Carlos Hazday

@Spyke My goal was to get you and other readers hooked. Hell I crafted the opening line of each chapter to grab people's attention. Tell me that first comment by CJ about tits falling out didn't make you want to read more. Cocktail or dinner parties and sporting events are always a good way for my guys to interact with several cast members at the same time. Dinner parties become more prominent as they age and settle a bit. Next one will be dinner for 8 and will include Calum again.

@tor200534 Thanks, bud.

@Wesley8890 Figures... let's see if you still do after next chapter. LOL

@Hellsheild I'm loving the speculation about Yevgeny, but we'll have to wait a few chapters for him to resurface. Although we'll hear more about him in the meantime. Owen did invite him to taste Liston wines, and now that Spencer's come through with an initial case, let's see how they get arround the fact they invited a Russian spy for cocktails.

@Clancy59 What's for breakfast? In the early CJ books, those bedtime chats between Brett and Cesar gave me the chance to recap or set the stage for something. It was a shift in point-of-view, but they worked because those books shifted POV constantly. I eventually settled down to every story being from CJ's view only. Like a typical couple, they'll recap their day once both are home from work, but Liebe takes up a lot of their time so some things are left for the final hour of the day. Next Friday's chapter's already loaded. All I have to do is hit the publish button when my alarm goes off.

@Okiegrad LMAO One problem though. CJ and Owen are both versatile. Hell, Owen's the one who took CJ's bottom virginity when the kid was 16! Although it was CJ who initiated it.

@scrubber6620 CJ and Owen have a varied group of friends in Washington, and CJ's out and proud enough he never hides the fact he's gay. Lincoln, being older an a cop, is not as quick to advertise his sexual orientation. I don't think Calum's either, but it sounds as if his current circle of coworkers/associates/friends is mostly straight people. His concern about not doing anything to embarrass his embassy and country does apply to every diplomat though. Let's see if he sticks around.

@84Mags Domogarov is a smooth but ruthless operator. I can see him and CJ engaging in a battle of wits and neither would have an easy time. See you next Friday?

Aren't we supposed to overdo it over Thanksgiving weekend? Too much turkey, too much football, and too much CJ. Speaking of football, tough loss for PSU yesterday but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Michigan beat Ohio State. And since we're discussing sports, yes, rugby will be a part of the story. Not sure if you remember a long time ago I mentioned to you I wanted CJ and Owen to own a piece of a professional sports franchise. I was thinking NFL and you counseled rugby. See where that led? And now I have an excuse for our boys to have a bunch of ruggers over for a party once they return to DC. Those two are a pair of do-gooders. Of course they're gonna find a way to improve the lives of those around them. Let's see what they come up with.

Calum will weave in and out of the story and in the next chapter we'll see him without a shirt.

@Howzat Pairing Lincoln and Calum sounds boring. I think they need a third. Martinis are not for everyone, and gin definitely isn't. But give me (or CJ and Owen) a glass of Hendrick's on the rocks with a lime wedge, and you'll have us purring. When I had CJ order it at one point, someone mentioned you could tell he was a Georgetown University alumn, it's what the cool kids drank.

@Canuk I always have difficulty choosing genres and tags for my stories. They include bits of so many, it confuses me. So I generally take the easy way out and label them as Drama, now under the General Fiction label. This one I considered adding THRILLER to because I do drag out the suspense. But I decided not to insult authors who write that type of stuff. Since they're in Mexico, margaritas will compete with martinis as the go-to cocktails.

LOL Yep, today's chapter is up. Next one starts the Friday postings. Today's chapter's Stephen free. A bit of domesticity with CJ cooking and Owen drinking.

You have no idea what a headache coordinating events and developments across a series of stories is. Because some spinoffs run concurrently with this one, I revisit events from Ranger and Cadet in CDMX. In those two Lincoln was either mentioned or made an appearance. He counsels Brad at an Everhope Labor Day Party. I even mentioned him in Ripper Christmas. Because he's older than the guys, and because he was introduced so much later than the other close friends, I tried to keep his name alive so when I wrote this there was sufficient background for him. He's an anchor point for them, a piece of home.

Montezuma's revenge?

I've had a similar problen when commenting on something I beta read or edited. My approach's to be lazy and repeat comments I made to the author. It's not plagiarizing if we borrow from ourselves.

“I’m home!” CJ braced for the expected collision. It did not materialize. “Liebe?” He was used to a blonde tornado striking his legs when he arrived at the apartment but his daughter was missing in action at the moment. “Hola, Ceej.” Liebe sat on the couch, an older girl next to her, both engrossed in a picture book. CJ knew it was Infanta’s daughter, Guadalupe, and grinned at her. Her dark eyes shone brightly when she offered a slight smile in return. Certain the girl’s English would

Someone's binge reading the series, and I dip into a chapter here and there. Your comment caught my eye. A delicious kind of collision course? What a wonderful phrase and how prophetic. ❣

Keep an eye on the cast, people like Margaret and Simmone could end up being part of a future Abello administration.

Gee, I just remembered Penn State's mentioned a couple of times in future chapters.

You're welcome

That activism did come to mind. I haven't stated Simmone's black yet. About the only clues so far are her daughter having long curly black hair and her wearing a Tupac t-shirt. Not that a white or Asian kid couldn't fit in there, but I was trying to reach the race thing without using a hammer to drive it home. I play games with myself while writing, trying to discover better ways of doing things. So far so good. The name and the kid didn't trigger immediate recognition.

Had Biden not won, I would have still sent CJ to Mexico but this would probably have been a much darker, somber tale, with him constantly pissed off. Although I decided against using Salazar, I kept Blinken since he doesn't have any dialogue in the story.

There'll be none of that. Stephen's application for a PINK card was declined.

Are you reading minds? I was literally just thinking about his wedding! Albeit brief, Harley does make an appearance in this story. January 2022.