SteeleSentences

 It begins with a towel wrapped too tight and a joke meant to cut the tension. In Chapter 9 , Olivia finds her father bleeding—and the scene plays like a warning you don’t recognize until it’s too late. It’s intimate, human, and unsettling. Because the worst nights often start with something small. 👇 Read Chapter 9 NINE Streeter Residence, Traverse City, Michigan             The garage door groaned to a close behind Liv as she exited the BMW, her arms laden with grocery bags. A fresh layer of snow had settled on the driveway, barely concealing the tire tracks that hinted at earlier activity. The car's headlights flickered off, plunging the garage into semi-darkness. As she stepped into the kitchen from the garage, a pervasive silence welcomed her. The only sound breaking it was the distant hum of the central heating, ticking like a quiet metronome as it fought off the winter chill. "Dad? Anyone?" she called, a touch ...

 Kippler’s Grocery. Familiar aisles. A neighbor who knows too much. Chapter 7 is a deceptively quiet slice of life—one that sharpens the contrast for what’s coming. Olivia is home. But home has a way of exposing the seams—old connections, new pressures, and the uneasy feeling that normal has an expiration date. 👇 Read Chapter 7 SEVEN Kippler's Grocery Store, Traverse City, Michigan             Liv maneuvered the BMW X5 into a parking spot after her third lap around the lot. Traverse City had turned out in full force for the weekend grocery run. She pressed the ignition button, and the powerful engine fell silent. A moment later, she was navigating the busy aisles of Kippler’s Grocery Store. The mission: coffee, and it couldn't be just any coffee. It had to be the kind with the Greek Siren logo—dad's favorite. As she finally located the coffee aisle and reached for a package, she heard a familiar voice from behind her....

 Soft lighting, clinking glasses, and the illusion of normal. In Chapter 4 , Olivia meets an old friend at a downtown spot that feels safe—until their conversation reminds you that safety is a story we tell ourselves. Expectations. Pressure. A future moving faster than the present can hold. This is the calm that readers learn to fear. The chapter you look back on and think: everything was already changing. 👇 Read Chapter 4 FOUR Shuga's Restaurant, Downtown Colorado Springs             The sky was a brilliant shade of blue, a canvas against which the Rocky Mountains stood tall and imposing. Though Colorado Springs was home to Liv now, its allure was a refreshing contrast to the regimented training grounds and academic strongholds that filled her day-to-day. Shuga’s Restaurant was a downtown gem, a place that offered refuge with its cozy ambiance and eclectic menu. The blend of rustic charm and industrial chic reflected ...

 It takes a special kind of calm to fire between heartbeats. Chapter 2 drops you into the crucible of elite training—robotic targets, simulated crowds, and the relentless elevation that tests every breath Olivia takes. Speed without panic. Stillness without fear. It’s discipline forged in cold air—and a preview of the precision she’ll need when the bullets aren’t blanks. 👇 Read Chapter 2 TWO United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado             The Colorado altitude had a way of humbling even the most disciplined athletes, and Olivia Streeter was no exception. It wasn't just the thin air; it was the towering presence of the Rocky Mountains themselves, an omnipresent backdrop that seemed to both challenge and inspire all who came to conquer their own personal summits. Liv felt the elevation's impact most keenly during her initial cardio sessions. The rarefied ai...

Fresh paint. Floor-to-ceiling windows. A vision board filled with rings and targets. In Chapter 1 , Olivia steps into her Colorado Springs apartment—and unknowingly into a life where every minute is planned and nothing goes as planned. Training. Online classes. A dream she’s chased for years. But something else is moving beneath the surface—quiet, patient, inevitable. This chapter feels safe. It isn’t. 👇 Read Chapter 1 ONE Colorado Springs, Colorado             Olivia "Liv" Streeter stood at the threshold of her new apartment, key in hand, and took a moment to appreciate the life she had built. The space before her was an elegant fusion of functionality and modernity, decked out with sleek lines and neutral hues. She had traveled far from her small-town roots in Traverse City, Michigan—metaphorically and literally—and her surroundings marked the distance she'd covered. As she stepped over the entrance, the door closed behind her wi...

 Some destinies start with applause. Olivia Streeter’s starts with a countdown. On snow-slicked tracks in Breckenridge, a rifle at her back and the Olympics in reach, she discovers that victory carries a different kind of weight—the kind that pulls you into danger you never trained for. The Prologue of Pulse is pure velocity: cold air, steady breath, the precision of a born marksman. But beneath the triumph is a low hum of dread—the feeling that this is only the first shot in a much larger war. 👇 Read the Prologue PROLOGUE Breckenridge, Colorado - Final Qualification Rounds             Olivia "Liv" Streeter felt the weight of the .22-caliber rifle snug against her back as she pushed off the starting line. There was no room for error. The digital clock next to the scoreboard started its merciless count the instant she moved, and every millisecond would matter. Her skis sliced through the freshly groom...