The numbers don't lie. Someone wishes they would.

Alec is good at his job. Exceptionally good. So when a routine review of a client's accounts reveals vendor payments that don't connect, shell companies that barely exist, and a money trail that leads somewhere no honest business should go — he can't let it go. That's not how his mind works.

What starts as professional due diligence becomes something more dangerous than Alec bargained for. But he's not the kind of man who walks away from a problem just because it pushes back.

Balancing the Books is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — a character study and financial crime thriller that reveals the quiet determination beneath Alec's accountant exterior.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

She thought she knew what their partnership was. She's about to find out how much she didn't.

Punch-Girl is in the early days — no Punchcycle, no spare suit, and a growing frustration that her work isn't making a dent. Central is the voice in her ear, always calm, always one step ahead. But when he directs her to a location before anything has happened, the questions she should have been asking all along come rushing in.

How does he know what he knows? How long has he been watching? And what exactly does it mean to have someone in your corner?

The Voice in the Ear is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — a tense, revealing look at the partnership at the heart of the series, and what it costs to protect someone without their full knowledge.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

Some nights, they just want dinner.

Alec and Jessica have a favorite restaurant. The name is absurdly long, the décor is charmingly mismatched, and the owner treats them like family. So when an elderly couple shows up on the wrong night expecting a 50th anniversary celebration, and the whole strip mall quietly conspires to give them one anyway, Alec finds himself coordinating aminor miracle — one knocked-over sauce bottle at a time.

Dragon Lotus Garden is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — warm, funny, and unexpectedly moving.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

He thinks she's distracted. He has no idea why.

Alec has been building up the nerve to ask Jessica out since a New Year's Eve party where things did not go particularly well. Tonight the restaurant is good, the conversation is better — and then her phone keeps buzzing, and she keeps almost excusing herself, and Alec starts to wonder if he's reading this completely wrong.

He isn't. But not for the reasons he thinks.

First Date is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — a warm, funny, and quietly tense look at the beginning of a relationship built on secretsneither of them can imagine yet.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

Every hero needs her armor. Someone had to build it.

When recently downsized materials engineer Sarah Chen accepts an anonymous commission — a garment that can withstand combat, move like a second skin, and house cutting-edge electronics — she tells herself it's just a technical challenge. The encrypted messages. The cryptocurrency payments. The client she'll never meet. Just details.

As the prototypes evolve and field-test data arrives from somewhere she can't identify, Sarah begins to understand exactly what she's building. And for whom.

Project Blue is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — an origin story for the iconic PunchSuit told from the outside in, revealing the extraordinary lengths taken to keep an extraordinary secret.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.

The city never sleeps. Neither does she.

One night. One rooftop. A professional crew operating with military precision — and Punch-Girl is the only thing standing between them and a clean escape.

When the pursuit splits across two locations and her equipment takes damage at the worst possible moment, she's forced to improvise. And when the dust settles, one question lingers: someone has been watching her. Studying her. Preparing for her.

The Roof Runner is a standalone short story set in the world of the Punch-Girl series by J.M. Reilly — an action-packed introduction to the vigilante, her methods, and the city sheprotects. Perfect for new readers and fans of the series alike.

Start with Punch-Girl Book One to experience the full story.