{"id":10740,"date":"2020-09-05T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/?p=10740"},"modified":"2020-09-04T16:43:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T23:43:04","slug":"book-blitz-escape-by-deana-birch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/05\/book-blitz-escape-by-deana-birch\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Blitz: Escape by Deana Birch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Escape
Escape by Deana Birch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Title: Escape (The Covington Heights Crew #1)
Author: Deana Birch
Genre: Adult, Romance, Suspense
Release Date: 01 September 2020<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FROM POPULAR ROMANCE AUTHOR DEANA BIRCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Book one in The Covington Heights Crew series<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only thing she has to give is exactly what they want.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Covington Heights Crew has a funny way of protecting their own. With rapes from rival gangs and human trafficking riddling their poverty-stricken streets, they\u2019ll keep the girls from their neighborhood safe\u2014for a price. No money? No worries. They have quite creative payment plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messed up? Yeah, they know. They\u2019re criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twenty-one-year-old Fiona Thompson was happy to stay off the radar of the twisted drug dealers who encourage her mother\u2019s habit. She\u2019s sure that she can work her way out of Covington and find a better life for herself and her baby sister. But then she beeped. Loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second-in-command Leo Ricci is a poser. The web of lies he\u2019s spun for a life unravels every time he\u2019s around Fiona\u2014every day he\u2019s trying to keep her safe and every second he\u2019s avoiding his destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When his missteps challenge the authority to which he\u2019s pledged his allegiance and Fiona\u2019s life is at stake, there\u2019s only one solution\u2014become the man he never wanted to be and leave the place that was saving him from a worse, but unavoidable fate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\"Escape
Escape by Deana Birch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Escape Excerpt:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiona<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dark gray grime around the rim of the tub would not go away, no matter how hard I scrubbed. I flipped my long ponytail over my shoulder and sprayed the foaming cleaner into the corner where tile met porcelain. While my efforts would bear no fruit, I couldn\u2019t stop. If I could just make our dirty apartment shine, there had to be hope for our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The baby whimpered then wailed from her crib in the back bedroom, and I stored the worn-down green sponge and the bottle that promised gleaming effects on top of the medicine cabinet, rinsed my hands in the sink and went to tend to Violet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her sobs quickly morphed into coos once she was in my arms and I\u2019d shushed her with an easy bounce and kiss on her sweaty head. Even though she could walk, I carried her to the kitchen, and I wasn\u2019t surprised to see that my mother had not left any milk. After a diaper change\u2014at least we had those\u2014I packed Violet into her wobbly stroller and rode the slow, rickety elevator down to the ground floor of our apartment building. The florescent light flickered over the beat-up metal mailboxes as we crossed the depressing lobby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun shone bright and blinded me for a quick second. The weather had two gears, hot or storms. And while the storms were a relief from the heat, the wind and rain that came with them didn\u2019t make running errands easy. I navigated the stroller through the cracking cement of the courtyard, careful not to step on anything sharp or deadly with my flimsy sandals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Predictably, the Covington Heights crew were huddled around their bench across from the run-down park\u2014all in their signature black jeans, which must have been torture in the heat. In three months, their numbers had doubled and I was sure it could officially be considered a gang. I recognized a couple of them from their lives before they\u2019d decided to become delinquents. I was even sure the tallest one had been a star basketball player in his day. And, while their matching pants unified them, the physical similarities stopped there. Blonds, shaven heads, dark hair in a man bun\u2026 They were all different in race and creed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internal groan.<\/em> I was brewing a perfect stew of resentment, hate and disgust for those fuckers\u2014and maybe just a pinch of lust. Ripped asshats.<\/em> They were like a calendar spread for hot bad boys. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their business was an endless supply of drugs that fed my mother\u2019s meth habit, and groupies drooled around them like they were rock stars. Gross.