The noonday sun blazed across the interstate, turning the asphalt into a shimmering ribbon of heat as Greg and Cathy roared down the highway in their bright yellow Camaro. They had the stereo cranked, singing “Highway to Hell” with Bon Scott at the top of their lungs. The needle was on ‘E’ as the song ended, and Greg rolled up to the pump at an old-school filling station in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. As Greg pulled up...

Day 8: Under the Mistletoe (Infraction Ten: The Unkissed Moment) The penthouse has been transformed into a labyrinth of expectation. Noelle has spent the afternoon taping sprigs of fresh, waxy mistletoe to the most convenient transition points of the home: the archway to the kitchen, the entrance to the study, and directly above the master bed. Noelle is dressed in a short, cream-colored silk slip that barely skims her mi...

Day 1: The Anti-Claus and the Writ of Infractions The double doors of the elevator slid open with a hushed whoosh, revealing the expansive, slate-grey silence of the North Pole penthouse. Nicholas stepped out, his thumb still hammering a frantic rhythm against the glass screen of his datapad. The logistics network in the Eastern Hemisphere was hemorrhaging efficiency by the minute, and his mind was a tangle of flight path...