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 2
“I don’t know what to do with him, nuna. He is… he fits around me wrong.” I sounded like a child, melodramatic and hurting over a small bruised slight but the bleeding gouge in my gut refused to be staunched. “No matter what I do to pull him off of me, he hold on.”
Scarlet nuna continued to snip away the dead flowers of her potted rose bushes, either listening intently or ignoring me completely. I couldn’t tell which. I never could tell which. There were times when I would pour my heart out to her only to have her blink at me then ask me to repeat what I said or she would appear to be distracted then ask a question so pointed it stabbed me clean through and severed my spine.
Right now, I was half hoping it would be the first but I suspected it was the latter.
I was right.
“I think, dongsaeng, if you really wanted him to go away, you would push much harder than you are,” she murmured, stretching over one of the rounded bushes to clip away a brown, crinkling leaf. “You forget, I know Cole-ah. He is not an octopus but more of a wolf.”
“You sound like a fortune cookie, nuna,” I teased. Her dark eyes flashed, laughing at me as her mouth flattened into a disapproving line. I knew her frown was a lie. Nuna’s beauty was a schooled mask of serenity and fierce propriety but her eyes…they were often bawdy and ripe with mischief. “And no, I will admit, I like the feel of him around me. I just… can’t let him stay there.”
“I find it funny you can’t even say his name to me. As if if you speak it, he somehow becomes real.”
“Or maybe he’s like the dead,” I replied softly. “We don’t speak his name because he will push through the curtain of his world and into mine, bringing all of his monsters and filth with him. I can’t have him with me, nuna. I just… can’t. You know I can’t.”
She put the snips down then joined me on the patio’s long couch. We were twenty stories up above Los Angeles in the penthouse she shared with hyung, my half-brother’s uncle and for all intents and purposes, his wife.
Except she wasn’t. Neither his wife nor a she, nuna lived in a half-world, straddling my mostly-uncle’s life but never truly existing there. Hyung had a wife. She lived in Seoul, wore his name, bore his children and ate at his family’s table. She held tremendous power in their family’s corporation and helped forge alliances with other chaebol families.
Hyung’s wife had everything of hyung’s except his love.
That belonged to Scarlet.
But she would never ever be able to say so anywhere it mattered, other than the air between them.
Every time she told me she was happy…that it was enough… my heart broke a little bit more.
I couldn’t live her life. Hell, I couldn’t live my life. I couldn’t simply throw myself into Cole’s world and stay there because I was needed in my own world. My family needed me. My sisters needed me. Without me, my family would starve… but I could not love Cole out in the open, not where it mattered.
I could exist in that too-small space where I could whisper I loved him without anyone overhearing it.
But Cole was simply too big to fit into that tiny slice of air between us and much too fierce to be silenced by something as small as his need for me.
“Oh God, nuna, I love him.” It finally hit me, filling me with the impossibility of an us. He terrified me, pulling me apart and enticing me with the promise of a life lived outside of the air between us. I wanted that more than anything, but like nuna, would never have it. “What the hell am I going to do with that? I can’t love him.”
Scarlet sighed and whispered, stroking at the back of my hand. “Sometimes, Jae-ah, our hearts refuse to see the world around us and only see the worlds we want to live in.”
Dirty Heart
Former 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:
Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, And other fine ebook retailers.
Follow the Dirty Bits Tour at these fantastic blog sites:
Mar 16 — Boy Meets Boy (http://boymeetsboyreviews.blogspot.com)
Mar 17 — Love Bytes (https://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 (http://joyfullyjay.com/)
Mar 24 — Prism Alliance (http://www.prismbookalliance.com/)
Mar 25— The Novel Approach (http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/)
Rhys 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. http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
God… these are KILLING ME! In the very best way possible!
I love Scarlet. Very good scene.
These little scenes are awesome thank you for sharing them!
jczlapin@gmail.com
I so love these two. Thank you for these tasty morsels. ?
sxswann(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m going to miss Scarlet!
🙁
I always did have a hard time empathizing with him about this, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t break my heart.
Also, I’m rereading them. I’m trying to reconcile everyone else’s “He’s a wolf” mentality with his sincere “Aw, shucks, I’m not intimidating” internal monologue.
Love these bits..
Sigh ?
These are like precious little gems, rare and beautiful.
atideswell@aol.com
so beautiful. I’m glad to share a little time with Scarlet and Jae together.
ooh, ooh, pick me! pick me! (ptkat@live.com)
Love the insights into Jae.
Omg Jae and Scarlet make me so sad.
lirasylira(at)gmail (dot)com
I love Scarlet and Jae. That relationship is amazing and I love seeing these scenes between them.
So good to get Jae’s POV, although it is also heartbreaking. And wonderful to see Scarlet again. Loved this line: “Sometimes, Jae-ah, our hearts refuse to see the world around us and only see the worlds we want to live in.”
