• The text "In Deep Water by Jessi Hoff" is set against a deep-water background.
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    “I’m telling you, we’ve been up and down this section three times. There’s nothing down here but coral and fish,” a frustrated voice explains over the speaker in the Hangar’s command center. Xander huffs out a breath, throwing his hands in the air. “Well, it must be somewhere. Shipwrecks don’t just disappear.” I put a ...
  • Man standing on a beach with logs stacked all over haphazardly looking toward the sea in a red jacket. A gloomy sky and island is in the background.
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    Footfalls echoed through the empty street, bouncing between abandoned buildings and fading into the warm, muggy air. Marcus glanced at Jax, noting his six-foot-plus frame, muscled upper body, and confident stride. “Are you a local?” Marcus asked. “For now.” Silence stretched. “Here on vacation?” “Nah. Vacations are for rich people.” Marcus frowned. “How did you ...
  • The text "In Deep Water by Jessi Hoff" is set against a deep-water background.
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    “Emily!” Sophie screams in the dark. I scramble off the floor as vertigo races through me, feeling my way back onto the couch. “I’m here.” Holding her shaking form, the world stops spinning. She sniffles. “What is going on?” “I have no idea.” I gulp around a wave of nausea. The whir of an engine ...
  • tavern sign of two men walking
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    Fitzwilliam Darcy sat at his desk as he sorted through his daily correspondence. It was harvest season, a busy time of the year for Pemberley, and Darcy found he had little time for anything but estate business. He’d received multiple invitations from friends and family to visit their homes, but nothing could pull him away ...
  • Plantation home with long driveway
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    Uncle Jeb had a far-off look in his eyes, as if gathering his thoughts on where to start with his missing hand story. Throughout my childhood, my mom and aunt recounted the tale of him driving down one of the dirt roads one day with his arm dangled out the window. His truck got too ...
  • Man standing on a beach with logs stacked all over haphazardly looking toward the sea in a red jacket. A gloomy sky and island is in the background.
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    Fitz’s lungs burned as he spun in the shallow, murky seawater. Agony tore through his calf muscles, which ripped beneath the powerful reptile’s vice-like jaws. As his brain begged for oxygen, Fitz tried to focus. In his mind’s eye, Fitz suddenly saw a young woman on a muddy bank. Blood oozed from a dozen puncture ...
  • The text "In Deep Water by Jessi Hoff" is set against a deep-water background.
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    “It can’t be,” Sophie whispers for the seventh time, eyes glued to the computer screen on the desk in front of us. “Y’all are seeing this, right?” Nathan runs a hand down his face. “It’s not just me?” Xander blows out a breath, his broad shoulders connecting with the back of his chair with an ...
  • A huge, blue, segmented alien with a long, lanky body and large eyes hovers against a starry background
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    Peris and Alfie sat facing each other on Nor’s ribs, their feet dangling. They continued to orbit the yellow star while Nor lapped at its energy, half-asleep. On a normal day, they’d be underway as soon as they woke up, but on this occasion, they let her doze.  “It feels wrong to exercise control over ...
  • Flamingo in the water
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    On Friday morning, the story about the flamingos finally broke in L.A. County. Miss Martha’s house was shown on television swarmed with reporters, wildlife control, police officers, and animal rights protestors. Trained handlers led the flamingoes to the Los Angeles Zoo. Press and protestors called Miss Martha terrible names like abuser, crazy flamingo lady, etc. ...
  • Man standing on a beach with logs stacked all over haphazardly looking toward the sea in a red jacket. A gloomy sky and island is in the background.
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    Now unimpeded by cloud cover, the gleaming sun threw waves of late-summer heat down to the still waters in the streets below. Sea birds explored further inland, drawn by the floods. The air buzzed, and clouds of mosquitoes searched for their next meal. Fitz lifted a flat hand to his brow and squinted at the ...