Fox in Hiding

Robin Roseau

As I listened to the wolf, searching for me, sniffing madly for the scent of Fox, I realized something. Maybe I shouldn't have ditched my security.

But I had been mad.

That was happening a lot lately, more often than in the past.

I was still mad.

If asked, I wouldn't have admitted to having a short fuse, but deep down, I knew these fights were my fault. Well, at least partly my fault.

I knew where they were coming from. It was stress, pure and simple, and it was my own fault. Well, at least mostly my own fault. I had filled my schedule so full of things I just had to do, there wasn't any time left for the things I wanted to do.

Like go kayaking in Bayfield. Between teaching and college and pack events and Lara's business commitments, we hadn't been to Bayfield in months. Summer had come and gone, and this had been the last weekend we could have come.

And when we got here, the weather had been miserable. It was far too rough to be on the water. And so I had sulked and been bitchy, and everyone had kept their distance from me.

But that wasn't why I was mad.

Sunday arrived. We were due to leave soon. But I announced, "I am going kayaking."

"No, Michaela," Elisabeth said. "You are not."

"It is not your decision, Head Enforcer," I said firmly.

"I'm sorry, Little Fox," Lara said. "It's too rough."

"I've been out in worse."

"Which speaks to your lack of self-preservation," Elisabeth said with a smirk. "Michaela, if the wolves are too intimidated to go, isn't that a hint?"

"It is recognition of your limitations," I said. "I am a better boater than any of you."

"True, but we're stronger boaters than you are. If it's too rough for us, it's too rough for you. Besides, you know we're not letting you go alone, and we're not up to it, Michaela."

I knew it was worthless to argue about the letting me do anything part. In spite of my continued and steadfast insistence I was a free fox and had the right to do whatever I pleased, they were all immune to my arguments. We'd certainly had enough of those.

I turned to my mate. "Lara? I'll be fine."

"I'm sorry, Michaela."

"You're not my mother," I said. "I can make my own decisions."

Yeah, I went there. Even as I said it, I knew I was just resuming an old fight.

Lara crossed her arms. "Are you divorcing me?"

"What? No."

"Are you leaving the pack?"

"No."

"Then I am your alpha, and if I choose to make this decision, I have that right."

I stomped my foot petulantly. "No, you do not!"

"I'm going kayaking," Angel announced.

"No, Angel," said Lara. "You are not."

"Oh. Yes, Alpha."

"Shut up, Angel," I said.

"She was making a point, and you know it," Lara said. "While I am less likely to make Angel's decisions for her, when I do, she obeys. And you will do the same."

I glared at my mate then spun around and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a few hours. I'll let you know how the water was."

I wasn't even halfway there before Eric and Portia moved in front of the door, shoulder to shoulder.  I walked up to face both of them. "Get out of my way."

Neither of them moved.

"I am your alpha!" I said quite firmly. "Get out of my way."

Portia's eyes flicked over my shoulder, either to Elisabeth or Lara, I wasn't sure. And then in response, she settled into place just a little more completely. Eric didn't even do that much; he just stood where he was.

I was wearing my silver. I could have killed them both where they stood, doing it faster than anyone else could react.

But they were my friends. I didn't want to hurt them.

I just wanted them to get the hell out of my way.

I glared up into Portia's face, but she didn't even offer enough respect to look at me, or look contrite.

"Fine!" I spat. I spun around and set a path for the bedroom, intentionally cutting through the space between Lara and Elisabeth, bumping both of them out of my way as I did so. I doubt they even noticed.

Reaching the bedroom door, I engaged the lock and slammed it. But I wasn't in the bedroom. I quietly moved to Elisabeth's room across the hall and listened.

"Angel, go sit with her," Elisabeth ordered.

I quietly closed Elisabeth's door. A moment later, I heard Angel in the hallway, then I heard her knock at the bedroom door.

I moved to Elisabeth's window and peeked out. I didn't see anyone. I carefully opened the window, listening for heartbeats, then wider and wider.

Out in the hallway, Angel said, "Michaela, let me in." She tried the door to discover it was locked. "Come on. You can yell at me if you want."

From further away, I heard Elisabeth say, "Portia, Eric, go watch the window."

The front door opened and closed. I waited another moment then popped the screen and climbed out, quietly dropping to the ground. I replaced the screen then made a dash for the nearest woods.

