Tori Ross's Blog, page 13

Monthly Update and Back Half of 2022 Releases

What’s new?

I recently did another podcast for The Smutty Book Lady and Friends with author Samantha Baca. Catch it on Spotify by clicking on the graphic below, and check out Just One Time on July 29th. This book has some serious steam.

What’s coming for the other half of 2022 with me?

A lot has happened already for 2022 with the release of Darkness, Amp, Head Over Heels in Hawaii, Cherry Burn, and Blue Balls.

July 30 – Loved in Las Vegas (book 2 of The Traveling Calvert Sisters). This book is already available on print on Amazon if you’d like it. If you’re local to me, I have copies for $7. Otherwise, it’s $2.99 ebook or free with KU subscription. This book is new adult romance fun, and it was fun for a mid-forty-something woman to remember some stupid shit I did when I was younger.

And yes, the blind date part of the story… It totally happened, so don’t come at me and tell me this story is ridiculous. Although, that scene in a sex club shower…made up. Promise.

August 25 – Pistol Fire (book 3 of Rocks) – This will be a short like the others, and I love this series. This is Libby’s story. Surprisingly, this little book just set my record as far as preorders go. Sure, that’s not saying much since I usually just get a handful, but people have really liked Cherry Burn and Blue Balls. This is only 99 cents for ebook or free with KU subscription.

Speaking of the series, you get this in September for anyone that just likes print copies. $9.99 for print. $2.99 or KU for ebook.

October 1 – Winning the Witch (standalone) This one is my current WIP, and I’m having so much fun writing it. Tropes: Magical heroine, blind date, small town, and non-scary Halloween. $2.99 on ebook, $9.99 print, or free with your KU subscription. It will be in KU for 1 contract term only, then go wide to my wide readers and be serialized on Radish Fiction.

November 22 – Christmas on the Cruise Ship (Book 3 of The Traveling Calvert Sisters) This will be on KU with the rest of the series or for $2.99 ebook $6.99 print.

Guess what? This will also be in audio!

All of these are available for preorder. (Except for the audio book. That will come later.)

Appearances for end of year– I will be at Witches in Cottleville in Cottleville, Missouri on October 8 this year, and I’ll have all print books with me. Tickets are already sold out for the event and were sold out in 36 hours…all 1500+ of you and I. Am. Ready. For. You. Witches. If you happen to have a ticket, come see me and check out the event page for my preorder form soon.

Summer Happenings

Summer is in full swing for me, and I’m hard at work getting the romance backlist off the ground. It’s useless to try to advertise when you only have one book and don’t have read through. Ads are expensive. I’m just getting to the place where I’m running ads, and it’s taking a lot to figure it out. Oh, and I’m writing a random project my brain insists on doing and submitting to a traditional publisher. Fingers crossed.

I’m also playing a shit ton (actual measurement) of pickleball. Anyone else obsessed with it?

So, what’s new?

Blue Balls is out! To celebrate, Cherry Burn is free until July 2nd. Click on the pics below to be taken to the respective Amazon page. Both are on KU.

Also new, The Swingyards has a new addition on Amazon. It’s also available on Eden Books, Smashwords, and most major retailers.

I did a podcast with Evie Alexander this month to celebrate her new book, Cookout Carnage, with co-author Kelly Kay. Cookout Carnage is out now. Grab it, because it’s funny AF. Check out The Smutty Book Lady and Friends episode on Spotify. Click on pic for link.

What Have I Been Reading or planning to read? Here are some indies to check out for July reading.

What are you reading? Drop a comment and let me know!

Thank You…From the Bottom of My Heart.

I thought there was nothing like publishing your first book, and many of you were on that ride with me in September.

But there is nothing like finishing your first series of full-length books!

The final book of Jensen City Heroes releases tomorrow, and I am so overwhelmed with the reviews coming in and the support for this series. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. People either love it or they hate it. But for those of you that love it, you’ll never know how much my heart sparkles that you like it.

