Showing results by narrator "Erik Bloomquist" in All Categories

My first operation in the field, the marriage is a cover. Damian Fisher is a CIA legend with a shaggy beard, chocolate curls, and deep blue eyes. As a teen, my girlfriends swooned in his presence. I never expected to work with him as an equal. I'd bet he never expected it either. But my overprotective father is a powerful man and I wouldn't put it past him to pull a stunt like this to protect his baby girl. Requesting my old bodyguard and his close friend to work by my side is right down Daddy Dearest's alley.

I'm done. Getting ditched at the altar is nothing compared to being humiliated there in front of three hundred shocked guests. Apparently I'm no good at spotting the signs your man's a cheating liar. So I set off solo on my honeymoon to Hawaii, where I realize I've got this life thing down just fine on my own. Friendships and laughter? Yes. Adventures? Absolutely. But relationships? Hell no. Never again.

At twenty-one, I had been prepared to give up my dream of touring with a rock band to become a father after getting my ex-girlfriend pregnant. But when she told me she'd gotten an abortion, I was devastated. Now five years later, I bump into her little sister, who I haven't seen since high school, while she's grocery shopping with four-year-old Logan. Sparks flare between Callie and me that didn't exist before. But soon I grow suspicious when I realize her deaf "son" is the same age as my own child would have been.

The Creepypasta Collection, Volume 2 delves into the depths of the absolute best short stories from the darkest corners of the Internet. You won't be able to sleep with the light off after experiencing the misadventures of our heroes and heroines, who encounter everything from the highly suspicious to the incredibly disturbed. With stories that range from the unforgettable "Jeff the Killer" to the fear-inducing "Smiling Dog," this collection is the perfect gift for Creepypasta fans and horror enthusiasts alike.

Sure, I'm bored out of my mind at times—boring job, boring dates . . . boring life. But I'm over Nolan Krenshaw. At least . . . I've tried to move on and get over him. When Nolan's career is suddenly on the line, I'm the one he turns to. I tell myself the only reason I'm helping him is so I can officially put him behind me. Of course, it's a lie. He was all I ever wanted, until he broke my heart. This time, I'm not stupid enough to believe that he would ever put me first.

Twenty-one-year-old Vancouver student Elisa Lam was last heard from on January 31, 2013, after she checked into downtown LA's Cecil Hotel - a 600-room building with a nine-decade history of scandal and tragedy. The next day, Elisa vanished. A search of the hotel yielded nothing. More than a week later, complaints by guests of foul-smelling tap water led to a grim discovery: Elisa's nude body floating in a rooftop water tank, in an area extremely difficult to access without setting off alarms.

When I wake up in the hospital after a DUI car crash, my new NHL team owner gives me an ultimatum—get sober or get packed for the minor leagues. So I talk the talk and go to rehab. I plan to breeze through, get sprung in thirty days or less and hit the road with my new team, the Chicago Blaze. All I have to do is charm my attractive, uptight rehab group leader into thinking I've changed—how hard could it be?

Nothing rattles me. Well . . . almost nothing. As the most even-tempered player on the Chicago Blaze, I take everything in stride—hockey, fame, and life in general. No one knows that deep down, even I've got a trigger. She's a tall brunette with a gorgeous smile and an iron will. The woman who crushed my heart long ago. I never plan to return to Greentree Falls, Wisconsin, and lay eyes on Allie Douglas again—until suddenly, I'm left without a choice.

They don't call me Belinda Boring for nothing. It's my name, after all. And for a 23-year-old with plain brown hair who still lives at home and gets tongue tied over nothing, it's a fitting one. I'm not even one of those quiet girls with a hidden talent, unless making a mean order of nachos at the NHL arena I work at counts. My life consists of working, reading, and harboring a secret crush on a hockey player who doesn't know I exist. At least, until we accidentally meet and become unlikely friends.

Written by Wall Street Journal best-selling author S. J. Scott, Happier Human provides a detailed examination of the strategies and ideas that actually make people happy. Each idea is supported by a wealth of research into why it works. Plus, it also includes a simple action plan for turning these ideas into permanent habits that people can incorporate into their busy lives.

