{"id":51,"date":"2013-09-23T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bestfantasynovel.com\/2013\/09\/23\/catch-by-michelle-d-argyle\/"},"modified":"2013-09-23T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T13:00:00","slug":"catch-by-michelle-d-argyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/2013\/09\/23\/catch-by-michelle-d-argyle\/","title":{"rendered":"Catch by Michelle D. Argyle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When eighteen-year-old Miranda chases a purse snatcher on the Las Vegas Strip, the last thing she expects is for the pursuit to turn into an extended game of hide-and-seek. All Miranda wants are the old black and white photographs buried at the bottom of her purse. They\u2019re the only things she has left of the grandmother she never knew. But how much is she willing to put on the line to save them? And is it possible she\u2019s falling in love with a thief?<\/p>\n

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Find out where you can download Catch<\/i> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Excerpt<\/h4>\n

Miranda spent the rest of the day with her stomach in knots. Everywhere she walked, she kept darting her eyes all around. There was no way Ollie could find her with no clues. He didn\u2019t even know she would be on the Strip today. A part of her wanted to know how good he really was at this hide-and-seek game. Would he find her inside M&M\u2019s World? The arcade? One of the dozens of shops their mother was dragging them into? Needless to say, Miranda was not in the mood to shop. After lunch, they wandered into a shopping area at The Venetian, and she fought the urge to whine. She was eighteen. She could humor her mother for a few more hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have gondola rides here,\u201d Gabriela said excitedly.<\/p>\n

They took the escalators to the second floor. There were shops everywhere, all made to look like they were in Venice, and a ceiling painted and lit to look like a soft summer sky dotted with clouds. The smell of food and cigarettes drifted through the air. As she had done all day, Miranda looked around for Ollie, but she knew there was no way she was going to find him\u2014especially if she was with her family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll sit this one out,\u201d she said as they neared the ticket booth in the main part of the center.<\/p>\n

Gabriela looked over at the canal where they started the boat rides. A few gondolas floated by, filled with people who looked a little bored. \u201cYou sure?\u201d she asked Miranda. \u201cThis looks kind of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miranda waved her hand. \u201cGive me the camera and I\u2019ll take your picture so you don\u2019t have to buy one of those overpriced ones they take.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOh, good idea.\u201d Gabriela handed over the new camera she had purchased that morning\u2014a simple point-and-shoot instead of something fancy.<\/div>\n

Miranda could tell Julia was having second thoughts about the ride, and gave her an evil glare she hoped would be interpreted as \u201cJust let me be alone for a few freaking minutes.\u201d Julia seemed to take the hint, and they went over to the ticket booth as Miranda started walking around to find a good spot for pictures. She crossed a bridge over the canal and walked around until she was on a little overpass overlooking the loading area for the rides.<\/p>\n

Finally. Alone. She snapped a few pictures of them waiting in line then pulled out her phone. There was a new message she had missed. Her heart started to beat faster. It was Ollie.<\/p>\n

Any hints for me today? It\u2019s only fair since I gave you one yesterday. I don\u2019t even know if you\u2019re inside a building. Or on the Strip. Or what!<\/i><\/p>\n

She smiled. She shouldn\u2019t be enjoying this. She shouldn\u2019t, shouldn\u2019t, shouldn\u2019t. But she was. Thinking carefully, she typed one word.<\/p>\n

Canal.<\/i><\/p>\n

Was that too vague? She suspected if he knew Las Vegas as well as she guessed he did, he would know where she was right away. She was obviously a tourist, and he\u2019d jump to the first touristy thing in Las Vegas that had to do with a canal.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the line was pretty long, and the rides lasted about fifteen minutes apiece. That gave her maybe half an hour depending on how long that line lasted. She typed another message.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d better hurry because I won\u2019t be alone much longer.<\/i><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t answer, and as the minutes ticked by, she grew more and more impatient. Las Vegas was big. Maybe he was so far away it would take him hours to reach her. Finally, after about twenty minutes, her mom and sister boarded a boat with a few other people. She snapped as many pictures as she could, and they were soon gone down the canal and out of sight.<\/p>\n

Well, it was now or never. Turning in circles, she desperately hoped he was somewhere. She\u2019d settle for five minutes with him. One minute. Anything.<\/p>\n

