romantic suspense

Shai: A dark gay romantic suspense novel (Malicious Gods: Egypt) by H.L. Night: Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt, and Giveaway

June 21, 2021 by Denise

Malicious Gods: Egypt, Book 2

How do you play a game when there aren’t any rules?

Petty crook and drug dealer Elijah Page’s plan was simple. Stay off the feuding crime-lords’ radar for long enough to make a quick buck in the city, and then get out. He couldn’t have been more naïve. Captured and beaten by McIntyre, he escapes death, only to find himself in the hands of McIntyre’s opponent. Shai is an enigma, a man as charming as he is twisted. And he’s set his sights on possessing Elijah—body and soul.

Shai will stop at nothing until he’s ousted McIntyre. In the meantime, fate has provided him with an interesting distraction in the shape of the stubborn and rebellious Elijah. Elijah’s lips may say one thing, but his body says something else entirely. Elijah might think he has what it takes to go up against a man like Shai, but he’s wrong. He’s nothing but a fly in Shai’s web, and Shai will always be two steps ahead.

A game ensues. One that Elijah may not even realize he’s playing, or just how big a pawn he is. Everything is at stake. Possibly even his heart and mind. By the time Shai has finished with him, there might not be anything left of the man he used to be.

Let the games begin.

A dark mm romantic suspense featuring snakes as a weapon, a manipulative main character, and a few twists and turns along the way.

Welcome to the dark world of Malicious Gods: Egypt. A collection of standalone modern tales, both magical and non-magical, featuring deities from Ancient Egypt. You’ll find reincarnated Gods, assassins, gangs, madness, and different realities. Expect high heat and morally ambiguous themes. Seductive and often twisted, they are not for the fainthearted.

Shai
By H.L Day writing as H.L Night

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

Goodreads

The kiss wasn’t really a kiss. It was more a demonstration of power and domination, Shai’s lips brutal as he ground them against mine, his arm a steel band holding me in place and leaving me with nothing else to do but accept it. There were no tongues involved, no finesse. It seemed to go on forever, my palms plastered against Shai’s chest in a feeble attempt to push him off and get him to stop.

When he finally released me, I could taste copper, my fingers coming away from my mouth tinged with blood where he’d wrought damage with his teeth. I stared at the red on my fingers, my mind performing the usual mental gymnastics that any time spent with Shai seemed to require. Was that it? Was that what he’d wanted? Would I be allowed to leave now? Was his twisted version of a date now complete?

He spun away from me, his long strides eating up the space between himself and the door. He was leaving. Thank fuck! I could go to my room and regroup. One thing was for sure, I wouldn’t be repeating today’s mistake of seeking him out, no matter how lonely I got. I’d rather go crazy in my room than place myself in a predicament like this one again.

Shai came to a halt in front of the door. Instead of pulling it open, he twisted the lock before turning back to face me. “There. Now we won’t be disturbed.”

It was an automatic reaction to take a few steps back, Shai retracing his steps to come after me. He was slow and deliberate—a panther stalking its prey. I made it all the way over to the other side of the room before the wall at my back brought my retreat to a premature conclusion. And then Shai was there, turning me so that my front was pressed against the wall, the cool surface feeling good against my splayed fingers. He plastered himself against my back, his body a hot, hard brand, his cock already swelling as he fitted it against the curve of my ass. “I’ve wanted to do this all evening.”

H.L Night is the darker alter-ego of H.L Day.
They’re still juggling teaching and writing but in a more sinister way with a much bigger moustache and more cape twirling. They’re still working on their evil laugh.

Connect with the Author:
My FB group Day’s Den – https://www.facebook.com/groups/2214565008830022/
My FB page – https://www.facebook.com/HLDay/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/HLDAY100
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14785113.H_L_Day
Website: https://hldayauthor.co.uk/
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/h.l.day101/?hl=en
Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/profile/h-l-day
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Midnight Heist by Katherine McIntyre: Promo Post with Giveaway

March 1, 2021 by Denise

Heist rule number one? Never fall for your mark.

