Welcome Boulevard #2
Life is pretty good for Clove; he’s miles away from where he was a year ago. He has a roof over his head, food in his stomach, safety, security—even a job. And nothing means more to him than pleasing his boss…nothing. He wants Marcel, though the man is way out of his league. If Clove can’t have Marcel’s heart, he wants to earn his respect, and when he receives his first solo task, he is ready. At least until the mission results in a dead body.
The moment Marcel lays eyes on Clove, he’s consumed by the need to be with him in every way. So he brings him into the fold, offering him employment, in the hopes that it will be enough. But when a simple errand yields murder, missing money, and criminal powerhouses out for destruction, Marcel realizes he will do anything to keep Clove alive…despite the fact that he clearly has a death wish.
Clove and Marcel are thrown together on a quest for answers. As dangerous as they think it’ll be, it’s far worse. With bullets flying, lives in the balance, and a future unknown, Marcel and Clove must face their feelings for one another. Tumbling into love isn’t easy, especially in their line of work, but they finally have what they want, and nothing in this world will stop them from keeping it.
***
Breathe My Name is book two in the Welcome Boulevard series. It does not follow a story arc and can be read as a standalone. Characters from book one, They Call Him Levity, are incorporated into this story, if that is important to you check out the first book in the series…I mean, Levity is pretty fabulous.
Original Audiobook Review June 2024:
There is nothing I can add to my original review that could possibly express how much I love this book and Welcome Boulevard as a whole. So many emotions that take you all over the place and yet heart is at the center of it all. Heartwarming love, friendship, found family, just plain heart that fills you with all the warm and fuzzies imaginable. Now, don't get me wrong, despite all the warmth there is also plenty of mayhem that only Davidson King can weave throughout the story that somehow manages to not only get the adrenaline pumping but heightens the warmth amidst the danger.
As I stated in my audio review of book 1, They Call Him Levity, Cendese and Alces are brilliant narration that brings the story to life. Pulls you in so deeply that you don't know where Clove and Marcel end and your daily activities begin because you are there, they are here. That's the best way to say how alive Cendese & Alces make these characters.
This edition of Breathe My Name is a perfect marriage of words and voice.
Original Review March 2023:
I feel the need to scream "HOLY HANNAH, BATMAN! Davidson King has done it again!" but that seems almost redundant because there hasn't been a time King hasn't done it with her brilliant knack at storytelling. So I guess I'll skip it this time😉😉.
How can one not love Clove and Marcel? When I read the author's first Welcome Boulevard entry, They Call Him Levity, I just knew the pair needed a story all their own . . . I wasn't wrong. The mystery they find themselves trying to solve(or perhaps more appropriately said "get out from under") is chock full of mayhem, questions, answers, more questions, more mayhem, and many many stones to peak under. With the help of friends, Levity and Sal(if one gets picky Sal is Marcel's boss but I see it as so much more than boss/employee), the stones might not seem quite as heavy.
That's all I'm going to say to the mystery aspect of Breathe My Name so not to spoil anything but I will say I had a flurry of quotes pummeling my brain while reading:
"Danger, Will Robinson!" --Robbie the Robot, Lost in Space“Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them.” --Obi Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: A New Hope"You'll Find I'm Full Of Surprises." --Luke Skywalker, SW: The Empire Strikes Back"You Can Either Profit By This, Or Be Destroyed." --Luke Skywalker, SW: Return of the Jedi"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side." --Emperor Palpatine, SW: Return of the Jedi"I'm the Doctor." --Doctor Who
Those who are unfamiliar with these quotes probably won't understand what I'm getting at so here it is. Simply put: Breathe My Name had my emotions running amuck, from warnings to lessons to solutions, Davidson King brings it all.
As to Clove and Marcel, as I stated above I new they needed their own story that was true to who they were and who they were meant to be. I'd say I wanted to wrap them in bubble wrap to protect them but Marcel didn't really need protecting and Clove is stronger than you realize at first glance, after all he survived the streets with Levity prior to meeting Marcel. Individually these men are strong and incredibly intriguing but together they are an explosive and completely unwavering combination of heat and heart.
Technically, Breathe is a standalone as the story arc doesn't carry over from book one however I can't imagine not reading Levity first. I think I was able to appreciate more fully where the characters were previous and the chemistry that is already brewing BUT, I will also say had I not read Levity first, I would in no way be lost. The author does an excellent job at recap without rehash.
Some authors specialize in certain genres and others are prolific in many. Davidson King may find mafia her main course genre as it were but she can do all of it. In my opinion she proves that with her deeply detailed world building and character creations. As said, many of her stories fall under mafia tag but they have so much more within that tag. Breathe My Name is a perfect example: mafia, lust, action, humor, romance, danger, heat, mystery, and wrapping them all together in a huge heart filled read.
CHAPTER ONE
Clove
Dead. The man was dead. I didn’t question it; I just stared at the guy currently lying on his Persian rug, blood haloing his head. Judging by his gray skin, milky eyes, and the mild stench that I was sure would get worse soon, he had been this way for a while.
“Shit.” I pulled the phone from my pocket, ready to call Marcel, my boss, but hesitated. This was the first solo job he’d given me as his assistant.
Marcel believed in me. Not all that long ago I’d been homeless, living in squalor, begging for enough money to buy a slice of bread. Now I lived in a cottage on the property owned by my best friend’s boyfriend and had a job that paid well. Speaking of best friend, Levity was exactly who I should call.
It rang twice before I heard his sunshiny voice. “Hello, Clove.”
“Lev, I’m in trouble. Okay, like, not the kind of trouble where I’m in jail, but the trouble where I’m in a room with a dead guy who Marcel sent me to collect money from.”
“Um.” Levity, ever the helpful wordsmith.
“What do I do?”