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they were also an anomaly. As long as you called Covington Heights home, they kept you safe, client or not. And for that, I gave them my respect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it had been my odd hours that had kept me off their radar\u2014the sole benefit of working the night shift. Not to mention, the maid\u2019s smock and comfortable shoes I had to wear to work hadn\u2019t done much to make me stand out. Or perhaps I was just too old for their tastes. Their female hangers-on didn\u2019t exactly look over eighteen\u2014not that it was any of my business. And not that I had been paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the whispers I had heard about them weren\u2019t all horrible. Girls had sworn they were harmless, a notion I couldn\u2019t quite swallow with their primary source of income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violet sucked her thumb in the stroller below me. I lowered my head and picked up my pace to pass by the group of drug-dealing male models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, little mama,\u201d a dark-haired guy with a black tank top over his muscled chest called. \u201cWhere you been hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great.<\/em> I\u2019d officially bleeped on their screen. Fuck.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I let out a slow breath before turning with a wry smile. \u201cBeen here all my life, big boy.\u201d And a big boy he was. He had almost a head on me. It was best to ignore his olive skin and dark inviting eyes below thick brows. I kept walking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey!\u201d Black Tank Muscle Man stepped in front of the stroller and my breath hitched. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I met his gaze, and even though my spine was like an iron rod, I softened. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to get some milk. I don\u2019t want any trouble.\u201d And I certainly wasn\u2019t interested in being their customer. With my thumbs hooked on the handle and a hopeful smile, I opened the rest of my fingers in a small surrender then clasped the stroller again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Tank\u2019s eyes traveled the length of my body and he licked his plump lips that looked like the softest thing on him. Jesus, he dripped danger and sex at the same time. Those two ingredients should not be allowed to mix. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He jutted his clean-shaven chin toward the stroller. \u201cThis your baby?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I should have lied. Single moms were probably less appealing to someone like him, but for whatever reason\u2014maybe fear of being caught by one of the crew that did know me\u2014I told him the truth. \u201cIt\u2019s my sister. Please let us pass. She needs her milk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stood his ground, staring at me for a long beat. I couldn\u2019t tell if he was mind- or eye-fucking me. But there was nothing pure about the vibes he was sending, of that I was sure. A lump grew in my throat and I wouldn\u2019t allow myself to try to swallow past it. I was a girl who\u2019d grown up in the projects. I knew damn well that if you gave an inch to a bully, they would take a whole damn mile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After one more glance at my chest, which made me hate the boob fairy who\u2019d given me D cups, he stepped to the side. The tension from my back released and I pushed Violet to the deli. There wasn\u2019t a doubt in my mind that those foreboding, dark eyes followed me the whole way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the return trip, his electric, wicked energy stalked me, haunted my every step. Yeah, I was officially on the radar and had no idea why or how to disappear from it. It was only once I\u2019d closed the door to our apartment on the seventh floor, gotten Violet her milk and turned on her favorite program that I allowed myself to shudder in the corner of our tattered brown couch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was worse was that I couldn\u2019t make heads or tails of it. The hard truth was that I\u2019d liked his attention, even though I was sure I hated him and all he stood for. At least I wasn\u2019t stupid enough to trust him. But, to be fair, I didn\u2019t trust anyone\u2014an addict for a parent could do that to a girl\u2014and, yeah, Black Tank certainly did not have take-you-out-to-dinner-and-buy-you-flowers ideas forming in his beautifully dark eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made Violet a peanut butter sandwich with our last two pieces of bread and cut an apple that we shared as I ate instant oatmeal. While the clock ticked closer and closer to when I needed to leave for work, it came\u2014the instinctual awareness that my mom would be late coming home, again. And therefore I<\/em> would be late for work, again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cleaned the small mess we\u2019d made from eating\u2014I didn\u2019t think what I\u2019d done could qualify as cooking\u2014and I sat with my uniform on, ready to bolt out of the door, as I assumed the too-familiar position of waiting for my mother to get home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years it had been a sad and constant element of my life. When she was late, I usually knew why, and I was sure that this time would be no different. The door finally opened thirty minutes after I\u2019d needed to leave and her skinny, fidgeting frame walked through. Every ounce of my being hated leaving Violet with my mom while she was high, but if I didn\u2019t work, we would be worse off than we already were, and I didn\u2019t want to imagine what that might look like. