Hi guys, today we have the delightful Scotty Cade popping in with his upcoming release A Lethal Mistake, the third book in his Bissonet & Cruz Investigations. We have a wonderful guest post from Scotty and Beau Bissonet, and we have a fantastic excerpt, so check out the post and enjoy! <3 ~Pixie~
A Lethal Mistake
Scotty Cade
Beau Bissonet and Tollison Cruz are back, along with Bruce, Auggie, and now Bastien, Tollison’s ex-partner. From the initial spark between them in Zurich, Bruce and Bastien’s attraction has flared, and Bastien has come to the Big Easy to explore what lies ahead for them.
It’s Mardi Gras, and New Orleans is alive and festive, teeming with excited tourists and locals alike. The first few parades go off without a hitch. And then a man is targeted, shot, and killed right in the middle of a crowded street. Auggie and Bruce are called in to investigate, but before they even get started, more deaths occur, one at each of the next two parades. Auggie realizes he’s dealing with a serial killer and jumps into action.
Beau and Tollison join the investigation and stumble upon some similarities in the murders that are too strong to ignore. But before they can unravel the perpetrator’s motives and get ahead of him, he fires another shot that affects the tightly knit group of friends in a way none of them could have ever imagined. Together they must all come up with a plan to stop the killing and serve justice in the process.
Scotty Cade & Beau Bissonet!
Hi Kids,
Scotty Cade here. First off I’d like to thank Miss Pixie and everyone over at MM Good Book Reviews for being so supportive throughout the years. I can’t believe its been over six years since my first novel “Final Encore,” was released and MM Good Book Reviews has been with me every step of the way. Time sure flies when you’re having fun.
Okay. Enough reminiscing. Today I’m here to promote my latest novel, “A Lethal Mistake,” which is the third book in the “Bissonet & Crus Investigations” series. I’m gonna give you an overview and an excerpt and then I’m gonna let one of the main characters, Beau Bissonet talk to you for a little bit. He’s probably gonna give you a some of his back story just so you’ll know from where his asshole-ness comes.
To date, the Bissonet & Cruz Investigations series has had four main characters. Of course Beau Bissonet. And then there’s Tollison Cruz, Bruce Jenkins and August Hebert. You briefly met a fifth, Sebastien “Bastien” Andros in book two, Veiled Loyalties, but in “A Lethal Mistake” you get to know Bastien a lot better.
Additionally, while promoting this release I’ll be doing five or so blog spots and you’ll hear from each of the main characters, which in turn will help you understand them better for past and future novels.
I’ll let Beau take it from here.
Hey Ya’ll.
Beau Bissonet here. Thanks for taking some to get to know me better. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For those of you who read the Royal Street Heist and Veiled Loyalties, you’ll know I’m a self proclaimed complicated asshole and in this book I don’t disappoint. But I’m not just an asshole. I’d like to think I’m also a man who will fight for and protect the people I love until the bitter end. And I don’t like to brag—or maybe I do a little—but I’m proud to say I do just that in A Lethal Mistake.
Many people say I am loyal, almost to a fault and I can sort of see why they would say that. But I think it all has to do with my upbringing, which I’ll touch on a little later.
The things that are most important to me are trust and fidelity. As long as you’re honest with me, you and I will get a long just great. But be dishonest or mislead me and I’m done. It’s that simple. Ask my ex, Bruce Jenkins.
Now I’m not proud of this, especially now that Bruce and I have made a lot of progress in that department. We were a couple for a long time, but I got this promotion to Lead Detective with the New Orleans Police Department and I allowed my work to get in the way of my relationship. My bad. However, in my defense, I didn’t see it then. I saw my hard work and time away from home as an investment in our future. But Bruce felt left behind and abandoned and was so lonely he turned to someone else. Just once. But that was all it took. I was done and dropped him like a hotcake. No if’s and’s or but’s about it.
I don’t make any excuses for who and what I am, but I didn’t have it that easy growing up. I was the only son of an alcoholic construction worker who disappointed me more times then I can count. When I was twelve, I came home early from school one day and caught him in bed with another woman. And because of it, I got a bloody lip, two black eyes and a broken arm. When my mother came home and found me, she confronted my father and he beat the crap out of her as well. I intervened and he was the one who ended up in the hospital. That day my life changed forever. My mother kicked my father out of the house and it became just the two of us. I was now the man of the house. At twelve. So its not hard to see from where my instinct to distrust issues come and why I’m so protective of the people I love.
But in all truthfulness, I often hide behind the macho Detective façade of the almighty Beau Bissonet. Underneath, sometimes I’m still that sensitive, scared and disappointed kid with no dad. I think finally admitting that to myself and to Tollison has made me a better person. At least Tollison says so. And Tollison is my world. I’d take a bullet for that man. I mean…I’d be no one without him. We are partners in every sense of the word. Nough said.