Grif’s always followed the one rule in the high stakes business of heists: never fall for your mark. At least until he meets Danilo Torres…

Grif Blackmore’s team of thieves, the Outlaws, take down wicked corporations and nab fantastic paydays. However, when their latest heist fails, they end up in debt to the mafia, which puts the pressure on for their next job targeting Torres Industries to go off without a hitch.

There’s one problem. The CEO of Torres Industries, Danilo Torres, happens to not only be dead sexy but unaware of his company’s corruption. When the sparks flare between Grif and Danilo, Grif can’t help but fall for his mark.

Grif is left with a decision to make. Is he willing to throw it all away for the man who’s caught his interest or is there a chance to play Robin Hood without losing it all?

Title: Midnight Heist

Author: Katherine McIntyre
Genre: Gay Romantic Suspense
Release Date: February 27th
Word count: 78k

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Katherine McIntyre is a feisty chick with a big attitude despite her short stature. She writes stories featuring snarky women, ragtag crews, and men with bad attitudes—and there’s an equally high chance for a passionate speech thrown into the mix. As an eternal geek and tomboy who’s always stepped to her own beat, she’s made it her mission to write stories that represent the broad spectrum of people out there, from different cultures and races to all varieties of men and women.

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Kept in the Dark (Locke and Keyes Agency Book 1) by Charlie Cochet: New Release Review *2

September 3, 2019 by Denise

Former Army Ranger turned government assassin Álvaro Montero and CIA Officer Caiden Cardosa crossed paths two years ago in Vienna, where their encounter ended less than amicably—despite the explosive sexual chemistry between them.

Now Caiden is riding a desk at Langley after his cover is blown. And Álvaro—who was “killed”—has a new identity and purpose as Delta/D, an operative for the Locke and Keyes Agency, under the leadership of the mysterious Alpha Orion.

When D and Caiden team up in a deadly black ops mission, the urge to kill each other will have to take a back seat to the desire for revenge against the man who betrayed them both. Surviving the mission won’t be easy. Resisting the passion between them—that might be impossible.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

A new series by Charlie Cochet? Sign me up!

I unabashedly love her THIRDS series. I am pretty excited for the spin off of that. And I enjoyed her Four Kings Security series, but one of the main characters was just too similar to the main character in THIRDS. Did I still totally devour the books? Yep. Because above all, they are fun, super entertaining reads.

So now we have this series. The Locke and Keyes Agency looks innocuous on the outside, but really it is a cover for hired assassins. But they only go after the bad guys- and they don’t always kill them.

This first book starts with D (short for Delta) who is presumed dead after being shot, and Caiden, a CIA spy who’s cover was blown. Alpha- the person in charge- wants both of them to work together to get a flash drive that has incriminating evidence on it. Including who shot D and who blew Caiden’s cover.

BUT…these guys know each other. They had one super hot night a few years ago, but then D ghosted Caiden before morning. Caiden is still mad about it, but D still wants him.

So they are trying to work together while also trying to fight their attraction. HA! Like that will happen.

So while this book was classic Charlie Cochet- funny, sarcastic, totally action packed, sexy, with two big alpha dudes, the characters definitely didn’t remind me of anyone else. They were unique to her- which made me happy.

Because the book is based in Florida there are jokes about gators- of course. Which is just funny. I mean my aunts moved to Florida (in fact, they moved to where the Four Kings is set) and I joke with them all of the time about gators.

By the end of the book we meet the rest of Alpha’s team of guys AND see them recruit someone else. And I want all of their stories! They were a crack up.

So bring it on Alpha! I want more Locke and Keyes and more guys!

4 Pieces of Eye Candy

Another great start to a new series by the very talented Charlie Cochet, and with the group of guys behind our two MC’s, it looks like this could be a series that takes many wild turns.