Love these scenes!
kathleenpower@comcast.net
Oh, you’re breaking my heart with this one. Thank you for making Jae a little bit less enigmatic and giving us another peak into his thoughts.
love them so much!
Awww. Love Scarlett so much. My heart breaks for her too.
Oh wow what a wonderful excerpt.
stop making me cry!!!
such wisdom at the end there.
gamsitress66(at)aol(dot)com
I love these small windows into Jae’s mind. We get to see how he feels about Cole, the inner struggles he has. It makes me love his character more. I just love his relationship with his nuna…I can’t wait to read Dirty Heart.
Have got Dirty Heart on pre order and v excited it is getting close now!!
Loving the insights we are getting
Littlesuze at hotmail.com
Loving these blog posts!
JengardenATgmailDOTcom
Oh, this is going to be so emotional for all of us!
I love seeing the world through Jae’s eyes. Makes me want to cuddle him and keep him safe. Not that he’d let anyone but Cole and Scarlett do it.
These little snippets are so good! Breaks my heart in the best possible way.
BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME FOR THIS BOOK but Rhys is on my auto buy list no matter the book or the series. Her stories are sublime!
looking forward to finding out about Ben…
shellirie@gmail.com
Loving these snippets. I’m so excited (and sad) for this last book. Good thing we’ll see them all again someday.
Another insight into that conflicted life Jae lived in, and so moving. He has always deserved every bit of happiness he now has with Cole.
thank you so much for writing these. i love seeing things from Jae’s POV
Thank your Rhys for these wonderful stepping stones that will lead us to Dirty Heart.
I love these excerpts. Any chance of putting them in a book like you did for Hair of the Dog?
penumbrareads(AT)gmail(dot)com
I love Scarlet! This also breaks my heart. Poor Jae! I can’t wait for the last book!
I love Ms. Ford’s books. All the characters have true depth to them. I love Scarlet and feel sad that she’s in the position she’s in. Yet obviously her heart only sees her happy world. Jae is scrappy. He didn’t surrender easily but so glad he did, cause Cole deserves his HEA. ?
kjpattersonrn@yahoo.com
Gah! I love Scarlet so much. Thanks so much for these short glimpses into Jae’s POV.
I’m loving these scenes. Thank you! violet817(at)aol(dot)com
I love reading about Scarlet and Jae together, and how Jae is pouring his heart out here.
strive4bst(AT) yahoo(Dot) com
loving these snippets 🙂
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Love seeing Scarlet and Jae interact with each other!
Twitter: @MarteTonder
I’ve love the Sinners books that I’ve read/listened to so far & I’m definitely going to have to check this series out too!
<3
I think we would all be lucky to have a Scarlet in our lives. 🙂
I’ve never read a series where so many of the characters are among my all time favorites. I love the relationship between Jae and Scarlet. Thank you so much for sharing Rhys!
loved this snippet!!!
[…] the Dirty Bits Tour at these fantastic blog sites: Mar 16 — Boy Meets Boy Mar 17 — Love Bytes Mar 18 — MM Good Book Reviews Mar 20 — The Blogger Girls Mar 21 — It’s About The Book […]
Great, great, moment in time.
dejamew@centurylink.net
I can’t believe this series reached its end. Happy and sad at the same time.
[…] the Dirty Bits Tour at these fantastic blog sites: Mar 16 — Boy Meets Boy Mar 17 — Love Bytes Mar 18 — MM Good Book Reviews Mar 20 — The Blogger Girls Mar 21 — It’s About The Book Mar […]
Your words can move me to tears. Why is it a good thing that you can make me cry?
Cherryinor@gmail.com
Poor Jae. He really did have to fight his way through a lot to find and accept his happiness with Cole
I’m so glad Jae has Scarlet and Cole.
Love the series. Adore the characters. Thank you Rhys.
Late comer to the tour… trudginh on and worrying; would this spoil my enjoyment in reading the first book of the series now??
puspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
No no, you’ll be fine 😀
I’m so sad it’s over!!!!!
@juleslovesbooks
Loved Dirty Heart and I loved the whole series. Dirty Heart was just the perfect end to an incredible series. Love Jae’s snippets on the blob tour.
I love this snippet with Jae and Scarlett.
bubbliemom@gmail.com
Love this. Never get enough of Jae’s POV.
Thanks for sharing these snippets from Jae’s point of view (and adding some of the supporting characters). It will be bittersweet to see the series end.
[…] the Dirty Bits Tour at these fantastic blog sites: Mar 16 — Boy Meets Boy Mar 17 — Love Bytes Mar 18 — MM Good Book Reviews Mar 20 — The Blogger Girls Mar 21 — It’s About The Book Mar […]
Love these snippets and the blurb. I want to read it more each time I come across it. I’m definately going to have to push this up my reading list. 😀
I love Jae’s sad view for Scarlet, so alike, yet so different. Miss you already, Cole and Jae.
awwwwww <3