Circle of Death
an excerpt

Johnna bounced off of a solid object that wasn’t supposed to be there. Someone’s hands shot out and steadied her by grabbing her shoulders. Looking up, she was certainly glad that she had decided to wear a bit more makeup today. Perhaps this was the man that Julia had been talking about, he really was rather nice to look at. Brown hair fell onto his forehead where a tiny scar traced his eyebrow, and blue eyes gazed down at her, apparently looking her over for any injuries.

Blue eyes; no wonder Julia had been so close to swooning, if this was a new lab tech she was going to have to get Rand to introduce her.

“Okay?” His voice held a hint of laughter in it, and Johnna looked up at his face, he was amused; the slight upward curve of his mouth gave it away.

“Fine.” She curtly replied, ducking underneath his arms and continuing towards her office, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her red cheeks. Digging her key out of her purse, she slid it into the lock, unlocking her office. It had taken several days to convince Terrence that it would be a good idea to put a lock on her door; he had only agreed after she had pointed out that there were times when she fell asleep inside and the only people around were the dispatchers and lab people. Since he often complained about both groups, he had given in.

Johnna sighed as she dropped her key onto the cluttered desk. A donut sat on top of her mail. Picking it up, she took a bite, noticing that there was writing on the napkin.

Here’s to making it through a rough day. Hope you manage to make it though with some powdered sugar left.

She giggled, bless Phil’s heart; he deserved a hug for bringing her the donut. She wouldn’t even criticize him for using the key that was hidden in the bottom of the fruit drawer in the break room. Sifting through her mail as she nibbled on the donut, she eventually got to the bottom of the basket; her trash can was nearly full with junk mail though. Dusting off her hands, she walked around to her chair, relaxing into it. Her chair was so much more comfortable than Terrence’s; several of his had springs that bit her every time she sat in them.

Clearing a place on her desk for her feet, she propped them up on top. Several pink memos were sitting where Julia thought they would get read before the day was over, Johnna picked them up. Her brother had called, Mrs. Teak wanted to talk to her sometime, and the mayor wanted to ask if she would mind shooting a commercial. Johnna tossed the mayor’s note in the trash can, placing the other two on the cork board behind her. Only three messages, her social life was becoming nearing obsolete; how tragic.

Her office door opened and Phil stepped in a box of donuts balanced in one hand.

“Angel.” She smiled, accepting the box as he sat on the corner of her desk.

“Now there’s a term I didn’t hear very often as a Marine.”

The door creaked as it opened this time and Roxie walked in carrying her teddy bear coffee cup that she had filled earlier.

“You left this in Terrence’s office. Who, for some reason, has decided to be really grouchy today. Did Corinne tell him she wouldn’t go out on a date or something?” Roxie looked wide awake, completely content and rather excited; though Johnna couldn’t imagine why. She mumbled thanks for her coffee cup as Roxie took the other side of her desk, picking up Johnna’s feet and tossing them onto the floor to clear a place for her to sit.

“No, I did not turn him down, he didn’t ask. I think he has a hangover.” Corinne was yawning as she spoke, blond hair still wet and not a trace of makeup on her cheeks, she still managed to look beautiful. She swept her eyes over Johnna’s crowded desk and instead chose the couch, moving a pile of clothes that still hadn’t made it to the local goodwill.

“I’m pretty sure he does have a hangover, poor guy, I practically killed him this morning, just by saying hello. He threw me out of his office.” Johnna mentioned, placing her feet in Phil’s lap as she threw a donut to Corinne.

“Where’s Rand? He’s missing out on all the fun, you cannot miss Terrence with a hangover, it has to be one of those once in a lifetime things.” Phil asked, shooting a pointed look at Roxie.

“Do not look at me. I haven’t seen him in three days.” Roxie held her hands up to the ceiling; voice rather tight, a slight agitation apparent in her face.

Johnna smiled, Roxie did like Rand, and the whole reason that he had been ignoring her for days, was that he was trying to make her jealous. It appeared to be working; he had taken Johnna to the local seafood restaurant, his three step-sisters joining them. Madelyn had been a joy to be around; she had all but told her brother to stop playing around with Roxie and to get his act together. It had certainly been a fun evening, and it had given her a true excuse for telling Terrence that she wouldn’t be able to make it to Joe’s to meet her new partner.

“Rand has arrived.” The voice came from the doorway, joyous and boisterous. Johnna smirked as he pranced into her office and scooped Roxie off of the desk, taking the portion of desk where she had been sitting, he placed her in his lap.

“How are you today, darlin’?” He flashed her a smile, perfectly white teeth reflecting the light. Roxie pushed against his chest, trying to get up.

“I’m not your darling.” She sounded both delighted and mad; the effect of trying to combine both emotions was amusing. Johnna wasn’t entirely sure which emotion was going to win out. The battle on her face was neat to watch, Rand simply waited for her to decide if she was mad at him or glad to see him.

“Where have you been anyway?” Roxie was picking dog hair off of Rand’s jacket, her eyes not meeting his.

“My sisters kidnapped me for the weekend, and would not allow me to call anybody or anything. Quite barbaric really, anyways they finally returned my phone today.” He dropped his hat on her head, playfully patting her head. She swatted at his hand, only to have hers captured and brought to his lips.