D and Caiden were quite the pair, rarely agreeing, but always having each others’ backs. (I’ll admit the back and forth on D’s name was difficult for me to keep track of…didn’t happen a lot, but enough to throw me a time or two.) There was some good humor in this book (not on the level of THIRDS, but that was ok!) which helped break up some of the challenges that these two were facing with trying to find D’s “killer” and Caiden’s bad guy…which by the way…totally took me by surprise!

The final big scene was intricate, and really well mapped out. I feel like sometimes Charlie sits down with little toy soldiers and moves them around to see if it will work. 🙂 Which it always does!

Can’t wait to see more of this series!

4 pieces of eye candy

Doubling Down (Double Trouble Book 2) by Cari Z and LA Witt: Release Day Review

July 29, 2019 by Denise

Hacker Leotrim Nicolosi and Deputy Marshal Rich Cody may have escaped a vengeful crime boss by the skin of their teeth, but they’re not out of danger yet. With the mob’s tentacles embedded in everything from local law enforcement to federal agencies, the guys are running low on allies.

Rich has one ace up his sleeve—the men who had his back in warzones during his time in the Marines. When he sends out a distress call, the cavalry comes running. Heavily armed, highly trained, and fully provisioned, they hunker down in a buddy’s missile silo, ready to make a stand against whatever the Grimaldi family sends after Rich and Leo.

Leo isn’t so sure about the Marines, though. He trusts Rich, but something isn’t right, and he’s not a gambling man when his life is on the line. The Marines aren’t so sure they trust him, either, and Rich suddenly finds himself in a standoff between the men he’s bled with and the man he’s quickly falling for.

Now they’re running out of time to either find the turncoat among them or get on the same side.

Because the Grimaldi family is coming, and this time they’re bringing out the big guns.

Doubling Down is the sequel to Double or Nothing, and is the conclusion to the Double Trouble duology.

Amazon – Kindle Unlimited

When we last saw Leo and Rich, lots of bad guys were dead and the biggest bad- Matteo Grimaldi- was in federal custody. But Papa Grimaldi was still out there calling the shots. And still wanted Leo dead. So back on the run they go- back to the missile silo and his Marine buddy Smitty.

The stakes have been raised though, so Rich calls in his other Marines. The show up- because that is what they do- but they don’t really trust Leo. Nor does Leo trust them.

It was cool to see these guys show up in waves. That way they all needed to learn about each other all over again. And then Gianna showed up- Papa Grimaldi’s only daughter, who he also has a hit out on.

So all of these alpha men, plus Leo and Gianna are hunkered down in a missle silo trying to come up with a plan, but also not kill each other. It is kind of funny. But they all know that this is going to come down to war. Them versus the mob, no way around it.

The story is exciting and mostly fast paced. There are a few slow spots, but not too many. There’s a double crosser in the mix, so it was fun trying to figure out who it was (I didn’t guess it).

Total escapism book with a very satisfying ending. Like an action movie on the pages with a healthy dose of gay romance.

Don’t even try to read this book without reading the first.

4 Pieces of Candy

Pros & Cons Series by AE Wasp: Exclusive Guest Post, Blog Tour and Giveaway

March 1, 2019 by Denise

There’s nothing like being blackmailed by a dead man to really bring a group of cons together. And what a group we are: a hacker, a thief, a con artist, a thug, and a Federal agent with an axe to grind. The deal is simple, we do the jobs and Charlie’s lawyer wipes the slate clean for each of us, one at a time.

Since job number one calls for some muscle, it looks like I’m up first. I’m Steele Alvarez, ex-Special Forces Close Protection Specialist (aka, a bodyguard for some not so nice guys).

After learning what the job is — taking down a seemingly untouchable senator with a penchant for beating up young male prostitutes — I’m in. No questions. A bullet ought to do the trick.