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mom ignored me and went straight to the kitchen, where she took out a glass and filled it from the tap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fighting with her, high or sober, was a battle I\u2019d surrendered to in high school, so I hid my sigh and stood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the calmest voice I could muster, I asked, \u201cCan I have the phone, please? I need to let work know I\u2019m running late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She darted her bloodshot eyes around the room, looking anywhere but at me. As she twisted her lips, I understood that the phone was gone\u2014either lost, stolen or sold. Great.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight,\u201d I said with a knowing nod. \u201cI\u2019ll be back for breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her guilty conscience must have been keeping her from both eye contact and speaking, because she turned her back to me and drank the rest of her water. I hurried out of the door and flew down the seven flights of stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. It was all I could do not to run through the courtyard and down the three streets to the subway station, where I was lucky enough to catch a train, my heart still thumping in my chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the stop in Midtown that led to the hotel where I worked, I bolted up the stairs, retying my long hair into a tighter ponytail as I went. I entered the side door in the alley for employees and hauled ass down the stairs to the locker room where we kept our personal belongings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cold LED lighting was a bright contrast to the dark basement, and I had to blink several times to adjust my eyes. But once I\u2019d focused, I saw my supervisor sitting on the bench in front of the row of mint green metal lockers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuck.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFiona.\u201d He crossed his arms and frowned. Sweat puddled around his thinning blond hair. Carrying around his massive stomach must have been a lot of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know.\u201d I brought my hands together in a plea and slumped. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry. I\u2019d love to say it won\u2019t happen again, but my mom\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He held up his chubby hand that looked more like a ball of dough with five short, fat sausages sticking out of it. \u201cYou\u2019re fired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My chest contracted at the loss of oxygen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no, no, no, no. Please<\/em>.\u201d I needed to make him understand. Me losing that job wasn\u2019t just a paycheck. It was our livelihood. The government didn\u2019t hand out checks to addicts anymore. The only thing we had for security was the shitty apartment, because no one in their right mind would want to live in our neighborhood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A neighborhood where the police rarely made an appearance\u2026 A neighborhood where criminals ruled with wicked eyes, iron fists and where they openly exploited the addictions of their own\u2026 Where girls gave up hope of leaving and settled into worshiping drug dealers because instant gratification was more attainable than a long-term plan\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. I needed this job. I had a fucking dream. Get the fuck out of Covington Heights. Roly Poly on the bench in front of me did not understand what he was doing to me and my sister. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. Hansen\u2026please.\u201d There was no need to fake the tears streaming down my face and I hoped my trembling bottom lip would show him how desperate I was. I tapped my fingers on my cheeks as I searched his mole-like eyes for any hint of sympathy. There was none. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Fiona. If I can\u2019t keep my cleaners in line then it\u2019s me without a job. I\u2019ve been warned about being too lenient. I can\u2019t stick my neck out on the line for you or anybody else. It\u2019s nothing personal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For him, maybe. For me, it was everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Escape
Escape by Deana Birch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"Deana
Deana Birch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Born and raised in the Midwest, Contemporary Romance and Erotica writer, Deana Birch, now lives with her family in Europe. She can be found teaching yoga, ruining her children\u2019s French homework, cleaning up dog vomit, writing her next book, or reading someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
