Book Preview He came to town riding the wind; when he left, he reckoned he’d do it just about the same way. The thing was, Lafayette Jackson Hendricks had been in the wind a long damned time, and he’d had just about enough of that shit to last a lifetime. In his current occupation, though, … Read more
Book Preview “They got her,” I said as I walked into the office, bare-chested, in the middle of the night. It was summer, and steamy, and I was sweating to beat the damned band. I’d just flown in from Maple Grove, Minnesota, to Eden Prairie, where our offices were. Even the brush of the wind … Read more
Book Preview “There are hunters and there are prey in life, see,” Charlie Cooper told the clerk behind the counter of the shop, nestled in a corner of East London, “and I don’t figure you for a hunter.” Cooper held his hand up at the clerk; it didn’t shake at all. It hadn’t shaken when … Read more
Book Preview “Any last words?” Greg Vansen asked, wagging his finger at Percy Sledger. Sledger stood at the edge of a precipice that overlooked the Columbia River and Interstate 85 several hundred feet below. Greg figured that in daytime it was probably a stunning natural overlook, for those who were interested in such things. For … Read more
Book Preview “Romeo and Juliet. Bonnie and Clyde. That’s our kind of love story, baby. That’s who we are. That’s our destiny.” June Randall laughed as she said the words aloud, brushing her strawberry blond hair back over her shoulders and kicking the beach sand between her toes. Elliot Lefavre—she called him “Ell” because it … Read more
Book Preview Messenger Status: Online. Thirty thousand feet was a strange place to find myself into the biggest trouble of my life, but somehow I managed it. Airplane etiquette dictates you should just lean your seat back, put your tray table to the down position, eat your snack, take the Coke or whatever it is … Read more
Book Preview I woke up alone, in a bed that wasn’t my own, as I had for months. The smell of stale cigarette smoke had long ago settled into the furnishings around me, and into my nose, a subtle, constant irritation. I blinked, looking at the thin slits of light that made their way through … Read more
Book Preview There are two types of people in the world. In the days of yore, when we used to hang people from a gallows for wrongdoing, the first type would see that criminal swinging, tongue sticking out, face turning blue, and say, “Gosh, I don’t ever want that to happen to me.” Then they’d … Read more
Book Preview How many stories were there in New York City? Nadine Griffin didn’t know and didn’t really care, but until recently, she was pretty confident hers was one of the best. Born to privilege, Nadine had gone to the most elite prep schools, summered in the Hamptons, wintered wherever the skiing was good and … Read more
Book Preview The alley was dark, a slick of melted snow and recent rain coating the asphalt surface. The liquid caught the glare of the lone light hanging above, the only bulb in the long, narrow alley that hadn’t burned out. It gave the ground a sheen like a sun was burning somewhere overhead beyond … Read more
Book Preview Albert Hammond’s “It Never Rains in Southern California” plays over a high shot of the city of Los Angeles. We PUSH IN on a blond girl, BARBARA “BOBBIE” KEEN on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, early twenties, blond, leggy, vivacious, but poor, two steps north of hipster or homeless. PAN AROUND to REVEAL … Read more
Book Preview I stood over the grave and stared at the curving letters carved into the stone. The way they were written made the name look elegant. The stone itself was flecked with grey and black, like a rock that couldn’t quite decide what color it wanted to be. A hard wind blew past me, … Read more
Book Preview It wasn’t the six-hour flight delay, or even the nine hours on the plane that did it; it was standing in the U.S. Customs line for over an hour and dealing with the accompanying bullshit that made Benjamin Cunningham finally explode. Benjamin was tired; his neck hurt. He’d been in the airport in … Read more
Book Preview Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota They say blood is thicker than water, and while this is literally true, it’s also really annoying. Take it from a girl who’s cleaned up way too much blood in her time. When you take this expression metaphorically, however, it’s actually even worse than laundering your clothes to get … Read more
Book Preview Fifteen Miles Outside Omsukchan Magadan Oblast, Russia The revolution was, in fact, televised, though it was a mercifully short affair. Matfey Krupin had watched it all from the front lines, in Red Square, when the army came marching in to support the people against the tinpot dictator that had held an iron grip … Read more
Book Preview I remember the day my dad left for the last time. He ruffles my hair with his wind, this power he has to control the currents of air. It blows right through my thick, wavy locks like a good wind should. It doesn’t make me smile like it usually does, though, because I’ve … Read more
Book Preview The alley smelled of blood and fear, the stench and signs of death spread all over the red brick. It was a backstreet in Chelsea, a barely passable gap that wouldn’t have qualified as an alley in America. A car might have been able to squeeze through, but only one of the smaller … Read more