Let them figure that out!

* * * *

I was in fur, and these were my woods. Mine! How dare a wolf hunt me in these woods.

Unfortunately, my traps were long gone, the silver I used to leave stashed everywhere long reclaimed. I didn't have so much as a jar of cayenne pepper. I gave a passing thought to sneaking back to town and stealing a jar from the grocery store, but the chance of getting caught by human authorities was way too high.

I would have to rely on my wits to ditch my pursuers.

Oh, Lara was going to be mad. I decided it would be good for her. Give her a taste of her own medicine.

I listened to the wolf then set off to the northeast.

* * * *

It was far enough to town that I would have preferred to drive, but it would have been a little obvious if I had stolen a set of car keys on the way to the bedroom. Still, I set a ground-eating lope. At least it was largely downhill, and I could keep up this pace for hours.

I'd be nice and warmed up by the time I got to Benny's. I hoped he was in. I realized I hadn't planned this well. Normally on a Sunday, the boathouse was open, but with the bad weather, he could easily have put up a sign and stayed home.

Or been out with his mate, June.

I wondered how long I could stay "locked in my room" before they grew suspicious enough to unlock the door. Or someone doing a circle of the lodge would undoubtedly catch my scent, and if he was remotely on the ball, realize it was too fresh.

I decided not to worry about that. I only had to make it to Benny's with three minutes to spare. I could grab my kayak and have it in the water, and then they'd just have to wait until I came back.

Yeah, that was the plan.

* * * *

Behind me, a wolf howled. She had my scent now. I hadn't done much to disguise it, just enough she would think I had tried to disguise it. I listened, and I knew there were at least six wolves on my back trail. With that many, the little tricks I had played wouldn't gain me more than a few seconds, far less time than it had taken to leave the tricks in the first place.

But the race wasn't going to be close. I was almost there.

I burst out of the trees and undergrowth perhaps thirty yards from the cliff overlooking Lake Superior. This was a particularly tall point, and it was forbidding besides. I ran to the edge then turned right, following the cliff a hundred yards, heading back towards Bayfield. But then I backtracked half the distance.

And jumped.

* * * *

I made it to the outskirts of town without any sign of pursuit. I contemplated my approaches to the marina. I decided the straight approach was best; I didn't have time to be furtive. I gathered my hair as best I could, shoving it down inside my collar, hoping to disguise my appearance, at least from a distance. I knew it was feeble, but it was the best I could do.

I set off down Washington Avenue, heading towards the waterfront.

As I drew closer, I cut down to Rittenhouse Avenue, which led me right to the marina.

No one put up an alarm. There were no sounds of, "There she is!" No wolves surrounding me. No one telling me what I could and could not do.

I felt strangely free, freer than I'd felt in a long time.

I worked my way down to the marina then headed to the boathouse. The ferry arrived as I was approaching, ruining my hearing. But unless they were all waiting inside, I'd gotten here ahead of anyone. The main doors were closed, but when I worked my way around, I saw Benny standing at the side entrance, looking out at the turbulent Lake Superior waters. I moved quickly towards him, and his eyes settled on me.

"Michaela," he said, shaking his head. "You aren't seriously going out in this weather."

"Save the lecture, Benny," I said closing the distance. I pushed him backwards into his shop, and closed the door behind us.

"Michaela," he said, "this is a bad idea. Maybe if you stayed inside the breakwater..."

"Where's the fun in that? Come on, Benny. Save the lecture. Help me get my kayak in the water before they think to check here."

He stared at me for a minute. "No."

"What?"

"I'm not helping you go out in those waters. Please, call Lara and ask her to come get you."

"No way. If you won't help, I'll do it myself."

Benny still kept my kayak on a rack in his boathouse. I paid him every month for the privilege. I used to keep the boat at my house in Bayfield, but then...

Never mind. Old news. Right?

I headed for my boat. I'd hauled it alone plenty of times. I might be small, but I was strong.

"Wait."

"Benny, I can't imagine they aren't already looking for me."

"They are," he said. "Elisabeth already called. I'm supposed to call her if you show up."

"Well, as your alpha, I am overriding those orders," I replied.

"Just wait. I'll help you, but you need to sign a new waiver."

"What?"

