Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett have managed
the impossible: a few months of peace and quiet. After nearly a year of
personal and professional turmoil, they're living together conflict-free, work
is going smoothly, and they're both happy, healthy, and home every night before
dark. But anyone who knows them knows that can’t possibly last.
When an emergency call from home upsets the balance of their
carefully arranged world, Ty and Zane must juggle family drama with a
perplexing crime to save a helpless victim before time runs out.
From the mountains of West Virginia to a remote Texas horse
ranch harboring more than just livestock and childhood memories, Ty and Zane
must face their fears—and their families—to overcome an unlikely enemy and
bring peace back into their newly shared world.
The stars at night are big and bright
Deep in the heart of Texas
The prairie sky is wide and high
Deep in the heart of Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas
Reminds me of the one that I love
Deep in the heart of Texas
The coyotes wail tigers growl and are on the prowl
Deep in the heart of Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas
Ty The cowboys cries, "Ki yippee yi!"
(while he rides Zane on the couch)
Deep in the heart of Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas
Deep in the heart of Texas
So, a little bit of an unconventional review here, but I
thought it was perfect for the unconventional coupling that is Tyler Grady and
Xander Garrett. In this latest installment of the Cut and Run series, Ty and
Zane take a vacation and accompany each other to their homes. It’s time to meet
the parents boys!
Ty basically cut and ran when he was old enough, joining
the military and putting himself in one dangerous situation after another. When
he finally tells his parents that Zane is more than just his partner at work,
he is his partner at home; it doesn’t get the reception he thought it would.
Mom and Pops don’t mind him being gay, they are just pissed that Ty thought he
had to run away rather than tell them.
If Zane was hoping for the same reaction, what he gets is
mixed. The people that matter don’t mind, aside from his mother, who Zane has
never had any type of relationship with. And let me just say, what this bitch
does at the end of the book pisses me off to no end. Lord forgive me, but in
the shootout at the OK corral I wish she would have been a casualty of war.
It took me about an hour to get used to the new narrator
as the books that were published through DSP had a different person telling the
stories. Once I warmed to Harding the story took off and I was so engrossed I
could not put down my iPod. All the elements I have come to love about these
two men and the borderline psychotic lives they lead were there, just under a
different voice. I enjoyed how Harding was able to give each character their
own distinct voice and still add emotion to the voices.
Of course if you are a Ty and Zane fan you’ll absolutely
love this story. Action packed and nonstop from the first letter until the
last. Ty and Zane are a special kind of crazy and one of these days they are
going to figure out that they anchor each other. The storyline was brilliant,
what is it about Ty and large, demented cats? I had a blast getting to know
both men’s families, aside from mommy dearest who can take a long walk off a
short pier. Emotional, not only intriguing but completely engrossing, edge of
your seat shenanigans that I have come to expect with these two men. Oh but my
favorite part is how these two love each other with every fiber of their being.
So passionate, enigmatic and dangerous.
I give this book 5 stars, only because I can't give it 10. Definitely a must listen series. You can’t just jump
right in though. Sorry, you must start at the beginning. And now I’m off to
start the next book and see if Ty and Zane can blow up the White House, or
something equally scandalous.
Excerpt:
The waitress came up to their table in the middle of an argument. “Would you like some more iced tea?”
Zane Garrett looked from his ranting partner to the waitress and smiled. “Thanks.” He slid his glass across the small bar table so she could fill it from the pitcher she had in hand.
“No problem, Zane. More wings?”
“Yeah, but just the medium ones this time. I’m not too hot on the honey barbecue kind.”
“Bad pun penalty,” Ty Grady muttered from across the table.
“Shut up.”
The waitress laughed. She set a pint down in front of Ty and he pointed at her with his celery stick.
“Designated Hitter or real baseball?”
“I’m cutting you off,” she answered before turning away.
“No!” Ty called out, and Zane laughed, the sound almost lost in the midst of the mid-week revelry. Ty turned a glare on him, dipped his celery into a plastic cup of ranch dressing, and then pointed at Zane with it, sending drops of dressing flying. “You know what we should do next weekend?” he asked without seeming to notice he’d sprayed Zane with ranch.
Zane grabbed a napkin and wiped up the splatter on his shirt. These weekly outings were the only time Ty drank around him, and he seemed to make up for lost time at them. Zane didn’t mind. After a few months of regular Wednesday night baseball viewings at the local bar, he was used to Ty’s semi-drunken antics. He had to admit, he enjoyed Ty when he was drunk. And as long as Ty stuck to beer or wine, and Zane continued his AA meetings, he didn’t even fight cravings.
