I’m excited to be sharing in the release celebration for C. Elizabeth Vescio‘s TOTALLY WASTED (Wasted Series #3)! Check out this amazing series, the excerpt below, and be sure to enter the giveaway!

Totally Wasted (Wasted Series #3)
by C. Elizabeth Vescio
Publication Date: December 8, 2015
Publisher: Luna Station Press

Excerpt from TOTALLY WASTED

“I don’t like you,” I frowned.

“Because I’m a cop?”

“It’s probably more about your personality,” I sat back and motioned for the waitress.

“We probably both get that a lot,” he smiled.

Stop smiling at me, you fucking prick.

His smile made his greyish-green eyes brighten. That made him more likable. I didn’t want to like him.

“What can I getcha darlin’?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll take your breakfast plate, eggs scrambled,” I pointed to the menu. “An order of beignets and a Diet Coke.”

I looked over at Hess. He was studying me. His left eyebrow arched. He might have been judging my order.

“And for you, sir?”

“Uh,” he shook his head. “Coffee… and a piece of apple pie.”

“Scoop of vanilla on top?” she asked.

“No thanks,” he replied.

The waitress took our menus, and I leaned back in the booth.

“You’re a breakfast for lunch kind of girl,” he commented.

I wasn’t going to allow this guy to make cute comments at me.

“What kind of loser gets apple pie without ice cream?” I snorted.

Hess’ smile faded, as he looked down at his hands.

My kind of humor is totally wasted on cops.

“What happened to my brother, Ms. Fairholm?”

I frowned at him again. He was going to get right down to business.

“Is that why you followed me here? You think I’m here on fucking vacation and have more time to talk to you?”

“Ms. Fairholm-”

“You can call me Frankie, Detective Hess,” I said. “I mean you’re stalking me, so we might as well be on a first-name basis.”

“I’m not stalking you,” he replied. “And you can call me Blake.”

The waitress came back over to pour his coffee and set down my drink. We both fell silent and waited for her to leave. Once she was out of earshot, I threw Blake a look.

“Following me like a thousand miles after I told you to back off is pretty much stalking. So you can take your oxford shirt and shove it.”

His chest moved as he chuckled softly. “I guess you’re right. You left me with more questions than answers.”

“It’s not my fault you’re slow,” I rolled my eyes.

His expression softened. “All I want to know is the truth. I guess I followed you, because I hoped you’d understand that.”

I inhaled sharply. I did understand that. There was no doubt that I didn’t want to face this right now, but I felt a pang of sympathy for Blake.

“You were close to your brother?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice getting low. “I mean, kind of. We both went into the police force together.”

“I didn’t know Brooklyn was a cop,” I said.

Blake thought for a moment.

“He went into dispatch,” he said. “He was always more fond of technical stuff.”

I nodded.

“He just always needed guidance,” Blake went on. “You wouldn’t know it, looking at him. He was funny and charming, but when he was alone, things could get messy. I tried to watch out for him.”

I did know the funny and slightly charming Brooklyn — the Brooklyn who often had some sort of nerd debate going on with Edge while they cased a mark for me. He did drink a lot, but it didn’t matter in our world of high-functioning alcoholics. He fit in.

“Then,” Blake got a far-away look in his eyes. “I started getting into some tougher work. I wasn’t around as much to monitor him. He started drinking more, and I was the responsible one who called him out on it. He didn’t want me trying to help him. We had a falling out. I turned my back on him. I walked away.”

Great, I thought. On top of everything else, I have to deal with this guy’s guilt.

“I just… our mother loved him a lot. It killed me to tell her that he died driving drunk. I didn’t want to tell her the truth, but I couldn’t lie to her either. She’s heartbroken.”

“You can’t lie to your mother?” I was perplexed.

Shit, let me teach you how.

“I guess it’s an honor thing. Maybe a cop thing,” Blake said. “But no, I can’t lie to her. I can lie all day to anyone else, but not to her.”

He took a drink of his coffee.

I nodded, trying not to let his story get to me. All I could picture was a small, meek woman who had lost her husband and son to drunk-driving accidents.

I don’t know how many times I thought about my mother before she knew the real me. Countless times I’d worry about fucking up and Osiris making up some story about how I died. No mother deserved to be lied to about the death of her child.

Why did he have to bring a mother into this?

“I realize how crazy I seem. Maybe I am nuts… but I had to try. Nothing adds up. I want to know who’s responsible. I think you want to tell me the truth.”

I glanced around the restaurant, trying to sort out my thoughts.

Spark had been my focus, then Judah, and then all of Osiris. I had foolishly pushed all of my other feelings under the rug. Now, none of those other distractions were here. I was left to think about everything else I had left behind.

Brooklyn Hess had been a person, and people missed him.

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