by J. A. Huss
Chapter Forty - Sasha
Don’t let anyone tell you getting shot is a piece of cake. I’m looking at you, James Fenici.
Of course, he’s not here. So I’m really just talking shit in my head.
I shiver as Harrison pilots the sailboat back to shore. My custom made-in-Colombia-for-drug-dealers’-kids bulletproof life vest is gone. Ceramic panels and layers of Kevlar tucked inside some Disney cartoon fabric is not exactly the best flotation device. I had to slip that thing off as soon as I hit the water or I’d sink straight to the bottom. So I’m pretty cold right now.
“You OK, kid?” Harrison asks.
“Do I look OK?” I ask back.
He shrugs. “You could be worse, I think.”
“I’m freezing. How much longer?”
“Well, we’re sailing, so the wind is our engine. We have a motor too, and we could speed off like we’re getting away from something, but it’s better to play it cool.”
He’s right. We came this far. I got shot, Harper is back on her fancy yacht, out of the way. And James is probably on his way to the meeting place. “Play it cool then,” I sigh.
It takes us another half an hour to get to shore, and by this time the sun is going down, the sailboat races are over, and the harbor is clearing out. I can still see Harper’s ship. It’s very hard to miss since that thing is as big as an apartment building, and I have to admit, I’d sorta like to be her right now.
I’d sorta like to be anyone but me.
We get to shore and Harrison ties up the boat and points to a rental car in the parking lot. “Go sit in there. Your gun’s under the passenger seat in the front.”
I do as I’m told. What choice do I have?
I wait for about ten minutes before Harrison comes back. He smiles at me as he starts the car and then we are on our way. The drive back out to Fullerton airport takes almost an hour. Accident on Harbor Boulevard. But when we get there and I see James leaning against the side of the building smoking a cigarette, my sadness melts away.
He grins and then holds up a stuffed dinosaur and shakes it at me.
Oh, James. You are such a surprise.
I get out as soon as the car stops and walk over to him. I do my best not to run, but I admit, I skip those last few yards. I hug him around the waist and start to cry.
“I’m so sorry, Smurf. Look, I got you a dinosaur, to make up for shooting you in the chest.”
I sniff and wipe my eyes as I pull away. I take the pink T-Rex toy and hug it close. “That’s not why I’m crying.”
“Does it hurt?” he asks, kneeling down to look me in the eye.
I nod, why lie. “It does,” I whine. “I feel like someone hit me with a baseball bat.”
Harrison whistles. “Let’s fucking go!”
James scoops me up in his arms and carries me over to the plane. “Fuck, kid. I’m really sorry you had to be part of this. I am. And Harper is never gonna forgive me. Even if we set things right. But I told Nick I’d keep her safe and this is the only way to do that while we take care of business. No one can get to her on the ship.”
He sets me down at the stairs to the plane and then takes my hand as we climb. “She will, James. She’ll forgive you. You know how I know?”
“How?” he asks as we enter the plane and take our seats across from each other.
“Because I’ve decided you were right. Ford is just like you.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, we’re both killers. I’m glad you finally got that straight.”
“No,” I say. “That’s not what I mean. I mean you are just like Ford.”
He tilts his head and gives me a funny look.
“Nice,” I say with a sigh. And even though he tries to pull it off. He tries to pretend my words don’t mean anything to him. I know they do.
He’s a killer, he’s an asshole, and he’s one of the most dangerous guys on the planet. But he’s my partner now. And we’re gonna go kick some serious ass and save the world.
END OF BOOK SHIT
I’m writing this in the Word doc I used to plot the book and holy hell, I did not do one thing I planned on in my outline. Like nothing. And the ending I knew (and did stay the same) but I didn’t bother to write it down, so that doesn’t count. Oh well. It turned out OK, yes? :D
I just re-wrote the description for this book because I’m getting ready to upload it and I always see if it can be improved before I do that. I looked at my original description, which I wrote before I started the book, and it’s pretty dead on as far as my intentions go. It needed some cleaning up and I added in a fuck, (Fuck-able, actually because hey, I think we have already established I love the f-bomb) but if you look at the original description on Goodreads, then the new one on Amazon, they are pretty much the same. The new one is catchier, but the intentions I started with are quite similar to the reality I ended with. That’s a good sign. :)
So my street team got the ARC’s a few days ago (thank you for reading Team!) and I was reading their reactions as they read—we have a secret Facebook group where we hang out and shoot the shit and Jana made up all these discussion threads based on chapters completed—anyway, I was reading their reactions and it occurred to me when they were trying to figure out who Number One was and didn’t believe ANYONE I killed off in ANY of my other related books was dead, (characters who had their HEADS blown apart at close range, people) that I might’ve written a very twisty plot.
Did I mean to? No, I have to say I never start a book thinking, “Let’s fuck with their heads!” I just get bored if my characters aren’t doing something. And not just fucking, right? Sex can be boring too. I need my characters to be exciting or I just lose interest. So even if I start a book with no secrets, they just… appear. I can’t stop it. It’s my default setting.
So if you didn’t like this one, I apologize. It’s fucked up twisted, I know that. I am writing a fun series that releases next month that has fewer twists that you should check out.
But if you DID like this one – holla! Bitches, I have so much more to tell you about the definition of twisted! Hehe, insert evil laugh with hand rubbing here. I have Merc, for one. A very dark erotica that will release early 2015 (two books, one month apart). And I have a very dirty erotica planned for December or January 2015. I will have it done by December, but I’m not sure if I want to release just before Christmas or not. I’m debating. Slack released just before Christmas and did not do well, so I’m gun-shy. (Speaking of Slack, if you have not read it and you liked the characters in this book, read it. Sasha comes straight out of Slack.)
And of course, the third and final COME book will release in November 2014. So a few months away. I have that two book fun series releasing in August and September 2014, so after I finish those, I’m all about COME #3 (title to be released later).
And then I have this Rock Star book that I just proposed to my agent so she can try and sell it. I’m not sure if that will sell to a traditional publisher, because it is twisty one but with some super sexy, angsty, controlling, asshole rock stars. If it doesn’t sell, I will release that in April and May of 2015. And then I have something SUPER SPECIAL planned for summer 2015. So stay tuned for that announcement.
So that’s where I’m at with this writing gig for now. I have a lot of plot ideas and I really don’t intend for them to get complicated, but they just come out that way. I’m not sure if I can change that, so if you hate the twisted stuff, try that Secret Summer Series (title to be announced on August 4th 2014) and let me know if that’s more your style. I can write those too. I’m having a blast with this one because the plot, while more traditional romance, has a really fun hook.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for being awesome. Thanks for your review. (You’re gonna write one, right?) Thank you! :)
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ry cool Facebook group called Shrike Bikes where I hang out everyday. My street team is in there too, along with some crazy fun ladies. So if you’re a Facebooker, request to join and we will add you.
See ya next month.
Julie
