Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Believing themselves to possibly be under fire, Vinnie and Ethan are both relieved and angry to discover that the culprit is none other than Ethan's brother Joey. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Ethan turned toward me, his shoulders slumping a
little. I felt his sigh and I ached for him and what his brother was putting
him through. I pulled him to me and hugged him and we stood there without
moving for a couple of minutes. Realizing we had places to go, things to do, we
reluctantly pulled apart.
“You know what they say,” I said, in an attempt to
lighten his mood.
“What’s that, Vin?”
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” I winked at
Ethan and he laughed.
“You always know just what to say.” He took my hand
and directed our steps toward the rental car. “I don’t know what I’d do without
you, Vinnie.”
If I had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t find
out, either.
We made it to the store without incident, and found
everything on Sarah’s and Maureen’s lists and picked up a few things for
ourselves as well. I kept a careful eye out for anyone with the least
resemblance to a certain crazy actress or a certain supposedly incarcerated
serial killer but found no one fitting either description.
“Do you think I’m being paranoid?” I asked Ethan as
we loaded our purchases into the back of the car. He looked up at me as we
finished and he closed the trunk lid.
“Paranoid? No, I don’t think that. I trust your
instincts, Vinnie. But I also know you don’t like…you know who… not that you
don’t have reason to dislike her. But
that might color your judgment sometimes, you know?”
I knew what he meant, and I couldn’t deny that. “But
she didn’t make that phone call I received,” I pointed out.
Ethan nodded grimly. “I know. That’s why I called
Anderson. And why we’re being extra careful. “We rounded the car to the
passenger side where he opened the door. Before I ducked inside, he held me in
place, his body snug against mine. “I’d never let anything happen to you,
baby,” he murmured, his long fingers caressing my cheek gently.
I caught his
fingers with my own as I gazed into his beautiful blue eyes. “I feel the same
way,” I assured him. “I trust you, Ethan, with my whole heart and soul. I know
whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.”
“You got that right.” He flashed me one of his
amazing smiles before the moment ended and he handed me into the car and took
his place behind the wheel.
My brain was spinning in a million directions. This
was the last place I’d expected us to be when we took this assignment. By now,
we should have been comfortably ensconced in a nice Atlanta hotel, shooting the
breeze with Uncle Benny. But everything had taken a definite left turn from my
expectations.
“I think I’m going to call Benny,” I said, pulling
out my cell.
“Good idea.” Of course Ethan realized I meant our
pup, not his uncle.
By now, Troy should be in Roanoke with Brendan and
Benny. I hoped the little fellow was behaving, although I knew he never gave
them any trouble. Mostly because they spoiled him.
I counted the rings, waiting for Troy to pick up.
But that never happened. I didn’t bother to leave a message at the tone,
despite being requested to do so.
“No answer,” I told Ethan.
“Maybe they’re taking him out for a last walk,” Ethan
suggested.
Maybe, but wouldn’t he answer his phone? Oh well,
best not to borrow trouble.
“I’ll try again later,” I said, forcing myself to
put a good spin on this, not my usual doom and gloom.
We reached the Thorne house and were heading up the
long drive when Ethan and I both realized there was another vehicle there, one
that definitely hadn’t been there when we left.
“You don’t think… could that be Heather’s car?” I
hazarded a guess.
“I don’t know,” Ethan admitted. “I guess it could be
Mercy’s, but why would she…”
He never finished the thought as we drew closer to
the expensive looking sedan and the doors began to open. A moment later,
highlighted by the glow of our car’s lights, I spotted a familiar face, and for
a second I blinked because Ethan was there beside me. The next moment, I
realized that of course it wasn’t Ethan… it was Troy McGarrett, along with
Brendan and our little pup Benny.
What the hell was going on here?
No comments:
Post a Comment