Lucky Russo knows the tendencies of each of his high-stakes poker opponents. He knows which hands they will play and almost exactly what they will bet on those hands. For him, poker is more about the mathematical calculation of pot odds than it is about having good cards. That’s why it’s so surprising to see him suddenly lose consistently.

“ Kim, you have been living full-time as a girl for a couple of months now, I can’t remember the last time I looked at you and saw a boy. It’s not just the clothes and hair and things, but working with me and the girls you have picked up a lot of our mannerisms, the way we talk and express ourselves, even the way we walk and stand. The longer you continue like this, the harder it will be to turn back the clock. Unless you intend to take it a stage further I really think you ought to consider going back to school as a boy.”

Alexandria, Va.
“You know, you boys aren’t very bright or very good at what you do.” Brandi looks at the six guys hanging upside down from the rafter.

She had stripped them naked after bringing them to a warehouse owned by her real estate company. These morons had been following Jack and Cheshire. Jack gave her a call and a quick trap had been set-up with the help of her crew.

Jack told her to interrogate them and find out who they are working for. She was permitted to use any technique she wanted to.

Chapter 3.7

”No!” I shouted at Mom. “I won’t!”

“Rosie! Yes, you will. You have to.”

“Why?!” I asked, still unable to lower my voice.

Mom gave me a half-smile. “Sweetheart, we don’t know if I can be overpowered by Amos or not.”

A Friend when Needed
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Tad looked suddenly very serious. The game was long over and the last two pieces of pizza had gone cold. Beer had been drunk: enough to lower the inhibitions but not enough to drop them both into a stupor. He looked at Jason, squarely in the eyes.

“I can trust you, man,” he said, “I know I can. We’ve been true pals for so long that I feel I can tell you anything. I can, can’t I?”

I sat there, stunned. This was bad, very, very bad. I was scared,
and for once I was scared for someone other than myself.

If Meredith stole that money -- if Meredith tried to steal that money,
it was bound to end badly for her.

A Navy seal instructor on vacation gets transferred into the body of a 12 yr old triplet. She uses her seal training to show her sisters she is some one to be reckoned with.

Passing for White
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

My mother was a quadroon. It’s not a term that is used much nowadays, but it refers to a person, and usually, a woman, who is only one quarter negro.

She had dreamed of a ballroom with the silver sphere above causing a spectacular display of color along the wall. Everyone was dressed to play off the brilliance of that spectrum so that in the darkness they were an illuminated display of art. Even their faces, obscured by masks, sparkled in the low light. It was best to be hidden from sight, as her parents did not approve of her choice.

Alton is a frustrated man. The world isn’t fair and there doesn’t seem to be much he can do about it.

CHAPTER 8
“Debbie?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

She was in tears; I could hear it in her voice.

“It’s Sam, love. And Carl. I… I don’t want to do this over the phone. They’re both in hospital. Can you come up to the clubhouse?”

“You’ve got me really worried, Rosie. On my way”

Terri and Jessica get the first few whiffs of the battle they will have to face.