by
The speed of their cars has made them famous, but when Jason’s past catches up to them, speed is not the only thing that gets tested on the highways of Manzano Springs, New Mexico...
Chris, Brandon, Jason, and Eric continue their speed-addiction and friendly street racing pursuits under their new group moniker “E85.”
A night spent with Marissa precipitates confusion for Jason and Eric. Jason sees her as an asset, but also as an old friend that could make everyone a little more at ease in their bisexuality, even if he may only be thinking about himself. However, her presence flares up some old insecurities inside all of them that forces some awkward situations.
Brandon and Chris have forged an incredibly tight bond, and with the presence of Jason's ex-turned-re-girlfriend, their lives and the feelings they have for each other, and their younger friends, gets complicated even farther.
Polyamory is more confusing than either of them realizes, and it's a journey to unpack what everything means. They work cautiously to untangle their confusion and discover love they never knew could exist.
Meanwhile, just as everything seems to be settling in for a comfortable life, Jason's past catches up to them. Jason and Eric lose a substantial part of their investment in each other, and Jason's vengeful search for who caused it gets all of them put in the crosshairs of an underground organization bent on controlling Manzano Springs' automotive world, putting all of their lives in danger.
Will they be able to uncomplicate their love lives in the midst of everything else? Will Jason's past get them all killed?
When drama, violence, and unearthed secrets rock their core, their devotion to each other may be the only thing that can thwart the machinations trying to tear them apart. Manzano Springs finds out that “E85” is a group with which one should not go to war.
Publisher: Independently Published
Genres:
Pairings: F-F, F-F-M, M-M, M-M-F, 4+ or Other
Heat Level: 5
Romantic Content: 3
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Bisexual, Gay, Polyamorous
Protagonist 1 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 2 Age: 18-25
Protagonist 3 Age: 18-25
Tropes: Arranged Pairing, Bodyguard/Guardian Angel, Coming Out / Closeted, Coming Out Later in Life, Everyone is Queer, Friends to Lovers, Gay for You / Straight to Gay, Interracial Relationship, Most Mindblowing Sex Ever, Passing as Straight
Word Count: 159,200
Setting: Manzano Springs, New Mexico, USA
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Susan’s eyes slowly opened and she looked around immediately recognizing where she was. She attempted to touch her temple, but quickly realized she was tied to a chair. She looked up to see the slenderman walking around her menacingly.
“Jingguo, you can cut this ‘Slenderman’ bullshit,” Susan said angrily as she jumped and wiggled in the chair staring at the faceless menacing figure circling her.
“Who said it was bullshit?” Jim responded as he walked out of the shadows in front of her, his footsteps lightly splashing in the wet floor. He walked to a thick steel column and leaned against it with his arms crossed. The dark space felt hot and smelled of outdoor air, old paint, and remnants of gunpowder.
“Wait, what is happening?” Susan asked as her eyes danced back and forth.
READ MOREHer gaze flashed between Jim and the other figure as shock and confusion set in. The faceless man circled her in a tailored black suit, accentuating his tall stature and slim waist. The white shirt and red tie his hallmarks aside from his gray, featureless countenance.
The faceless man seemed to study her while circling, his head tilting slightly in what she could only assume was confusion. Or, was it the anticipation of killing her?
Jim relished the confusion and panic that beset her face as she watched the slenderman walk around her.
“Why did you do this, Jim?” Susan asked, her voice raised as she turned and glared at Jim.
“Why would I not do this?” Jim asked in response to Susan, calmly.
“Okay, you’ve made your point, Jim. I won’t see Richard anymore,” Susan said.
“Are you serious? You think I care about what you do with Dick’s little dick?” Jim replied, flicking his pinky finger in the air.
“What is this about, then?” Susan said as she rolled her eyes in disgust.
“What it has always been about. What is ATS and why have you commissioned Richard to kidnap Jason?” Jim said bluntly.
Her eyes widened in shock, then she quickly gathered her composure.
“I don’t know what the hell you are talking about,” the bluff obvious on her face.
“See, that’s unfortunate,” Jim said standing up from the column and shifting his weight to his other leg, “I hoped you would help me, but I think I’m going to just leave you here with my friend.”
Jim nodded toward the slenderman. The slenderman’s faceless head snatched toward Jim suddenly as its long arms rose slightly outward to its sides, excitedly. Then its faceless head rotated back to Susan. It seemed eager and ready to viciously attack.
“Everything I have found points to you ordering Jason to be killed. Forgive me if my assumption is incorrect, but I figured the math was simple. If you die, Jason lives. I have no problem with making you disappear.”
The faceless man in the black suit began walking around Susan, again, staring quietly. As she looked upward toward the faceless man, his strong, broad frame in the tightly tailored suit intimidated her.
Shit. Jingguo has lost it. The slenderman is not an assassin you can just hire, she thought as she looked from the slenderman back to Jim, That thing is not something you can control. It’s a fucking murdering specter. How is he controlling it?
“It’s going to turn on you Jingguo. That thing is going to turn on you!”
She thought of all the damage this “slenderman” had caused. He was a sociopath, a murderer, exquisitely adept at surveillance, and above all, seemed bulletproof and immortal. Nobody who has seen it has lived to talk about it, she told herself.
“Susan, please,” Jim said calmly, causing her eyes to refocus on him, “As I asked you before, worry about your own health and wellness, and give me the information I need to know.”
Jim watched the look on her face transition from confidence, to confusion, to anger and finally terror as his words set in.
COLLAPSEYes! You sort of felt how the first book ended, it was open ended and more could be done. I love that more of the characters get explored here, especially Jason's ex girlfriend/fiancé, Marissa. And, that pain in the ass, Darren.
So much happens that by the end of the book you feel like you've read TWO stories! Halfway through, almost exactly, the story arcs wildly into thriller/suspense territory. Not necessarily horror more like action-suspense. Jason's family is very intense! The love developed between all the guys get complicated (Even more than their polyamorous relationship could be?) by an event that throws everybody into a panic and threatens all their lives.
Around chapter 13 this book turns into a page turnee that kept my breath bated. "What's gonna happen next?!"
The E85 series will give the reader a base knowledge of car tuning information that gets built upon in later books and as the world expands. From the basic "How engines work" to advanced concepts of camshaft profiles. Keep up with the people who love cars when they start talking about car stuff!
