Author Name: Lillian
T. MacGowan
Book Name: From
the Ashes
Series: Smoke and
Mirrors
Book: Two
Should NOT be read
as a standalone
Release
Date: May 5, 2015
Blurb:
After a rough start to their relationship, Deck and Naim are living together and living well—except they’re not. The fire at the clinic and those behind it are still a specter in the background of their lives, soon to come to the forefront. Someone is stalking them, and as the acts grow increasingly violent and threatening, the boys make an unsettling discovery that turns Naim’s world inside out.
They’re sorely tried and tested, and even with the support of the neighborhood and Deck’s firefighting crew, people get hurt. Deck has to decide how much hurt he’s willing to take on for the sake of Naim, and Naim has to decide once and for all what sort of man he wants to be—all while navigating a terrifying world of crime, violence and depravity.
Excerpt:
“What…the
unholy…”
“Fuck?”
Naim finished Jen’s statement for her as her voice trailed off. They stood
wide-eyed and slack-jawed, staring at Jen’s husband, who leaned, sullen and
glowering, against the ambulance while a young girl snapped photos and pleaded
with him to try to smile. Or at least emote. He was wearing a hazmat jumpsuit,
unzipped with the top half hanging down his shirtless back, and holding a gas
mask, his hair a wild mess as though he’d just taken the mask off.
Hearing
Jen’s voice, he looked up at them, cringed, and groaned. “Fuck. You called
them, you fucktarded bag of ass?” Keller shouted up toward the ladder truck
while the girl clicked away, hoping for some good, angry “passion” shots.
“Naim!”
Deck called down from the cherry picker, looking anxious but glad to see him.
“Oh
God,” Keller groaned, falling back against the ambulance and dropping the mask.
“Oh
God.” Jen stared at her husband.
“Oh
God.” Naim looked up to the cherry picker, eyes widening, where Deck was
grinning awkwardly, wearing nothing but bunker trousers with one suspender over
his unscarred side, and a helmet.
Naim
shifted, horrified at his sudden, Pavlovian state of arousal. He reached for
Jen’s hand. She squeezed.
“What…what…”
Jen stammered, tearing her eyes from her husband long enough to jump, startled
by the big black smiley face plastered across Peyton’s bright yellow butt as he
climbed off the hose bed.
“Thank
God you guys are here,” Deck called out, unlatching the cherry picker.
“No!”
Naim panicked, squeezing Jen’s hand tighter and pointing at Deck. “You stay
there!” This was bad. He was never coming back to the firehouse again. Ever.
Jen
snorted.
“Fuck.”
Fucking cherry picker. “No. Get out of there.” Naim squeezed his eyes shut.
“But don’t…don’t come down here!” He turned and buried his face in Jen’s
shoulder, groaning. She cuddled him and whimpered quietly.
“Why
are they doing this to us?” she asked Naim.
He
pulled his face out of her shoulder. “What the fuck is going on?”
“They’re
making a fucking calendar. Well, more like a date book.” Freya wandered up to
them, fully clothed, a shit-eating grin on her face, and her braids a messy,
rumpled disaster. She was covered in green glitter, and there seemed to be some
on her teeth.
“Oh,
but you’ve got clothes on?” Naim
growled.
“What…
Why…” Jen glanced at Freya, then back at Keller, who was glowering harder at
the camera. The photographer asked him to turn around, and he snarled. She
snapped away. “Why are… What happened to your hair?” Jen asked Freya, a little
breathless.
“Are
you kidding?” Freya still had the shit-eating grin, and Spellacy popped up from
where he’d been relaxing on the hose bed; he wore a pair of bright green shorts
printed with pints of Guinness, and his turnout coat had green glitter all over
it.
“Hey.
What are you two doing here?” he asked.
“Oh
God.” Jen sounded like she wanted to cry.
“Can
I come down now?” Deck yelled from the ladder.
Naim
refused to look at him. “No. Not until you…give…put…put something on.”
“He
can’t. He’s next,” Freya explained, grinning harder.
“Next?”
Naim whimpered again.
“Naim,
please? I really gotta talk to you!”
“Get
a turnout coat!”
“Hey,
what are you two doing here?” Liebgott saw them as he strolled out of the
kitchen, munching on a cupcake.
“Liebgott.”
Jen managed to glare and whine at the same time. “Why is my husband half-naked,
having his picture taken against an ambulance? Why is everyone half-naked?”
Liebgott
rubbed his neck and glanced with a guilty expression over to the ladder truck
where Deck was yelling at Spellacy to give him his turnout coat. Naim heard
bells jingle somewhere.
“Well.
See—”
“It
wasn’t my idea. I didn’t even know about it!” Deck got a face full of green
glitter as he caught Spellacy’s coat.
“We,
uh, we thought it would help raise some money.” Liebgott looked to Naim
sheepishly. “To help rebuild the clinic.”
“Wh…”
Naim blinked. “Can I sit down? Is anyone else in the kitchen?”
“Peyton,
but come on. I’ll boot him out.”
Naim
tugged on Jen’s hand as he dragged her away from the sight of her husband. “Jen.”
“Shut
up.” She tripped a little. “You’re in
this with me.” They heard Freya cackle.
Deck
was right behind them, trotting into the kitchen as Naim plunked down into a
chair, still refusing to look at him. This was insane, but he really had no
business being surprised.
“I
swear to God, I had no idea, love. This is not my fault,” Deck exclaimed.
“That’s
true, Naim. I’m not sure why he’s so bent out of shape about it, but we didn’t
want to tell you until the money came in, so we kept it from Deck until the
last possible minute.” Liebgott took a seat at the opposite end of the table
while Deck danced nervously next to Naim, and Jen peeked from the door.
“I…
What…” Naim squinted at the table, then reached for a cupcake, wondering if he
was turning into a stress eater.
Sales Links:
About
the author:
You can usually find Lily MacGowan reading, knitting herself into the sofa, or writing. Lily has been a carpenter, a circus aerialist, a Sunset Strip club kid and a corporate mogul, but she gave all that up to teach middle school on the east coast and is happier than ever. Lily’s hobbies include food, household renovations and avoiding laundry. She’s a huge fan of comfy jammies and happily ever after.
Where to find the author:
Twitter: @LilyMacGowan
Tumblr - http://ltmacgowan.tumblr.com/
Publisher: Loose ID
Cover
Artist: Kalen O’Donnell
Tour Dates & Stops: May 27, 2015
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