Well, I hope I haven’t bent your ear too much. I’m not a bad guy, just a complicated one with insecurities I try to overcome everyday. And if you ever need a private eye, please look up Tollison and me. We’ll take care of you.
So long.
Oh wait! I think Scotty has an excerpt for you so stay tuned.
Thanks Beau. I do indeed have an excerpt, a little about me and some buy links if case you’re interested.
Enjoy!
Excerpt
The night was filled with an unmistakable energy—the sights and sounds of Mardi Gras were everywhere. The distant smell of horse shit and exhaust fumes from the tractors filled my nostrils, and damn if it didn’t smell like every Mardi Gras before it.
I’d gotten so used to my solitude, the fact that I was enjoying this so much was extremely surprising to me. I had always been sort of a loner, especially after my relationship with Byron went south, but tonight my best friend had insisted on dragging me out to the parade, and he was enjoying himself so much it seemed to be contagious. Why not go out and enjoy myself? I had my best friend by my side, a cold beer in my hand, and all the Mardi Gras beads I could catch.
The marching bands were doing their thing. The clown cars were rolling. And the brightly colored floats were throwing any- and everything I could imagine. When a stuffed toy landed at my feet, I stooped to pick it up. Just then something else bounced off my head and shoulders. I realized I missed being out with friends, and Mardi Gras was a great coming-out party. A couple of carefree weeks in the middle of winter where people could let their hair down, dress up in any kind of getup they wanted, and act like fools. It felt good to feel alive again! Before I knew it, I was doing the Mardi Gras Mambo like no one was watching, and it seemed to be the only thing I cared about.
The next float rolled in front of me. Instinctively I raised my free hand and started screaming like a fool. “Throw me something, mister!”
A plastic ball bounced off of my chest, and just before I bent down to pick it up, I felt a piercing pain in the back of my head. My first thought was that someone threw something hard. It hurt like hell, but it didn’t feel like anything I could identify. I cupped the back of my head and felt a warm, wet sensation on my fingers. When I brought my hand to my face, I saw my own blood dripping from my fingertips. In that second my legs went numb and gave out, sending me to the pavement with a thud.
People’s elongated faces were staring down at me with expressions of horror. I saw my best friend drop to my side, and I thought I heard him calling my name, but I couldn’t be sure. His eyes were wide with panic, so I turned away and focused on the people standing above me. They all began to sway and swirl into one large blur of colorful hats and beads, and their mouths were open like they were screaming, but I heard no sounds. The noises of the night had begun to drift away until there was dead silence. I felt very weak, and then everything went dark.
The St. Charles Avenue parade route was filled with people at least ten deep. Beau had taken Tollison by the hand and dragged him through the crowds, weaving and winding with persistence, sidestepping here and plowing through there, using means just short of knocking down children and old ladies until they were at the front of the crowd.
Tollison stood in amazement at the sheer number of people lining the street in anticipation of the first uptown parade. He could feel the electricity in the air as parade goers of all ages stood upright, packed together like sardines in a can. Some children were perched on their father’s shoulders and some on ladders, while senior citizens sat in lawn chairs at the back of the crowd.
In the distance the faint sound of sirens, mixed with marching drums, cymbals, and tubas filled the air. A few minutes later, Tollison saw flashing lights as police cars worked their way slowly down the avenue, edging the sidewalks and keeping pedestrians pushed back and off of the street.
Beau looked at Tollison, his childlike smile consuming his face. He winked at Tollison, and the simple gesture had Tollison’s heart melting. Beau had his hands tucked in his jeans pockets, and he was bouncing up and down like a kid at Christmas. With each passing day, Tollison realized Beau was like an onion. There were so many layers to the big guy, and Beau had been slowly revealing them, layer after layer. The more Tollison saw, the more he loved.
Tollison had witnessed Beau on more than one occasion, mostly in business, being a complete intimidating asshole. But then with the flip of a switch, he became a very passionate lover and a sweet and caring man. He could go from grumpy and pouty to almost childlike with wonder and anticipation. Would he never see the end to Montgomery Beaumont Bissonet’s layers? He hoped not. Beau was a complicated asshole sometime, but he was his complicated asshole, and that’s all that mattered.
“Here we go,” Beau said, startling Tollison out of his thoughts. When he looked up, two people passed by carrying a banner that read The St. Augustine Marching Band, and the crowd went wild when they started playing the hit song “Titanium.” The horns blared, the cymbals clashed, and the drums blasted as the band danced, spun, and weaved in complete unison. Tollison’s mouth dropped open, but he couldn’t help it. He’d never seen anything so amazing, even at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
Beau beamed as he clapped and danced along to the music. Again, another layer of Beau Bissonet revealed itself.