“Have you called Marcel?”
I scoffed. “This is the first time he’s let me go do a job for him. How’s it going to look if I’m all, ‘I didn’t get your money because the guy was dead’?”
Levity chuckled, actually fucking laughed. “It’s not like you killed him, Clove. Marcel will understand.”
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, gagged because of the smell, and slowly opened them. “Lev, I wanted to do this.”
He was silent for a moment. I knew he understood. Handouts weren’t something I was comfortable with. I lived on the property of Salvatore Grillo, a known crime boss—though he’d been working to lean toward the better side of the law. Levity had begged me to live at the cottage, and I’d agreed but only if I could pay my way. Which had led to me needing a job. I’d accepted the one Marcel had all too eagerly offered me, and I wanted to excel at it.
“Here’s how I see it, Clove. You’re there. At this point you need to call Marcel, and probably the police.”
“The police? Do you kiss your man with that mouth?”
He chuckled again. “Seriously, what if someone’s seen you? Call Marcel, then the cops, or at least do whatever Marcel tells you to do.”
“I hate that plan.”
“I know, but there’s no choice. Tonight, I’ll binge-watch anything you want and comfort you with junk food.”
I narrowed my eyes, and the dead man stared at me with his lifelessness. Was I maybe jealous he was dead, and I was living and had to face Marcel? Perhaps.
“Fine. But if I’m also dead, make sure my tombstone says something kickass.”
“Done.” Levity ended the call. I took another deep breath, reminded myself to stop doing that because this corpse didn’t smell like a field of flowers, and hit Marcel’s number.
“Clove.” His voice was like honey—no, really, even when I’d heard him yell at a guy last week, it was beautiful.
“Dead man on floor no money sorry.” And then I hung up. Yes, while Marcel’s voice was smooth and perfect, I was like a chicken on speed. I had no chill at all.
My phone buzzed immediately, and I wanted to toss it out the window to avoid speaking to Marcel, but I answered.
“Hello, this is Clove. How may I hel—”
“Clove, what the hell was that?”
“Oh, Marcel, good afternoon. How are you today?”
“Hank Rose is dead?”
I gasped. “He is?”
“Clove! I sent you there to collect money. I deduced that was what your frantic choppy message meant.”
I sighed. The gig was up. “Yeah, Hank’s dead. I swear I didn’t do it; he’s been dead a while.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, he did, actually, which is making the scent a lot worse and—”
“Clove, unfortunately, you’ll need to call the police. Tell them you’re a messenger sent to inform him he won a massage at Lily’s Massage Parlor. I own it, so when they verify, it will add up. You’ll tell them you found the man and called nine-one-one. Understand?”
Did I? “Sure.”
“Sure isn’t comforting.”
I nodded even though Marcel couldn’t see me. “Yeah, call the po-po, tell them I found him there, was sent to tell him he won a happy ending, yadda yadda.”
“Fucking hell. Okay, if they arrest you or bring you to the station, which I fear they might since you aren’t sounding convincing at all, call me, and I’ll get a lawyer over to you.”
“Arrested?”
“Call now, Clove. You’ve already been there too long.”
Marcel disconnected and I stared at my cell. Shit. I closed my eyes and counted down from ten. “I can do this.” I cleared my throat and dialed 9-1-1.
From there, my day went from simple and hopeful to chaotic and worrisome.
*****
“I don’t understand, Clove.” Levity was running his fingers through my hair while I lay with my head on his lap, watching a crime drama.
“Cops came, asked what happened, and I tried to remember what Marcel told me to say, but you know the police, Lev. I got scared. They never listened to us on the streets and oftentimes roughed us up worse than the ones we were asking them for help with.”
“I know.” Levity sighed. “They wanted a play-by-play, and what did you say?”
“Well, when I called nine-one-one, I told the dispatcher I found a dead body and the address. That was the easy part. When the cops came, this big guy stepped up and wanted to know how I ended up in Hank’s office.”
“Sounds okay so far.”
I huffed. “That’s when I was like, he won a rubdown and I was here to deliver it.”
“Oh, my…”
“Then the cops wanted to know if I was selling that service. I told them yes because Marcel said to tell them I worked at a spa of his and well—”
“That’s how you ended up at the police station in a holding cell.”
“And Filly from the streets saw me there and punched me in the face, saying I left him behind when we rescued so many to work for Sal.”
“Jesus, Clove.”
I lifted the ice pack from my eye and sat up. “Thanks for coming to get me. I was too embarrassed to call Marcel after that.”
Levity smiled…not one of his beautiful “I love you, best friend” smiles. This was totally creepy.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Well, when you called me I was with Sal. Sal called Marcel, and he’s the one who got you released. I only picked you up.”
“So he knows?”
“Yes, Clove, I know.”
I spun my head so fast, I had a moment of dizziness. There, in the archway to Sal’s living room, stood Marcel in all his godlike glory. He was wearing a charcoal suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. His brown skin was flawless, and I swore he sparkled with power. He was bald, but it worked for him. His five o’clock shadow was hot as fuck, and even though he was scowling at me as if he wanted to punish me—and I wasn’t necessarily against that—he was still yummy.
“I don’t do well under pressure,” I blurted.
Marcel rolled his eyes. “Let me join you on your way to the cottage; we have a lot to discuss.”
When Marcel walked away, I turned back to Levity. “Is he going to kill me?”
Levity blew out a breath, clearly exasperated. “No, there are other things I believe that man wants to do to you, and murder isn’t one of them.”
I cocked my head to the side, wanting to ask what he meant, but Marcel’s voice boomed through the house.
“Let’s go, Clove.”
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.
Davidson King
EMAIL: davidsonkingauthor@yahoo.com
Breathe My Name #2
AUDIBLE / CHIRP / AUDIOBOOKS
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