"You leave your boat here. Now, against my strident recommendations, you're going out in this weather. You will sign a waiver."

"I don't have time for this, Benny."

"The sooner you read and sign it, the sooner I'll help you get your boat in the water."

"Fine, fine." Together, we moved to his check out desk. And then he began looking for the waiver.

If I didn't know better, I'd say he was stalling.

"Ah here they are." He pulled out a folder and withdrew a piece of paper. He looked at it. "Oops, sorry. These are the old ones."

"I'll sign that one."

"You already signed this one years ago. But I want the new one. My lawyer didn't like the last ones."

"Your lawyer wouldn't happen to be Hadley Smith, would she?"

"Oh, you've heard of her?" He grinned at me. He went digging around underneath the desk. "I know I had more somewhere. Ah ha!" He finally popped up holding a manila folder. I was almost positive it was the same one. He pulled out a page, set it on the counter, then turned it to me. Then he plopped a pen on the counter.

"If you just fill that out..."

I glanced at it and signed it. "You can get my info from somewhere, I'm sure."

"You have to fill it out, Michaela. At least your full name. And date it."

"Fine." I scribbled the basics.

And then I heard the crunch of shoes on gravel from outside. I looked up at Benny, and he had the grace to look guilty. "Benny," I said reproachfully. "We're friends."

The door opened, and I heard June say, "Yeah, she's here. Benny and I will hang onto her until you get here." I turned to see her standing in the doorway, the phone to her ear. I turned back to Benny.

"You delayed me."

"Michaela, the water is far too rough. You know that. I'm surprised the ferry is running."

"If it weren't, I would have heard June." I looked over at her. She had put her phone away but stood in the open doorway. I turned back to Benny. "You could have told me this was a trap."

"Michaela, they're worried about you."

"It's insulting they think I can't safely go for a walk in my own town." I sighed. "Well, you picked your side. The fox is alone. What else is new?"

I looked at June, blocking the door. She wasn't the most powerful enforcer, but she was still an enforcer. I could beat her with my weapons, but I wasn't going to use knives on anyone. I looked around, spotted the wooden canoe paddles, and walked over to pick one up. I hefted it.

"Michaela..." Benny said.

"You'll want to stay out of this, Benny. I won't hurt her too badly. Stay back there behind the counter. I'm stronger, faster, and far more desperate then you are, Benny. Don't make me hurt you."

With my back to June, I loosened some of my clothing, just enough. I pulled my knifes from my wrists and tossed them into a pile, then bent down and did the same with my ankles. I could slither out of them, but sometimes when I was in a hurry, they tripped me.

Then I turned to June.

"Alpha," she said. "Put that back. Elisabeth will be here soon, and we can all drive home."

"Alpha, is it?" I asked. "All right. As your alpha, June, I am ordering you to step aside."

She offered a pained expression but then she said, "I'm sorry, Alpha, but you know it doesn't work that way."

"If Lara was standing here and ordered you to step aside, what would you do?"

"Step aside."

"And if you didn't, what would she do?"

"Um."

"She'd be forced to reinforce her dominance, wouldn't she?" I asked. I hefted the paddle. "Step aside, or your alpha will be forced to paddle you."

"Funny."

"Last chance, June. Step aside. Now." I put my most authoritative voice into it.

"I can't do that, Alpha. I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "You are all hypocrites. You talk about treating the other weres with dignity, but you keep me as a prisoner. So be it."

June was much bigger than I was and much, much stronger. But I was faster. I didn't think what I was going to do would work against Lara, Elisabeth, or some of the other enforcers more accustomed to sparring with me. But June didn't stand a chance.

I charged her. It was probably the last thing she expected. I swung the paddle, not with all my strength. Control was more important than power. But I put a lot into it. I caught her upright arm thoroughly, resulting in a loud Crack! She winced, and she winced again when I swung the other side at her, catching her leg. I bounced away but then reversed and caught her with the handle firmly in the chest. I whacked her twice more before she finally got a hand on the paddle, yanking it from me.

I let her have it then ducked under the swing she gave me with it. I was pretty sure instincts would step in. I ducked under it, shifting into fox, and then ran right between her legs and out the door.

"Michaela!" she yelled from behind me. "Get back here!"

As if.

* * * *

The ledge was narrow, very narrow, but I'd used it before. Oh, not to escape wolves, but a smart fox knows her territory. This was one of my carefully mapped out escape routes.

