Hiya peeps! We have Kate Sherwood popping in today with the tour for her new release Embers, we have a great excerpt and a fantastic giveaway, so check out the post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway! <3 ~Pixie~
Embers
Kate Sherwood
Small town—big problems. Jericho Crewe is back in Mosely, Montana, trying to deal with police corruption, interfering feds, his newly discovered family members, and, of course, Wade Granger.
He doesn’t really need a biker war on top of it all, but as the bodies start to pile up, it becomes pretty clear that’s what he’s got. Not only that, but Wade’s involved somehow, and as soon as Wade is a part of something, things that seemed clear become cloudy.
With the feds breathing down his neck, Jericho has to find his way through Wade’s maze of half truths and manipulations. It would all be so much easier if Jericho could think straight in the other man’s presence. So much easier if their passionate past could be forgotten, and if he could be sure he’s strong enough to resist the temptation of a passionate present.
Excerpt
Jericho Crewe was writing a ticket for underage alcohol consumption when he saw the massive flash reflected in the warehouse windows behind the drunk teenagers. His body reacted without thought, pushing the two kids to the ground in the shelter of the parked patrol car. He was crouching behind the same vehicle when the boom of the explosion reached them, strong enough to rattle the windows that had been his mirror a moment before.
“Drink at home,” Jericho said quickly, shoving the ticket book back into his belt and heading for the driver’s door of the cruiser. “Or don’t drink at all. Whatever.” It was four o’clock on a Monday morning, so really the kids should be asleep, getting ready for a fun and educational day at school, but he had bigger things to worry about, suddenly. “You two can get home safely? No driving?”
“I live just across the field,” the girl said, gesturing at a row of houses on the far side of a narrow strip of land. She seemed dazed by more than alcohol. “Andy’s staying at my place.”
Great, so teen drunkenness can slide into teen pregnancy. A more prudish-than-expected inner voice, but not something Jericho could worry about right then. “Okay. Be safe.”
He was halfway into his sheriff’s department cruiser when Andy yelled after him, “Deputy Crewe! Hey!”
Jericho turned around, and the kids were both staring at him. “What was that?” Andy asked, gesturing in the direction of the explosion.
“Police business,” Jericho said seriously. “Get indoors, and stay there.”
Andy looked like he might be thinking about defying that instruction, but the girl had better sense and tugged on his hand. “Let’s go.”
“I see you out again tonight,” Jericho said, “I’ll finish writing those tickets, and see if I can’t figure out a couple other charges to add to them. Go home.”
There. That was the protect part of the job taken care of. Now he could to do something more interesting.
In the month since he’d started at the sheriff’s office, Jericho had spent most of his time helping Kayla look into corruption and wading through the bureaucratic bullshit that was part of running the department. Cooperating with the FBI as they investigated his shooting of their rogue agents and all the events that had led up to that, then endless hours of poring over old arrest reports, case notes and evidence chain-of-custody paperwork had bored him so completely that the occasional night of filling in on patrol seemed like an exciting adventure. The town of Mosely didn’t have its own police force, so the sheriff’s department covered the little grid of houses and businesses as well as the vast rural area beyond. Town was the most likely spot to find something happening on a night patrol, and Jericho had been pretty happy to discover a couple of drunk kids to cut the tedium. But writing tickets was nothing compared to explosions. He grinned as he called in to central dispatch and requested firefighters and extra police. This was more like it.
His excitement turned into something else, something cold and tight in his belly, as he drew closer to the flames licking the night sky and realized just which building was on fire. This wasn’t a fun adventure, it was a dangerous situation. Someone might have been killed if they’d been caught in that blast.
He parked the cruiser across the road to block any oncoming traffic. He was the first person on the scene, as far as he could tell, so there was no one to see him as he jumped out of the car and ran toward the burning building. The heat was too intense for him to get much closer than the edge of the parking lot.
He stood there and stared, barely aware of the churning in his stomach and the cold sweat on his skin. The building blazing in front of him was Kelly’s, the bar owned by Wade Granger. And if Wade had been inside when the building exploded, there was no way he could have survived.
Jericho still had Wade’s cell number, and he fumbled with his phone and stabbed at the screen, sending a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening, anyone who might care, as he waited for the number to connect.
When Wade’s voice mail clicked in, Jericho wanted to scream in frustration. Instead he said, “Wade, it’s Jericho. There’s a problem at the bar. Give me a call as soon as you can, okay? As soon as you get this message. Call me. Now.”