So, thanks for going on that journey with me. I learned so much. I learned a lot about what kind of writer I am. For example, I can’t focus very well past book 2, so I probably won’t write a lot of interconnected series going forward. I also learned that I have to write something light between heavier books.

Here are some of the reviews for Amp from people on Booksprout that have been with me for the entirety of the series. I was really sweating this book. It was hard to write. I had that bastard in my head throughout the entire series, and when it was his turn to shine, he didn’t want to. I’m so glad that I could do him justice, even if I sat in front of my keyboard mumbling, “This is going to piss people off” the entire time. I was also expecting to hear a lot of butt hurt about a scene that I put in that doesn’t usually get shown in romance books. Let’s face it, babies just show up in the epilogues, right? Not one complaint…yet.

Old Cover Giveaway!

Click on picture below to enter…

If you read my latest blog, you know I went to Nashville for a writing conference/signing. You also know that the cover to this book has been the bane of my existence, and I recently redid it.

I have a few covers left of the old cover, and I would love to send you a signed copy. Basically, I need this old stock gone. (And, yes, I’ll ship internationally.)

Actually, I’ll send out five copies!!!

How do you get one?

First way– sign up for my author newsletter by clicking on the picture above. Don’t worry! I only send out a newsletter once every month or two, so your inbox won’t be inundated.

Second Choice – If you’re already subscribed to my blog, hit the comment button below and tell me you’re interested. I’m happy to include the blog subscribers that have been with me since the beginning of my writing life .

Dealer’s choice.

Rules: This contest is not associated with any social media platform, Mailchimp or WordPress and is entirely run by the author. All five winners will be notified via the email address provided when they sign up. If you sign up, you give me permission to send you the email notification that you won as well as future newsletters, and you can unsubscribe any time using the button at the bottom of the newsletter page. The contest date runs from June 1, 2022 to June 10, 2022. Winners will be notified June 11, 2022 via email. If winners do not respond to the win email by June 15th, other winners will be contacted. All items will be mailed by June 20th. Winner understands these are the old paperback copies. No purchase necessary to enter.

Blurb for Head Over Heels in Hawaii:

First in a new romantic comedy series by Tori Ross! Come along with the Calvert sisters as they find love and laughter far from home…

Cora Calvert is frustrated with her life and still sleeping in her childhood bunk bed. As if living with your parents isn’t bad enough, Cora’s job consists of measuring old women for bras instead of using her college degree in fashion design. When an opportunity for a trip to Hawaii comes about, she’s all over it and can’t pack fast enough. Even better, the tour is only for people in their twenties.

Cora’s excitement for the tour wanes when she learns the tour company assigns seats, and she’s stuck next to an arrogant jerk named Eric. Cora makes other friends and tries to ignore Eric’s green eyes and verbal diarrhea as she explores the islands, but Cora’s about to learn that first impressions can be very wrong.

The Traveling Calvert Sisters series is a series of shorts with 25-35k words. They can be read in any order. HEA or HFN guaranteed!

To view on Amazon, click here.

Overwhelming Newness

I’m at the place where I have so much new info going on with my books right now, it’s hard to keep up. I also realized today that I haven’t blogged for a bit. Sorry in advance for the length of this post, but I need to properly catch ya’ll up. Needless to say, I’ve been busy.

First things first. Let’s talk about how much the cover for Head Over Heels in Hawaii has been the bane of my existence.

I wanted that series animated. Then, I couldn’t get the font right to save my fucking life. I had a cover designer give me a traditional romance cover. Well, it just didn’t scream “romantic comedy,” so I had them change it AGAIN.

Final version…at least until I decide I don’t like it. Amazon is currently processing it, but it is backed up, so it may not show for a couple of days.

The designer also handled my Loved in Las Vegas cover. Get ready for Regi July 30. I think you will all love her in all of her “21-year-old set loose in Vegas” glory.

