Today I am so pleased to welcome Rhys Ford to Joyfully Jay. Rhys has come to talk to us about her latest release, Dirty Heart, the final book in her fabulous Cole McGinnis series (sniff!). Rhys is sharing an exclusive scene written from Jae’s POV. She has also brought along a great giveaway! Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

I’ve written the start of this post about five times and I still don’t know what to say. Some writer, huh?

How do I put into words the whole of this journey? This series was the start for me. These characters—Cole and Jae—have taken me to places I never thought I’d go, met people I am so very thankful to have known and most importantly, enriched my life beyond measure.

So how do I say goodbye to the beginning?

I can’t. And honestly, I won’t. As this story arc ends, I am grateful for so many readers joining me along the way. I can promise that as we close out this series, Cole and Jae will be back some time in the far future. But for now, this is goodbye.

And yet a hello of sorts… to a happiness and a life these characters deserve to have.

Because God knows, I’ve run them through the ringer.

So please enjoy this final Dirty tour as I present short scenes from Jae’s POV. Many are from instances in the books and a couple are in-betweens but I tried to find places where Jae really needed to speak. I hope you enjoy them.

And a tour cannot be a tour without a giveaway! So…. Here goes.

Leave a comment below and be entered to win a $20 gift certificate from an e-tailer of your choice BUT that is not all. From these winners, I will randomly select ONE person to be a character in my other Los Angeles series, Murder and Mayhem. So hit up every blog, enter to win! ONE winner per blog!

Don’t I sound like I’m trying to sell you a used Buick? *grins*

Most of all, and please know this comes from the bottom of my heart where I keep my love for coffee and music, thank you. Thank you for reading the books and thank you for supporting me along the way. I cannot come up with the words strong and deep enough to express my gratitude.

Saranghae-yo.

Dirty Bits 7

I’d once gotten a handful of wet, cut chili peppers smeared into my right eye. It’d been a spiteful, hateful gesture Aunt Ha-Eun felt would somehow teach me a lesson about keeping my place.

Aunt really liked to remind me to keep my place and I hadn’t felt a pain like that since.

Until right now.
I couldn’t seem to shake the burning pain creeping through my body and oddly, my skin felt numb and my muscles weren’t responding when I tried to move. There was something in my throat, something hard and scratchy and when I tried to swallow, I choked on its rigid sides. My legs were cold and there was something dripping to the right of me, a slow steady plurk every other second. Blinking did no good because my eyes were heavy, weighed down by the same evasive lethargy spreading through my limbs and chest.

Then I remembered. I’d been shot. By Sheila and Cole’d held me as I slowly died in his arms.

At least it felt like dying. At the moment, all I felt was pain and that too rigid hardness in my throat, making it hard for me to catch my breath.
I felt a hand on my arm then a woman’s voice telling me she was going to remove the tube. There were other words, other sounds but I didn’t hear a word she was saying. Instead I was listening for a certain footstep, a rumble of a baritone voice amid the beeps and whispers of machines but all I could hear was the rasp of the tube as it left my throat, burning on its way out.

“You can’t be in here, sir.” The woman’s words were sharp and cutting. “You are going to have to leave. You are not allowed—”

I would have told her she’d have better luck arguing with the wind but my throat was too raw and dry for me to speak. I knew who’d come in just by the scent of his skin and the soft tread of his feet on the floor. His hand was warm, centering me and the pain whispered away, driven out by Cole’s soft touch.

“You do your job, ma’am,” Cole said gently but there was no mistaking the steel in his voice. It sang through the room, a clear bell tone strong enough to guide me home. “And I’ll do mine.”

§

The next time I woke up, I could open my eyes. The beeping was still there, an electronica score set to an off beat and night shoved its way into the room, darkening the walls and corners through the large windows on the left wall. Noises were coming through the partially open door, clanging and voices too muffled for me to make anything out but distinctly hospital in nature.

I had a needle shoved into my left arm and a Japanese-Irish man asleep on my right.

The pain was still there. Sharper and biting but not spreading through my body. I moaned or squeaked because Cole jerked awake, sitting up in his chair and his hand tightened on my forearm, squeezing down into my flesh.