Wolves wouldn't even recognize it as a traversable route. It was really far more suited to mountain goats, but I was a clever fox. I followed the ledge north, moving swiftly but with great care.

I would not have wanted to fall onto the rocks below and eventually into the cold, stormy waters. That would be bad.

The ledge was exposed for the first seventy-five yards, but then it ducked under a slight overhang. I could still be seen from anyone out on the lake. I took a look; no one was out.

Maybe it wasn't a good day for a paddle.

The wolves would find where I had run along the cliff above, but I found it unlikely they would find where I had jumped down. Any scent track would be obscured by the much stronger scent I had left above. I could probably sit right where I was, hiding until they decided I had somehow lost them elsewhere, and then went into search mode, trying to find my trail again.

On the other hand, I was undoubtedly wafting scent from my current location, and while it would be sufficiently dispersed as to hide my real location, they would keep coming back here to the cliff over my head. And they would start to wonder.

And so I only stayed long enough to consider my options. Then I began running along the ledge again, heading further north.

It grew narrower and narrower still, and then it ran out entirely. Well, that mountain goat might still be able to follow it, but I didn't feel good about my chances.

I looked up. The top of the cliff was twenty feet above me; the water was forty feet below. I stretched, jumped, and shifted to human in mid-air, catching my fingers in a crack too far above me as a fox and two narrow for fox feet as well. I shimmied along it for a minute, getting cold in my birthday suit, then dropped to another ledge, shifting back to fox.

Ten minutes later I was back atop the cliffs, a good half-mile from where I had jumped down. I set a course northwest, inland and further from Bayfield.

* * * *

I entirely lost track of them. They were either being very, very quiet, which I found unlikely, or they were a long, long ways away.

I contemplated my choices. I didn't care for any of them.

My anger had faded, at least a little, but I was still angry. Why did we keep having the same fight? Why couldn't they treat me like any other member of the pack? Why was that too much to ask?

It was the same fight, over and over.

I huffed and turned west.

At country road K, I had extraordinarily good luck. Ahead of me, I heard a couple of humans loading an all-terrain vehicle onto a trailer. I poked my nose out from the underbrush and watched them, ready to disappear if they noticed me. They didn't. But they finished securing the four-wheeler and headed for the cab of their pickup truck. I offered a foxy smile and dashed across the road, but then made a left turn and leapt into the back of the trailer. I tucked in low where I would be out of sight. A minute later, we were rolling south.

As we approached highway thirteen, I watched to see which way we would turn. If they turned west, they would soon be going too quickly for me to jump back out, and I'd potentially reach Cornucopia before the truck slowed down enough for me to exit. That was significantly further than I wanted to go.

If they turned left, they'd be heading back to Bayfield, and either they would slow for a turn between here and Bayfield, or they would slow down at the outskirts. I wasn't sure backtracking into Bayfield was the best plan, although it might be fun to mess with Elisabeth by breaking into my old house. I was sure she'd get an alarm when I did it, but I could be long gone before they arrived.

Well, if they weren't in Bayfield waiting for me.

No. Either way, I would hop out at the state highway, but I'd be a mile away from the nearest track I'd left. It would take extreme luck for them to pick up my trail now.

The truck turned left. I jumped out at the stop, dashed into the undergrowth, and then waited for the road to be clear.

I crossed the highway and turned west.

* * * *

It was blind bad luck they found me before I made it back to pack lands. Or that's my story, anyway. In fairness, they had to cast a pretty wide net to stumble across my trail. But in the distance, I heard a wolf howl.

I knew that howl.

I ran. Hopefully some of the tricks I'd left for them would throw them off track a few times, giving me just enough time to make it home. I could pretend I'd been there for a while, waiting for them.

It was very difficult for the wolves to hunt completely silently. They tended to talk to each other, and their voices carried. That communication was inconvenient for me, but it wasn't a complete disadvantage, as it typically helped me to keep track of them.

This time was no different. I heard perhaps six voices behind me. I decided the rest were much further. But I kept my ears swiveling in all directions as I ran.

No one was more surprised than I when I ran into an ambush.

Oh, I didn't run right into it, but I may as well have. I heard their heartbeats when I was still perhaps two hundred yards away, a little more than that from some of them. I came to a stop, hunkering down and trying to slow my own breathing and beating heart so I could hear better.