In short, all of my Calvert Sisters are getting new covers. Christmas on the Cruise ship and Wine on Waiheke will get new covers closer to publication.

Amp is done! I have some freshening up on it and will get ARCs out to my ARC team next weekend. It drops June 9th. I really cut it close on this one for two reasons. #1- Linus didn’t want to tell me his story. That’s the first time this has ever happened to me. He’s a bastard. Full stop. #2- I kept adding chapters to this thing. I’d tell my husband, “I’m almost done.” Then, I’d be like, “Yeah, I need another fight scene.” #3- Part of me may have not wanted to REALLY finish Jensen City Heroes. It may have been Freudian.

Speaking of Jensen City, did I happen to mention that Arson is now forever free on all major retailers?

Side note: To the random person on Scribd that gave it 5 stars…

This is especially true because I have no idea what Scribd is. It kind of just shows up in my Smashwords dashboard.

Moving on.

Let’s talk about this book, shall we?

I think I knew I was in trouble when I released this on Kindle Vella last July and it got several favorite “crowns” in the first week. It was my first thing I ever published, and it scared the literal shit out of me that people liked this so much. I had no idea what to do with people paying actual money to read my work.

Queue imposter syndrome music.

I unpublished this a few months ago because I really regret not writing it under my secret erotica pen name. I mean, it’s sheer filth, and even though Tori Ross isn’t my legal name, people I know in day-to-day life know that’s me because I publish romance. In romance, you need to have a social media presence that involves face, talk to people, and I go to conventions/signings. (More on that in a minute.) I was a new author and didn’t understand pen names in KDP. I was getting ready to publish Arson and thought it would be a good way to get my name out there.

So, I took this down and said to myself, “I’ll hide this on Inkitt, rebrand it as The Swingyards and move on with my life.”

I had over 25k (that’s thousand) reads on this fucking thing on Inkitt in a couple of months. So much for hiding it. If it was doing well on a free site, I said, “Fuck it. I’ll move it to Radish where I can actually make some cheese if serial readers like it so much.”

It’s been on Radish for a little over a week, and I’ve already earned money on this filth.

THEN, I go to Nashville last weekend for a signing. It was my first signing ever, but it was small. People still aren’t back in the convention mode after COVID, and the crowd was minimal. Some authors didn’t sell a single book.

Know what I sold? I sold one copy of Head Over Heels in Hawaii and, you guessed it, several copies of this thing.

At this point, I’m leaning into it. I pushed it back through Amazon the other day. It sold something immediately. Why this does so well when I practically have to offer handjobs for people to read my other stuff, I’ll never know.

So, it’s live on Amazon again. I have paper copies left if someone wants a signed copy. Send me a DM. Part 2, The Substitute, is also live and in paperback. I will push the series further wide as soon as I have time to put the file in Smashwords format. Once it’s loaded there, it will be available on all major retailers and Eden Books, and I’ll just let it ride.

What am I working on?

I’m nailing down Loved in Las Vegas over the next month and am balls deep into the sequel to Cherry Burn that centers around Piper. It’s about halfway done. This will drop June 30 on Kindle and KU. Ebook only due to the fact that this is only about 13k words. I’m damn near teary-eyed that I already have preorders for it. It’s 99 cents on Kindle and will be on KU.

I think I’m finally spent on what’s happening. Lots of writing here. Lots of cover creation and shuffling my catalog around now that I understand more about this author stuff. Hopefully, that will settle after I get The Caretaker and The Substitute wide.

Hit me up if you’d like print copies (signed) of any of my work. I have leftovers from Nashville. I will charge $4 for shipping on top of the Amazon print cost. But I’ll also throw in one of my super snazzy bookmarks.

Now, for photobombs of my author event in Nashville. Big shout out to authors Annette Miller, Melanie Jayne, Ester Lopez, Aliza Mann, Rochelle Bradley, CJ Warrant, Pam Ackerson, Becca Jameson and Elle James. I went by myself, but I never ate a meal alone.

