Tuesday Teaser 2/21/2023

My Tuesday Teaser is from my second chance romantic thriller,
Gone Away, book 4 of the Circles series.

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Mason grappled with himself. Should he tell these men who he was and hope he could talk them down and convince them the best option was letting him and Riece—or at least Riece—go? Or keep his mouth shut and hope for an escape?
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The oldest of the three waved at the ground with the crossbow and said, “Get down.” He then said to the third man, “Get his gun.”

“We’re here to take pictures. That’s it,” Mason said as he eased to his knees a few feet from Riece. If he’d been alone, Mason would have made his move while they were trying to disarm him, and taken his chances.

He wouldn’t take chances with Riece’s life, however. Civilians’ lives always took priority. Riece’s life even more so.

The man sidestepped close and held out one hand, waggling his fingers. “Try anything and you’ll end up dead.”

Mason slowly took his gun from his hip holster and set it on the ground, then gave it a shove so it was closer to the man. He was trying to decide the best way to diffuse this situation and get Riece the hell out of here when he heard the approach of yet more people.

Riece’s eyes widened and Mason’s hopes of them leaving without a fight were dashed. He pressed his lips together and stifled a groan when the woman and kid from the general store tromped through the trees along the gully.

“What the hell?” the woman asked. She carried a rifle, standard for hunting, but also wore a sidearm. The kid had added a crossbow, slung over his back, and a rifle to his collection.

Mason was getting a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. These people were armed to the gills. Far more than any hunter needed to be or usually was. He ran through the possibilities—drugs, poachers, survivalists, escaped cons—none of them were good.

“Oh, Ranger Rick isn’t so mouthy now,” the kid chimed in.

“What?” the older man asked.

“He’s a park ranger,” the woman snapped.

Red Hair burst out laughing. “So, don’t litter and we have nothing to worry about.” Mason sort of hated this guy.

The woman rolled her eyes, and her shoulders slumped. “Are you stupid? Park rangers are federal officers same as ATF and FBI. We trapped a fucking fed.”

“What’s he?” Red Hair pointed to Riece.

“A photographer. Like I said, we’re here to take pictures. That’s all,” Mason said.

“Empty your pockets,” Red Hair ordered Mason. He still held the gun on Riece but didn’t seem interested in him.

Mason pulled his badge from his hip pocket and his wallet from his back pocket, tossing them to the ground and out of his reach. The kid swooped in and grabbed them off the ground. He immediately rifled through the wallet.

“Huh, he’s a real card-carrying Injun.” The kid held Mason’s tribal ID card between two fingers and flipped it in the air.

The older man snickered, “Half-breed mutt with those blue eyes. I guess setting up a trap down here wasn’t such a waste after all.” He reached out and rubbed his hand over the kid’s hair.

Gone Away is available in eBook, paperback and
through Kindle Unlimited.

buy or borrow gone away