Three Short Stories Sinkhole Mark Best, senior officer, Urban Shield evaluator, had expected a quiet day judging the various "e;incidents"e; and the team responses. He had met someone. A woman he wanted to know better. Now he was on National TV, swinging like a rag doll over a deadly abyss. Urban Shield volunteer Susan Sugarland was supposed to be a fake victim. Until the ground opened up, and she found herself tied to an unconscious cop, and dangling from a fire truck ladder. Not just any cop. One she'd been daydreaming about all day. Now she's on a digital loop on the five o'clock news. The DeputySheriff's Deputy Richard Davies Finds himself attracted to a woman attending a Citizen's Academy. He found himself pulling strings until he had this woman assigned to his cruiser. Mia Brand is a romance writer who likes to research her subjects. Cops. Riding along in a cruiser while an officer makes the rounds can be a crapshoot. Unless the officer in question makes her weak in the knees. And she finds he's interested in more than answering a few questions. AftershockSeasoned CHP Officer, Bradford Murray, has just been through a hellish pursuit and traffic pullover. It was too soon after a fellow CHP had gone down in a hail of gunfire. Standing near the airfield at Harris Ranch, Brad is failing at pulling himself back together. Stranded in the middle of nowhere in cow country. Then he spots the beagle lady and her frisky pups. Angel Langly is walking her beagles in the dog park when she discovers a CHP, on his own, and very much in distress. Her maternal instincts on full alert, she secures her dogs and goes to help. If that includes wrapping her arms tightly around a handsome cop, well, so be it.