I’m still thinking about other similarities to the Canadian Prime Minister and members of 90’s boy-bands, when I look up to Preppy, whose jaw is on the floor. Milk dribbles down the side of his chin. I think he’s going to say something about us being brothers, and the way we both always manage to say the oddest of shit, but he doesn't. There’s a cry from the other room. Then another. He scrunches his nose. “Wow, you’re a strange kid. You know that?” Preppy says, shaking his head. He gets up and heads down the hallway to tend to the twins.
“I’m a strange kid?” I shout after him.
I sigh, and my thoughts turn to what happened yesterday.
About her.
I talk under my breath, so Preppy can’t hear me. “You have no fucking idea.”
Bo comes running into the house and crashes into me. His watermelon of a head feels even bigger when it connects directly to my balls. “Bo, what’s up buddy?” I grit out through the pain.
He looks up at me with his dark hair and pale face wearing the same bow-tie and suspenders set that Preppy has on. He smiles, and it’s downright Adams Family creepy. “I see dead people,” he whispers.
“You got to start going to sleep earlier and stop watching all those late night movies you know you’re not supposed to be watching.”
Bo shakes his head and drags me to the sliding glass doors. He points to the backyard. “No, seriously. There’s a body in the backyard.”
I look out to see a mangled clump of naked man directly in the center of the yard.
“Holy shit. You’re right.” My jaw is still on the ground. My mind racing and in full alert mode. I try to follow the protocol Preppy’s been teaching me, but all I can think of is questions. Who? When? Why this fucking body is in the backyard? Who the fuck put it here?
“Told you,” Bo says, skipping off to the kitchen. “You want a cookie, Uncle Kevin?”
“Uh, I’ll be right back. Save one for me. And can you go ask your dad to come out here? Like, right the fuck now?”
“Sure thing,” he says around a mouthful of chocolate chip cookie as he strolls leisurely down the hall. “Dad, Uncle Kevin wants to talk to you about the dead guy in the yard!”
I approach the body slowly, swatting away the flies colliding into my face. I notice a tattoo on the body. No, it’s spray paint. It’s not until I’m up close when I can make out what it says. When I do, I stop. Stop walking. Stop breathing. My heart stops fucking beating.
It’s a number. And not just any number.
It’s the number nine.
Also by T.M. FRAZIER
THE PERVERSION TRILOGY
PERVERSION (Book 1)
POSSESSION (Book 2)
Coming Soon
PERMISSION (Book 3)
* * *
THE OUTSKIRTS DUET
THE OUTSKIRTS (Book 1)
THE OUTLIERS (Book 2)
THE KING SERIES
LISTED IN RECOMMENDED READING ORDER
* * *
Jake & Abby’s Story (Standalone)
The Dark Light of Day (Prequel)
* * *
King & Doe’s Story (Duet)
KING (Book 1)
TYRANT (Book 2)
* * *
Bear & Thia’s Story (Duet)
LAWLESS (Book 3)
SOULLESS (Book 4)
* * *
Rage & Nolan’s Story (Standalone)
ALL THE RAGE (Spinoff)
* * *
Preppy & Dre’s Story (Triplet)
PREPPY PART ONE (Book 5)
PREPPY PART TWO (Book 6)
PREPPY PART THREE (Book 7)
* * *
Smoke & Frankie’s Story (Standalone)
UP IN SMOKE (Spinoff)
* * *
COMING SOON
NINE, THE TALE OF KEVIN CLEARWATER
Acknowledgments
Hold on tight, kids. This is going to be a long one.
* * *
These things are always so hard for me to write because I always get a little eye leakage. So, I’m just going to jump right in. Here, hold my beer.
* * *
Thank you to my readers, without you this would still be just a crazy dream of mine. I am forever humbled and grateful for each and every one of you. The messages, the support, the shares, the waiting for hours at signings, the tears, the stories. There are no words for how you’ve changed my life for the better. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
* * *
Frazierlanders, you already know how very much I love you classy bitches. Thank you for being my safe place. My crazy place. My place to smile and BS. Thank you, my friends.