Then I met Senator Harlan’s latest victim: Breck Pfeiffer, the gorgeous hooker with a heart of gold and the soul of a fighter. One look at him and I’m gone. That kid laid me out harder than any punch ever did. I’ll do anything to protect Breck, even kill for him. But Breck doesn’t want the senator dead, he wants vengeance.

If we’re going to find a way bring down the slimebag and get the blackest mark on my record erased, I’m going to need all the help I can get.

Like it or not, we’re all in this together.

BOOK 1

Book Title: Pros & Cons of Vengeance

Author: A.E. Wasp

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Angsty G

Genre/s: MM Romantic Suspense

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: approx 83,000 words/ 331 pages

Release Date: January 18, 2019

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It is a standalone story

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Mapping out a series – pantser or plotter?

Having jumped into my third series with Pros & Cons (First was Veterans Affairs, then Hot Off the Ice) I’d say a combination of both. I’m pantsing the series arcs and specific details but I like to have a nice outline before I start writing the individual books.

My outlines are basically my first drafts. I start with bullet points and just go up and down the outline expanding things and thinking.

But the series just kind of…happen. Sometimes I know who the next pairing will be, sometimes I don’t. In Paper Hearts, in the Veterans Affairs series, I was writing a scene and realize, oh man, these other two characters, who I’d had zero intention of hooking up, had been hooking up behind my back the entire book. Writing their book, Bronze Star, was frustrating because I had to write around the events I had already set in motion and the actions I had had those two guys do in all the previous books1

Pros & Cons has the most fully thought-out series arc. I started thinking about the idea around Christmas and quickly realized that it would a five-book series with each character getting their own book. I had a vague idea of the characters and the feel of the books and where I wanted the entire series to end up, but that’s about it. I’m not even 100% sure what I’m doing for book three, Pros & Cons of Desire. I know who it’s about and there are elements I want to put into it. But I’m not even sure of the ending!

Sometimes I throw in lines as I’m writing like “His parents had met on a Disney cruise when they were twenty five” and I don’t even really notice I’m doing it. Series continuity is very hard for me! If anyone is looking for a job, I know authors could really use someone to do book bibles for our series!

I’m trying, with Pros & Cons, to be more deliberate with what I say and to keep track of those details because I know that I will be using the same characters for all the books. I’m loving that aspect of it. It gives me a chance to build these characters over a series of books instead of trying to cram everything about them into one book. If there are questions say about Wesley’s (in Pros & Cons of Deception) family, I don’t have to answer them right now. It can come out at a more natural time.

Thank Christ someone had been bright enough to leave the air conditioning on in Charlie’s mansion. Dead men paid no electric bills, I guess. Fucking Florida.I’d been gone too long and had somehow forgotten how truly miserable the humidity could be. Sure, it could hit a hundred and fifteen outside of Baghdad, but it was dry heat.

I thought about taking off my suit, or at least my tie, but until I knew what the hell was going on here, I wasn’t going to let my guard down.

Besides, I looked good in a suit.

“Nice house, huh?” Wesley said from my behind me, as I was busy assessing the layout of the house and cataloging any possible pinch points. Like I said, I didn’t know what I was doing here, and I wasn’t taking any chances.

“I’ve seen bigger.” In my most recent incarnation as close protection specialist and hired muscle to some very rich and very bad men, I’d been in mansions that made this place look like a pool house. Not that this place sucked. Not at all. The cabin I’d grown up in could have fit in the foyer with room left over.

We followed Ms. Miranda Bosley, Charlie’s attorney, single-file down the tiled hallway of the big house like a line of ducklings. Wesley was the only guy I knew and consequently the only one in the group I trusted enough to walk behind me. Even Ms. Bosley looked like she wouldn’t hesitate to stab me in the kidney if she felt she needed to.

Seeing Wes at the funeral had been a surprise. A quick, stilted conversation had revealed that he was here for the same reason I was – we were both being blackmailed by Charlie.