Some go through their entire lives without an arch-nemesis. I had two. The first one was my stepbrother, Manuel. His goal was to beat me into submission, until I was nothing more than a cowering wraith. Luckily, I had a guardian angel who saved me. The second was none other than my angel's brother, Garret Hannigan. In my teens, I'd had a crush on him, and I'd even fantasized about him saving me from Manuel. Until I saw the disgusting and scary things he wrote, and that crush faded fast.

It was one night trapped with a hockey god due to a hurricane. We shared one bed too. I also ignored the little fact that Vaughn has always been my brother's rival on the ice. And when the storm cleared, so did Vaughn. Months later, he shows up in my hospital room in Lake Spark where it only takes one look at me and the man is counting back in his head, or maybe it's my face that explains it all. He's going to be a dad. And I didn't tell him.

Sarah Lavely is a fifth-grade teacher whose heart is even bigger than her favorite coffee mug. Sarah is determined to help the class bully find a sense of belonging, even if it means giving up her prep time to sponsor yet another school club. Thankfully, Owen Gardner, the teacher across the hall, is always there for a vent session or a shared slice of cheesecake. Meanwhile, Owen is struggling to balance teaching with his increasingly popular STEM podcast. When the prospect of becoming principal falls into his lap, he has a difficult decision to make.

When I skipped town six years ago to pursue my music career, I wanted to start a new life and escape the memories of my broken family. The one thing I knew I wouldn't be able to forget was Hailey Wilkins—my best friend and the girl I left behind. Now my days are filled with my band's nonstop touring, late-night recording sessions, and eager groupies. But when I hear that Hailey is in a coma, I drop everything to be by her side.

Faith Brooks thinks of the academy as a new beginning. It's a way for her to put a traumatic event behind her and create a new life for herself. One where she understands her wolf as much as her vampire. And, one where she doesn't repeat past mistakes by falling for a guy who's unable to love. Too bad the academy doesn't teach students to tame their wild hearts as well as their wolves. Axel Stone is a rough-around-the-edges, tattooed, bad boy. His fists are his only way at maintaining his sanity, but he's ready to learn more control over his demons.

Casey doesn't have much luck in the dating department, so when her girlfriends ditch their girls only weekend for a couple's retreat, she's forced to take desperate measures. Refusing to be the only single one, she does what any quick-thinking girl would do: She lies. It was almost too easy hiring a stranger to pretend to be her hot, rich, successful boyfriend. What she didn't plan on was him being hot, successful, and way too much trouble for her liking.

Get ready for a collection of thirteen short stories that will chill your bones, tingle your spine, and scare your pants off. Debut author Josh Allen masterfully concocts horror in the most innocent places, like R. L. Stine meets a modern Edgar Allan Poe. A stray kitten turns into a threatening follower. The street sign down the block starts taunting you. Even your own shadow is out to get you! Spooky things love hiding in plain sight. The everyday world is full of sinister secrets, and these stories show that there's darkness even where you least expect it.

Mind Tools for Managers helps new and experienced leaders develop the skills they need to be more effective in everything they do. It brings together the 100 most important leadership skills - as voted for by 15,000 managers and professionals worldwide - into a single volume, providing an easy-access solutions manual for people wanting to be the best manager they can be. Each chapter details a related group of skills, plus the tools you need to put ideas into practice.

Time is the ultimate scarce resource and thus quintessentially a topic for economics, which studies scarcity. Starting with the observation that time is increasingly valuable given competing demands as we have more things we can buy and do, Spending Time provides engaging insights into how people use their time and what determines their decisions about spending their time.

Well . . . for everyone but herself. And lately, it isn't just her dating life that has her fuming in frustration. A misfortune has just landed Gemma without an apartment, so when a chance encounter with a real estate tycoon hands her a shiny new apartment at a price she can afford, Gemma takes it without another thought. It isn't until she is dragged naked from the shower that Gemma finds out this apartment is already taken . . . by the person she hates the most.

Knox Rook has met his match.