally. Completely. 10,000 percent.

Raking a hand through his hair, hesnorted. "Which makes me the biggest chump in the galaxy." Possiblythe entire universe.

"That's not anything new.You've always been a bit of a clod, Matty." Karlin breezed into the spaceand planted her hands on her hips.

Matt rolled his eyes. "Andyou've always been a righteous pain in the ass. Good to know that'll neverchange." He appreciated the levity … he didn't have much to smile aboutlately. "What's the plan? Do I get some closure or what?" He almostdreaded seeing Lissa again but couldn't move forward until he did.

Karlin gave a nod. "You do.And the plan hasn't changed. You get one visit. Say your goodbyes or whatever."She reached out and grasped his palm. "She knows it's a one-time thing. Ifshe chooses to help, great. But you two are over." Lifting her chin, shemet his gaze. "Right?"

Matt jerked his head up and down."Right. I'm done being an idiot. Lissa won't be able to use me as coveranymore." His heart gave a hard twist in his chest. "I'm sure theadmiralty will manage to keep her occupied if she can give them anyintel." And keep her out of his reach.

Karlin's head bobbed slowly. "True.They have contingencies in place for defectors." Her eyes narrowed alittle. "One of which is a road to becoming one of us if she meets allcriteria. What if Lissa goes for that option? How would you feel aboutthat?" Her voice held zero censure.

Which Matt appreciated more than hecould say. Karlin didn't trust Lissa almost from the beginning. The lack ofjudgment now meant a lot.

He did a gut check and took amoment before answering. "I honestly don't know. But I can't base a futureon what if." Hell, he considered himself lucky to even have one.

Karlin's lips curved, and shepatted him on the shoulder. "Matty, my friend, you're so wrong." She shookher head. "The entire galaxy is basing their future on asking what if."Pointing toward the exit, she lifted her chin. "That includes your enemy-agentgirlfriend, who's probably wondering a lot about that question right now. Maybeyou should do the same…" She squeezed his bicep and nudged him toward thecorridor leading to the containment cells.

Matt slowly made his way forward. Hismind filled with possibilities, and they crowded everything else out. No matterwhat happened, when he met with Lissa, he'd be on a new trajectory, one way oranother.

I'm just gettingstarted with this one and I'm excited to see where things go with Matt andLissa.

 

That's it for thisweek. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye