by T S Paul
As he exited his shower and dressed, he noticed the scent of food no longer lingered. Dressed Steve went into his room. His dinner plate was empty on the dresser where he left it and sitting on his bed was Nicole.
She was licking her tail and looked up at him. “That was tasty,” the CATT said. “I do like tuna.”
Steve looked at her with confused eyes. “You eat?”
The Marine wasn’t sure if that was even possible. In all the time that Nicole was on the ship, he hadn’t seen her eat. Didn’t think even contemplate her eating. The more he thought about her and food, the more he was sure she couldn’t. But knew better than to voice his doubts.
Nicole shrugged. “I might. I might not. You’ll never know, but your food was tasty.”
The CATT purred and left the room, tail high in the air.
<<<>>>
It was the middle of the night, and the room exploded with sirens and horrible, terrible music. The Marine jumped from his bed. His body ached as he exited his room. Sitting there was Nicole.
“That was you,” Steve said. He wasn’t asking. His leg wasn’t in the cast anymore, but his arm still was. It would soon come off.
“Just because you were hurt doesn’t mean I didn’t owe you.”
Steve nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“You better be.”
Steve would do his best to never get on the CATT’s bad side again. All thing considered, this wasn’t too bad. He had gotten off easy. “What time is it?”
“One AM.”
“Thanks for that. I’m going back to bed.”
“If you can sleep through that.”
“You aren’t turning it off?”
“Not until morning.”
Steve groaned. Maybe he hadn’t gotten off so easy after all. Oh, well.
That evening, they would leave for the next job. It was going to be a long and tiresome trip, one that Steve wasn’t looking forward to, but at least it was on the path to Taylor and the woman. Better than nothing.
Author Notes – Nathan Howe
The third book in Smuggle Life is done. Out and you’ll read it. I hope that you enjoyed the continuing adventures of the crew of the Rossi. With Rea and Steve leading the way this story was fun to write and see where the crew went.
Learning more about Rea was a joy. She is so much fun to write, as are Steve and Parker. Adding Aldis to the mix made for a nice little twist. I really can’t wait to see where the crew of the Rossi goes next.
I do have plans for the next three books, so I know a little of what waits ahead for them. Including why they are being chased by Drake and the mystery woman. Well, we already know why Drake is doing it. He is getting paid and hates Rea. Hopefully, we get more of that little relationship down the road.
The next book is in full swing. I love it. Can’t wait for it to be in your hands.
A special thanks to my writing group, Phoenix Prime. Writing with so many talented writers is a joy. If you haven’t already, check out their books on Amazon. Each and every one of them is worth a read. A special thanks to Scott, Kat, Diane, Dorene, and Nicole. They helped me get this story done and get me writing faster.
As usual, no story could have been written without the support of everyone around me. My family, especially my brother Derek, has encouraged me in the writing journey. Thank you.
Last, thank you for reading the book. It means the world to me that you took the time to read this story. I appreciate it immensely.
Author Introduction – Nathan Howe
Nathan is a writer of science fiction and fantasy. He has superhero stories as well as dystopian, apocalyptic. time travel, and YA fantasy. Nathan loves writing across many genres as they allow him to create varied and interesting stories.
His hobbies are vast but include reading, exercising, video games, Netflix, and going to movies. Outside of writing, Nathan is proud of his time in the Military. Nathan also loves his cat, Luna. She spends her days plotting to distract him and is usually successful.
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The Ardent Saga
Not all heroes are equal
Djinn Park
Burning Out
Power Sink
The Gadget King
Frozen Aura
The Ardent Saga Volume One (1-5)
The Stone of Azuria
The Butcher of Djinn Park
The Ascension of Natalia
Remy’s Aghast
Enter Assassin
Assault of the Mechajunks
Even Superheroes Fall in Love
Collab with Kris Endicott - Mysterious Hearts
Rise of Lacerate – Coming Soon
Emerge
Origin. Superheroes. Apocalyptic.
Emerge: Cataclysm
The Cretun Chronicles
Young Adult. Survival. Adventure.
Phoenix Galactic (Harper)
Jeremiah
Miles
Aiden
Philip
Mason – Coming Soon
The Elementalist
Young Adult Elemental Magic
The Prophecy - Phoenix Prime FO Anthology
Flight of the Phoenix (Scheme of the Wind)
The Goblin and the Grocer (The Draft and Her Mother)
An Absent Gale
Time Marshal
Time Travel. Cops. Protection.
Time Marshal
First Trip - Ticking of the Phoenix Clock - Coming Soon
Urban Fantasy Series
Supernaturals running for their lives
The Shattered Veil
First Dawn – Coming Soon
Alastair – Badger Hole Bar – Coming Soon
Boxed Sets/Collections
The Ardent Saga Volume One
The Ardent Saga Volume Two
Anthologies
Phoenix Galactic
Flight of the Phoenix
The Goblin and the Grocer
Snapshots of Life I
Haunted Hearts I
Phoenix Fantasy II
Phoenix Galactic II
Prime Fiction II
Primed for Action: Defending Home
Author Notes - T. S. Paul
This makes the third book in the Smuggle Life series so far. Author Nathan Howe and I thought it was a good idea to expand the Athena Lee Universe even more by introducing more characters and more situations.
Just because the two mightiest Empires in the Universe are battling each other doesn’t mean that time stops. Regular people move on with their lives good or bad. Smuggle Life is like that.
It’s been more than a year since I’ve put out a book in the regular series. Paranormal has been my primary focus, but with this series and others soon to come, I’m changing that. Sometime this year we’ll see Books Eleven and Twelve added to the main Athena Lee series. There is already the second set of books planned so the Universe will not die.
Stay in touch. You can find me on my Author page on Amazon, my website, and Facebook.
Author Introduction – T S Paul
I’m now into my second year as a published author. With over 25 works under my belt already my pace is relentless. Writing was never a goal of mine growing up. I really did fall into this accidentally. My wife and family knew of my love of books and urged me to try writing. It wasn’t until an author i befriended gave me a short push off a long pier that i really gave it a go. And what a go that was!
Athena Lee and Agatha Blackmore have given way to over 50 short stories. I write a lot. The future is in books and I’m in it for the long haul. Keep your eyes peeled for new and exciting things coming from me this year. Don’t forget to check the Blog every week for a new Wilson or Fergus story.
I welcome comments and questions on my blog. Follow me on Facebook or visit my Amazon author page. I have an author page with BookBub too.
I’m excited, are you?
The Federal Witch
&
nbsp; Born a Witch Drafted by the FBI! - Now Available in Audio!
Conjuring Quantico - Now Available in Audio!
Magical Probi - Now Available in Audio!
Special Agent in Charge - Now Available in Audio!
Witness Enchantment
Night of the Unicorn
Invisible Elder - TBD
Blood on the Moon - TBD
Child of Darkness - TBD
A Draft of Dragons - TBD
Cat’s Night Out, Tails from the Federal Witch - Audio Available
Serpent Con
Darkness Revealed
The Standard of Honor
Shade of Honor
Familiar Trials - Fledgling
Coven Codex -October 2017
A Confluence of Covens -TBD
Conflict of Commitments -TBD
Standard of Honor -TBD
The Mongo Files
The Case of the Jamaican Karma -TBD
The Case of the Lazy Magnolia - TBD
The Case of the Rugrat Exorcist -TBD
Cookbooks From the Federal Witch Universe
Marcella’s Garden Cookbook
Fergus Favorites Cookbook
Marcella’s Summer Bounty Cookbook
Marcella’s Autumn Harvest - Coming Soon!
Read and Eat Cookbooks
Badger Hole Bar Food Cookbook
Athena Lee Chronicles
The Forgotten Engineer
Engineering Murder
Ghost Ships of Terra
Revolutionary
Insurrection
Imperial Subversion
The Martian Inheritance - Audio Now Available
Infiltration
Prelude to War
War to the Knife
Ghosts of Noodlemass Past
Athena Lee Universe
Shades of Learning
Space Cadets - Coming Soon Late 2017
Short Story Collections
Wilson’s War
A Colony of CATTs
Unicorns are Short
Box Sets
The Federal Witch: The Collected Works, Book 1
Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 1-3
Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 4-6
Chronicles of Athena Lee Book 7-9 plus the prequel
Athena Lee Chronicles (10 Book Series)
Standalone or tie-ins
The Tide: The Multiverse Wave
The Lost Pilot
Uncommon Life
Kurtherian Gambit
Alpha Class. The Etheric Academy book 1
Alpha Class - Engineering. The Etheric Academy Book 2
The Etheric Academy (2 Book Series)
Holiday Tales
Tales from the Pumpkin Patch
Night of the Living Turkeys
Anthologies
Phoenix Galactic
The Expanding Universe Book 2
Cupid’s Bow
Mysterious Hearts
Journal with a View: July - August - September
Prime Peek I
Snapshots of Life I
Haunted Hearts I
Taking it in the Road
Silent Thanks
Non-Fiction
Get that Sh@t off your Cover!: The so-called Miracle Man speaks out
Study Guide and Timeline: The Athena Lee Chronicles