And just look at that cheesecake.

Surprise!

I’m sure some of you will see this and say, “What is that crazy bitch up to now?”

I usually write one erotica short a week under a secret pen name. I’m pretty good at balancing my time between erotica and romance, but generally write for about 4-5 hours a day. Half time romance, half time erotica.

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down and couldn’t write erotica. It just wouldn’t “come.” (See what I did there?) I didn’t feel like working on Amp that day. So, I sat down, and I just started typing. By the end of the day, I had half of a romance short done.

There was no outline. There was no worry about if it’s going to be a hit. There was no scramble to get an ARC team together.

I just sat down and wrote. I didn’t push myself. I wrote when I felt like it when Amp wasn’t taking my time. There were no deadlines. No expectations.

It was probably the most peaceful writing I’ve ever done.

When I was done, I was done. I didn’t feel like I needed to push for a certain number of words. I let the story flow naturally.

It turned into a short story about a bar out in the sticks of Missouri called Rocks. You can read it in about 45 minutes. I may write another one. May not. It depends how I feel. I’m not going to push it.

Click on picture below to be taken to Amazon if you’re interested.

Blurb:

Deep in the sticks of Missouri is a bar called Rocks where the bartenders are only similar in the fact that they’re all unlucky in love…

Dylan Wilcox has been gone from Highlight, Missouri for ten years. Nobody has seen him or even received an email as to his location. Worse, he left his high school girlfriend, Cherry Moss, without saying goodbye when he disappeared. 

When Dylan shows up in town a changed man, Cherry needs to decide if his story is worth her forgiveness and if she can get over her own demons about him leaving.

This is a 12k word romance short and can be read in less than an hour. HEA guaranteed!

Have a nice day!

Head Over Heels in Hawaii is LIVE!

First, a bit of housekeeping. I started this blog when I was a reviewer. If you’d still like to receive my blog posts, do nothing. If you’d like my email newsletter instead, you can stop getting my blog notifications and click here. Dealer’s choice. Look for some bonus content coming later this spring/early summer for subscribers to my newsletter and/or my blog. I’ll also have the first chapter of Loved in Las Vegas first for my subscribers to either platform.

Head Over Heels in Hawaii is Live! I’m so excited for you to read this novella. It can be read in an hour or two (depending on how fast you read) and is perfect for a vacation flight this summer or a beach day!

Click on the pic to be taken to the Amazon page. I hope everyone enjoys it, and remember to leave an honest review on Amazon when you’re done! That’s the best way to help an indie author. I appreciate everyone who has given this book a chance!

Already read it and liked it? Coming 7/30 and available for pre-order….Regi’s story.

Spring Happenings!

For my fellow Northern Hemisphere people, spring is here. Summer is just around the corner…

I feel like the winter flew by. I’ve been so busy. I’m currently in a beach chair in Ft. Myers, Florida trying to get a little something done so I’m not so swamped when I get home Monday.

Jensen City News – Amp is available for preorder. I am about 30% done with it. This one is going a lot slower for me. Not because I don’t like writing it. Linus is and has always been one of the only characters I can’t outline or control. (The other one is Kyle March from The Caretaker. I had no idea he was going to do that with his orange popsicle until he did it.) I did outline Amp, but I have to let Linus tell me the story. I know that sounds 50 shades of crazy, but every writer has “that character” that just doesn’t cooperate. April will be the month I really hammer this book. It’ll be ready by June release.

The last day for Arson in KU is today 3/26. My goal for this week is get everything loaded onto Eden Books, Smashwords and serial it into Radish. It will be wide later in the week! I’ll update social media when it’s in Apple Books, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and serialized on Radish. It will still be for sale at 99 cents on Amazon Kindle or for $9.99 on Amazon print on demand. Thirst and Darkness will be available wide late April/early May depending on when I can get them out of KU and get them into correct formats. Watch social media for that update.

