I hope you’ve enjoyed the cousins’ short story and be sure to pick up Tramps and Thieves, the sequel to Murder and Mayhem. Published by Dreamspinner Press, it is availabe on the DSP portal, Amazon and other fine book stores.
Tramps and Thieves by Rhys Ford
(Book 2 of the Murder and Mayhem Series)
Release Date: September 18, 2017
Whoever said blood was thicker than water never stood in a pool of it.
Retiring from stealing priceless treasures seemed like a surefire way for Rook Stevens to stay on the right side of the law. The only cop in his life should have been his probably-boyfriend, Los Angeles Detective Dante Montoya, but that’s not how life—his life—is turning out. Instead, Rook ends up not only standing in a puddle of his cousin Harold’s blood but also being accused of Harold’s murder…and sleeping with Harold’s wife.
For Dante, loving the former thief means his once-normal life is now a sea of chaos, especially since Rook seems incapable of staying out of trouble—or keeping trouble from following him home. When Rook is tagged as a murder suspect by a narrow-focused West L.A. detective, Dante steps in to pull his lover out of the quagmire Rook’s landed in.
When the complicated investigation twists around on them, the dead begin to stack up, forcing the lovers to work together. Time isn’t on their side, and if they don’t find the killer before another murder, Dante will be visiting Rook in his prison cell—or at his grave.
Purchase from Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/tramps-and-thieves-by-rhys-ford-8847-b
Purchase from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tramps-Thieves-Murder-Mayhem-Book-ebook/dp/B074WNTXPC/
Epilogue
“You didn’t have to call the cops,” Marvin Diego snorfled through a bloody handkerchief. “This is so embarrassing. Suppose the news finds out—”
“I seriously doubt anyone gives a shit if they find out you peed your pants because a puma was about to have you for afternoon tea,” Rook shot back, flexing his left hand. “And I didn’t call the cops, I called… Dante.”
“Which is pretty much the same thing,” Alex pointed out. He was warmer now, swaddled in one of James’ zipped hoodies and sitting in the back seat of Dante’s large SUV. Under the dubious protection of the house’s front porch, Dante and James appeared to be finishing up their conversation with the Animal Control agent the sheriff called in to scare off the mountain lion while the tow truck operator was locking down Rook’s vehicle on the flat bed he’d brought to the site. “I can’t believe it pulled off your bumpers.”
“Yeah, lucky me,” Rook mumbled from the front seat. “Jesus, what a fucking day.”
“It was supposed to be a joke,” Marvin whimpered from the third seat. “To get back at you for stealing that first edition Lord of the Rings I wanted.”
“You have a first edition Lord of the Rings?” Alex gaped at his cousin. His envy fought with his awe and he swallowed. “Really?”
“Yeah, all of them. Including the Silmarillion. Prime condition” Rook made a face back at him. “Don’t get pissy. It’s your Christmas present. And I won them fair and square, Marvin.”
“You took a ninety-four year old woman to the sideshow circus so she could learn how to be a trapeze artist,” he exclaimed in a huff. “She spent the day in a sparkling pink leotard, performing for five-year olds. How was anyone suppose to compete with that? She practically sold the whole lot to you for pennies on the dollar!”
“Sometimes, Marvin, it’s not about the money but about the desire.” Rook winked at Alex. “And besides, it was for my cousin. I’d have slit your throat to get those books if I had to.”
“Okay, we’re good to go,” James said, climbing into the back seat next to Alex. “We got the sheriff to drop the charges against Marvin—”
“That’s a fucking pity,” Rook muttered.
“Well, technically you two were breaking and entering as well so let’s just go with that’s good from you. That sale he lured you in with isn’t going to happen for another month. The auction house people said they’d give you a call when it’s on but somehow, I don’t think Marvin’s invited.” Dante got settled in the driver’s seat then leaned over to kiss Rook on the mouth. “You okay, cuervo?”
James was holding his hand, rubbing at the ring on Alex’s finger but it was still… oddly romantic to see Rook wrinkle his nose then return Dante’s gentle kiss. His cousin had changed—was still changing—once Dante Montoya entered Rook’s life and the simmering affection they’d banked years ago was finally allowed to grow into a fiery passion Alex envied nearly as much as he did the Tolkien.
“But I have that too,” he sighed, bumping shoulders with his husband. “I got the cop and the books. Life is good.”
“What are you muttering about, babe?” James peered down at him as Dante started up the car to drive them back into Los Angeles. “Am I going to have to help you dig a grave for when you kill Rook?”
“Nope, not killing him,” he murmured. “Today was a good day. And you know what? Tomorrow’s going to be an even better one.”
“Why?” James squeezed his hand and smiled. “What are you going to do tomorrow, babe?”
“Same thing we do every day, Pinky,” Alex dropped his voice to a rumbling rasp. “Rook’s going to try to take over the world. And I’m probably going to help.”
Be sure catch the entire story on the Tramps and Thieves Blog Tour and enter to win the giveaway featured on every blog!
And now for an added bonus, chapter one of the Tramps and Thieves audiobook, narrated by Greg Tremblay and available soon on Audible.
Catch up on the whole story by following the blog tour at:
Part
1 MMGoodbook Reviews
2 Love Bytes
3 Sinfully Gay Reviews
4 Joyfully Jay
5 NDulgent Bloggers
6 It’s About The Book
7 The Novel Approach
8 rhysford.com (Epilogue)
Rhys Ford is an award-winning author with several long-running LGBT+ mystery, thriller, paranormal, and urban fantasy series and was a 2016 LAMBDA finalist with her novel, Murder and Mayhem and a 2017 Gold and Silver Medal winner in the Florida Authors and Publishers President’s Book Awards for her novels Ink and Shadows and Hanging the Stars. She is published by Dreamspinner Press and DSP Publications.
She’s also quite skeptical about bios without a dash of something personal. Rhys shares the house with two cats, Yoshi, a grumpy tuxedo and Tam, a diabetic black shorthair, as well as a ginger cairn terrorist named Gus. She is also responsible for the care and feeding of a 1979 Pontiac Firebird and enjoys murdering make-believe people.
Rhys can be found at the following locations:
Blog: http://www.rhysford.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author
Twitter: @Rhys_Ford