Next up was a very small clown car with a dozen or so clowns hanging out, throwing beads and candy. The driver honked the horn as he maneuvered the car from left to right, the clowns laughing and screaming with delight.
Then a group of men appeared, and Tollison blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The men were all wearing matching velvet smoking jackets and ascots and riding in motorized easy chairs. Tollison howled when he read the banner: The Laissez Boys.
Beau gestured to the chairs. “I think we need one of those.”
“Who doesn’t?” Tollison said, waggling his eyebrows. After several more marching bands, skimpily clad dancing women, and colorful Indians on horseback went by, the first float came into view. Pulled by a red tractor bearing a sign that read Krewe of Cleopatra, it was brightly painted and boasted a large asp on the front—curled, poised, and ready to strike. When the float passed in front of them, Tollison watched Beau raise his hands in the air and jump up and down yelling at the all-female Krewe to throw him something. He looked spastic as his body contorted and swayed. Two seconds later they were bombarded with brightly colored beads, cups, and stuffed animals. Tollison caught everything that came his way, putting the beads over his head and stuffing his pockets with everything else.
By the time the third float rolled by, Tollison was sure he looked just as spastic as Beau, but he didn’t care. He was having a ball. The excitement, the people, the lights, and the sounds created a circus-like atmosphere, and he, too, felt almost like a kid. When the last float crept by, neither he nor Beau could fit another thing around their neck and still be able to breathe. Their pockets were overflowing with toys and stuffed animals, they had Frisbees tucked under their arms, and each had a stack of cups two feet tall.
The crowds started to scatter, and Beau and Tollison headed for home.
“What did you think?” Beau asked.
“That was amazing.”
Beau smiled. “Not like the carnival from your country?”
“Yes and no. The crowds are the same, but instead of floats with tractors pulling them—”
Beau interrupted, “You have donkeys?”
Tollison smacked Beau on his arm, and Beau’s stack of cups went flying into the air.
“Oh shit!” Beau scrambled to catch them, but before he could gather them all, a couple of kids came out of the woodwork like skittering cockroaches and started scooping them up and running away. “Hey you little shits!” Beau yelled. “Those are mine.”
The kids mocked him, took everything they could grab, and scrambled away. “Now look what you’ve done!” Beau whined.
Tollison laughed so hard he doubled over and didn’t think he could walk. “I’m sorry, but that’s what you get for the donkey joke,” he said between gasps. “Besides, what do we need with fifty plastic cups that say Krewe of Cleopatra?”
“Not the point!” Beau clutched what was left of his cups and, with a slight smile on his face, turned away and started walking home.
Tollison regained his composure and ran up behind Beau. He slipped his arm through Beau’s and handed him his stack of cups. “Here. I want you to have mine. What’s mine is yours, always.”
Beau snatched the cups out of Tollison’s hand and added them to his stack. “Damn straight.”
Tollison felt comfortable walking arm in arm with Beau in their neighborhood. Uptown was pretty open-minded, and besides, who was gonna mess with a couple of guys their size and build. They could be two badass motherfuckers if they needed to be.
“Am I forgiven?” Tollison asked snuggling in a little closer to Beau.
“I don’t know,” Beau said. “What’s in it for me?”
“How about a repeat performance of earlier when we get home?”
“You’re forgiven,” Beau said quickly. “But I’m the one driving this time, and you’re gonna be the one begging for it, Sam.”
“Deal.”
As soon as they stepped into the foyer, they both dropped all their loot on the floor. Tollison sat on the stairs and looked at everything they’d caught, picking through the plastic like it was treasure.
“Pretty good haul, huh?” Beau remarked.
“I’ll say. If we do this well for every parade, we’ll have to buy a bigger house.”
“That’s why we have an attic, silly. Hey! Tomorrow night is Knights of Sparta at six o’clock. You wanna invite Bruce and Bastien and Auggie and Jenny over for the parade and a late dinner?”
About Scotty
Scotty Cade left Corporate America and twenty-five years of Marketing and Public Relations behind to buy an Inn & Restaurant on the island of Martha’s Vineyard with his partner of over twenty years. He started writing stories as soon as he could read, but just five years ago for publication. When not at the Inn, you can find him on the bow of his boat writing gay romance novels with his Shetland sheepdog Mavis at his side. Being from the south and a lover of commitment and fidelity, most of his characters find their way to long healthy relationships, however long it takes them to get there. He believes that in the end, the boy should always get the boy.
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