Shockwave (Calendar Men: Mr. May)
Page 8
“Yes!”
He chuckled and pulled out his wire clippers. “Where to start?”
“You could uncuff me first.”
“No, not a good idea. Don’t know if the bed is trapped and I don’t want you panicking and moving.” Tanner poked around the corset, pulled his pocketknife out, and slit the fabric over the stiff panels serving as the boning. “Hmm.”
“Hmm?”
“Why do you always repeat what I say?”
“You didn’t say anything.”
“I said hmm.”
“Well, why did you say hmm?”
He picked the fabric open and stared down. “The panels are C-4. Your corset, the way it’s laced up, creates a closed circuit. If I cut the wrong wire, or try to remove the garment without defusing the bomb first, you’re going to be in pieces, so hmm. Be quiet and let me think.” He pried at more of the fabric. “Now, this is interesting.”
“What?”
“Timer.”
Timer? Lannie opened her mouth, her heart pounded so hard her chest hurt. Timers meant a clock counted down. “How...how long?”
“I got this. I’m not leaving you here. Not walking away—not again. So don’t worry about how long. Nobody is dying here. I think Catherine is relying on me to fall back on protocol and evacuate the others first—leaving me without time to get you free. I’m staying to finish the job.”
She swallowed as tears formed in her eyes. “What if you’re wrong? She said no matter what you did, the bomb would blow.”
He nodded. “Figured as much, but you’re going to have to trust me. I got this.”
Lannie exhaled, trying to calm down. Hysteria wouldn’t help the situation. “You still going to do the calendar?”
He grinned and snipped a wire. “You know I am. I’ll even let you tell the story.”
“I think I’m going to stick with human interest stories from now on. If we live. I’ve kind of lost my taste for war zones.”
“Well make it out.” He cut another of the wires. “So any ideas for your next Pulitzer winner?”
She thought about the ninety-year-old burlesque dancer. “I have a few ideas.”
“Tell me about them.”
Epilogue
Three months later...
“They’re doing a series, and I get to travel the country, searching for human interest pieces.” Lannie pushed the Times across the table to Tanner. “They’re calling them the Dollhouse series.” He looked down, read the article, and lifted his chin, smiling. “This is good.”
“Right. I didn’t think to look right under my nose. Unknown history of our elderly when they were rebels. Who’d have known how famous a burlesque dancer Dot used to be? World renowned, in fact. With a little digging and some personal photographs she provided, I think I brought her story to life. There’s also a woman who smuggled liquor to the speakeasies in New Orleans, and—”
“Easy.” Tanner laughed and glanced back down at the paper. “Let me read them when they come out. I didn’t know you could write like this.”
“You didn’t read the story I did on you, over in Kosovo?”
“Never read the article—couldn’t. Saw the picture a lot and it pissed me off.” He shrugged. “I’m over what happened.” Since he’d saved everyone in the nursing home and Catherine had been taken into custody, his life had gotten back to normal, or as close as normal could be. He no longer had the nightmares, and Lannie had moved in a month before, without incident. Something about her—she kept him sane, even when before she’d driven him nuts.
Yeah, he hadn’t made bachelor of the year; since he’d gotten engaged, they’d taken him out of the running—not that he’d been thrilled with the possibility of winning the title anyway.
The calendar did give him exposure, and he did take some shit for the sexy spread, until they found out what charity benefited. Then they were all over it. His squad decided to run a Memorial Day promotion for the calendar in the city to boost the sales, and working on the project further encouraged them to get involved in other causes. Now, all over the city, firefighters and police officers were wanting to do a similar project to raise money for widows and orphans of the fallen New York City heroes.
Yeah, May brought spring and promise. His month on the calendar—the perfect month to represent his life. As the world began to bloom around him with new life and possibilities, so did a new, and very unlikely romance—one he’d never have seen coming in a million years. Now that he had it, he planned to hold on to the love forever.
Turned out he’d been wrong there were a lot of things about redheads that were just his taste.
And...when Lannie moved in, she brought her cat.
Who’d have thought he’d like cats?
~From the Author~
D. L. Jackson is an award-winning author of urban fantasy, science fiction, military romance and erotic romance. She loves to incorporate crazy plot twists, comedy and the unexpected into her worlds. As a U.S. Army veteran, she naturally adores men in uniform and feels the world could always use more. She does her part by incorporating as many sexy soldiers in her novels as she can. When she isn't writing or running the roads, you can often find her online chatting with her peers and readers. Grab a cup of iced coffee, pull up your virtual chair and say hi. She loves emails and blog visits from her readers.
www.authordljackson.com
Don’t Miss
Outback Dirty by JoAnne Kenrick
Chris Ruter's plan for Australia Day is to beat the heat by letting the beer flow. His New York ex, Janine, seems determined to drive the heel of her sharp stiletto right through the wall he's built to avoid memories of her--but does she want him in front of her camera or in her bed?
Janine Red is ready to get outback dirty to win back her sexy ex. Following him to his plantation, their bushwalk turns into a trip down memory lane. Can the magic of the outback heal her sprained ankle--and their hearts?
February Lover by Rebecca Royce
Aidan Roux fled New Orleans fifteen years ago, leaving behind a woman he loved. Planning to keep it light because he has no intentions of sticking around, he’s caught off guard by his mother’s health crisis. Forced to stay, he challenges Stacey to be his lover for February with no expectations of anything else.
Stacey never stopped wanting Aidan, but she’s not a girl anymore and she meets his proposition with one of her own. A hero, just back from Afghanistan, he’s the perfect guy for her calendar contest. If he wants her in his bed, he’ll pose for her camera.
Stacey and Aidan seem made for each other—but old hurts cannot be forgotten and love isn’t always enough….
Seducing Helena by Ann Mayburn
Supermodel Helena Flores didn’t plan to fall in love with her Marine pen-pal, but that’s exactly what happens when she starts corresponding Seth Morgan. He’s funny, kind, and so hot she can’t stand it. In an effort to see if Seth can like her for her who she is on the inside—and not just as a swimsuit model—Helena pretends her job in the fashion industry is behind the camera rather than in front of it. But soon it’s time for Seth to come home and Helena tells him the truth, hoping he can forgive her deception.
Seth Morgan had been falling in love with his sweet and feisty pen-pal for months. When he finds out who Helena is, he wonders what she sees in him. Worse, when he meets her in the flesh, the reality is even better than his fantasy. But what can you do to keep the girl who can have anyone? Seth hopes the answer is a seduction so thorough and pleasurable she won’t ever want him to leave.
Frontier Inferno by Kate Richards
For Heather, Castle, Alaska offers many surprises. A new job—as a nanny of all things—a handsome firefighter whose charisma proves a distraction from her plans, and the danger of discovery. Heather may have to hightail it out of Castle and into the wilderness, or risk being dragged back into the very situation she’d fled.
Romance takes a backseat for single dad Chris Elder, while he focuses on his young son and
his job as a firefighter/smokejumper in the small community of Castle. But the arrival of the feisty woman from the lower forty-eight may prove more than his resolutions, or his libido, can handle.
Can the magic of Alaska save these two from a lonely future, or will circumstances force them to step back from their Frontier Inferno?
Contents
Title page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Epilogue
~From the Author~