Sunday Snippet: Outcasts

Wow. Orphan Black makes me so happy. The complete insanity of the plots never fails to entertain. I can actually say same the same about Arrow. I have no clue where they're going to end up going, but I'm definitely sticking along for the ride. The Flash is also upping its game. I'm looking forward to seeing how this season ends.

My catch-up viewing of Teen Wolf continues. I'm about finished with season two and apparently the truly crazy cakes stuff hasn't even happened yet. Can't wait to see what season three has in store.

Tonight's post is from Outcasts, a novella where my main characters have to rely on each other and leave their baggage checked at the door.

Here's the tagline:

Frannie Boyd and Thorn O'Reilly are stuck in a bad situation with no way out. But when the people they love are threatened, they'll play hardball to protect what's theirs, even if they have to go up against an admiral to do it.

And a sneaky peek…

She sighed and sat down beside him. "Explain. What’s ugly?" Besides a bunch of asshole pilots who kept visual scorecards that were bound to make her insane.

Thorn shrugged. "You heard granddad. They’re gunning for us." Glancing sideways, he went on, "I think they’re gunning for him, too." He couldn’t put his finger on it, but his instincts were screaming there was more to this transfer than anyone knew.

Nodding, Frannie agreed. "Right. What are we gonna do about it?" The two of them versus an entire ship? What could they do?

Thorn shook his head. "I have no idea." He looked up, continued. "Keep our eyes and ears open, try to find out what’s going on." Having both of them over there could end up being a good thing.

Frannie's tongue clicked against her teeth. "Damn straight." She sat for a minute, mulling over Thorn's fear that more was going on under the surface. It added to the dread she felt over leaving Deimos. "I really don’t want to do this, Thorn." Grabbing the edge of the bunk, she curled her fingers around the edge before straightening them out again.

Thorn got it. He wanted to reassure her, but what the hell could he say? They were walking into an almost blind situation with only instinct, rumor, and innuendo to go on. The only good thing? They trusted each other.

Thorn could count on Frannie.

Letting out a sigh, Thorn agreed. "Yeah. I don’t want to go either." Glancing over at Frannie again, he noticed she wasn’t as tense and he made a suggestion. "Look, we’ll stick together, at least the first couple of days?"

As much as she liked the thought, she doubted it would be possible. "We may not have a chance. They'll separate us… break us down… you know the drill." Frannie didn’t look forward to what lay ahead because she didn’t back down from a fight.

Thorn shook his head. "No. Not on the night before a mission." He was certain they’d have at least two days before the rank and file tried to crush them. "Look… let’s use whatever time we’ve got and learn everything we can." Expelling a breath on a sigh, he glanced over at Frannie noting the dread back in her eyes. "We’re the two best people to be over there… we have his best interests in mind." He didn’t have to tell her whom he was talking about. The quick nod of her head let him know she was on board.

Taking a chance, he grabbed her hand and when she didn’t draw away, he pulled her close. "It’s gonna be okay, Frannie. We’ll be okay." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head then let go and made to move off the bunk.

Frannie snagged his arm and drew him back to her. "Wait. Thorn." She didn’t know much about Admiral Naught, but from what she’d seen and heard the woman ran a very, very tight ship so another chance to resolve things between her and Thorn might never present itself. From the scuttlebutt she’d gleaned, Naught had a gung ho mentality on regulations and sending her pilots on dangerous missions.

And who better to send on shit missions than the two top dogs from a rival ship?

Tugging Thorn back down beside her, Frannie moved closer, invading his personal space. "We don’t have a lot of time here, but I think we both know there’s something we have to take care of before we check into our new digs." Tilting her head up, she looked to see if he was on the same page.

Thorn blew out a startled breath. Leave it to Frannie to spring this on him at the last possible moment. She was right, though. Their timetable, if they had one, had just been moved up.

They never, ever got the timing right.

This story keeps expanding, which I'm not complaining about. The sages like to throw new twists out when I least expect them. LOL

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flip.

ML Skye