Hey, hey happy readers! If you haven't grabbed your copy of Hexes and Holly featuring a Lost Souls ParaAgency original short story, here is a snippet of what you can find.
~~~~~~
Chapter One – The Assignment
Jordie
Small switched out his basketball shorts for a pair of jeans that’d seen better
days. Even though his benefactor and mentor, Lex Dimas, had more money than a
Kardashian sister, once Jordie turned twenty-one and dropped out of college,
the purse strings had drawn closed.
Lex had droned on and on about it being
a good lesson for Jordie to make his own way, and Jordie begrudgingly agreed.
He was no mooch. But, man, he’d liked the cool clothes that came along with
Lex’s money. And the cars. He tugged on his tennis shoes. Maybe he could talk Lex’s
girlfriend, Amira, into hinting to Lex about some big Christmas presents this
year.
Lucky for him, being a full-time agent
meant he could reside dorm-style in a wing of the Lost Souls ParaAgency. His
roomie traveled so much it was like having his own space most of the time. Along
with the roof over his head came a steady paycheck. Which meant he could at
least buy a nice enough Christmas present for Ris. She didn’t care about fancy
things, anyway.
He shrugged into a plain black t-shirt
and glanced in the mirror. He’d shaved and gotten a haircut for the holidays.
No reason he had to be a live version of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo all the time.
Other than a single shower running, the LSP’s
locker room was eerily quiet for a Tuesday morning. And since the underground
headquarters boasted one of the biggest assemblages of paranormals in Georgia,
eerie was something he’d become used to pretty quickly. Some rumored a shift in
the elders in charge of the Council on Crimes Against Humans meant the agents
were busier than usual. Paranormal unrest, someone had called it.
Jordie hummed briefly before breaking
out into song. “Jingle bells—”
“Jordie smells…” Gregor, a fellow junior
agent, also human, came from the shower area.
“You’re just jealous of all this
beauty.” Jordie interrupted Gregor’s version of the Christmas song. The two
were tight friends who showed their affection by teasing the other mercilessly.
They hadn’t seen each other since Jordie received his official status as agent.
He stood and scratched the area around
the bright green amulet encased in silver. He put his hands on his hips and
made sure the jewel caught the overhead lights.
“Yeah, man congrats. I heard you got
your status and then immediately got whooped by a Care Bear.”
Jordie dropped his hands to his sides.
“It was a drunk, lumberjack grizzly, and you couldn’t have handled him either.
That dude had anger issues and two hundred and fifty pounds on his side.”
“The beating explains how you ended up
on special side kick duty for the Walker witch.”
“Excuse me? I am no one’s side kick.” Jordie
tapped the amulet, ignoring that Gregor had referred to Ris as the Walker witch. “This means I’m a bona
fide agent, and I supervised a new agent’s mission while recovering from my
injuries.”
Gregor opened a locker on the opposite
side of the room. “That’s not how I heard it.”
“You heard wrong.” Jordie played with
the agency amulet hanging at an angle near his collar bone. “I supervised.”
Gregor tugged on his boxer shorts, then
paused to give Jordie a look. “But you got involved, and she handled the actual
assignment while you provided back up.”
“I guess.” Jordie tapped his midsection.
“You have to remember that my ribs were still healing. And it was her job to
take the lead.”
“That still makes you the side kick, my
man.” Gregor sauntered over and punched his shoulder. “Do you really want to be
a witch’s sidekick?”
“Shut up, dude.” There were worse things
to do than hang out with Ris during an assignment. In fact, after her training,
he hoped they’d be assigned as LSP partners.
“The side kick story is better than the lovesick
puppy story, though.” Gregor had lowered his voice and cut his eyes from
side-to-side as if expecting someone to walk in on their conversation.
“There better not be a ‘lovesick puppy’
story.” Jordie let out a huff. He liked Ris, and they were still defining their
relationship, but that didn’t mean he fit the definition of a fool for love. “I
dare someone to say that to my face.”
Gregor’s eyes widened as if he realized
Jordie didn’t take his comments as joking around. “Hey, you know we’re buds. I
don’t care if you follow the witch around like she has you on a leash. I’ve
always got your back.”
Jordie pursed his lips. He didn’t like
being the topic of gossip in the agency.
“Hello, gentlemen.” Tippie, siren and
mother hen to a lot of the agents, stood by a row of lockers. “I need to speak
with Jordie. Privately.”
Gregor yanked on a pair of basketball
shorts and then tugged on his shirt as he walked through the exit. He gave
Jordie a wink that all but said they weren’t done with the lovesick
conversation.
“Is this about the secret Santa gift?”
Jordie hoped his expression conveyed sincerity. “I honestly didn’t know Millie
would be offended I had her shifter cat form made into a Dracula cat portrait.
They’re so popular on Etsy, and the artist nailed her shiny black fur.”
He’d known Millie would hate it, but he
loved teasing her like an older sibling.
“That’s not what this is about.” Her
soothing voice wrapped around him like a soft blanket. She sat on the bench and
patted the space beside her inviting him to sit. She wore a bright purple
pantsuit romper-thing with stiff fabric that made a soft crinkle sound when she
crossed her feet at her ankles.
“How are your injuries healing from the
grizzly shifter assignment?” she asked.
He tapped his midsection as he’d done
for Gregor. “Pain is pretty much gone. Just in time for Christmas vacation.”
He’d been planning to spend both
Christmas Eve and Day in Burberry with Lex and the Walker women. His choice, of
course. Not because Ris had him on some retractable leash.
“That’s good to hear.” She folded her
hands in her lap. “I’m in need of a favor.”
Oh, man. Her voice had come through
clear, without the added snuggles, which meant she wasn’t manipulating him into
saying yes. This must be serious.
“And…” she continued, glancing around as
if to make sure they were alone. “I’d like to keep this between us.”
“You mean, don’t tell Sparsh?” The agency’s
head guy, who also happened to be Tippie’s husband and a powerful warlock,
wouldn’t appreciate being left out of the loop. A knot formed in his stomach.
He didn’t keep secrets well.
Ready for more? Purchase your copy of Hexes and Holly today: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08K3LDNBR
Love my content? Consider buying me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/kizziewaller
