Publication Date: August 27, 2024
Page count: 129 pages

My gaze fixed on a tall, brawny warrior dressed in a spiffy black uniform striding across the landing pad. God, why did he seem so familiar? I eyed his short hair and beard. He didn’t look Coletti. Maybe he was one of Zarek’s mercenaries. I mentally scanned him, and my jaw dropped. “Oh, my God. Hothar?”
The warrior stopped and turned to face me.
My affectionate companion had turned into a cold-eyed stranger. My stomach tied in knots; I walked over to him. “What happened to your warrior’s braids?
“I cut them off.”
Color me confused. Braids were an important part of a Coletti warrior’s identity. “Why?”
“I went undercover as an Avicii mercenary.”
Which explained his brown eyes. “And the beard?”
“It hides my Coletti features.” Hothar’s gaze roamed over me. “You have not been eating properly.”
“Gee, I wonder why?”
“I must go. Zarek awaits me.”
Talk about a slap in the face. Was he that eager to get away from me? “Who do you think told me where you were? Should I call you War Commander now or will Hot Lips still do?”
The muscles in Hothar’s jaw bunched. “I do not answer to Hot Lips.”
“Don’t I get a hug, Hot Lips?”
Hothar’s hands fisted. “I gave my word to Zarek that I would not touch you.”
“Well, I didn’t.” I wrapped my arms around him. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“And I you.”
Pain squeezed
my heart at his cool, impersonal tone. He didn’t sound like he had missed me at
all. His body remained stiff and unyielding. My God, he hadn’t even smiled at
me. I took a step back and smacked his chest. “You’ve changed your mind about
us. That’s why you never wrote or called or linked with me.”
I
was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep from
going totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea what a real emergency is.
Take this for example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?”
And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I really
couldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” The
woman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree.
I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am but
we don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about my
husband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hitting
myself repeatedly in the head with my phone I took up writing.
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Thank you for featuring HIJINKS, HITCHHIKERS AND MAYHEM today.
ReplyDeleteA fun read with dramatic comedy, sizzling sex, and snappy dialogue.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an awesome read.
ReplyDeleteVery sexy cover
ReplyDelete