First Chapters
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The Arrangement – A Tangled Romance – Prologue
Candace Williams stood in front of Suite 801. One of the top shareholders of the hotel chain, where she was night manager, had rung the front desk and asked for her personally. Uneasiness crept over her. Had her work performance been anything less than stellar? She’d seen him in and out of the hotel lobby all night. Or had something about the hotel upset him so that he’d need to speak with her tonight instead of reporting it to her senior manager the next morning? The carpeted hallway seemed to hum beneath her heels, the muted lighting casting soft amber shadows that pooled along the corridor walls. A faint scent…
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The Heart of Holly – The Heart of Christmas – First Chapter
Holly Krindle swiped a damp rag across the chipped Formica tabletop, her movements slow and deliberate as she traced circles over the worn surface. She wasn’t really cleaning anymore—she was grounding herself, finding rhythm in the repetition, pretending that the ache beneath her ribs wasn’t still there. Outside the diner’s fogged window, snowflakes twirled lazily down onto the cobblestone streets of Sweetstock, blanketing the quaint little town in a hush of white. The world looked peaceful, untouched, like a postcard sent from a time when life still felt simple. She paused, cloth dangling from her fingers, and pressed her palm against the cold glass. Her breath caught as the sight…
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Working Girl – Working Class – First Chapter
Rachel Baldwin wiped her hands on her apron as she scanned the diner, making sure her tables were satisfied before slipping into the kitchen for a moment of reprieve. The steady hum of the coffee machine and the clatter of dishes in the background filled the space, the familiar sounds of her daily grind. The scent of sizzling bacon and fresh pancakes wafted through the air, mixing with the faint aroma of coffee—a comforting yet relentless reminder of the long day ahead. She caught a glimpse of herself in the small mirror by the swinging kitchen door, her brown hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, a few stubborn strands…
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Hunted – CORE Sector – First Chapter
Belize, 5:00 p.m. Alec Brodie snapped a picture and looked down at the camera. The light already had the bruised, late-day pallor of a place too tired to be cheerful. The glare felt less like heat than accusation, a harsh, judgmental eye from above. He squinted and brought one hand up to shield the viewer from the sunlight peeking through the trees. The canopy knitted itself into a cathedral of shadow; leaves clattered like dry prayers. He hoped to complete the mission fast and go back home to England. However, he wouldn’t stay for long before he had to leave again. Such was the life of a spy. His thumb…
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Betrayed – CORE Sector – First Chapter
Frank Temple poured himself a whiskey as the morning coffee brewed. He’d been drinking for two days. He took a sip and let the amber liquid burn in his mouth before swallowing, unable to shake the uneasy feeling, like a dark shadow hanging over his shoulder, whispering guilt from the corners of the room. He knew it was there, could feel it, sensed it in the creak of the floorboards, in the way the dawn light barely pierced the heavy curtains. The old house felt like it mourned with him, but if he turned to look at it, it was gone. Drinking at dawn wasn’t the retirement Frank envisioned, no…
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Mila – Maple Creek Fire & Rescue – Chapter 1
The phone buzzed against Mila Garcia’s thigh, a brief jolt against the roar of sirens and the acrid tang of smoke already curling in the air. She didn’t need to check it. When the call came, she moved. Her focus sharp as she shrugged into her turnout gear, the jacket’s weight settling like a second skin. Her crew moved around her—Elliot hauling hose, Jamie checking the rig’s pressure, Nate, the EMT on staff was grumbling about the rookie’s sluggish pace. “Jamie’s fine!” Mila shot back without looking. She caught sight of the rookie’s hands, steady as they snapped the couplings into place, her movements practiced, even graceful. Quiet didn’t men…
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Marked – CORE Sector – Chapter 1
Sara Brodie hung limp against the restraints, her head bobbing to the left as the helicopter sliced through the clouds. The world outside was nothing but white and gray, a purgatory of mist and distance. The drug kept her quiet for now, but silence was a temporary mercy. Once it wore off, everything buried inside her would wake, too— the voices, the memories, the ghosts of what she’d done. Marcus’s eyes locked on the horizon, his senses honed, barely acknowledging the tense figures seated behind him. The chopper cut through the dense clouds with relentless precision, skimming dangerously close to the turbulent waves below and the high cliffs where the…