It wasn’t enough. Jericho wanted to spill his soul, confess to everything he’d felt over the years, and everything he hadn’t felt when he’d been with anyone but Wade. He wanted to set it all straight, stop wasting time, stop fighting something that could never be beaten. But if Wade had been in that building, it was too late for any of that.
So Jericho shoved his phone back in his jacket pocket and tried to focus on his job. His hands were shaking a little as he unrolled the crime-scene tape, but by the time the volunteer fire fighters started arriving, he was under better control.
He even managed not to punch the young asshole who sneered at the remains of the bar and said, “You want us to take it slow? No point risking our lives for scumbags like that, right?”
“Follow your standard procedure,” Jericho growled, and then stalked away before the kid said anything else.
It was hypocritical to judge the firefighter. He’d been pretty gleeful himself on the drive over, until he realized whose property was involved. And first responders often developed a sort of black humor as a way to deal with the trauma of their jobs. It was Jericho’s reaction that was unusual, not the kid’s.
He checked his phone, then stared at the flames. They were starting to die down on their own and the firefighters seemed to be spending most of their time on the nearby buildings, making sure the fire didn’t spread. Apparently they’d given up on salvaging anything from the bar. Anything, anyone . . .
Jericho’s phone vibrated in his hand, and he flipped it around to see the screen so fast he almost dropped it. The last texts between him and Wade had come from Jericho’s side, sending information about where his kidnapped half siblings were being held. Now the message came in the opposite direction.
Building is empty. No need for heroics.
Jericho stared at the screen. There was no emotion in the text. And he hadn’t mentioned a fire, or any other reason anyone might have been contemplating “heroics.” It didn’t seem as if Jericho’s call had surprised Wade at all. Did that mean Wade had— Had he known what was happening? Had he planned this? Most of Wade’s criminal activity involved smuggling things back and forth across the Canadian border, but maybe he’d branched out into insurance fraud. Maybe he’s branched out into murder, an inner voice prompted. Maybe he killed your father. Remember that, Junior?
Read more at: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/embers (just click the excerpt tab)
About Kate!
Kate Sherwood started writing about the same time she got back on a horse after almost twenty years away from riding. She’d like to think she was too young for it to be a midlife crisis, but apparently she was ready for some changes!
Kate grew up near Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and went to school in Montreal, then Vancouver. But for the last decade or so she’s been a country girl. Sure, she misses some of the conveniences of the city, but living close to nature makes up for those lacks. She’s living in Ontario’s “cottage country”–other people save up their time and come to spend their vacations in her neighborhood, but she gets to live there all year round!
Since her first book was published in 2010, she’s kept herself busy with novels, novellas, and short stories in almost all the sub-genres of m/m romance. Contemporary, suspense, scifi or fantasy–the settings are just the backdrop for her characters to answer the important questions. How much can they share, and what do they need to keep? Can they bring themselves to trust someone, after being disappointed so many times? Are they brave enough to take a chance on love?
Kate’s books balance drama with humor, angst with optimism. They feature strong, damaged men who fight themselves harder than they fight anyone else. And, wherever possible, there are animals: horses, dogs, cats ferrets, squirrels… sometimes it’s easier to bond with a non-human, and most of Kate’s men need all the help they can get.
After five years of writing, Kate is still learning, still stretching herself, and still enjoying what she does. She’s looking forward to sharing a lot more stories in the future.
Twitter: @kate_sherwood | Website
Congratulations on the release of the Common Law Series, Kate. They sound really great.
tankie44 at gmail dot com
Love the excerpt. Can’t wait to read this book!
kathleenpower(at)comcast(dot)net
Ooohhh! The beginning, huh. 😉 The first thing that came to my mind after reading this scene the first time was, “See, Jericho? You got what’s coming to you. ” I mean… who gets excited on these kind of tragedies, right? Don’t get me wrong, tho. I love every inch of J with every bit of my heart. 😉
Thanks for coming by to MM Good Book Reviews, Kate! <3
mushyvince(at)gmail(dot)com
Jericho sounds really compelling!
vitajex(At)Aol(Dot)com
Thank you for the excerpt. Jericho is a force of power.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Congratulations on the new release, It sounds really good
susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com
congrats and cant wait to read this one
jmarinich33 at aol dot com
Thanks for the interest, guys!
I am thinking I may buy these today for my snow day!
debby236 at gmail dot com
Wow! I loved the excerpt and can’t wait to read more! ree.dee.2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
Thanks for the excerpt!
serena91291@gmail(dot)com
Congrats on the release & thanks for the excerpt!
legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for the post and congrats. I love gay romance mixed in with a good crime drama, and this sounds great.
– TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com