Haven Hart #9
Rush
All I want is to finish college, live life as a musician, and love the man of my dreams. That man, however, is Simon Manos, nephew of crime boss Christopher Manos, and there’s a war brewing on the streets of Haven Hart. Achieving my dreams has to be done while ducking bullets, trying not to get blown up, and hoping enemies don’t kill me.
Simon
I love Rush and want him to have everything he could ever hope for—all that his father denied him. As the heir to the Manos family business, it’s not quite that simple; I have responsibilities to fulfill. Haven Hart is getting dangerous, enemies need to be dealt with, and unfortunately, our dreams of the future must be put on hold.
We call on old friends and band together to face a common threat. When we’re forced into hiding, the situation escalates and the odds don’t seem to be in our favor. We do the only thing we can…stand our ground to the bitter end. As our lives start to fall apart, the unasked question is posed: Will someone have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save everyone?
When Raven's Hart was published 2-1/2 years ago I was afraid we'd seen the end of the Haven Hart gang, I knew the author was already planning Joker's Sin, a spin-off series of stories centered around the gay bar in the dangerous city we all knew and loved called Haven Hart with it's own cast of characters. HOWEVER, personally I was not ready to bid adieu to the original Haven Hart crew so when Secret Simon came out last year, I was all kinds of HOLY HANNAH BATMAN! In a way you could say these new entries are the next generation or a second story arc. Whatever you call it, I call it: OMG! PLEASE LET THERE BE MORE!
In Head Rush, we again follow Simon and Rush as they move onto life within the city limits of Haven Hart biding their time until Liam Brennan strikes. Simon grew up in this world, Rush not so much. I think he adjusts and adapts perfectly. I say "perfectly" not because he has no problems with the life of danger and mayhem but because he finds a way to balance his internal struggles of "how can this be" and "it has to play out this way" and it's that balance that is perfect. You know what? That's all I'm going to say to the plot because I'm afraid once I start I won't be able to stop and I won't spoil it for anyone. The mens' journey is chock full of allies, friends, and enemies some we know intimately and others are introduced(or explored further).
I gotta be honest, I'm still not quite use to Eight being all grown up, for part of me he will always be that little boy Snow saved way back in the early pages of Snow Falling. Despite that forever image burned into my psyche, trust me when I say Simon is all adult now and with Rush at his side, anything and everything is possible.
Davidson King has a knack for the darker side of life where you find yourself cheering for good guys who are not-so-squeaky-clean and bad guys who are easy to hate for their despicableness. Yes, there is a thin line at times between good and bad, especially in fiction and some might say King's Haven Hart universe is a little too violent, too dark, but me? I think the balance is all kinds of righteous yummyness. But beyond the violence of the mafia stoked world of Haven Hart, Davidson King shows the world that being gay, being LGBTQ doesn't make one weak. I won't say "doesn't make them men" because violence isn't just a male characteristic, it's a human characteristic and there's plenty of strong women in her world too, some entries more so than others but good or bad they are there too. Maybe I'm just babbling but what I'm trying to get across is Haven Hart isn't just about violence and darkness, at the barest core is heart, family, friendship, and strength. Doing what you have to to protect those you love. I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say this, in Head Rush, Rush Abernathy may not have been born into this world but he steps in and does what he must.
Now you may wonder what got that thought stirring in my brain, after all Head Rush is book 9. It was something one character said but I won't tell you who because I don't want to spoil who showed up and who didn't. Just know that it gave me pause, literally, one line of dialogue made me put my kindle down and think about the statement and the opinion I stated above. When an author of fiction can make the reader stop and think that strongly with only one line of dialogue, half a dozen words, you know you found an author who truly puts their whole being into telling said story. That it is more than just endless hours at a keyboard with dozens of post-it notes scribbled with tiny details to remember and research files of seemingly useless facts and specs for accuracy and continuity, the work they give to the world is part of them, they have poured their heart and soul between the covers. That's what gives Davidson King's work a special something that can be hard to put into words(even though through my babbling I do try), the same special something that makes Head Rush deserving of the Haven Hart brand.
I don't know how many more stories the men and women of Haven Hart have to tell Davidson King but I know I'll be ready and willing to read every journey she gets let in on and in turn shares with us.
