First Page Friday ~ Sue BARR

This was the first manuscript I ever sold in 2010. In 2014 I received my publishing rights back for ATP and seven other publications. In 2015 I re-published According to Plan under my own name (after taking out the naughty bits...). Today, I'm sharing the first page from Tank and Shelby's story.

Blurb:

Shelby Stewart's been hired for the biggest case of her career. Locate missing socialite Harrison Grant. To complicate matters, her estranged husband lands on her doorstep. He's also on the hunt for Harrison, albeit for a completely different reason. Harry is the prime suspect in the grisly murder of a call girl in L.A.

Agent Jake Steele, aka Tank, is deep undercover as a P.I., and sometimes there's collateral damage in his line of work. His marriage to Shelby is one of them. With her life in danger, he lets her think he left for another woman. When this case is over, he means to win back the heart and trust of Shelby, the only woman he's ever loved.

However, there's another person who has their eye on Shelby and will stop at nothing to possess her.

From an attempted kidnapping to an explosion with deadly consequences, this is not your average missing person's case.

First Page:

A hint of rain lingered in the air without breaking the stifling heat. Seated in my office, which I’m sure was a broom closet in a former life, sweat threatened to trickle down the inside of my bra. I hated being cooped up on days like this and longed to be outside. At least if I was on the job, I could duck into a coffee shop for some air-conditioned relief, but long overdue paperwork threatened to topple off my desk. Despairing this day would never end, freedom arrived with the ringing of my desk phone. I pounced on it like a cat with a new toy.

“Stewart Agencies. This is Shelby.”

“Our son is missing,” a deep, modulated voice said with no preamble.

 I found that odd, but with the angst that rides alongside a missing family member the man obviously did not want to waste precious time. I grabbed a note pad and asked, “How old is your son, Mr...?

“Grant. Raymond Grant. Harrison is thirty.”

I fell against the back of my chair, admittedly stunned by the caller’s identity. Raymond Thurston Grant was one of our state’s more influential political insider, a behind the scenes kind of guy. It was rumored he even had the ear of the President. Harrison, the spoiled chubby little cherub, was his only son. How could he be missing? My take on Harrison was that he wouldn’t stray far from the family home, or more specifically, the family money. Plus, mommy’s apron strings only stretched so far. Still….

“How long has he been missing?”

“I don’t have time for small talk, Miss Stewart. Be at our home in forty-five minutes.”

Before I could reply, Mr. Grant hung up.

 There you go. I hope you enjoyed this vignette.