Not Another Statistic
Yuri Sorenson Mysteries
J.M. Dabney
Genre – MM/Gay Fiction/Romance, Mystery/Suspense
Release Date: 09.24.19
Cover Image – FuriousFotog (Golden Czermak)
Cover Model – Kevin R. Davis
Cover Art – J.M. Dabney
Blurb
Former Federal Agent Yuri Sorenson had left the bureau behind to become a private investigator. His ex-partner came to him asking for a favor, not knowing who else to trust. Yuri had always had a way of keeping his emotional distance from the people he protected, yet that changed the day Clarkson hesitantly limped into his life.
What happens when love is confused with pain? That’s the exact question Josh Clarkson had asked himself for years. He’d grown up in an overburdened foster care system, and from what he knew of love, he couldn’t expect anything but to be something tolerated. Was he meant to be more than a plaything or a piece of scenery? H could hope.
Two men who know nothing but being broken find that patience and acceptance are harder than losing hope. Is the leap of faith worth the reward of letting someone else in? Maybe they’ll find the strength to find out before the danger of Josh’s past tries to tear them apart.
I jerked as Yuri bent down to grab the bag and slung it over his uninjured shoulder.
“I have the key, come on. We’re on the fourth floor.”
He put himself between me and the desk as we made our way across the lobby to the stairs. The old elevator had an Out of Order sign tapped beside the open doors. I didn’t get as winded as we took the stairs. I felt stronger and lighter, but still had the edge of fear that never went away.
That part of me which had always been ready to die was rearing its ugly head. I was too much trouble. The effort he was putting in to keeping me alive was a waste of his time. I swear I tried to banish the thoughts with maybe dreams of something happier but it just wasn’t working.
He told me to stop when we reached the door of our room and I waited while he opened it, he pushed the door open and when I entered I was shocked. The room was pristine, yet still had the same crimson printed walls with red carpet. Yet it was looked and smelled clean.
“At least we won’t need a round of antibiotics when we leave.”
I hid my smile as the door clicked shut and he past me to place our bag on a luggage rack. I wrung my hands as he slowly took off his hoodie and I chased the play of shifting muscle beneath his tight t-shirt. My fascination with him needed to end before I got hurt. I knew he wasn’t like Vernon or the others. Yet he knew my past and what I’d allowed to happen to me. How could a man treat me differently when he knew how the others had used me?
My body craved something I hadn’t had in my life. Yearned for a possession that had nothing to do with pain. But I also wanted to be owned and taken care of; have the harder decisions made for me. That just showed me I had to hide that I was losing a piece of myself to him. As gruff and hard as he appeared he took care of me and I felt that was skewing my perception—seeing more than I should.
“Relax and settle in, I’m going to run out to get us dinner and a few things. Anything special you want.”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll probably just pass out after I eat.”
I stepped back as he removed his sidearm and flipped it around so the hilt was toward me.
“I’m taking the key with me. If the door starts to open and I don’t announce it’s me, you shoot, do you understand me, baby boy?”
“I’ve never—” Anything I was going to say froze on the tip of my tongue as he spun to stand behind me. His broad chest flush to my back. His breath teasing my ear.
J.M. Dabney is a multi-genre author who writes Body Positive/Diverse Romance and Fiction. They live with a constant diverse cast of characters in their head. No matter their size, shape, race, etc. J.M. lives for one purpose alone, and that’s to make sure they do them justice and give them the happily ever after they deserve. J.M. is dysfunction at its finest and they makes sure their characters are a beautiful kaleidoscope of crazy. There is nothing more they want from telling their stories than to show that no matter the package the characters come in or the damage their pasts have done, that love is love. That normal is never normal and sometimes the so-called broken can still be amazing.
The author is Gender Nonconforming are uses the preferred pronouns They/Them.
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