* * *
Thank you to Jenn and Sarah at Social Butterfly PR for putting up with me and talking me off a ledge or two…or twenty. Thank you for agreeing to hold my hand like the wobbly toddler I am, even though this is my thirteenth release.
* * *
Thank you to my assistant, the epic Tina Lynn, for taking a ton of weight off my shoulders, and for diving into the deep end of Frazier craziness without a floatation device. You are a rockstar and I appreciate every single thing you do that allows me to spend more time writing and with my family.
* * *
Thank you, Karla Nellenbach, for without your bitchiness, I would not be where I am today. We may greet each other with middle fingers, but your shitty attitude makes me a better writer. If all this mushiness makes you uncomfortable, we can skip our biannual hug.
* * *
Thank you, Ellie, for always accommodating my ever-changing schedule. That means the world to this crazy author. Don’t worry, I won’t hug you…or will I?
* * *
Thank you to my agent, Kimberly Brower, for putting up with my changing dates, aversion to phone calls, and all-around craziness. We’ve been together for four years now. I think that’s the diamond anniversary? Yeah. Yup. Uh huh. I’m pretty sure it is. HINT. HINT.
* * *
Thank you to Margaret Weekes for being the inspiration behind Margaret of the Immortal Kings. You are a brilliant beautiful woman, thank you for letting me fictionalize all of your amazingness.
* * *
A special love letter to BB Easton:
BB,
This book would not be what it is without you.
You share half of my brain, and for that I apologize. Thank you for being a kind narcissist, like me, and knowing what that means without me having to explain it to you. Thank you for sending me David Blowie GIF’s and for letting me beat you to the punch-line. Thank you for coming along with Mr. Frazier and I, as we drag you on casino trips, alligator tours, karaoke, and to kids’ birthday parties. And for just being there for me when I need you. Thank you for finishing my fucked-up sentences and for making me realize I won’t be alone in my padded cell. Thank you for never looking at me like I just said the stupidest thing in the world even though I probably did. Thank you for giving King a 5-star review on November 12th of 2015 on Goodreads when I didn’t even know you yet (I just checked, and girl you soooooo lucky it was 5 stars). Thank you for talking to me during late LATE nights when I was on the verge of giving it all up. Thank you for reminding me why I do this. Thank you for all the times you did for me, through FB messages, what in real life equals petting my hair and telling me I’m pretty. Thank you for sending me twelve one-minute voicemails when all I really wanted was a motherfucking three word typed response. Thank you for looking at and hating all three hundred versions of this cover before I finally made this one. Thank you for telling me I’m talented when I feel like I’m not. Thank you so much for being my friend. I love you. And like Preppy says, “I think you should be a little in love with your friends.”
* * *
Thank you to my in-laws for being such wonderful grandparents and so supportive of my career. Baby Frazier is so lucky to get to spend time with you when we are away, and I’m always comfortable knowing she’s in such great hands and loves her grandma and grandpa so much. And thank you for rais
ing a phenomenal man who became an even more phenomenal husband and father. I love you guys so much.
* * *
Thank you to Julie, for always being there for me. I love you, my friend! Stop STRESSING! <3
* * *
Thank you, Jessica, for all of your craziness and encouraging texts as well as your insane thirst for blood that always makes me laugh. You might want to see someone about that BTW. I’m just serious.
* * *
Thank you to Pavlina and Sarah for beta reading and for all of your thoughtful notes and shouty-cap messages. And thank you for your willingness to do it all at the very last minute as seems to be my style.
* * *
A HUGE thank you to all of the book bloggers out there. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you do for me and for romance in general. You are the ones who get the word out about the books you love. You are the ones who scream from the rooftops with passion and excitement (with very little reward) and you are the ones who get others just as excited as you are. I wouldn’t be here without you and I’m eternally grateful for your willingness to read and review and shout about my own books. I can’t express how grateful I truly am.
* * *
Thank you to all of my author friends. Thank you to the amazing women in ST whose successes make me want to up my game every day, and encouraging words help me set the bar higher while also pouring my drinks higher.
