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. Check out other book hooks from participating authors HERE.

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

PURCHASE A COPY TODAY!

René did the Z reading, locked up, and headed outside to his truck. As he opened the door, a gloved hand clamped over his mouth. His gut clenched. Quickly, he unfroze himself and used his elbow to nail whoever had their big palm covering his lips. It couldn’t be Hoyt. He was in jail after Billy had ratted the loser out to Warren and Dad.

“You fucking pussy,” the voice growled.

It was Nigel, Hoyt’s cousin and main man. “You’re not getting away so fast this time,” he added.

Booze assaulted René’s nostrils. He twisted, trying to wrench himself free, but Nigel had a death lock around René’s chest. The motherfucker was attempting to drag him off to the side of the building. René took another jab to send his elbow again into Nigel’s gut.

They struggled back and forth. René never stopped twisting and turning. If he was pulled around the building, what waited for him there would finish him off.

Nigel’s grip intensified while he grunted and groaned. With a fierce shove, René was pushed. He stumbled forward. To brace his fall, he threw out his hands and landed on his knees. Pebbles beneath the cleared snow cut into his skin. Furious shots of lightning zapped his palms.

Before he could glance up, Nigel’s steel-toed boot slammed into René’s ribs. A fire of pain raced through him, and he yelped. Heart pounding, he held his side but received another kick that kept him on his knees, kissing the snow and dirt.

There wasn’t a chance he’d let this loser beat his ass. René fought down the pain. More kicks came his way. He’d find a way to stand and beat the bastard to the ground.

A different boot tip smashed into his other side. Nigel wasn’t alone. Someone was with him, snickering. It was just as René had assumed. He was being jumped by the Redskys.

Again, he tried to rise, but his screaming ribs refused to cooperate.

“Fucking faggot,” the other voice said. “That’s what you are. A fucking faggot. That’s what Livvey’s saying.”

“No pussy fucks an ol’ lady of the Sons of Satan,” Nigel spat out.

“You can’t deny it, fucker,” the other guy taunted. “She’s saying she found your fag mags in your room.”

“You’re done. We’re gonna cook your rep, and you.” Nigel grabbed René by the hair and yanked him off the ground.

René stifled the shout demanding to leave his throat. He took a full swing. His knuckles connected with Nigel’s jaw. Nigel swore. A meaty fist from the other guy slammed into the back of René’s head. Dizziness surrounded him. His ears rang.

He swung again and again, his fists landing somewhere, but he had no clue on who or what. For the second time, he was punched in the back of the head. The dizziness never ceased.

His wrists were gathered behind him. Through his triple vision, a ski-masked face appeared in front of René. The breaths dusting him were a bull ready to charge. As he struggled to free himself from whoever had a hold of his wrists, he kicked out. His boot hit something hard, maybe Nigel’s thigh.

René received a punch to his jaw. His head snapped to the left. Fighting down the agony, he again kicked out, but his boot met air. Nigel’s fist struck René in the cheek, then the eye, and then his nose.

The beating was relentless. He couldn’t fight back from the dizziness consuming him and the enormous pain. Blood filled his mouth. The taste of copper was on his tongue. He couldn’t breathe either, the wind being knocked from him.

“You’re finished, Oshawee. Done. You just remember who this present is from. If he can’t be here, I will. Nobody gets my homeboy locked up. We know you went running to your dad like the pussy you are,” Nigel snarled.

The other guy released his death grip. René toppled over and curled into a ball while covering his head. The kicks and punches came fast and furious. They probably planned on beating him to death, and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

CHECK OUT OTHER BOOK HOOKS BY PARTICIPATING AUTHORS