I couldn’t imagine what Charlie had on the kid. I’d only worked with Wes twice before, but he was more a gray hat than a black hat hacker; the kind of person who didn’t mind doing the wrong things for the right reasons. A cross between MacGyver and Anonymous, the kid had probably been on an FBI watch list since he was twelve.

Wesley had triggered my protective instincts from our first meeting, but he’d never really needed much help beyond muscle. Sure he could take of himself with that jujitsu or whatever, but sometimes some people just needed their faces punched, and I was more than happy to do that for him. It was satisfying.

Now Angel-Face, as I’d taken to calling the gorgeous blond kid who’d been sitting a few rows ahead of me at the graveside ceremony, hetriggered other instincts in me. Made me think things I probably shouldn’t be thinking at a funeral. But then again, Angel-Face hadn’t seemed exactly consumed with grief either. I hadn’t been completely surprised to see him following Miranda after the funeral along with Wes and me. Very interesting. What had that choir boy done to be in such bad company at such a young age?

I’m Bond. Wesley Bond. (I can’t resist saying it that way. Blame my dad, if you can find him.) You could call me a hacker. I redistribute wealth – moving it from rich slimebags to poorer but infinitely more deserving people – and make a tidy profit as I do. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to bring down some modern-day slave traders.

I definitely choose to accept it.

With the life of the one person in this world I love on the line, I can’t afford any screw ups or distractions. Unfortunately, my biggest distraction is also my biggest asset – Danny Monroe. Danny is a leftover complication from our first job; a victim of the vicious senator we’d gotten locked up. He’s a smart, funny, gorgeous, ex-prostitute, who can’t seem to keep his clothes on. I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut around him. But I need a fake boyfriend, and Danny is the only option.

Fooling the world into thinking we’re in love will be easy; fooling myself that I’m not might be impossible.

BOOK 2

Book Title: Pros & Cons of Deception

Author: A. E. Wasp

Publisher: Self-published

Cover Artist: Angsty G

Genre/s: MM Romantic Suspense

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 80,000 words/ 300 pages

Release Date: March 1, 2019

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“Hey, can anyone explain why my shirt drawer is empty?” Ridge Pfeiffer demanded, appearing on the patio where the rest of our little band had congregated. Our resident retrievals expert (read: thief) was naked from the waist up and scowling beneath his blue eyes and blond curls like the world’s most overgrown, pissed-off Botticelli angel.

I pulled down my sunglasses to look at him, then slid them back up so I could focus on my phone screen. Right now, I was engaged in a long-term bout of spear phishing at Campbell Enterprises, and I was about to close the deal. This was way more interesting than anything Ridge was likely to share.

Janie, I typed, I’m on a plane with Dal Anderson and he wants a four-paragraph summary of Thursday’s press release so we can prepare talking points for the investors!! Can’t access the secure server from here and I’m fah-reaking OUT!! Send me something? – Becks

There. That ought to do it.

Becks, aka Rebecca Frankel, Junior Executive Assistant to the VP of Human Resources at Campbell, according to her LinkedIn profile, was adorably naïve and helpful. For example, when a friendly IT man had called the other day and asked for her credentials to verify a “suspicious login” from her site, she’d provided all the necessary info. Hell, if I’d asked for her astrological sign and social security number, she’d probably have given me that too.

Once I’d accessed her email, I’d had the keys to the castle. It had been easy to copy her writing style – hyper-friendly, with way too many exclamation points for a person over the age of thirteen – to learn that she was going on a business trip with her boss this week, and to find that she was smoke-break buddies with Jane DeVoor, Assistant to the CFO. As soon as Jane emailed back a summary of Thursday’s press release to help her pal out, I’d make a few quick investment decisions like I’d somehow learned to predict the future.

Hint: Ditch your psychic friends and go phishing instead.

“Um, would we say the drawer is really empty, though?” Breck, Ridge’s identical twin, asked from the lounge chair where he was stretched out in the sun practically on top of his boyfriend, Steele Alvarez.