* * *
To Anna Todd, my favorite W.H. OG, just because I love you and appreciate your hilarious texts and kind words of wisdom. I’m so glad we’re friends who make horrible decisions together. *raises my box of wine* *wipes tear* Here’s to even worse ones in the future.
* * *
To Ruth Clampett, you didn’t have shit to do with this book, but I hope you know how epic of a human you really are. Your enthusiasm for life is contagious and awe-inspiring. When you are around the air is lighter. The smiles brighter. The Frazier trio hopes to see you again very soon.
* * *
To CoHo, I hope I didn’t break that piece of furniture in the author’s suite at Book Bonanza. But if something was found to be broken, I just wanted to come clean and let you know…Kim Jones did it.
* * *
Special thanks to Jana Aston for leading me to the line “Nothing’s fair in love and gang war.” Other than that, you’re completely useless.
* * *
Thank you to all the authors who inspire me. There are way too fucking many to list and this is already ten times longer than I was planning, but I’m really good at making a short story long and if you’ve made it this far you can hang on just a smidge longer while I gush about Mr. Frazier and Baby Frazier.
* * *
I saved the absolute best for last.
Dear Mr. Frazier,
THANK YOU are words that will never be enough when it comes to you, but I’m going to try…right after this first part.
You knew I’d be yours from the moment you first saw me. I didn’t remember ever meeting you.
You knew we were a forever kind of thing.
I liked the way you looked without clothes on.
But barely a few weeks passed when I fell madly crazily insanely in love with you. And I hate it when people say this next part, but it’s true, I didn’t know what love was until I met you. I’ve never been truly myself around anyone until you. I’ve always hidden my quirks and fears and kept my jokes bottled up inside my sarcastic mind. And then there was you. Kind. Loving. Generous. SEXY AF. Funny as hell. And seriously, you’re the most amazing thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I mean COME ON, it should be a crime to look that good. Back to the point. You’ve always encouraged me to be me, and you love me for it and not despite it. You encourage my dreams and I realize it’s because you ARE one of those dreams. For that alone, for being my better half, and for loving me unconditionally, I can’t ever thank you enough. Thank you for taking care of me when I don’t remember to take care of myself. Thank you for putting my needs before yours. Thank you for working so hard for your family. Each and everything you do makes me even prouder to be yours. Thank you especially for not watching the TV shows I want to watch with you while I’m working late at night. For turning down my side of the bed. For waking up to tell me you love me before falling back asleep on those night. Thank you for being the MVP of Team TLC on a daily basis. Thank you for being the best daddy in the world. The love you have for our daughter is so amazing, Like, panty-dropping amazing. Thank you for just being you and for being the best half of us. “Good morning, beautiful.”
* * *
Thank you to Baby Frazier. For being the funniest, smartest, and most ridiculous toddler on the planet. Thank you for the warm snuggles. For requesting that I put makeup on before I drop you off at preschool because I ‘look better with lipstick and eyebrows’. Thanks for telling me that I’m wearing my pajamas when I’m actually just wearing my clothes. Special thanks for wanting to count every single stretch mark on my stomach like it’s some sort of math workbook for preschoolers. In all seriousness…there is no one daddy and I wouldn’t murder for you. I love you, princess. To the moon and back and more.
About the Author
T.M. Frazier
T.M. Frazier never imagined that a single person would ever read a word she wrote when she published her first book. Now, she’s a USA Today bestselling author. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and published all around the world.
She’s still in a state of shock.
T.M. enjoys writing what she calls ‘wrong side of the tracks’ romance with sexy, morally corrupt anti-heroes and ballsy heroines.
Her books have been described as raw, dark and gritty. Basically, what that means, is while some authors are great at describing a flower as it blooms, T.M. is better at describing it in the final stages of decay.
She loves meeting her readers, but if you see her at an event please don’t pinch her because she's not ready to wake up from this amazing dream.
For more information please visit her website www.tmfrazierbooks.com
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