Between the Cracks: A Novella in the Clipped Wings Series

By Helena Hunting

Tattooist Chris Zelter doesn’t always make the best decisions when it comes to the people he cares about, or the women he gets involved with. Things have changed recently, though. Chris has lost interest in casual flings as he finds himself wrapped up in Sarah Adamson, a waitress at the local strip club he frequents. It takes months of persistent attention before she finally agrees to date him, and he's determined not to mess it up.

Just as things are finally going his way, Chris receives a troubled phone call in the middle of the night from Hayden Stryker, his best friend and business partner. Unexpected revelations and the sudden departure of his girlfriend, Tenley, has nearly sent Hayden over the edge. Add in a speeding ticket and an impounded car, and Hayden is balanced on the precipice of a total meltdown. Worried about his friend, Chris sets out on a rescue road trip, first to get Hayden, and then to bring back Tenley. The two men run into unforeseen roadblocks, proving even the best intentions don’t guarantee results.

Chris and Hayden return to Chicago empty handed, and Chris is left feeling as if he’s let down all the people who matter, especially Sarah. But Chris discovers that sometimes the best way to deal with failure is to find a way to forget about it. And losing himself in Sarah is the perfect way to do just that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Helena Hunting
• Release date: May 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781498994804

Helena Hunting

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author HELENA HUNTING lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. She writes all things romance -- contemporary, romantic comedy, sports and angsty new adult. Some of her books include Meet Cute, Pucked, and Shacking Up. Helena loves to bake cupcakes and has been known to listen to a song on repeat 1512 times while writing a book, and if she has to be away from her family, she prefers to be in warm weather with her friends.

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Between the Cracks is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 Helena Hunting

All rights reserved

Published by Helena Hunting

Cover art design by Shannon Lumetta

Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.

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Vibrations at my hip woke me up. I cracked a lid and blinked against the dim light from the TV. A ShamWow infomercial flickered on the screen, the volume low, as I half-lay, half-sat, sprawled over the couch with Sarah draped over me. Her forehead rested against the side of my neck, and all that long, pale blonde hair fanned out across my chest.

My neck had a crick, and my left arm had no feeling. The position was hella uncomfortable, but the view was stellar. Sarah’s hand had curled in a fist under her chin, her lips parted slightly. She breathed slowly and evenly; she looked peaceful, which certainly hadn’t been the case prior to passing out.

As the haze of sleep lifted, the memory of the events that led to my current discomfort returned. Tenley, Sarah’s next door neighbor and the girl my best friend Hayden had been seeing for the past several months, had taken off with her asshole almost brother-in-law or whatever the hell he was; Hayden had lost his shit, and when he’d pulled himself together, he’d gone after her like a tattooed white knight.

The vibration, and its accompanying buzz, stopped, thankfully; it was annoying. I closed my eyes and relaxed back into the couch. Or tried to. Now that I was awake, it was hard to ignore the pain in my neck and the lack of feeling in the arm pinned under Sarah. Less than a minute later, the buzzing resumed, and it finally registered that my phone was in my pocket.

I dug for it, trying not to jostle Sarah. She’d been pretty damn upset when Tenley pulled a runner, and it had taken her a long while to calm down. But we’d fallen asleep eventually; otherwise I wouldn’t still be here at whatever-o’clock in the morning.

My phone stopped ringing before I got it out of my pocket, but I checked the screen anyway. It was three-thirty, and I’d missed a bunch of calls from Hayden. I dialed him back, and he answered on the first ring.

Thank fuck. I thought I was going to have to call Jamie.

Jamie was our third partner at Inked Armor, the tattoo shop we ran together. What’s up? You okay?

I’ve got a problem. He sounded like his vocal chords had been run through a grater.

What’s wrong? Did something happen to Tee?

"No. I don’t know. I