“Close enough. The only things left are a pink tank top that says I Would Bottom You So Hardand this Pittsburgh Steelers t-shirt.” Ridge held it up. “Neither of them is mine, and frankly I don’t feel comfortable wearing either.”

A dreamer and an idealist, Amy writes about people finding love, family, and magic in the everyday world. From professional hockey players to professional thieves, her boys work hard, play hard, and love harder. She invites readers into her characters’ lives and worlds when they are their most vulnerable, their most human, and living with the same hopes and fears we all have.

Born on Long Island, NY, Amy has lived in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. She currently lives in a town suspiciously like Red Deer, Colorado.

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Skin and Bone (Digging Up Bones: Book 2) by TA Moore: Blog Tour with Exclusive Guest Post and Giveaway

February 21, 2019 by Denise

TCO is very excited to have TA Moore here today with Chapter Three of her short story for the blog tour of Skin and Bone, Digging Up Bones: Book Two. I can’t wait to read this book! Make sure you check out the entire story, on all six blogs, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!

Digging Up Bones: Book Two

Cloister Witte and his K-9 partner, Bourneville, find the lost and bring them home.

But the job doesn’t always end there.

Janet Morrow, a young trans woman, lies in a coma after wandering away from her car during a storm. But just because Cloister found the young tourist doesn’t mean she’s home. What brought her to Plenty, California… and who didn’t want her to leave?

With the help of Special Agent Javi Merlo, who continues to deny his growing feelings for the rough-edged deputy, Cloister unearths a ten-year-old conspiracy of silence that taps into Plenty’s history of corruption.

Janet Morrow’s old secrets aren’t the only ones coming to light. Javi has tried to put his past behind him, but some people seem determined to pull his skeletons out of the closet. His dark history with a senior agent in Phoenix complicates not just the investigation but his relationship with Cloister.

And since when has he cared about that?

Title: Skin and Bone (Book 2 of the Digging up Bones series)

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press

Release: 26 February

Cover Artist: Bree Archer

Amazon

Dreamspinner

First of all, thank you so much for having me! I’m thrilled to be here with Skin and Bone, the second book in the Digging up Bones series. Authors should probably be like parents in that they never admit any book is their favourite, but I love this series. It was great fun for me to revisit them in Skin and Bone and I hope you guys enjoy seeing them again too!

For this blog tour I have written a short story called ‘Sticks and Stones’ where you can see what Javi and Cloister were up to between books!

Sticks and Stones – Chapter Three

The light bounced over the rutted path as Cloister half-jogged, half-skidded down the loose shale covered hill. Scrub grew long and stringy at the side of the road, dried out and noisy as wildlife moved through it.

Bon’s ears swivelled in response to the rustle of fat bodies through the grass and the squeaky mews of something that was either a cat or a baby racoon, but was definitely interesting. Despite the distractions she kept her nose down to the trail as she sniffed out Judge Buchanan in the dirt and stones.

“Good girl,” Cloister told her. “It would just bite your nose anyhow.”

Bon wagged her tail in response to the ‘good’ and ignored the rest. The nylon weave of the leash rubbed at Cloister’s fingers as he kept her fairly tight to him. He’d grown up in a area like this, a dozen old buildings scattered back along a country loop so minor it didn’t have an official name. Just a number and the nickname Trash Alley, because…well…Cloister’s family, cousins and uncles and friends, lived there.

People always drove too fast on roads like this, as if they assumed the whole stretch of concrete and dirt from their doorway to the freeway was for their use only. Cloister had lost a bike and the skin off his back one summer to their neighbor—you’d yelled at him for scraping up her Station Wagon—but never a dog. He didn’t intend to break that streak.

A stray branch caught on his sleeve and snapped up into his face, It caught under his eye with a sharp, scratch of pain and then flicked up into his eyebrow. He winced and rubbed his eye on the back of his hand, torch beam pointed into the scrub to catch the reflection from a pair of eyes a bit too high off the ground to be a racoon.

