Fiction by Sydney Katt
Sara ducked into the bathroom to get away from all the chaos outside. This was possibly the worst party she’d ever been to. Why couldn’t she just have one normal conversation without things turning strange?
It probably had something to do with the fact she had a public boyfriend and a secret boyfriend, both of which currently had their attention focused on their actual girlfriends. [Read more...]
The smart thing to do would be to get out there to help keep everyone in line. The chances of Nika truly having things under control were slim at best. Right now, there was too much tension swimming between too many different people for her to be on top of things. She’d need Sara’s help.
But Sara didn’t hurry.
Another knock at the door. Skylar felt as though she were on a rollercoaster. Each time someone showed up at her door, her heart hoped it was Price. About half the time it was because she wanted to deck him for lying to her and leaving her; the other half she desperately missed him and would give almost anything to have him back. As she crossed to the door she wasn’t certain which one of those times it was. [Read more...]
“So what the hell is going on here?”
It was a valid question. Between everything with Paul and Michael and her own strange behavior, her friend deserved to be confused. Hell, Sara was in the middle of it and she was confused herself. [Read more...]
Why did it feel like she spent more time in the shower or bath than anything else this weekend? This was supposed to be a party, not a lesson in personal grooming. Then again, none of her friends were treating this like a celebration of her birth.
It was more like a battlefield.
Scratch that. It was an [Read more...]
Skylar was still amazed she’d managed to make it home from the doctor’s office without causing a wreck. She was a mess. The doctor’s news shouldn’t have taken her as much by surprise as it did; she should have guessed it to be the case. She just hadn’t.
Why hadn’t she been more careful? [Read more...]
Skylar couldn’t concentrate on anything Reyna was saying. She never should have accepted her brunch invitation and she knew it. It was simply too hard to go through the motions of her life with the constant knowledge that Agent Caldwell could take her away at any moment. Now that they knew Price went to school with Chill and Cherry it was only a matter of time before they had his true identity. [Read more...]
Elaine’s face registered surprise when she opened the door. “What are you doing here, Brandon?”
He held up a plastic bag. “Dinner. Can I come in?” [Read more...]
Saturday, June 26
I was more than a little surprised to see Special Agent in Charge Sherry Banks at my front door, a bag in each hand. She’d offered little explanation, saying only that she had business with which to attend and she hadn’t wanted to go to Headquarters so late in the evening. Claiming that she’d failed to reach Hargrove before arriving, she’d thought it would be better for her to come here and alert him of her presence first thing in the morning. [Read more...]
Brandon took a deep breath and rang the bell. After a minute, Elaine came to the door, looking as though she had been crying since he’d left earlier that day. With a sad heart, he realized she probably had been.
“Brandon, what are you doing here?” Elaine asked, gesturing for him to come in.
“I was worried about you and I wanted to see how you were holding up,” he admitted.
She led him into the kitchen. “Can I get you something to drink?”
Brandon put his hands on her shoulders and caught her gaze. “Elaine, stop playing hostess for a second and tell me how you are. This is me, Brandon, you’re talking to. You don’t have to put on a show for me.”
Elaine averted her eyes. “I know that I don’t have to. I need to right now.”
Brandon detected the note of finality in her tone and decided he wasn’t going to get a better answer than that, so he let it go. Changing the subject he asked, “Have you eaten?”
She crossed the room and sat on one of the barstools. “The thought of food makes me sick to my stomach.”
He scowled. “You have to eat something…”
Elaine cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Don’t press the issue. I don’t feel like any more fighting today.”
“Do you feel like talking about it?”
Shrugging, “It doesn’t matter.”
Brandon opened and shut a few cabinets until he found what he was looking for. “Do you mind if I brew some hot tea?”
“No. Go ahead.”
“I couldn’t help but hear the yelling earlier. Is everything all right now?” he asked as he filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove.
“Sure,” she replied. “Daniel isn’t here so things are already looking up.”
Brandon got down two teacups and saucers. “I take it things aren’t going the way you’d like.”
Elaine looked at her hands and fiddled with one of the placemats on the counter. “I’m going to file for divorce as soon as I get Lana back.”
“What brought that on?”
“It’s been brewing for a while, I guess, but I didn’t really know it until today. My little girl is missing and he makes me out to be some sort of shrew. He just isn’t the man I married anymore. I have to wonder if he ever was the man I thought he was.”
“You do deserve better than that, Elaine.”
“You know, I’m starting to believe that. I can’t believe I didn’t realize sooner that he was having an affair. It was so obvious when I think back on it.”
Brandon removed the kettle when he heard the shrill whistle it emitted and poured the water into the cups. After adding a teabag to each he handed her one and they moved into the living room. Once they were seated he said, “You can’t blame yourself for that. No one wants to believe their husband is capable of something like that.”
Elaine took a long sip of her tea and mustered a weak smile for him. “No, I think I knew Daniel was capable. I just didn’t want to deprive Lana of her father at such a young age.”
He nodded. “That’s sensible.”
“I just can’t risk him hurting Lana.” She noticed the look that shadowed Brandon’s face and quickly added, “I know he would never lay a hand on her, but…He’s self-destructive. I’m old enough to know what I’ve gotten myself into, but Lana didn’t choose any of this. I don’t want her to get caught again in his wake. Assuming we get her…”
Brandon took the already drained cup from her hand. “You can’t think that way, Elaine. You have to believe we’ll get Lana back.” He stood. “I’ll be right back with some more tea.”
As he was pouring the tea, Brandon couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to Elaine if they didn’t find Lana in time. He shook that thought away the moment it entered his head. They would get Lana back because this sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen to Elaine. She deserved so much better; the best.
Brandon found Elaine asleep when he returned to the living room. He set the tea on the table quietly and considered whether or not to wake her. She would undoubtedly be unable to get back to sleep if he tried to get her to go to bed. Instead, he looked around the room and found a throw on the back of one of the chairs. After he draped it over her shoulders, he gave her an impulsive kiss on the forehead and murmured, “Goodnight, Elaine.”
Remembering himself, he quickly straightened and left in silence.
Wednesday, March 31
Jackson crumpled the page he was reading and chunked it at the trash in frustration. He and Dinsley had spent all of yesterday pounding the streets, working over every informant the Bureau had, and there was still nothing. Now, it was almost noon and he hadn’t turned up anything new, despite the stacks of reports he read.
“You missed,” Dinsley commented without looking up from his computer. [Read more...]
“What brings you by this afternoon?” Michael asked, rising from his desk.
I lingered at the door and leaned against the frame. “I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes.” [Read more...]
I followed Michael into the room the caterers were using for their equipment. Mentally, I tried to prepare myself for what he was about to say, but I found that to be a difficult task. The situation with Parker was at a level I couldn’t anticipate prior to tonight and it was now beyond the distraction phase; it was dangerous.
I should be keeping a close eye on my potential Raptors, yet all I wanted to do was find my partner and get a room as he suggested. [Read more...]
I was amazed at how much fun I was having dress shopping with Reyna. I expected her to drag me off to one of the ritzy dress shops on Preston Road in Dallas, but instead she took me to the mall.
In the second department store, Reyna held up a gaudy pink sequined dress and [Read more...]
Monday, March 22
Jackson glanced at the clock on his desk and realized it was finally late enough to call the Collin County prosecutor’s office. He grabbed his cell phone and went into one of the conference rooms, pulling the door closed behind him. Even though there was a phone on his desk, it was too out in the open and he didn’t want Dinsley to walk by and find out that he was going outside the Bureau to find out about him and the case.
“Good morning, Jenna Monroe’s office,” Trista said once she answered the phone. [Read more...]
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