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Connect with Deana Birch:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website<\/a> | Instagram<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | BookBub<\/a> | Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title: Escape (The Covington Heights Crew #1)Author: Deana BirchGenre: Adult, Romance, SuspenseRelease Date: 01 September 2020 FROM POPULAR ROMANCE AUTHOR DEANA BIRCH Book one in The Covington Heights Crew series The only thing she has to give is exactly what they want. The Covington Heights Crew has a funny way of protecting their own. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[2426,2,2424],"tags":[3038,3037,3039],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/EscapeBlitzBanner.png?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8061,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2019\/11\/15\/book-blitz-montana-mistletoe-by-kim-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":10740,"position":0},"title":"Book Blitz: Montana Mistletoe by Kim Law","date":"2019-11-15","format":false,"excerpt":"Click to purchase Title: Montana Mistletoe (Wildes of Birch Bay Novella)Author: Kim LawGenre: Contemporary Holiday RomanceRelease Date: July 6, 2019 She has the chance to create the future she wants . . . but first she\u2019ll have to face her past. Young, vibrant, and willing to confront any obstacle in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"Montana Mistletoe by Kim Law","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/MontanaMistletoeBlitzBanner.png?fit=851%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6145,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/18\/mug-shots-meet-bianca-and-eli-two-more-sutherlands\/","url_meta":{"origin":10740,"position":1},"title":"Mug Shots: Meet Bianca and Eli, two more Sutherlands","date":"2016-03-18","format":false,"excerpt":"They have arrived! Meet the Sutherlands, a Texas oil family that doesn\u2019t break the rules\u2026they make their own. Preorder this box set of sizzling hot, never before published full-length novels and novellas about the Sutherland family alpha heroes and kickass heroines that are sure to melt your e-reader and help\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book It"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Now-Available.jpg?fit=700%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12416,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/04\/20\/book-blitz-retaliation-by-haley-cavanagh\/","url_meta":{"origin":10740,"position":2},"title":"Book Blitz: Retaliation by Haley Cavanagh","date":"2021-04-20","format":false,"excerpt":"Book Blitz: Retaliation by Haley Cavanagh Title: Retaliation (The Oceanstone Initiative #2) Author: Haley Cavanagh Genre: YA Sci-Fi Romance Release Date: 27 Decemeber 2019","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"Retaliation by Haley Cavanagh","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Retaliation-Banner.png?fit=850%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10066,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2020\/08\/25\/release-blitz-always-crew-by-tijan\/","url_meta":{"origin":10740,"position":3},"title":"Release Blitz: Always Crew by Tijan","date":"2020-08-25","format":false,"excerpt":"Always Crew by Tijan Title: Always Crew (Crew #3)Author: TijanGenre: New Adult RomanceRelease Date: 25 August 2020 Always Crew, the all-new emotional and angsty finale of the Crew series by New York Times bestselling author Tijan is available now!\u00a0 For the longest time, I was Bren Monroe.\u00a0I lived in Roussou,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"Always Crew by Tijan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Always-Crew-RB-banner.png?fit=1200%2C443&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12595,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2021\/05\/20\/release-blitz-of-bishops-and-pawns-by-renee-harless\/","url_meta":{"origin":10740,"position":4},"title":"Release Blitz: Of Bishops and Pawns by Renee Harless","date":"2021-05-20","format":false,"excerpt":"Release Blitz: Of Bishops and Pawns by Renee Harless Title: Of Bishops and Pawns Author: Renee Harless Genre: NA Romance Release Date: 20 May 2021","rel":"","context":"In "Book Blitz"","img":{"alt_text":"Of Bishops and Pawns by Renee Harless","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/OBP-RB-banner.png?fit=815%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6132,"url":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2016\/03\/14\/mug-shots-two-more-sutherlands-griffin-and-jaxson\/","url_meta":{"origin":10740,"position":5},"title":"Mug Shots: Two more Sutherlands; Griffin and Jaxson","date":"2016-03-14","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm slowly making my way through the anthology because I've had a crazy few weeks. I have had a chance to read a couple of these stories and Abby Niles' Stripped is one of them. OMG you are going to love the hot and insatiable Jaxson Sutherland. Mmmmm... total babe.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book It"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Hottest.jpg?fit=700%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10740"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10743,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10740\/revisions\/10743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}