“Was that a rhetorical question?”
“No. We should go get me another tattoo.”
Zane loved to see Ty’s mind at work. At first blush it seemed there was no rhyme or reason to it, but once he’d started paying attention, he could see the tracks Ty’s thoughts followed. Sometimes Ty jumped a track and surprised him, though. Like now. Ty had never mentioned getting another tattoo, had never been caught admiring anyone’s body art. The only reason Ty had gotten the bulldog on his arm was because it meant something dear to him.
Zane watched him for a long moment, entranced by his lover just as he always was. What did people see when they looked at the two of them sitting here in the bar? Just two friends, watching the game, hanging out? Maybe they sat a little closer together than some guys would, maybe their shoulders brushed more than casual friends’ should. Maybe people saw two men in love. Zane hated living in fear of what other people might see, but until he or Ty retired, that was their life.
Zane looked at the bulldog on Ty’s arm and raised an eyebrow. “What would you get?”
Ty threw back what was left of his beer, then set the glass down hard, rattling the unstable bar table. He met Zane’s eyes. “Ballgame’s over. I’ve been cut off by Designated Daisy. Let’s go home and look for trouble.”
Zane swallowed hard as Ty’s purr hit a chord deep inside him that only Ty had ever been able to reach. He pulled out his wallet, picked through some cash, and tossed a few bills onto the table. “Ready when you are, Bulldog.”
Ty slid out of his seat, and when Zane came around the table, Ty’s arm snaked around his waist. Most likely it was to keep himself from weaving as they left the bar. Over the months, Ty had grown more comfortable being demonstrative in front of strangers, and it warmed Zane to his toes every time Ty did it, but it still sent a shiver of nerves through him. Ty had always been the more careful of the two of them, and even he was growing more careless as time went on. What if they were seen by someone who knew them? What if they were found out? Everyone at work knew they were living together, though no one thought anything of it yet except that they were sharing the cost of the mortgage. But they were destined to be outed eventually. The real questions, the ones that haunted him, were would it matter, and would he even care?
The summer heat hit them when they exited the bar, even though the sun had long ago set and a salty breeze was blowing in off the nearby harbor. Ty’s arm tightened on Zane’s waist, and Zane slid his hand around Ty’s shoulders as they headed for their row house on Ann Street. He was struck yet again by just how happy they were, despite the obstacles and worries hanging over their heads.
There were moments when it was all surreal. He’d never expected to live with another person again, never expected to fall head over heels for someone again. For over two months now, he’d been waking to Ty’s arms wrapped around him every morning, and sometimes he wondered if he deserved it.
Other times he pondered how many tranquilizers it would take to bring Ty down, and whether he could do it before Ty killed him, but those moments passed quickly.
Now Ty’s body was hard and warm against his, but his movements were loose and relaxed. He was humming under his breath, and Zane knew it would soon turn into a song. He couldn’t help but smile as he pulled his lover closer. It might just be the rose-tinted color of love’s glasses, but there wasn’t a thing about Ty he didn’t find fascinating, amusing, or smoking hot. He loved it when Ty broke into song because Ty had a beautiful voice, drunk or not.
“It’s funny, you know?” Ty said. “How much things have changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“A couple years ago, at this point in the night, I’d be back in that bar with someone in the supply closet.”
Zane snorted and shook his head. “And now you just have to go home with me.”
“No,” Ty said, serious as he stopped and turned to look at Zane. “I don’t have to go home with you.”
Zane raised an eyebrow and cocked his head.
“I can’t wait to get home with you. Even if it’s just to crawl in bed and watch that stupid-ass show you like so much, I don’t care. Whatever I do, I’m glad I’m with you.”
Zane knew he was grinning like a fool, but sometimes Ty still managed to surprise him with his romantic, sentimental gestures.
For more books from this Author or the rest of the books in the series, and to read the entire excerpt, head over to Riptide Publishing.
Abigail Roux was born and raised in North Carolina. A past volleyball star who specializes in sarcasm and painful historical accuracy, she currently spends her time coaching high school volleyball and investigating the mysteries of single motherhood. Any spare time is spent living and dying with every Atlanta Braves and Carolina Panthers game of the year.
Abigail has a daughter, Little Roux, who is the light of her life, a boxer, four rescued cats who play an ongoing live-action variation of Call of Duty throughout the house, a certifiable extended family down the road, and a cast of thousands in her head.
Connect with Abi:
- Website: abigailroux.com
- Twitter: @abigailroux
- Facebook: facebook.com/Abigail-Roux
- Tumblr: abiroux.tumblr.com
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/AbigailRoux
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