Welcome to the monthly round up of all my #ThursThreads tales. It’s currently the end of September. I just celebrated my anniversary to Mr. SM yesterday and we had a marvelous time. Best Anniversary we’ve had in a while. I got to go on a short hike and then we fixed our patio and put in a fire pit to enjoy the fire in the evening. It was marvelous.
Most of these bits are of upcoming tales, written to prompts from the #ThursThreads #flashfiction challenge I host each Thursday. We’re starting with Week 474 through Week 477 and I’ve collected them in one place.
August had four Thursdays, so you get the four tales along with their dates and prompts. Happy reading!
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Week 474, August 5, 2021
Prompt: “But you don’t know him.”
Jamison shot a look a Chayse. His partner stared at the female body with narrowed eyes.
“What?”
Chayse pointed at the victim’s face. “Does she look familiar to you?”
Jamison frowned. “No.”
“No, I mean, does she resemble someone you know?”
He tilted is head as he scrutinized the bodies. “I don’t think so. Why?”
Chayse pointed. “Look at the way her face is done up—like one of those YouTube makeup artists who becomes famous people with makeup application. Doesn’t she look a little like Felicia?”
Jamison blinked. The skin was too pale to match Felicia’s rich mocha brown complexion, but the brows and slope of the nose seemed similar. He frowned.
“That’s weird. Felicia would never dress like that, but I guess they might look alike.” He shoved the unease to the back of his mind and examined the male vic. “But you don’t know him?”
Chayse shook his head. The white man had brown hair and blue eyes turned clouded gray in death. Freckles decorated his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. A small tattoo of an anchor decorated the inside of his left forearm. He looked like he’d spent some time in the gym, but Jamison’s research showed gym muscles didn’t necessarily mean strength.
Chayse crouched beside the bodies. “He looks like he may have been a bodybuilder. Any ID on the bodies?”
Jamison shrugged. “Nope. Both were clean. Like, literally clean. No blood, no ID, bags, cellphones, or keys.”
245 #SilverStateMystery words
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Week 475, August 12, 2021
Prompt: “How do you know?”
“Gracious evening to you, Mistress Felicia.”
Her breath caught once more, and her throat closed. Oh how she wished he truly meant those words.
“Good evening, Det. Jamison. It’s good to see you.” Damn, their interaction was always so formal, but though tonight was a private party for the members of the Underground, she and Edgar hadn’t discussed taking their relationship into the lifestyle.
He took her hand and kissed the knuckles, sending another sizzle through her. “If you have some time tonight, I’d like to discuss a few things with you privately.”
Unease dampened some of the heat and she straightened. “Is something wrong, Detective?”
He didn’t answer immediately, but casually turned her hand over and kissed the palm. “No, nothing’s wrong, Mistress.” He pulled her hand to his chest and pressed it there. “I just want some time to discuss this connection you and I have, and how to deepen it.”
She tried to curb her rising excitement. “How do you know I want to deepen it?”
A short pause and a rise in his heartbeat matched the unease in his eyes. “Don’t you? I – I didn’t come here tonight to push for too much too soon. If you’re not ready—”
“Be calm, Detective. I’m thrilled you’re asking for this. I’m sorry my joke fell flat.” She tightened her fingers in his jacket lapel. “I do want to deepen our connection and I will have time as soon as Lady Aislynn returns from her rounds.”
248 #SilverStateMysteries words
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Week 476, August 19, 2021
Prompt: “You have a question?”
“You mentioned a tour of the cool facilities.”
She laughed and it zinged through Chester like a burst of adrenaline.
“Yes, I’ll show you the pool, hot tub, and sauna that can be used after you bust your ass on the obstacle course through the woods.”
He gave her a weak smile. “Oh, good, that too.”
She laughed again and started the tour, giving him all the inside stories on how and why each amenity was built. He followed along, enjoying the cadence of her voice and the knowledge of the house.
“How do you know so much about this place?”
“Well…” Hermoine paused as they headed across the grounds from the obstacle course. “This was my parents’ vacation cabin, and when they decided they were too old for roughing it, they gave it to me. I donated it to the Sirens for a training facility and barracks.”
Chester coughed. “This is your parents’ idea of roughing it?”
She grimaced and rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah.”
He reined in his incredulity and nodded. “All righty then. I think you’ve really done wonders for the place and made it a great training facility. Top notch. Nicer than all the gyms I’ve been to.”
She snorted. “It better be. Okay. Do you have a question, or rather, any questions before we go in for dinner?”
“Yeah, just one.” He shifted in front of her and gathered his courage to meet her gaze. “May I kiss you?”
246 #Sirens words
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Week 477, August 26, 2021
Prompt: “Those are your options.”
Why the hell did I agree to this? I’d never needed a man’s help before. I’ve also never been targeted by a professional killer before, either. Of course, I didn’t know if the killer knew I’d been around and found the bodies and the baby, but I couldn’t count on that.
“What are we doing?”
“Eating breakfast.” He tilted his head. “That’s what it’s still called, right? I mean I know we’ve been apart for thirty years but I’m pretty sure it hasn’t changed.”
“Cut the shit, Paul. What are we going to do next? Stay here? Move to another place? Run?”
He shrugged as he took a bite of bacon. “What were you gonna do when I showed up?”
I shook my head. “I was making it up as I went along. Leaving was the first step.”
“Right.” He grunted. “So we could either stay here in the middle of nowhere without the club to back us up, and possibly get hit by a professional killer. Or we could pack up our shit and haul ass somewhere else, possibly back to the club, where we’d have someone to watch our backs. Those are your options as I see it.” He frowned a moment. “Why did you leave the club and hightail it down here, anyway?”
I grimaced and ate for a few moments before swallowing my pride with my food. “To get away from you.”
I expected him to scowl, but he threw back his head and laughed. “Well done.”
250 #ConcreteAngelsMC words