There were people everywhere. Constant chatter and occasional laughter reverberated all around her. She took her hands off the railing in front of her, remembering that thousands of people had touched it before her. Sometimes she hated public places more than anything else. She couldn\u2019t think too much about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving fun?\u201d<\/p>\n

She spun around and there he was, standing right in front of her. He was in a suit again, like yesterday, but today his sneakers were black instead of white. Still, they were sneakers. Surprisingly, though, they looked great with the outfit. Relaxed and comfortable. When she looked into his eyes, she swallowed a lump in her throat and took a few steps back. He had light-colored eyes, but it was difficult to tell what color they really were under the artificial lighting. A little blue and a little gray, maybe some green. There was a faint hint of scruff on his jaw, barely noticeable. He really was as good-looking as she remembered. His nose was big, but the longer she looked at him the more it suited him. She tamped down her rising emotions, remembering all the pain other good-looking guys had brought her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou found me,\u201d was all she could manage to force out of her mouth.<\/p>\n

His lips curled into a smile. He kept his eyes on hers. \u201cThat was the easiest hint ever. Probably as easy as my Olives hint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just like we\u2019re finding excuses to meet<\/i>, she thought to herself. Her mouth was getting drier by the second.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo?\u201d she said, gaining a little courage. \u201cWhere\u2019s my prize?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour prize?\u201d he laughed. \u201cDidn\u2019t I find you?\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at his tie. It was a pretty yellow color checkered with thin brown lines. It reminded her of sunflowers. \u201cI thought the whole point of this was to get my stuff back,\u201d she said boldly, and held out an open hand, waiting.<\/p>\n

His smile stayed put as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out her small wallet. He placed it gently into her hand, and she tried not to think too much about how warm his skin was as it slid against hers. She noticed some thick, raised scars along his knuckles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought that was pretty valuable,\u201d he said. \u201cYou might want it back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She opened it up. The money was still there. Her debit card, her and Julia\u2019s monorail passes, her driver\u2019s license. He hadn\u2019t taken a thing. She looked up. \u201cI don\u2019t understand. I really just don\u2019t get any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIsn\u2019t it obvious?\u201d he asked, stepping closer. His feet were close to hers now, and she fought the urge to step back once more. \u201cI like to play games, and you\u2019re fun to play them with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that why you stole my purse? To play a game?\u201d<\/p>\n

His smile fell and he shook his head. \u201cNo, that\u2019s not why I took your purse. That had nothing to do with who you are, but this \u2026 whatever it is we\u2019re doing \u2026 it has everything to do with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t know what to make of that, but his words and the sincerity and sadness in his voice made her breath catch in her throat. She looked down at the canal, expecting her family to show up at any second. She looked back at Ollie. He had his hands in his pockets now.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re keeping my purse so we can keep this up, aren\u2019t you?\u201d she asked. \u201cYou\u2019re going to hold on to those pictures for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t answer. He seemed excruciatingly young at that moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you return everything to me,\u201d she said carefully, \u201cI promise I\u2019ll keep talking to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He let out a soft laugh. \u201cSo, you\u2019re laying down the terms now, even though I\u2019m the one who has what you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

She supposed that was true. \u201cYou don\u2019t want anything from me, then? I guess I\u2019ll just get over my losses and move on. Keep it all, and if you want my wallet back, here you go.\u201d She held it out to him, surprised at her response. It seemed the only way to try to read him at the moment.<\/p>\n

He looked down at the wallet and frowned. \u201cI don\u2019t want that. It\u2019s yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo is the rest of my stuff you stole.\u201d It was frustrating how much she was starting to like him and hate him at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game is still on,\u201d he said as he watched her lower the wallet. \u201cIt\u2019s your turn next.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she could answer, he turned and walked away. \u201cI\u2019m only here for three more days!\u201d she yelled out as he disappeared into the crowd.<\/p>\n

Turning, she saw that her mother\u2019s gondola was unloading at the dock. Perfect timing.<\/p>\n

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For more from Michelle, visit her website<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When eighteen-year-old Miranda chases a purse snatcher on the Las Vegas Strip, the last thing she expects is for the pursuit to turn into an extended game of hide-and-seek. All Miranda wants are the old black and white photographs buried at the bottom of her purse. They\u2019re the only things she has left of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[713],"class_list":["post-51","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-thriller"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taramayastales.com\/bestfantasynovel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}