Snippet Saturday

Today’s topic about family. My books tend to deal with the families you make, which includes both the one you were born into and the people you surround yourself with and bring into your tight circle as you go through life. My August release, COPY THAT, deals with both but at the center is the bond between twins, Garrett and Jeremy Hill.

“This is it?” She froze when the broken bulb of the safety light crunched under her foot.

Jeremy leaned one shoulder against the wall. “The point of a safe house is to blend.”

She glanced down the abandoned street and rows of falling down garages. “Define ‘blend.’”



He chuckled. “The neighborhood is in transition.”

“The place looks abandoned.”

“Then we set it up right. It’s the perfect cover.”

When he threw an arm around her shoulder and pressed her tight against his side, her heart sped up to a hyper rat-a-tat beat. With his hair damp from his quick wash-up after the medical attention, he brushed his cheek against hers.“

“There are two cameras at the top of the building and across the street.” His voice dipped low. “We monitor the entire place all the time.”

“I’m wondering why you’re whispering?”

“Just in case.”

When she tried to look up, he gave her a small squeeze she assumed meant not to move. “That seems to be your justification for a lot of things.”

He pointed at the chained door. “The rust is fake and the fence could stop a truck. There are motion sensors and all the images go to monitors at Garrett’s office and directly to our phones.”

“Very stealthy.” And a bit scary.

The over-the-top security both stopped the nerves jumping around in her throat and set her back teeth chattering. Being here went against every minute of training she’d invested in. She never left public places when meeting with a man she didn’t know. For Jeremy, she made an exception. The question was, why? And she really couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer.

Even injured, with a slight limp from protecting his wounded side, he struck her as being twice as tough as any guy she’d ever met, including Garrett. The dark scowl gave him a sexy in-control look, but his smile… Oh, yeah. The way the corner of his mouth kicked up lit up his whole face, even as it sucked the air right out of her lungs.

Over the past few hours she’d glanced over only to find him staring back. He didn’t turn away or pretend he hadn’t seen her gaze. He met her eyes with a heated look of his own. Garrett had walked in and out of her life and filled the role of helpful neighbor during those times when he wasn’t absent. Even though the siblings shared the same features, she saw differences. Jeremy’s impact on her senses surpassed routine and sped straight toward explosive. There was nothing sisterly about the little dance in her stomach every time she looked at his face.

“I knew Garrett had many secrets, but a twin brother and all this covert equipment is a surprise.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Jeremy took the keycard out of his pocket.

“Where did you get that?”

“I always carry it. Slipped it out of my wallet back at the motel. Here take this.” He turned her hand over and laid his cell in her palm. “And now for the impressive part.”

She’d spent almost every minute with him being impressed. It only took a short time for her to figure out the truth. He stayed calm. He remained focused. He hunted the bad guys and wanted to save Sara because that’s who he was. He never questioned what should be done. He just did it.

He slipped his fingers underneath a brick and pulled out the row of grout. “Embedded reader.”

“Caterpillar. See? I can say random words, too.”

“You’re hysterical.” Before she could blink, he slid the card through the crack. “There.”

“What are you doing?”

“Getting access to the entry log.”

He could have said anything, even used his shoe to call for a flying car and had it land in front of him, and she wouldn’t have been more surprised. Instead, he hit a button on the phone and lines of black print filled the small screen.

She squinted, hoping the gibberish would make sense if the words blurred together then broke apart again. “I have no idea what that says.”

“It’s code. The important piece of information is that someone has been here. Is still here. Someone with access swiped a card which is a good sign.”

“How exactly?”

“No one tried to break in. The log shows one entry.”

“Unless two people went in together.”

He froze. “What?”

“Just stating the obvious.”

For the shortest of blips, his guard wavered. From the slight slump of his shoulders to the hitch in his voice, she knew his mind wandered to that awful place of uncertainty where he didn’t know if his brother lived or not.

___________

Remember to check out the other authors’ snippets:

Megan Hart:Read in bed!

Leah Braemel

Jody Wallace

Eliza Gayle

Mandy M Roth

Lissa Matthews

Mari Carr

McKenna Jeffries

Myla Jackson

Taige Crenshaw

Shiloh Walker

Delilah Devlin

Lauren Dane

TJ Michaels