Speaking of serials: Part 2 of The Swingyards, The Substitute, now has a paperback available in case you don’t want to read the story on Inkitt. (Hey, some people just prefer paper.) Click on the photo below to be taken to the Amazon page. Paperbacks of The Caretaker and The Substitute are available now.

Coming 4/7!!

I’ve been all over social media with this novella, but I can’t post a blog update without including it. I’m very excited for you to read this. Head to Goodreads to see Evie’s full review. Head Over Heels in Hawaii launches 4/7 and will be on KU and stay on KU.

What am I reading?-

I’m the worst ARC reader ever. I’m so damn behind.

I read Evie Alexander’s new one, Hollywood Games, as an ARC reader and loved it more than the first one, Highland Games. It’s fantastic. Give both a go if you like rom com and Scottish men.

Trish Heinrich will be on my podcast at the end of the month. (I know…I haven’t had one for a few months. I’ve been busy!!! Honestly, I kind of hope I remember how to work Anchor to even record it.) I’m about halfway done with this one from her backlist.

This month’s BOTM read is The Paris Apartment. I like this one for a weird reason…I write in 1st person present tense, and I second guess myself all the time because of it. It is refreshing and almost validating to read a successful trad published author write in 1st person/present.

Next up: I’m getting ready to start Deep Currents by Izzy Mathews. She’ll be on the podcast in April.

I hope to get to Garry Michael’s “newish” one this spring. If you’re looking for a great MM read, Garry is fantastic! I can’t wait to read this.

I hope everyone has an amazing start to spring! I’m looking forward to summer myself. I got my riverwalk pass for the summer, and it’s my favorite thing to do. For those that wonder what a river walk pass is, my community pool has a lazy river that they open to the public for walking a few hours before the pool opens for the day. It’s huge with the old lady contingent. I need to get a new old lady visor for the summer and get ready! I also can’t wait to hit the pickleball courts! Yep, pickleball and river walking with my friends before I go home and write smut…

Comment below if you’re doing anything fun this month or looking forward to anything coming up!

New Jensen City Short is Live!

Look how happy sweet, Georgia-girl Patty looks to finally get a night with Linus.

Ever wonder EXACTLY what happened in Linus’s apartment with Patty, Linus and Bennett? You know…after they left the wedding but before the guys were kidnapped?

You do not have to be caught up on your JCH to enjoy it. This erotica short can be read in less than an hour and enjoyed as a standalone mfm story.

Blurb: Patty Lowell wants one thing in life…a night with Dr. Linus Morris. When the opportunity arises to have Linus after their friends’ wedding, she jumps at the chance. Fortunately for her, he’s also brought his friend Bennett Parks along for the ride of her life.

Erotica categories: humor (because it’s Bennett) and BDSM. Let’s just say…ol’ Patty likes it a little rough, and Linus and Bennett are happy to oblige.

It’s available on Kindle Unlimited or for purchase on Kindle. Click on the link to be taken to the Amazon page.

Amp Excerpt/Preview

Amp, the final book in my Jensen City Heroes series, is now available for preorder. It’ll be released June 9.

Click on the cover below to be taken to the Amazon page. The prologue is below the cover and is from Rose’s point of view! Linus’s and his love interest’s respective POVs pick up at Chapter 1. I needed a perspective from someone still in Jensen City for the prologue. Enjoy!

Prologue

Rose

“Keys, cell phones and anything metal is prohibited on-site,” the guard grunts, not looking up from his newspaper as cell doors open and close around him to accommodate the other guards.

Remi, Darby and I look at each other and empty our pockets into the round bins like you’d see at an airport or courthouse when going through security. Remi drops her phone, keys and a barrette into a tray and takes off the hairband around her wrist while Darby does the same. “All of it, Remi,” Darby scolds, and Remi glares at Darby before getting a switchblade knife out of her back pocket and tossing it into the tray.