If I'd been running downwind, they'd have had me ten minutes ago.

I could hear four wolves arrayed in front of me, four wolves between me and home. And they were being quiet, very quiet.

They were lying in wait.

I cocked my head, hoping to hear any others that were hiding, but I heard the four in front of me and, still well behind me, the six that following me.

I knew there would be no escape in that direction. They were fanned out, and I'd be running with the wind. If I ran quickly enough, I'd outrun my scent, but I couldn't keep up that pace long enough.

If I circled the four ahead of me to the north, the wind would blow my scent to them, and they would be on me in seconds.

I turned south and ran. Two hundred yards later, I came to a stop to listen. And south of me, faint, were two more wolves. I was largely hemmed in. I could sneak between them, but as soon as my scent blew the wrong direction, they would know it. I had to stay downwind. I turned southeast on a path that would take me within fifty yards of the most eastward wolf.

It wasn't the most eastward wolf. They had a whole line of wolves, and I was out of options. I turned due east and hoped for the best.

The best didn't happen. From ahead of me, downwind, I heard a wolf moving quickly, perhaps three hundred yards away. I swiveled my head and turned due south, hoping to cut through the line.

The wolf downwind of me gave three quick yips, and suddenly I had every wolf in the woods converging on my trail. I made an instant decision and scrambled up the nearest tree.

* * * *

"Come down from there, Michaela."

I looked down at Lara and barred my teeth, growling at her.

"Very impressive," she said. She wasn't even mildly impressed. "Come down."

I climbed higher.

It seemed like half the pack was clustered around my tree, some of them looking up at me, some flopped over, panting. At least I had given them a good run. It had taken them hours to find me.

"Michaela, this is a direct order from your alpha. Climb down here. Now."

I growled again then found a comfortable position where I could relax.

Growling wasn't a natural noise to me; it was learned behavior from the wolves. I had to speak their language to be understood, after all. But for good measure, I offered another growl.

I'd come down when I was good and ready.

"Michaela, this isn't pack land. We are trespassing. Come down."

I growled and threw in a few spits for good measure. If she didn't want to trespass, they could leave. I was perfectly capable of finding my own way home. In fact, if they hadn't cut me off, I'd already be there.

"What's your plan, Michaela?" Lara called up to me. "Are you just going to stay up there all day? Do you even have a plan?" I didn't, but I wasn't going to tell her that. "You promised me if I ever cornered you in a tree, you would come down. I expect you to keep your promise. Get down here."

She was going to throw promises at me. Fine. We'll talk about promises. I carefully shifted into skin.

"You promised me you wouldn't build a fence around me," I said. "You promised me when I joined the pack I wasn't giving up any freedom. You lied. And you knew it when you made those promises."

"Michaela, I allow you as much freedom as I can, and a lot more than is safe."

"You allow me?" I asked. "Allow me?" I started seeing red. "I don't recall signing over my free will when I joined the pack. I don't recall anything in my marriage vows that gave you that sort of authority. You allow me?"

"Yes," she said. "I allow you. I am the pack alpha, and I have that authority."

"If you exercised it no more often than you do with any other adult in the pack, we wouldn't have a problem."

"You know the reason for that, Michaela. Now get down here before someone sees us."

"Yes, I know the reason. It's because you're an overprotective, overbearing, hypocritical, dominating bitch!"

That set her back on her heels. Then I looked at Elisabeth, who was pointedly not looking at me. "And you're just as bad, Elisabeth."

No one said anything for several minutes. The wolves, excluding Lara and Elisabeth, looked everywhere but up into my tree. Lara paced back and forth, and I could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Finally she came to a stop and looked up at me. "Please come down."

"No."

"Michaela, I get it. You're angry. I understand. But were you really going to try kayaking in that water?"

"That's not the point. It was my decision. Mine! Not yours, and certainly not Elisabeth's. She assumes I require her permission to do a thing, and she assumes that because you enforce it. She didn't say, Is that a good idea, alpha? No. She said, No, you're not. All of you can go away. I can take care of myself. I don't know whatever convinced you I can't, but I'm sick of the insulting suggestion I need babysitters."

Down below me, Serena shifted to human then moved where she could look up at me. "Michaela," she said gently. "This is going from bad to worse."

