Windfall

by Jenna Byrnes

Misty Stanton is rudely awakened by a yank to her hair and the sound of a gun being cocked in her ear. Her boyfriend, Benny, apparently hit a windfall at the craps table the previous day. Instead of applying it to his gambling debt, he took off with the money. Now the casino owner has sent his number one henchman to bring back Benny and the money . . . or in his place, Misty.

Derek Richmond is vicious and threatens violence. When he and Misty get trapped in the elevator on their way out, his tough-guy persona melts into a claustrophobic puddle. She finds him amusing and as time goes on, arousing. Who cares if the elevator ever gets fixed? (m/f, contemporary)

(This title was previously published in an anthology by Whiskey Creek Press Torrid.)

23 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jenna Byrnes could use more cabinet space and more hours in a day. She’d fill the kitchen with gadgets her husband purchases off TV and let him cook for her to his heart’s content. She’d breeze through the days adding hours of sleep, and more time for writing the hot, erotic romance she loves to read.

Jenna thinks everyone deserves a happy ending, and loves to provide as many of those as possible to her gay, lesbian and hetero characters. Her favorite quote, from a pro-gay billboard, is “Be careful who you hate. It may be someone you love.”

For the latest news, visit Jenna’s website at http://www.jennabyrnes.com/

Reviews

[Erotic Horizon]

Waking up to the sound of a gun being cocked at your head is probably not everyone's worst nightmare but Misty takes it as par for the course and rolls with the punches.

Misty Stanton is a long way from home trying to make it big, but all she ends up doing is end up in a job going nowhere and a loser boyfriend who is now the cause of her current dilemma. Owing money and missing as usual – the henchman has come a calling and he means business – that is until he gets to the elevator.

Misty finds herself stuck in an elevator with the claustrophobic henchman sent to sort out his bosses money worries but once the elevator doors closes Derek Richmond breaks through the tough guy persona and makes an appearance…

I’ll not go any further because at 23 pages there's hardly much I can say beyond that, that wont give it all away. This is clearly a change of pace for Ms. Byrnes. Not that I didn’t always like her heroes or heroines – but I am predisposed to a rougher sort of person, the one that's at the bottom of life and at a point that nothing really surprises them anymore…

And I think this is one of the reasons I perk up at reading this book – it’s not pretty, and I don't think it was meant to be. It has high levels of unrealism to it and the “ hope burn-eth bright” moment was too rush.

But the characters I like – they lived, they interact they had a directness about them that is down right scary and I kinda like the arm chair shrink situation that was happening in the elevator as well. The fact that WINDFALL is just a moment in a henchman's day that happens to be the point of a change somehow made it a show, and for Misty it was perhaps the end of the beginning and hopefully something better will come from it all.

There is a nice bit of tension in WINDFALL and despite the minimal page count Ms. Byrnes added her trademark sarcastic humour to the plot.

This set up of harsh scenes with even more street wise characters is a step I like for Ms. Byrnes – it feels different and as short as it was, there is possibility and it would be good to see where Derek and Misty go from there.