I look at Remi in horror, amazed that she carries a switchblade. “What?” she asks. “I’m a local superhero that’s pregnant. Zeke doesn’t like me walking around unprotected. In fact, he’d shit a brick if he knew I was here and took it out of my pocket.”

“So, we’re not telling our boys?” I ask, uneasy because this will be the first time I’ve kept something from Bennett. It doesn’t feel right. We tell each other everything.

“Hell no!” Darby and Remi answer at the same time.

“You’re not telling Archie?”

“Fuck to the no,” Darby says. “He’d shit the same as Zeke. We made a vow that we were going to do this for Linus and get the fuck up out of here. No tattling to the fun police.”

“If this is your idea of fun, I’m not sure I’m a good fit for your little group here,” I chuckle as the guard waves us back and opens the cell door. The door retracts back into the wall, and I look around the hallway before following Remi and Darby.

“So, this is jail?” I mutter under my breath as I nod my head.

“This isn’t jail. It’s prison,” Remi corrects. “Jail is usually a little more laid back.”

“Wow. You know a lot about jail,” I say to Remi, and Darby bursts into laughter she tries to stifle with her hands.

This place is depressing, and I suddenly feel bad that I accidentally sent Bennett to jail for an hour a few months ago. I make a mental reminder to get on my knees and apologize to him tonight.

The floor is concrete but painted a depressing forest green color, and the walls look like they were once white but got discolored from too many smokers in the area. We pass empty grey cells with nothing but a striped mattress and steel toilet and sink combo. The idea of spending any amount of time in this drab place is enough to make me pay any parking tickets I ever incur.

“Here you go. Visitors can only stay for twenty minutes. You’ll have protective plastic between you. Use the intercom system to talk to him.”

Darby nods like she does this every other Tuesday and walks into the visiting room that looks exactly like you’d see in movies. Small carrels with plastic dividers are placed in the middle of the room, and a guard is near the barred door. Remi, Darby and I shuffle over to one of the carrels and drag chairs so that we can all sit in the same one. Remi ruffles her shirt around her growing stomach as she sits in the chair at a pace only a pregnant woman would use. The last few weeks have been hard on her body. Like she’s trying to get used to carrying around a bowling ball under her shirt on her small frame. She looks like she’s going to tip over most of the time.

A buzzing noise makes me jump, and the cell door opens. A guard leads a man that looks like a weasel through the cell door, and Darby inhales deeply, cracking her knuckles like she can’t decide if she wants to run from the room or beat the man.

He’s dressed in a typical orange prison jumpsuit, and his head is shaved, a very different look than the haircut he had when he worked at Dallas Industries. Dark stubble dots the top of his head, and he squints when he sees Darby.

“Well, what the fuck do I have here?” he says, licking his lips and making a smooching gesture at Darby. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Remi grimace like she’s disgusted by the sight of him. “I get a visit from that pussy I wish I’d tapped while I had the chance. Should have done it while I had you all taped to the chair. I ended up here anyway,” he snarls and cups his crotch.

Darby doesn’t say anything, and I marvel that she’s keeping so calm. I’m not as lucky. Porter turns his eyes to me, and I feel my lip start to tremble. I bite it to keep it still, but I feel my eyes widen as he meets my eyes. “What’s Corbin Dallas’s secretary doing here with this cunt?” he asks, flicking his eyes to Darby.

“Oh, we’re besties now,” Darby replies. “In fact, you can thank Rose for us paying you a visit. This was her idea.”

“I don’t want to talk to you bitches. The last time I was with you, some asshole hit me in the head with a shovel. Who the fuck are you?” he asks Remi.

Deadpan, Remi cocks her head to the side. “I’m the asshole that hit you in the head with a shovel.”

His lip curls in disgust, and I start to shake because I’m worried he can get to Remi through the plastic. However, I think lunging for Remi would be a very bad idea. If Remi wasn’t my friend, I sure wouldn’t mess with her in a dark alley.

