Maggie Blackbird

Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. Readers can jump from one author to another who share hooks from their current WIP (work in progress) or any previously published books.

For this week’s edition of Book Hooks, I give you a teaser from Toy Soldiers, book two in the When We Were Young series, a m/m contemporary, young adult novel.

Once a thief, always a thief, and if he can’t win the heart of the boy he loves, he’ll steal it.

Blurb:  Billy Redsky’s made one of his biggest dreams come true, but there’s a problem.  Even though the boy he loves is mere footsteps across the hall from his bedroom, they might as well live a country apart because claiming René Oshawee’s heart is more difficult than Billy anticipates.

Much to Billy’s disgust, René can’t accept his true self, so he’s incapable of loving someone else.  And all he cares about is living a life the chief and his wife foresee for their youngest son.

If Billy is to finally have what he truly desires, he must stop René from running away from who he really is and face the man in the mirror, or what they share will never blossom into true love.

Genre(s): Multicultural, M/M Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ+, First Nations Romance, Young Adult.
Heat Rating: Level 2
Publication Date: October 2, 2020
Publisher: eXtasy Books

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René pulled up at the house. Three-thirty. He’d come from dropping off Olivia at her crib. Now he had to deal with Billy.

He got out of the truck, not bothering to park in the garage because he might yet be chasing down another person who’d be running in disgust from him.

His chest seemed to drag the ground where his shoulders sat. He shoved his hands inside his coat pockets and trudged up the stairs.

Olivia had promised not to say anything. Still, with the amount of booze and drugs she did, she might open her mouth to someone, especially since she was still distraught over everything during the last twenty-four hours.

He threw open the back door to silence. This was a very bad sign. A shiver juddered along his back. He removed his boots and coat. Light came from downstairs. The sound of pool balls connecting carried up to the mud room. He made his way down to the basement where Billy was shooting a game of billiards by himself.

Instead of his usual greeting or glancing up, Billy took aim at another ball. His hands trembled while he held the cue, and his jaw twitched. Hopefully, he wouldn’t beat on René with the pool cue, albeit he deserved a beating.

“Hey,” he said quietly. He slowly walked around the pool table.

“Where’s Olivia?” Billy’s voice wasn’t angry or sad. Flat. Like a board.

“I…uh…dropped her off at home.”

The cue ball slammed against the brown ball. The brown ball zoomed across the table, banked the one corner, and thumped into a pocket.

Billy straightened. He banged the bottom of the pool cue on the floor. Steaming hate flared behind his dark eyes where a fire burned.

The saliva in René’s throat faded. He grabbed one of the pool balls. “I’m sorry,” he began softly. “I’m so—”

“Shut up. Just shut up.” Billy flung aside the cue. It clattered to the floor. He set his hands on the felt of the table, leaning in. Hate continued to flash in his eyes. “You’re an asshole. A fucking asshole. You cheated on me. You piece of—”

“It was the only way I could think of so you wouldn’t have to tell the truth—”

“Shut up!” Billy covered his ears. “I don’t wanna hear your stupid excuses. I don’t wanna hear anything from you.” He stormed away from the pool table. He huffed back and forth across the floor, ears still covered.

“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe this,” he muttered, still pacing. “I’m stuck here. Stuck here with you. Stuck here with your dumb-ass, rule-crazy parents. I can’t get outta here. I can’t go anywhere.” His voice kept rising, his face growing redder. “I don’t wanna be here. I don’t wanna fucking be here!” He bolted for the stairs.

René dashed after him. He chased Billy up the stairs, through the mudroom, and into the kitchen. His pulse beat furiously in his throat. He’d done this to Billy. He’d hurt him. Cut him deeply. The one person he didn’t ever want to bring pain to, he’d sliced open with a knife.

“Wait…” René reached out and grabbed Billy by the back of his shirt.

Billy tugged. A loud rip roared through the kitchen, but he stopped in his tracks. He squirmed to get away.

René refused to release his grip. “Please, please listen to me,” he begged.

“Let go. Let go, you fucking piece of shit.” Billy spun on his heel, panting and wild-eyed.

The shirt kept ripping. René let go. He was about to take Billy by the shoulders when his cheek received a full closed fist. Pain thundered from his face to his brain. He was hit again. And again. Knuckles grinded into his cheekbone.

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