On today’s Backlist Saturday Spotlight – Brace for Impact tense opening scene.
Opening scene
Lori
gagged on the bile rising in the back of her throat. She inhaled sharply to
calm her stomach. If I'm going to die, it's not going to be with vomit all
over my uniform.
A
distant whimper caught her ear. She lifted her head and opened her eyes. The
lady in 37D rocked back and forth in her seat. Lori fought the urge to run to
her. Her flight attendant training told her to stay seated. The Captain had
called, "Brace for impact."
Hang
on, 37D. Just a bit longer. I understand how you feel. Isolated way back here
in no-man's land at the back of the plane. No one's hand to hold for comfort.
Alone. Scared. Me too.
The
gentleman in seat 36C stood then pulled open the overhead bin.
Lori
sat up taller. "Sir! The Captain said, brace for impact. Get back in your
seat. Please."
He
turned his head, glancing at her. Lori blinked. She'd noticed him as she did
her rounds of economy class. Sexy tousled hair. An unshaven chin. Gorgeous
smile. Focus on your job. "Sir. Please. Sit. Down."
He
grabbed a bag out of the bin, slammed it shut and returned to his seat.
Her
heart raced as she shouted out the words she'd practiced in flight attendant
school a hundred times and prayed she'd never have to use. "Head down.
Brace. Brace." She hoped the sound of her voice could offer a moment's
relief to the terrified passengers in economy. They were her passengers. If she
could hold each of their hands, she would. "Head down. Brace. Brac—"
The
plane dropped and shuddered.
Lori's
professional calm shattered. The passengers under her care were going to die.
She was going to die. The sensation of utter loneliness swamped her. She
clenched her fists until her short nails dug into the palms of her hands.
Pressure built in her ears. She tried all the tricks she knew, but the pressure
wouldn't release. We're dropping too fast.
Wonder
what dying is going to feel like? Will it hurt? Mom.
Trembling as her mother's smiling face popped into her mind, she swallowed back
a wail of grief at the thought of her mother's pain when she heard the news of
the plane crash.
What's
taking so long? Maybe— A ray of light shone down on the darkness of her despair.
Maybe the captain was landing the plane. Captain Fraser was one of the best. He
could save everyone.
The
plane jerked. Metal shrieked in complaint. Fear rang loud in the screams of the
passengers. Lori's pulse pounded in her chest. Her breaths came in short pants.
She swiped at the sweat on her upper lip. Her stomach knotted then boiled. It
was close. The end. Whatever the end was. She squeezed her eyelids shuts and
whispered, "Mom. I love you."
The
plane smacked on something. It wasn't the familiar and comforting feel of tires
on tarmac. It was more like a crunch, like on a gravel road. The plane rose.
Lori's stomach heaved. A nearby passenger wretched. The foul smell floated in
the air. Lori gagged and pressed her face against her sleeve trying to block
the stench.
A
second time the plane's belly flopped onto the surface.
Lori
tilted her head. Water landing? At night. We overshot Caracas? She
checked over her shoulders at the emergency exits on her right and left.
Running over the procedure gave her calmness; something solid she could grasp.
Hope.
Blurb and Buy Links
What could be simpler than a routine plane trip from Toronto, Canada to
Caracas, Venezuela for a rookie flight attendant and a sexy R.C.M.P. officer?
But Fate had other intentions.
After leaving a disastrous marriage, Paix Allcot begins a new career as a
flight attendant. The romance of travel plus the desperate need to be on any
other continent other than the one her ex is on seems like a dream job. For the
first time, Paix is no longer a trainee and the passengers in economy class are
under her care. Especially the handsome passenger seated in 36C.
Guy Lapierre, undercover officer, is following a vicious
human-trafficker. He has little time for relationships. Too many innocent lives
are at stake. But when the plane crashes and Guy is stranded on a tropical
island, he is forced to work with Paix to survive until he discovers that the
man he is tracking is Paix's older brother.
Can a pink bra and a hot night on the side of a volcano save the
relationship and their lives?
UBL
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June 25 – Teasers and a review
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Romance – Sweet to Heat
19 – Weekend
Writing Warriors #8Sunday
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– free read
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