Risking Book Novels & Stories

"Thank you for telling me. For being honest." "Always. From now on, always." After we hang up, I sit in the hotel room, my hand on my belly, thinking about risk and safety and love. Loving anyone is a risk. Travis proved that. Giving your heart to another person always carries the potential for pain. But is the risk of physical danger different from emotional danger? Is Vittorio Conti's potential threat worse than Travis's actual betrayal? I don't know.

Trust didn’t arrive as certainty. It arrived as risk. The proposal sat between us on the table one page, no signatures, no deadlines. Claire Ashford hadn’t followed up. That alone was part of the test. “She’s giving us space,” Elena said. “That’s rare.” “And deliberate,” Adrian replied. I traced the edge of the paper with my finger. “This isn’t about money.” “No,” Elena agreed. “It’s about alignment.” The risk wasn’t failure. It was exposure on a different scale. Accepting meant stepping into something without institutional cover. No legacy. No shield.

“What if… what if this book has something to do with the bond? What if it can help us understand it better?” Quinton paused, his back to me, and for a moment, I thought he might actually consider it. But then he shook his head, his grip tightening on the book. “No,” he said firmly. “This book is too dangerous. I won’t risk it.” “But—” I started to protest, but he cut me off with a sharp look. “Fiona, I’m serious. The magic in this book isn’t something we can play with. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Well, it didn’t seem to register. I can see you getting all dreamy-eyed just talking about him. Taking risks is all fun and games, Zo, until you end up seriously hurt.” From her position in the corner of the sofa, Anja scoffed. “Jesus, Sienna, loosen up. The whole point of a risk is the adrenaline that comes from the potential of getting hurt. Why else would anyone go bungee jumping or sky diving or swim with damn sharks? You can’t spend your entire life surrounded by safety nets. What a boring existence.” “Better a boring existence than none at all.” “You might as well have none at all if that’s your outlook.” Raising her hands in exasperation, she widened her eyes as she swiveled to face

“What is a guy like you, who loves risk so much, doing working in insurance? You should be a bookkeeper or something…” “Insurance is all about odds, Roby, you know that. The client pays a small premium in case catastrophe hits, the insurance company essentially bets that it won’t and keeps the money. Risk, safety, reward… It’s all tied up. And this risk? I think I can safely take it.” Robyn opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. “Boy, you are freaking me out… Right now, Satan is preparing a special throne for you, next to his. Because you are going to skip Judgement Day and go straight to hell. You mark my words.”

Somewhere out there, untouched by consequence, the culprit carried on. Still watching and still waiting. Here it gets risky. That moment stands out. Everything shifts then. The risk shows up clearly. Danger becomes real right there. Fingers from their last move still tingled in the air.

I stopped and turned around. “You’re supposed to ask us what we know and so on.” She rolled her hand to suggest the so on part. “Aren’t you curious?” “It doesn’t matter where the spike is. We aren’t going to get involved.” “But there’s no risk!” “No risk,” echoed Maurice. “There’s no such thing as no risk. There’s always a risk. If you can’t think of any, that means it’s surprise risk, the riskiest risk of all.” “Ugh, I don’t even know what that means,” said Claire, rolling her eyes. “At least hear us out. Even if you don’t like it, knowledge is power, right? We have information.”

It would have been more fun if I could shift into my wolf form and glide together with other wolves of my age who would also be enjoying the winter evening, but unfortunately, I am not a normal wolf and I only have an inner wolf who has no idea how to shift anymore. "Yes, let's sneak out fast! I can't wait any longer!!" My wolf, Sienna, howled and kicked at me in urgency, as if she would die if I changed my mind. "What if we get caught?!" I sighed. "What if we don't get caught?!" She replied almost immediately, kicking me again. "It's risky, especially with the kind of hatred everyone has for us. We..." "Life is all about risk!!" She shouted, and I couldn't hold my laughter.

“That’s not what you said last night.” “Jackass,” I said and swatted his chest. “Things are pretty tense in there.” “Yeah. Phin doesn’t want the additional risks or diluting our resources. Sid is convinced the combination will make us a sitting target.” “They’re both kinda right.” “They are, but the risks are too great not to do this.” “We don’t even know what the risks truly are,” I reminded him. “If there’s even a hint of a risk that I could lose you, I don’t care how small, or imagined… I will move the heavens to eliminate that risk.”

“And you are being stubborn.” His hand slammed against the table hard enough to rattle the screens. “Naive men die in wars like this.” “And proud men lose them.” The words landed harder than I intended. For a second neither of us moved. Then Damian spoke again, it was slow and controlled. “You think you’re seeing the board clearly.” “I do.” “You’re not.” “And you think refusing every risk keeps us safe.” “It keeps us alive.” I shook my head. “No. It keeps us stalled.”