#TeaserTuesday with a Giveaway: Footwork by T.A. Moore

 T.A. Moore releases Footwork on Sunday, September 10th and we have an exclusive sneak peek for you, along with a chance to win a backlist book from T.A. (Read to the end to see how you can enter)

From the blurb:

Bode Harlan has never claimed to be a good guy, but he’s trying to keep his nose clean and his head down these days.

After a year in prison for assault--and to be fair, he did it--he isn’t looking to go back. Admittedly, his pretty face being the star attraction in an illegal underground fighting ring seems to run counter to that goal, but he’s gotta pay the bills and there ain’t much else he’s good at.

And it keeps his parole officer off his back…since she runs the place.

Then his mom skips town and her boyfriend kicks Bode’s 14 year old brother out on the street. Bode grew up in and out of foster care, he doesn’t want that for Danny. It’s not like he can take the kid in, though. He’s an ex-con who gets beat up twice a month for money. That’s how he ends up on his good-natured ex-boyfriend’s doorstep. Sonny is a soft touch. At least he always was for Bode. All he wants is somewhere to crash for a couple of nights, nothing more. Sonny’s got his life together now--a home, a boyfriend, even a dog--and it would take a real asshole to want to blow that up.

…of course, Bode’s never said he wasn’t an asshole.

Excerpt:

BODE’S T-SHIRT smelled like blood and three days without getting to the laundry. He left it balled up on the couch and headed down the hall to let himself into Sonny’s room to grab one.

It was… nice.

There wasn’t much in it. Just the bed, a dresser, and a shelf stacked with old cracked-spine paperbacks. Thrift store finds. One huge window that looked out on the woods that butted up close to the back of the lot. No curtains, of course.

For some reason, that cut through Bode’s bad mood with a flicker of satisfaction. He’d bet that Deputy Paul didn’t know that Sonny hated curtains because, when he was a kid, he’d always been scared that something would hide behind them.

So fuck Deputy Paul.

That, the part of Bode that couldn’t stop being an asshole even to himself was moved to note, was probably what Sonny was going to do. That thought was enough to sour Bode’s mood again. They were probably fucking right now, up against some maple tree.

And sure, that wasn’t Bode’s business. Or his problem. And he definitely didn’t care. That was the whole point of a breakup; no one had to care about anyone anymore. Sonny could do what he wanted. It was just pathetic… and transparent. Deputy Martin had had it out for Bode since he was thirteen, and now he’d just happened to hook up with Bode’s ex?

Sure. That sounded believable.

He grabbed a T-shirt out of the drawer and shook it out. Just some company T-shirt—DUKE CONSTRUCTION—that Sonny probably wore half the week without thinking about it.

Danny knocked on the door to get his attention. What are you doing? 

“Getting dressed,” Bode said shortly.

You can’t just help yourself to his stuff!

“I always do,” Bode said. “Sonny doesn’t care.”

Danny looked sour. Not when you were hooking up, he said, but then you broke up with him.

“Yeah, and now I’m back,” Bode said. “So…”

He pulled the shirt on. It was clean and pressed and smelled of nothing but detergent, but it fit him the way Sonny’s T-shirts always had. Bode tucked the loose fabric into his jeans and ignored Danny being pointedly disapproving from just outside the door.

Do you have to be such an ass? Danny asked. You don’t even want Sonny. 

“That’s not the point,” Bode said. 

What is?

Bode shrugged. “That if I decided I wanted Sonny,” he said, “he’d drop the deputy so hard it’d be a felony. It’s only fair that everyone’s clear on that.”

Not that he did, he reminded himself. He was just here for a place to crash, not to blow up Sonny’s life. Again. They all knew he could, though. Deputy Paul would just have to learn to live with that.

That’s just what you got for moving in on someone’s ex. If Bode hadn’t been over Sonny, this would have been a really shitty morning.

Bode shoved the drawer shut. 

Instead, it was just fucking great, he thought sourly.

“You going to be OK here for a couple of hours on your own?” he asked as he nudged Danny out of the way so he could get through the door. “Don’t trash anything.”

Danny tapped his fingers against his chest as he mugged disbelief. Then he swept his arm around theatrically to point at the bedroom door.

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Pre-order your copy of Footwork or add it to your Goodreads TBR!

For a chance to win a backlist copy of T.A. Moore's writings, please leave a comment below about what intrigues you about Footwork.  One random commenter will win.  Please make sure you sign in to comment so we can contact you if you win.  Anonymous comments are welcome, however we will disqualify your comment from the prize if we don't know who you are...