Sunday Snippet: V Is for Victory

Geez, I can't believe we're almost through March. This has been such a busy month and it's flying by. A few outside distractions added to the mix this week and were something of a big time suck.

My work projects are still chugging along and I'm making progress on my side gig I hope to launch soon. Technically it's already out in the world but I'm adding a big layer to the whole thing. Of course, I pick a moment in time when I'm crazy busy. But I love a good challenge.

As usual, the weather is all over the map. We've had a lot of wind rolling through, stirring up dust and who knows what else. And the temps are doing the back-and-forth dance. I'm looking forward to having some even, leveled-out days … whenever that might be.

Slow viewing week again. Partly due to work stuff and I'm also in a bit of a slump. I might be edging toward a binge-watching phase, which I haven't really done for a long while.

I got most of the way through the episode of London Kills I started last week. It's the opening ep of the fourth season so I kind of want to pay attention and I keep missing key things, so I'll finish it when I have more brain power.

Watched an episode of Death in Paradise and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd seen bits and pieces of this one so kind of knew what to expect. I very much remember absolutely disliking Neville's sister with an intense passion and that didn't change. Maybe she'll grow on me, but I doubt it.

Also caught the holiday episode of Beyond Paradise and totally loved it! Christmas shows make me happy and this episode seemed to pull the periphery cast into each other's orbits and I loved that. Looking forward to diving into the rest of season two. And, oddly, the timing ended up being perfect for the crossover last week when Humph returned to the beach. Not sure how I did that.

I did another binge marathon of Peter Gunn also. I'm loving some of the live channels on Plex.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from V Is for Victory, a novella set in the V-World universe.

Here's the miniblurb:

When Ric Biden is kidnapped by Nemesis to further his hold on V-World, Deandra Wilder vows to help Mallory and Surge bring Ric back in one piece. After all, she's the reason Nemesis found their headquarters. And she's willing to do anything to get Ric back … even if it means entering the VZ and ghosting herself to keep Ric from succumbing to Nemesis's mind games.

And a sneaky peek…

Deandra Wilder drummed her fingers on the metal table. "So, we agree? I'm going in to find Ric." The idea made her queasy, but she'd do whatever it took to save him.

Even if she ghosted herself or ended up shredded.

But Surge and Mallory wouldn't let that happen. Would they?

No, her gut said they'd have her back. Surge wanted to take Nemesis down once and for all. And Mallory wanted her brother home in one piece … hopefully with his incredible brain intact. If Deandra ended up not making it … it would be her choice and done to save Ric.

Man, if anyone would've told her she'd be ass over tits for a giant brainiac, she'd have laughed them off the planet. Yet here she sat, gearing up for battle because she'd fallen truly, madly, deeply for one. And, dammit, they'd only had like five fucking minutes to get started.

Surge nudged her wrist. "Dea? You get that, right?" He wore his serious Surge face, so whatever he'd said must've been important.

She shook her head. "Sorry. What am I getting?" Exhaling slowly, she focused on the two people at the table.

She couldn't fuck this up.

Mallory's eyes flashed with impatience, but she spoke calmly. "Nemesis knows where the ranch is. We have to go mobile before you go in." Her gaze drifted around the room. "That means making some arrangements to cover the day-to-day operations, get set up at a new location, and finding some way to get you inside without drawing a lot of attention to ourselves." A sigh escaped her, and her shoulders slumped.

Surge grunted. "Actually, I've got just the thing we need." He frowned. "But it'll take a couple of days to get it outfitted." He whipped out his started swiping through screens.

Deandra balled her hands into fists. "A couple of days? Surge, you know what Nemesis can do to someone in less than twenty-four hours." She got up and paced back and forth. "We don't have a couple of days." Dammit, maybe she should do this alone.

Mallory snorted. "Don't even think about trying to sneak off on your own. Ric will buy us the time we need." Her voice held conviction.

Deandra sat back down. "Fine. But if anything happens to him…" She huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes. "Right. What the hell am I saying? If anything happens to him it's on me." For the millionth time, she wished she'd never met Nemesis.

Mallory leaned forward. "Look, it would be easy to let you shoulder all the blame. But it wouldn't be fair." She held Deandra's gaze. "This team, which includes Ric, is my responsibility. Security is never completely foolproof. That's why I have Surge. To test the limits and use that knowledge to shore up our defenses." A shoulder lifted. "There aren't a lot of people who can do what we do, so we all have to dig in and do the work. You're part of that now. And we need you. Maybe more than you need us, especially since you didn't sign up to be a team player…"

Surge cut into the conversation. "There're perks to having a team." He shifted his gaze to Mallory. "Ask me how I know…" He turned his attention to Deandra. "We'll be with you every step of the way. You're not alone anymore."

Deandra gave a jerky nod. "I know. I do." She sighed, folded her arms on the table, and rested her head against them.

She might not be alone. She appreciated having people in her corner now. But…

I won't be complete without Ric.

I literally just started this one and I'm so excited to see where things go with this universe. Pretty sure one of the other side characters is pushing to have their story told also.

 

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

 

ML Skye