Rough Trade Pre-Release Peek #2

Hey, guys, time for another peek at Rough Trade! As I said before, I’m doing one of these every Saturday until the book comes out, so make sure to come back next weekend for more!

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He caught motion from the corner of his eye and looked up, and then kept looking up, because the guy by the bed was a fucking monstrosity, a beast, an ugly, thick, bearded redwood. On sheer instinct Ghost rolled away and off the bed. It hurt, oh, it hurt so damn bad, but he—his—this guy was the size of a fucking mountain, he couldn’t fight him, couldn’t stop him, and he couldn’t—he really couldn’t fucking breathe.

Every nerve lit on fire, his body becoming a slab of pain, and for a second that took precedence over everything, but as soon as he could open his eyes, he turned to the bedside table, and swung, hard. The ceramic lamp shattered between his fist and the wall and he took up the largest shard, cutting his fingers in the process, but he didn’t care, because it was a weapon.

Bring it, he thought, turning, because the giant had to be around the bed by now, had to be swinging, but—

He was farther away, in fact. By the door. His arms hung limply at his sides. He wasn’t moving. He just stood there and said, “My name is Duncan Rook.”

—scene from Rough Trade by Sidney Bell, Copyright 2018