'The Actor and the Thief' has arrived at Wilde City!

'The Actor and the Thief' 

http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-mainstream/the-actor-the-thief/#.UozSB-LWKog

Blurb:

Once they were a couple. Now—they’re far from it.

Just out of prison, Craig heads to Denver. At the same time Adam, on tour with a Broadway show, arrives there. Also heading to Denver are two men bent on finding Craig for their own nefarious reasons.

When Craig and Adam accidentally meet sparks fly, but not of the good kind. Then Craig finds his mentor murdered and believes he’s the reason why. He calls on Adam, the only man he can trust for help. Can they work together, and possibly re-kindle their love? Or will Adam walk away again?

Excerpt:

You’ve grown older. Craig studied the photo in the newspaper. But then, haven’t we all when it comes down to it? He smiled ruefully while tamping down a seesaw of emotions brought on by the picture.

He had picked up the Denver Post at a newsstand that carried a large selection of national newspapers, intending on checking the classified ads for apartment rentals. Instead, he’d seen the photo in the entertainment section. Adam Murray, its subject, was even handsomer than Craig remembered. Sure, there were a few more lines in his face, but he didn’t look fifty, even though Craig knew he was.

Not a gray hair, except at the temples. Unlike me. He ran a hand through his own graying hair and sighed. Gray hair, gray eyes, prison pallor. Put me against a concrete wall and I’d disappear. The wages of sin, I guess.

He wondered if Adam would even recognize him if they ran into each other on the street. Or remember him, as far as that went. It had been a long time, twenty years to be exact.

Tossing the newspaper on the nightstand, Craig leaned back against the headboard of the bed in the dingy motel where he was staying. He looked around the room, considering his options. At least he had them. He’d served out his sentence rather than take early parole. Thus he didn’t have to report in to a PO and be stuck in the city for the duration.

Next time I make damned good and sure there’s not a secondary alarm system. Six years because I got complacent is six years too many. Still, maybe it’s time to consider something else, like a new career or… something.

The problem was he’d been a burglar, and a good one, for most of his adult life. Thirty years, if he counted his time in prison. Most of it had been spent working for the man who had first brought him into the business.

“It’s easy money, Craig,” Sammy had said way back when. “Easier and safer than what you’re doing now.” At the time, Craig had been working construction.

Outwardly, Sammy was your friendly local pawnbroker. Craig had met him when he brought in an item to pawn. An item that wasn’t really his to get rid of. He’d seen a bag sitting on the seat of a car when he’d stopped to get gas. The owner was inside the station. Craig had taken advantage of the fact and snagged it. It held what turned out to be a very expensive camera. Sammy had taken it, paying Craig the going rate. It had been easy money, so Craig had returned regularly with other ‘found’ items.

As a result, Sammy had become one of Craig’s only real friends. If you can call someone who pulls you into a life of crime a friend.

In time, Sammy told Craig he was more than just a pawnbroker. In actuality, he ran a nice side business obtaining certain items for clients, which of course involved sending someone out to get them. Once Craig got over his qualms about the idea, he decided he’d take Sammy up on his offer to work for him. He’d gotten intensive training on how to break into homes and businesses and soon became one of Sammy’s best people, often traveling out of town for jobs. The only catch to the whole situation was the threat Sammy had made. If Craig was caught and arrested, he had better get out of it if he could, take the fall if he couldn’t, and never, ever give up Sammy’s name or else. Sammy left him to contemplate what the ‘or else’ could mean.

Despite that, Sammy had done right by him for almost a quarter of a century, paying him well for his work. Now Craig had money stashed away. A fair amount of money actually, if he could get to it. That was the reason he’d served his full sentence. The money was in another state, halfway across the country from where he was at the moment. He had plans for it and for his future.

Time to come up with some transportation and blow town.