“We’re here because we have a common enemy,” Darby says.

“Your boyfriend?” Porter asks and laughs at his own joke.

“Corbin Dallas.”

That shuts him up, and he looks at me like he’s confused about why I’ve turned on Corbin. “What do want with me?” he asks with gritted teeth.

“You know a lot about him. In fact, you’re years ahead of us on revenge with him. We need to know what you know about him. Something that Rose or Corbin’s wife wouldn’t know.”

“He visits the golf club. The special part,” Porter says, licking his lips.

“He’s not there. I know people there,” Remi says, not elaborating about her relationship with her former coworkers at the sex club.

“Look, we’re here about the plastic strengthener. Did Dallas have any other hiding places for it? Someplace he could live long-term with plumbing or heating? You worked in product development before he fired you. Were there any other testing sites or warehouses?”

“Why should I help you?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t help us. But Corbin Dallas is missing. He’s in hiding and has run off like a little bitch after he did some bad shit to our friends. The police won’t dedicate time or resources to find him, so we’re on our own. What can you tell us?”

Porter chuckles and leans forward until his face is almost touching the plastic divider. Maybe he thinks he can intimidate Darby, but she doesn’t back away. She maintains eye contact with him while I hold my breath and watch the conversation.

“See, that’s the key isn’t it?” he says.

“What’s the key?”

“The police. Let me guess. There’s a police officer that’s assigned to the case that actually wants to work and catch the bastard, but he can’t.”

“She. The person assigned to the case is a female.”

“Even more typical. The old boys club, the ones that get their dicks sucked at the secret part of the golf club, don’t want their buddy caught. And those dicks in city government love to see a woman fail. They see her as someone that doesn’t fit the old boys club mold.”

“Are you saying Fred Dawes is on the take? That’s a pretty big accusation.”

“Nah. My impression of Dawes is that he’s a little bitch or willing to be someone’s little bitch. This goes bigger.”

“Blanc?” Remi says under her breath.

“What’s that?” Porter asks as Darby and I turn to look at Remi.

“Blanc and Dallas are friends. Are you saying Blanc is risking his career in an election year by helping Corbin hide?”

“Look who’s a smart little cunt,” Porter says with a sinister smile while leering at Remi.

“Watch your mouth,” Darby warns, and Porter actually straightens his face. “You’re saying Dawes isn’t running the show over there. Blanc is?”

Porter only shrugs. “I’m saying more than that,” he says, backing up and almost looking respectable as he adjusts his shirt. He then adjusts his balls and ruins the image of him actually attempting a decent conversation.

“Get to the point, Porter,” Darby grunts. “You implied Blanc is impeding the investigation.”

“I’m not implying. I’m saying. Also, I don’t think he’s just impeding the investigation, sweetheart.”

“Wait, do you think he’s actively hiding him?”

“What are you going to do about it if he is? Call the police? That’ll go over well with their buddy, especially when the boss’s boss gets in trouble. Do you think they’ll send SWAT to the mayor’s house?”

“We can tell the feds.”

“Good luck, baby,” he coos at Darby. “What are you going to do? Go to the mayor’s house with a hoard of police that has no intention of busting the chops of one of their golf buddies and demand that a guy that invited them to Christmas parties with top-shelf booze and good cocaine come out with his hands up? You’re dumber than I thought. Corbin Dallas is just as revered as the mayor. He made sure everyone had a stiff drink and a stiff dick in a whore.”

“You mentioned the mayor’s house. Would Corbin actually hide there?” Remi asks, directing the question to me more than Porter.

I could see it. Max Blanc and Corbin are best friends. I didn’t want to believe it because I always think everyone acts as kind as me and with the public interest at heart. Naïve Rose strikes again.

Darby looks at me. “Is it possible Rose?”

Porter answers for me because my tongue is suddenly on the roof of my mouth. “That mother fucker is probably sitting in Blanc’s dining room right now.”