There were dark circles under his hazel eyes and his skin was drawn tight over his cheeks, his face pale and tired under the dim lights. His thick hair was a riot of crests poking up every what it could and his mouth was bruised and chapped from bites, a bad habit he had when he was worried.

I must have worried him deeper than he’d ever been before because there were tiny scabs along his lower lip and the fear in his eyes turned them dark and troubled.

His smile, however, chased the night right back out of the window and to the horizon where it belonged.

God, I was in love.

I’d never been in love. I’d never been loved. Not like this. And Cole loved me. I could feel his soul and heart wrap around me simply by looking into his face. And his smile—that smile—made me glad I could draw in a breath, even as much as it hurt to do so, I didn’t mind the pain because I knew he’d spent hours in an uncomfortable chair, reeking of stale fear and sweat just so I wouldn’t be alone.

“Hey, baby,” Cole whispered. “You’re going to be okay. Docs got the bullet out and everything. You’re going to be fine.”

“I know, agi,” I teased, using the silly mistranslation we’d thrown at each other since nearly the first time we’d kissed. My words were rough, scraped out slowly but at least understandable. “Because you’re here. Why would I go anywhere else?”

“Because you’re sane?” He chuckled hoarsely. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” I confessed. “And don’t take this wrong, Cole-ah, why the hell do you get shot all the time? This fucking hurts.”


Follow the Dirty Bits Tour at these fantastic blog sites:

Mar 16 — Boy Meets Boy (www.boymeetsboyreviews.blogspot.com)
Mar 17 — Love Bytes (http://lovebytesreviews.com/)
Mar 18 — MM Good Book Reviews (https://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/)
Mar 20 — The Blogger Girls (http://thebloggergirls.com/)
Mar 21 — It’s About The Book (http://itsaboutthebook.com/)
Mar 22 — Sinfully Gay Romance (http://sinfullymmbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/)
Mar 23 — Joyfully Jay (https://joyfullyjay.com/)
Mar 24 — Prism Alliance (http://www.prismbookalliance.com/)
Mar 25— The Novel Approach (http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/)


Blurb

dirty_heart_cover_smaller_blogFormer LAPD detective Cole McGinnis’s life nearly ended the day his police partner and best friend Ben Pirelli emptied his service weapon into Cole and his then-lover, Rick. Since Ben turned his gun on himself, Cole thought he’d never find out why Ben tried to destroy him.

Years later, Cole has stitched himself back together. Now a private investigator and in love with Jae-Min Kim, a Korean-American photographer he met on a previous case, Cole’s life is back on track—until he discovers Jeff Rollins, a disgraced cop and his first partner, has resurfaced and appears to be working on the wrong side of the law.

As much as Cole’s fought to put the past behind him, he’s soon tangled up in a web of lies, violence, and death. Jeff Rollins is not only trying to kill Cole’s loved ones, he is also scraping open old wounds and long-forgotten memories of the two men Cole loved and lost. Cole is sure Rollins knows why Ben ruined all their lives, but he isn’t looking for answers. Now Cole is caught in a cat-and-mouse game with a cold-blooded killer with the key to not only his past but his future.

Purchase Dirty Heart at:

And other fine ebook retailers.


Bio

Bioheadshot_Rhys-FordRhys Ford was born and raised in Hawai’i then wandered off to see the world. After chewing through a pile of books, a lot of odd food, and a stray boyfriend or two, Rhys eventually landed in San Diego, which is a very nice place but seriously needs more rain.

Rhys admits to sharing the house with three cats of varying degrees of black fur, and a ginger cairn terrorist. Rhys is also enslaved to the upkeep a 1979 Pontiac Firebird, a Toshiba laptop, and a red Hamilton Beach coffee maker.

My Blog: www.rhysford.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhys.ford.author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rhys_Ford

My books can be purchased, folded and first chapters read at Dreamspinner Press.


Giveaway

Rhys has brought a $20 e-retailer gift certificate for a Joyfully Jay reader, plus a chance to be a character in one of her series. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. The contest ends on Saturday, March 26th at 11:59 pm EST.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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