One final note, if wondering about reading order, you do need to read Secret Simon before Head Rush. Some may say you don't need to read the original Haven Hart stories prior but I can't imagine having not experienced them first. Yes, there are characters from the original story arc books and no, technically you don't need to know their individual journeys to enjoy Simon and Rush's arc but I think the friendship and family chemistries flow better. However you read it, Davidson King's Haven Hart universe is 200% storytelling at it's purest form.
RATING:
PROLOGUE
Rush
Living in Haven Hart wasn’t how I thought it would be. When Simon and I left Abernathy University and I said good-bye to a life I never wanted in favor of one filled with love, I’d hoped for peace…to fulfill my dreams…and maybe to not get shot at.
But the love of my life is Simon Manos, nephew of mob boss Christopher Manos—and did I mention, he’s the heir to the mafia kingdom? Yeah, so, while being the man Simon loves has its perks, there are also downsides—like having a bullseye over my head for every person who wants to hurt the Manos family to aim at.
I’ve lived in Haven Hart for a year now, and the day we got here Simon warned me there was a war brewing, which I knew already. See, there’s this other mob boss, Liam Brennan, and he pretty much tried to have Simon and me killed when we were at Abernathy. Revenge for that was put on the back burner in favor of dealing with a different enemy. One that threatened not only Liam Brennan and Christopher Manos, but also Simon, me, and Liam’s son, Fred. That bad guy? He was my dad. Was being the key word, but I try not to think too much about the was factor. It becomes depressing.
Once dear old Dad was gone, the Manos family decided it was time to deal with Liam Brennan, and that wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be.
I’d been going to my classes with about four bodyguards, all of them armed, and I couldn’t even stand outside by myself most days. I heard Christopher talking to his husband, Snow, one evening about how they’d hoped this sort of violence in Haven Hart was long gone. I guess there’d been a serious shit storm some years back.
I tried to stay out of Simon’s business—not because he told me to, but because I genuinely wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted to sing and perform; that was my dream. But the more I turned a blind eye, the brighter the lights shining in my face were, and I was beginning to think I couldn’t ignore the dangers in favor of music.
Any doubts that I could pretend my life was normal were thrown out the window one chilly night as I was walking out of Hart University, heading toward the car that would take me home.
It happened as fast as all the books and movies tell you it does. One minute I was talking to one of my bodyguards, and the next, he was on the pavement, dead with a bullet through the head.
I was thrown to the ground, someone was on top of me, and the sounds of shouts and gunshots filled the night. I closed my eyes and wished it would all disappear, knowing this was my reality, this was what I’d chosen. All because I fell in love.
CHAPTER ONE
Simon
“Mace, stop!” I tried walking faster to get away from him, but he was clearly inhuman and able to keep pace with me.
“It’s something I learned while doing yoga, though. Bill and I were able to get creative with it in the bedroo—”
“I swear, if you keep talking, I will shoot you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Sure. As I was saying, you take your leg—”
“Mace, you’re fired.”
His laughter echoed through the large foyer of the Manos mansion. He wasn’t deterred. “Some stretching is required before you begin…All the stretching, if you get my meaning.” When he winked, I groaned.
“Sadly, I do understand.” I stopped walking, and I chuckled when Mace wasn’t prepared for that and tripped on the carpet.
“What the—” He glared at the offending floor, then looked at me. “Why’d you stop?”
“Mace, remember when I was younger, and you never wanted to taint my mind with horrible things?”
He pursed his lips, his gaze shifting upward. “Nope, I don’t.”
“Well, I do. Let’s pretend I’m thirteen and—”
“Eew.” Mace took a step back. “I’m not role-playing with you!”
Of course that was the moment Bill, Mace’s partner, and Snow, my stepfather, walked out of the study.
“Shit.” I sighed, all energy leaving my body. Where was Rush? I needed him home. He had a way of shutting Mace up.
“What in the ever-loving wrongness did we walk into?” Snow’s piercing blue eyes pinned Mace in place. “Don’t think I don’t know this is all your fault.”
“I’m offended.” Mace pressed his palm to his chest and walked over to Bill. “Sweetheart, do you hear how he speaks to me?”
“Yep.” Bill kept walking, and fortunately Mace followed after him.
“Yep? That’s all you have to say? How dare…” Mace’s words became distant as they entered the kitchen, and I leaned against one of the pillars by the stairs.
