Slip Of Tongue

When a child mysteriously disappears from a small town and even his mother seems indifferent, it’s time for the new sheriff to step in. Meet Chris Baker, the new sheriff of the quiet Adirondack town of Clifton Heights. As one inexplicable case after another forces him to confront the townsfolk in The Skylark Diner, it’s the furtive Gavin Patchett that hands Chris a collection of not-so-fictional short stories that tumbles him into a world of monsters, ageless demons, and vengeful citizens. As Chris reads through the stories the veil starts to lift, and he soon questions what is real and what’s not, and whether he really wants to know. Nothing will ever be the same again. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Laura merasa curiga pada seroang perempuan yang tinggal di sebelah rumah mertuanya. Pasalnya gelagat aneh wanita yang bernama Anita itu tunjukkan seolah-olah ia sangat dekat dengan sang suami. Ditambah lagi Fauzan kerap kali memangkas uang bulanan yang ia berikan untuk Laura dengan berbagai alasan hingga pada akhirnya Laura menemukan sebuah slip gaji milik suaminya yang membuktikan kalau uang gaji suaminya cukup besar sedangkan dia hanya memberikan tidak ada separuh dari gajinya itu pada Laura. Apakah yang akan Laura lakukan untuk memgungkap kebohongan-kebohongan itu? Apakah ada hubungan antara Fauzan dan juga Anita?

"Ms. Summers, are you sure you want to terminate this pregnancy?" Solana Summers has been lost in thought, but the repeated questioning suddenly snaps her back to reality. She stares wide-eyed, as if she can't believe what she is seeing. When the doctor, Aidan Bates, urges her again, she realizes she has been reborn. In her previous life, it was on this very day that she discovered she was pregnant and made a choice that cost her dearly. Aidan urges her once more. "Ms. Summers?" "Yes!" Solana answers firmly, her voice trembling ever so slightly. This time, she won't make the same mistake again.

I came home a day early from my business trip and hid in the closet to surprise Eric Carter. At seven, he told the housekeeper to cook several dishes. At nine, he told me hoarsely that he had taken a bath and changed the bedsheets in my room. He was sure that I would love it. I did not believe him because I had heard him moaning in bed with Willow Summers for three hours from the closet. Willow Summers was his childhood sweetheart and my sister. I clicked on a webpage from my cell without hesitation. "Miss Summers, your appointment for creating a fake death has been confirmed. Time of Death: One week later Location of Death: The wedding hall on the top floor of the Century Building Cause of Death: Suicide from jumping off a building!"

Hindi makatarungan ang pagaaruga ng kanilang mga magulang sa kanilang magkapatid. Mas pinapaburan ng mga ito ang kanyang kakambal. Nang dahil lamang sa isang kasunduan, itinakda ang kanyang kapatid sa isang lalaki. Sa araw ng kasal ay nakiusap si Bella sa kanya na siya ang humalili rito upang itali sa lalaking kailanman ay hindi niya pa nakikita ang mukha. Nabuhay siyang malungkot at nag-iisa sa loob ng mga taong siya ay may asawa na. Taliwas ito sa kanyang nakasanayang pamumuhay bilang isang suwail na anak. Nakukuha lamang nitong suportahan siya sa kaniyang mga pinansyal na pangangailangan. Dahil rito parang nabuhay ulit ang dating siya. Hindi siya makakapayag na maging sunod-sunuran sa lalaking kailanman ay hindi niya pa nakikilala. Parang nakikisama sa kanya ang pagkakataon at nakadaupang-palad niya ang kanyang kababata na binigyan niya noon ng kanyang babasaging tsinelas at sa hindi inaasahang pagkakataon ay hindi niya mapigilan ang tawag ng laman ng kanyang pumipintig na pagkababae. Handa na ba makipagsapalaran si Hyacinth Herrera sa init na kaniyang pinasok? Mananaig kaya ang sensasyong hatid ng kababatang si Thaddeus Siriad Vanesteri o ng asawang si Dairis Vaughn Conor?