Cloister ignored the coyote—unless it was rabid a coyote wouldn’t be interested in picking a fight with a big dog and a human unless it was pushed to it—and studied the trees along the side of the path.

No broken twigs. No scraps of hair caught in the branches or bits of fabric pierced like flags.

Judge Buchanan had left the house on foot and at her own pace. No one had chased her down here, if there was anyone with her they’d not been in a hurry. No fresh scuff marks on the road, no signs of any spot where someone had dug in their heels or grabbed for something to try and slow themselves down.

Cloister had only met Buchanan once, a domestic violence case where Bon had dragged an angry, tweaking ex from under a neighbors porch. She’d not seemed the sort to be dragged off into the night without some mark of her left behind.

At the bottom of the hill the dirt road ended in a gate. Bon stuck her nose under it and snorted in frustration as she tried one gap and then another. Second time lucky and she squeezed through the bars. The leash pulled tight between them as she leaned against.

“Bleib,” Cloister told her. She whinged her disapproval of the stay order but flopped down on the pavement. Her tail tip twitched impatiently as she waited. Cloister let the leash drop and jumped up to grab the top of the gate. The metal–rough and untreated–scraped against his palm as he pulled himself up. He kicked one booted foot between the bars and boosted himself over the crossbar. Cloister dropped down on the other side and pulled the leash back through. Bon got a quick thump to the shoulders for being a good dog as she scrambled back onto her paws. “Such.”

On the other side of the was a well-paved concrete road. Bon veered sharply across to the left and then keep going onto the other side of the road. Security lights flicked on as they jogged past. On a few of the gates a camera, red light bright against the darkness, tracked him through its territory.

A bench, decorated with a divorce lawyer’s capped white smile and phone number, distracted Bon for a moment. She circled around it and then jumped up onto the seat and barked as she scraped at the sun-bleached plastic.

“She stopped here, huh?” Cloister said. He snapped his fingers and gestured down for Bon. She hopped down and wove between his legs, her weight solid as she butted her shoulder behind his knees. The leash tangled around his ankles in a snare. Cloister pinned a loop under his heel and stepped out of the knot. “Bon, enough. Sit.”

With a heavy, put-upon sigh Bon sat down. She hung her tongue out of her mouth, pink and dripping, while Cloister checked the bench over. Initials had been carved into the plastic with deep, ragged strokes and circled with lopsided hearts. No gang tags. No blood.

A flicker of something yellow beneath the bench caught his eye. He knelt down and reached in the grab the scrap of paper that had caught against a loose bit of rock. It was a sheet of lined, yellow paper with a list of times and locations on it. Home bookended the list, and in between included the courthouse, a cafe—ham on rye stipulated in brackets underneath, and a dry cleaners.

Someone had been paying a lot of attention to where Judge Buchanan went every day.

Although—Cloister glanced up the timetable posted in the metal pole—why they’d take her to get the bus he didn’t know.

19 – It’s About the Book

20 – My Fiction Nook

21 – Two Chicks Obsessed

24 – Boy Meets Boy

25 – Love Bytes

26 – Joyfully Jay

TA Moore is a Northern Irish writer of romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and contemporary romance novels. A childhood in a rural, seaside town fostered in her a suspicious nature, a love of mystery, and a streak of black humour a mile wide. As her grandmother always said, ‘she’d laugh at a bad thing that one’, mind you, that was the pot calling the kettle black. TA Moore studied History, Irish mythology, English at University, mostly because she has always loved a good story. She has worked as a journalist, a finance manager, and in the arts sectors before she finally gave in to a lifelong desire to write.

Coffee, Doc Marten boots, and good friends are the essential things in life. Spiders, mayo, and heels are to be avoided.

Website: www.tamoorewrites.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TAMoorewrites/

Twitter: @tamoorewrites

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