What I'm Working on This Week

Here's and excerpt from my unnamed novel that follows, Last Flight of the Ark.

She stumbled forward and looked back with a glare. “Patience.”

“The commander has no patience.”

Yeah, she got that. At the end of the long corridor, a door on her right dissolved and they pushed her inside the windowless room. She spun around to meet a solid barrier. This was isolation. Why put her in isolation? She opened her mind and began to pat along the wall in the dark, looking for anyway out.

“Don’t bother,” a raspy voice said behind her, followed by a scraping sound on the floor and a groan. “I’ve already looked, at least a hundred times. There are no secret exits.”

Sparrow whipped around and pressed back against the wall, her heart pounding. Who did they toss her in the cell with? “Who’s there?”

“I could ask the same question, but I can see in the dark.”

“Stay back.”

“I assure you, I couldn’t come over and gobble you up if I wanted to. You’re safe.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your buddy beat the crap out of me, now he’s sent his girl in to interrogate.”

She shook her head. “No. They grabbed me and shoved me in here.”

More shifting sounds and another groan. “In that case, can you give me a hand over to the bunk by the wall?”

"Bunk?”

"Walk about ten steps forward and reach down. Don’t worry, I don’t bite.”

Sparrow’s heart rate rocketed. Could she trust him? She’d never heard his voice but knew who. Images of Dace flitted through her mind. Why would her commander toss her in the cell with him?

“Please. I’m not an animal.”

“I know.” She started shuffling slowly forward until the toes of her boots came in contact with something solid. A hand reached up and grabbed her wrist.

Sparrow yelped and yanked free.

“The idea is that you give me a hand to my feet. I’ve got broken ribs and can’t get up on my own.” She reached down and helped him to his feet. He leaned against her, taking shallow breathes. He sniffed and growled. “It was you, with my brother.”

“I…”

“I can smell him on you.” A low rumble came from his throat. “I don’t like it.”

Oh, God. She was in trouble. She stepped back and her feet were swept from under her. Sparrow landed with a loud oomph on her back. A hard male body rolled on top of her, pinning her to the cold stone floor. His lips were so close his breath washed across her face. Her stomach tumbled. She’d always secretly had a crush on Dace, but never expected to find herself face-to-face in such close proximity. “I thought you said you couldn’t get up on your own.”

Have a great weekend,

D L