Thursday, March 18

I hadn’t slept well the previous night, probably because I was now paranoid about my security system.  I gave up on sleep early that morning and headed to the gym around seven.  After two and a half hours of cardio, yoga and weight training my lack of sleep finally caught up with me, but it was too late for a nap.  I was the kind who could never just sleep for an hour when I was this exhausted.

And I couldn’t miss my lunch with Michael if I was going to ready for his idea of sharks… Read more »

The day was a long one for Jackson.  After Dinsley gave him the quick overview on the Raptor case, he proceeded to produce every case file for Jackson to read.  By six o’clock he’d read almost all of the material and decided that he had learned enough for one day.  If Raptor hadn’t struck in over two years, one more night was definitely not going to make much of a difference.

Besides, he was still pissed off that his first assignment was a cold case… Read more »

I didn’t feel quite like myself after I left Michael’s office this afternoon, so I drove around until the sun started to fade behind the fluffy grey clouds scattered across the sky.  Like that was a surprise. I hadn’t felt like myself in two years, but lying to Michael…it just felt wrong on so many levels. At the very least, my involvement should still take some of the details off his plate. The white lie about my true motives didn’t have to matter.

Did it? Read more »

Since the death of my father, I was reclusive to a fault.  I’m self-aware enough to realize that. My self-imposed solitude never bothered me before, but it was a liability now that I had what I hoped would be a solid lead on Raptor. Did I know who was part of the elite local social scene? Even if I did, would I have any clue how to get cozy with them?

It’s a damn good thing I remembered to check the mail today because my bank statement – and a stroke of genius – was waiting for me. Read more »

Parker let his cell phone ring only once before he answered it. He could count on one hand the number of people who had this number and he didn’t want to talk to any of them right now. Unfortunately, not answering a call from any one of them would be a fatal error at this stage of the game.

“I’m taking a risk in calling you now, Ramsey Read more »

I tossed my keys on the entry table as I closed the door behind me.  After Parker’s abrupt exit from the café a few hours ago, it took an emergency appointment with the best therapist in town to get me back to a semi-calm state of being. I say semi-calm because even an hour under the skilled hands of my massage therapist still wasn’t enough to rid me of all my tense muscles.

For some reason, having coffee with a dead man was unsettling… Read more »

Special Agent Jackson Caldwell sat down in the conference room at FBI headquarters in downtown Dallas to await a case and partner assignment.  Again.  Apparently, financial crimes were at an all-time low in the area.

Or his new Special Agent in Charge was just a dick who liked tormenting his new agents. Read more »

Just as I expected, the café was quiet and I was able to get a booth in the back corner.  Parker joined me as I was placing my order with the waitress.  After he ordered his coffee and the waitress retreated into the kitchen, I said, “Your time starts now.”

He nodded, all business. I liked that, even if I didn’t like him. Read more »

His presence shocked her. Good. Parker Ramsey wanted Skylar to understand how dangerous her little game was. While she was ignorant of the fire she toyed with, he could still respect what she attempted to do. Few had the guts to go after Raptor. Including himself, he could count them all on one hand.

Skylar rose to her feet, never wavering in her contemptuous stare.  Was this supposed to intimidate him?  Read more »

Wednesday, March 17

No witnesses in the park today, as expected.  March brought its chilly winds with it this year, but even if it hadn’t, it was still much too early for children to be outside playing. No self-respecting adult would be out in this weather. And the unrespectable adults? They were sleeping in before a night of St. Patrick’s Day debauchery at the bars. Yes, this meeting had promise. Read more »

The Undercover Series takes an unexpected turn…

In The Freelancer, we met FBI Special Agent Jackson Caldwell. We learned about his issues with authority. We learned that he’d do whatever it takes to get the bad guy and close his case. We learned that he could screw up a relationship with style.

We also learned that Jackson Caldwell is the irrefutable heart and soul of the Undercover Series…

Yet in The Alliance we focus our attention on Skylar Montgomery, the infamous Raptor and a cast of con artists, hackers and thieves. Why? Because when Skylar’s quest for revenge intersects with Jackson’s unwavering sense of justice, they’ll set into motion a course of events of dire consequence, the reverberations of which will be felt throughout the rest of the series.

People will die.

Lives will irrevocably change.

And everything you think you know about Jackson Caldwell will be called into question…all because of a chance meeting one frigid morning in the park.

Once Jackson and Skylar meet, everyone’s fate is sealed…For better or worse.

As lines are drawn, where will your alliances lie?

The Alliance

Coming Monday, March 1st

(Soundtrack available here)

Continue reading…

How long can you play with fire before learning the fire’s been playing with you?

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

The objective was simple: Bring infamous bank robber Raptor to justice. At least, it should have been.

When the FBI has no leads on the man who destroyed her life after two years, Skylar Montgomery decides to take the law into her own hands. Using her unique set of talents, she submerges herself into Dallas’s seedy underworld, looking for anyone who can help with her obsession. A chance meeting brings her to a man who has the connections and the desire to help her, but can she trust him?

Con man Parker Ramsey has been in hiding for two years since the First Alliance Bank & Trust heist went bad. As vengeance comes within his grasp, he draws Skylar into his well-constructed web of cryptic half-truths. What he can tell her may take her closer to her final objective, but what he withholds may well destroy her in the process.

For FBI Special Agent Jackson Caldwell, relocating to Dallas was the fresh start for his career and love life he needed most. Unfortunately, being assigned to a 2-year old cold case and a partner with more secrets than the perp has doesn’t bode well for his career. To distract himself from his touch and go relationship with the woman he loves, he vows to stop at nothing to put this case to rest.

After two years of playing by the rules, Raptor is ready for his next score. Just as before, no one can stop him – not  Ramsey, not the FBI and certainly not Skylar Montgomery. And he’ll put a bullet in the heart of anyone who gets in his way, whether it’s a cop or another con.

All the world might be a stage, but when none of the players have anything left to lose, can any of them make it to the final act alive?

The Alliance

Part 2 in the Under Cover Series

Rated NC-17

Continue reading…

…Go back

Monday, April 5

Love is a fickle bitch. That’s right. I said it. Someone had to.

It’s not that I have anything against love, per se. I just…It’s complicated. Suffice it to say that she and I have met and parted ways. A few times. Each time, she sucker punched me then kicked me while I was down. Read more »

Tuesday, December 24
Washington, D.C.

I decided it was time to start packing.  The movers would be here the day after tomorrow to collect my things.  It wasn’t too late to back out, but I’d worked too hard for it to do that now, even though it wasn’t what I wanted anymore.

My homecoming was bittersweet.  Read more »

“You have some nerve showing up here like this,” Daniel said the moment he opened the door.

“My flight is in a few hours.  I need to see her before I go.” Read more »