“I’m not asking what that was all about.” Snow pointed in the direction Mace and Bill had gone.
“Thank you.”
“Dinner should be in an hour.” Snow turned toward the grandfather clock in the foyer. “Shouldn’t Rush have returned by now?”
I shrugged. Rush sometimes ran late because he had study group after classes, or he’d stop to get coffee on his way home.
“Has he texted?” Snow arched a brow. “Have you?”
“Snow,” I huffed. “He has, like, four huge guys with guns accompanying him. If something happened, I’m sure—”
“Something happened!” Bill came running over to us, phone in hand.
Snow shot me a look before his expression became serious. “What is it?”
“Rush—he was attacked outside of the university; he’s fine.” Bill made sure to add that part quickly, but it didn’t stop my heart from practically beating out of my chest. “Hank’s dead, shot. Del and Gino are on the way back with Rush; Donny stayed behind to talk to the cops.”
“Call Chris,” Snow said to Bill. While Bill left to do that, Snow and I went to the study. “This is a bold move for Liam Brennan, that cock-sucking piece of shit.” Snow started slamming things on the desk; I was just trying to keep it together. I needed to see Rush.
“Why would he make a move like this?” I paced in front of the desk while Snow began texting—probably everyone.
“Fear, idiocy. All I know is, Christopher is going to lose his mind. One thing we have prided ourselves on is keeping the streets clean. No blood in Haven Hart. For years we have been able to achieve that.”
It was only a matter of time before Liam came to Haven Hart. We’d brought the rage to him for the past year, and surprisingly, he was much more guarded than we’d thought, and now he was pushing forward…into our territory.
“We need to end this.” I leaned over the desk, my hands splayed across the blotter. Snow’s fingers froze, and his eyes met mine.
“You know we will, Eight.”
We were in a holding pattern. We were waiting for Pops to get back from a meeting and for Rush to return. It was agonizing, and I thought I’d wear a path in the carpet with all my pacing.
Fortunately, everyone let me be—no one dared to tell me to stop. I wouldn’t have listened anyway.
It felt as though an eternity had passed when the front door opened and Del, Gino, and Rush walked in. I couldn’t tell a soul how the bodyguards looked, because my eyes were assessing every inch of Rush.
His clothes were rumpled, there was a tear in the knee of his black pants, and his hair was messy. When he turned toward me and I saw a scrape across his cheekbone, I was overtaken by rage.
“What the fuck happened?” I roared, surprising everyone. I was normally in control—the calm, rational one—but seeing Rush any less than put together set me off. “How’d this happen? There were four of you, for fuck’s sake!”
“Simon, listen—” Del began, but nothing was going to appease me.
“No, don’t tell me to listen.”
“Si.” Rush was suddenly in front of me, hands on my arms, and like a gush of water on a fire, I calmed. “You asked, he was answering, and you need to chill the fuck out. This”—he pointed to his cheek—“was when Donny pushed me to the ground so I didn’t get shot. And my clothes and hair? Who gives a damn about them? I’m alive. They all did their jobs, and Hank died for me.” Rush’s gaze hardened. “You want to be mad, fine, but not at them. They did their jobs!”
As I stood there, properly chastised by Rush, Snow swooped in. “Del, Gino, head into the study. Christopher is on his way; he should be here soon.”
Snow placed a hand on my shoulder and one on Rush’s. “Why don’t the two of you go upstairs, wash up, get changed and bandaged? Meet us in the study when you’re all set.” His smile was soft, but his eyes were as cold as ice. “This will end.”
Rush sighed and ran up the stairs without a word.
“He needs you, Eight.” Snow gripped my hand. “When I say you, I mean the man he loves, not that beast you unleashed a moment ago. That’s not going to help him or this situation. He’s not made for this life, but he lives it because he loves you. Don’t let him slip away.”
My words got stuck in my throat, so I simply nodded. Snow went into the study, Bill and Mace on his heels, and I went upstairs to face Rush. I wasn’t sure which man I’d encounter, and that scared me more than anything Liam could throw our way.
Joker's Sin(Haven Hart Spin-off)
Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.
When she's not writing you can find her blogging away on Diverse Reader, her review and promotional site. She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.
If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she'd tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you're afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.
EMAIL: davidsonkingauthor@yahoo.com
Head Rush #9
Haven Hart Universe