By my third month on the job, I discovered that my coworkers had been calling me "the old crow" behind my back. The nickname came from none other than Jace's condescending secretary—because at 32, I was still clutching onto an eight-year relationship that hadn't ended in marriage. I confronted Jace. "Do you know your employees have been calling me the old crow?" He didn't even bother to look up. "That's just Sadie—she speaks her mind and means no harm. You're 32; why get so worked up over what a young girl says?" Then he gave me a faint, mocking smile. "Though honestly, it's a pretty fitting nickname." It felt like a cold hand had wrapped around my heart. So that was it—eight years of my youth, nothing more than a joke to him. I turned and walked away, handed in my resignation, and blocked every way he could reach me. But for the first time, the man who had always seemed so calm and untouchable finally panicked. "Elara," he pleaded, "please come back."

In my third month of employment, I realized that my colleagues were calling me an old geezer behind my back. This nickname came from Wanda Stewart’s arrogant and ambitious assistant. I had hit the age of 32, but was still clinging onto the last vestiges of hope of marriage after eight long years of our relationship. I asked Wanda, “Do you know that your subordinates call me an old geezer?” She said without batting an eyelid, “That’s just the way Samuel is. He’s just a straight-talker and he’s just kidding. You’re already 32, are you seriously fussing about this?” She then chuckled, “You two are really alike.” My heart turned cold. Turns out that eight years of my youth were nothing but a joke to her. I turned to leave, resigning from my post and blocking her. Yet, the woman who was always so calm and cool started panicking. “Jansen Graham, please come back to me.”

After working overtime every day for a month, I finally completed an important code that could save my company. Five minutes into my break, my team leader, Fiona Smith, suddenly hit me in the head with her file. “Because you spent so much time in the office, our electricity bill this month has increased by 15 kWh! Do you see this office as a free air-conditioning supplier?” I was about to defend myself when she angrily pointed at my cell phone and tablet on my desk. “You’re charging your devices here? You should charge them at home! Aren’t you aware of the company’s current condition?” I could no longer hold back my anger. “Fiona, I’ve been working overtime. I’m not here doing nothing!” “Can’t you do overtime at home instead? For a fresh graduate, you sure know how to exploit the company’s resources. Who knows what other despicable things you might be capable of doing in the future?!” Fiona yelled. I stared at her twisted expression and suddenly chuckled. If only my parents had seen me working so hard over such a trivial matter. They would have immediately asked me to quit and work in their company instead. I grabbed the flash drive with the important code and called my secretary. “Jane, I’d like to purchase Galaxy Corporation, and I want it to be the best in the industry.”

Ethan Cross doesn’t just defend monsters—he is one. A predator wrapped in a lawyer’s skin, he stalks the courtroom with the same precision he hunts beneath the moon. Every case he wins buries his secret deeper: a beast who thrives on order and control. Until her. Anna. Wild, relentless, and dangerous as the full moon itself. She doesn’t want mercy—she wants vengeance. Years ago, Ethan’s silver tongue freed the man who left her father in the ground. Now, under the ruin of a forgotten chapel, she shackles Ethan in chains he can’t slip, demanding the one thing he swore he’d never give—his loyalty. But justice in the shadows is no clean crusade. Together, they tear into a city built on corruption, where blood is currency and power tastes sweeter than wine. And somewhere between fury and fire, hate begins to twist into hunger. She was his enemy. He was her captive. But under the full moon, chains ignite, and monsters learn that desire is the most dangerous law of all.

With a shift, I let my dress slip from my shoulders and fall to the floor, revealing the lingerie beneath. Nathan's eyes darkened, as closing the small distance between us, his lips claimed mine in a possessive kiss. His tongue tangled with mine, both hungry and tender. Then, slowly, oh so tantalizingly slowly, he backed me toward the bed, his kisses travelling down my neck, across my collarbone, before they moved lower still… ~~~ FBI Agent Brianna Hart had always wanted Nathan Pierce, her stepbrother, and for several years they had been lovers, but circumstances forced them apart. When Brianna returns to her former job within the FBI, she finds Nathan married. When he once again becomes her team leader, Brianna tries to maintain a professional relationship with Nathan. But after a tragic accident takes the life of Nathan’s wife and unborn child, Nathan seeks solace within Brianna’s arms. Old feelings flare to life between them, and both struggle with the undeniable sexual attraction between them. Brianna's heart is torn over her love and need for the newly widowed Nathan, while he grapples with the loss of his family and his re-awakened feelings for a woman he never quite let go of.