"Only because none of you will leave me alone! I'd be back at the lodge by now if you had just let me through. Clearly you figured out where I was going if you were all lying in wait for me. But noooo," I said, making that word take several syllables. "You had to prove between the, what? Twelve of you? That you could catch me. Well, you only caught me because I was going somewhere you could find me. I could have been long gone, if that's what I wanted."

"Michaela, do you have any idea how sick with worry we were when we thought you went over that cliff?"

I contemplated telling her that technically, I had gone over the cliff.

"Maybe if you gave me a little space, you wouldn't have to wonder if you had driven me suicidal."

"Michaela,” said Serena, “We get that you're upset. Why don't you come down? You and I can ride in our own car on the way back to Madison, if you don't want to ride with your mate."

"I'll come down when I'm good and ready. And I won't start becoming good and ready with all you down there waiting to pounce on me the moment I'm within reach."

"You're being childish, Michaela," said Lara. "Come down. Right now."

In response, I shifted back to fox and climbed higher.

"Damn it, Michaela. Do not make me come up after you."

I growled and spit and began climbing as fast as one little werefox could climb. It didn't take long before I was higher than was safe, and much, much higher than would be safe for Lara. When I looked down, I couldn't really see anyone anymore; there were too many branches in the way. But I growled and spit loudly, just to remind them what mood I was in.

Then I heard Elisabeth's voice. "We have paintball guns at the house in Madison. I can send someone for a few."

They wouldn't dare. I let them know what I thought of that idea.

"Alpha," said Serena, "as angry as she is, she's not going to come down here to accept your dominating her. She knows the moment she's within reach, you're going to put her in her place. I don't think she's in the mood to accept it. Why don't you take everyone else back to the lodge? Leave Portia and Angel with me. We'll calm her down and be along soon."

I hope by soon she meant next month.

Lara surprised me. She didn't say a word, but I heard her shift, and Elisabeth a second or two behind her, and then with a quick bark, most of the wolves ran off, heading towards our lodge. I listened to them leave; I listened to them for a good, long time.

"Now," said Serena, speaking in a normal voice. "Come on down, Michaela. It's just Angel and Portia with me, and no one is going to touch you. If anyone sees a fox in a tree, I can't imagine what kind of questions they're going to ask."

There wasn't anyone around. But I was really high. I began to carefully descend the tree.

About the Author

A writer by avocation, Robin has a renaissance interest in many areas. A bit of a gypsy, Robin has called a few places home and has traveled widely. A love of the outdoors, animals in general and experimenting with world cuisines, Robin and partner share their home with a menagerie of pets and guests, although sometimes it is difficult to discern who is whom.

Robin can be reached via email as robin.roseau@gmail.com. Robin's web site is http://www.robin-roseau.com.

Works by Robin Roseau

The Madison Wolves Series

Fox Run

Fox Play

Fox Mate

Fox Afield

Fox Revenge

Fox Dish

Fox Lost

Wolf Watch

Wolf Ways

Wolf Women

Fox Fate

Jaguar

Omega (coming soon)

Fox Short Stories

Hunting Pups

Fox in the Water

Fox Rematch (set after Fox Mate and Fox Afield)

Fox Opponent

A Foxy Valentine

Other Books in the Madison Wolves Universe

Familiar

Kitty Cat

Poor Little Witch Girl

Seer

Seer: Thrall

The Selected Series

Collected

Taken

Volunteer

Candidate

Recruited

Galatea

Beginnings

The Games People Play Series

Stories that ask a simple question: do you want to play a game?

Do You Want to Play a Game?

My Soul to Play

Other Novels and Novellas

Anonymous Bidder

Blood Slave

A Charming Brew

Emergency Claus

Fitting In

Fluid

Free to Love

Galatzi Trade

Galatzi World

In Custody

Lost in the Words

Outside The Box

Privateer

Stark's Dell

Submission

Surprise

The Interrogation

Tresjolie

Trust

White

The Ski Bindings Shorts

Short stories of love and lust amongst the slopes.

Snow Fox

Short Stories

Cooking for Love

Southern Night

Captured by the Raptor (writing as Rosetta Robins)

Fox in Hiding

Copyright 2017 by Robin Roseau

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

* * *

License Notes

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