Smoke and Mirrors Read online

  Smoke and Mirrors

  Written by Tiana Laveen

  Edited by Natalie G. Owens

  Cover Design by Travis Pennington

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  Copyright © 2014 by Tiana Laveen

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved.

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Blurb

  Brent ‘Smoke’ Patterson grew up in the heart of America, but nothing in his life resembled the nostalgic home-town memories of waving patriotic flags and home-made apple pie cooling off in the breeze along a window sill. After surviving a series of traumatic events in his childhood, he was thrust into the streets at an early age to learn the underground, secret society code of the city of L.A. He soon found himself steeped in metropolitan ethics and baptized in ‘The Life.’ While his peers spent their youth in college earning their bachelor degrees, Smoke earned his education from the School of Hard Knocks and majored in Pimpology. He graduated with honors… and turned his uncanny magnetism with the ladies into cold, hard, profit. Before long, he became one of the most underestimated, respected, dominant and esteemed pimps in all of California.

  Now, rather than live by the seat of his pants, he continues to obtain and secure promising business ventures while maintaining his reputation. But one day, a woman enters his life at a most pivotal time and changes his seedy little world forever…

  Her name is Paris Raven, and unlike the women he dominated from sun up to sun down, she will not be tamed, bossed around, subjugated or intimated by the likes of Smoke Patterson. He’s met his match, yet, rather than recoil from such a troublesome soul, he develops a romantic obsession, to the point that his objective becomes crystal clear: He wants this woman, and he is going to get her. There is only one problem…

  Paris is a notorious Madam whose feminine, classy appearance leaves men panting, but should they push the wrong button, get her dander up, they’d find themselves looking down the barrel of her diamond-studded gun.

  When the two get together, torrential, confrontational sparks fly, but that is simply a show to disguise their strong, mutual attraction for one another. Their lives intertwine and, little by little, they begin to save each other, from themselves, one day at a time.

  Smoke falls in love. Paris can’t resist doing the same…

  But oh what twists they wave when the two creatures of the night ignite a litany of jealousy, revenge, violence, blackmail, and even murder.

  Come along and take a dark romance flight, first class seating of course, with Smoke and Paris. Fasten your seatbelts for turbulent conditions wait up ahead in the form of blinding smoke haze and fractured mirrors. When everything comes to a screeching halt, will their love remain intact, strong and impenetrable? Turn these smoking hot pages to find out…

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  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to Clarissa Campbell.

  She has been a friend of mine that understands me and my eccentric ways in a way that many do not.

  I wrote portions of this book while undergoing things that I could not quite understand, nor grasp, and she met me at the door with no judgment, with open arms and a smile on her face. She provided me with nothing but inspiration and love. Due to that, I was able to pull what I was enduring and turn those emotions loose, pour them into this book, which is where they belonged.

  It made the grit, grittier, the ugliness, uglier, and the love, lovelier.

  Thank you, Clarissa for soothing this insane Leo beast, better known as your sister from another mister.

  I love you,

  Tiana

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Warning

  A Little Freestyle

  A Chat with Readers Regarding This Book

  Preface

  A Word from Our Hero

  Prelude

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Smoke and Mirrors

  Terminologies / Directory

  Author Bio

  Author Thank You to Readers

  Music Makes the World Go ’Round!

  Book Questions

  Resources

  Warning

  This book is adult in nature. It deals with heavy topics such as illegal prostitution/ sex sales, emotional neglect, child abuse and other situations that the reader may find objectionable. There is an abundance of profanity, profuse violence with no aspect spared, as well as ‘gritty’ details concerning a lifestyle many of us do not understand or support. The fact that the author writes about these themes does not mean that she, too, condones, appreciates or wishes to participate in such situations. Nor does it mean that she agrees with the opinions of the character(s) or glamorizes or gives a ‘seal of approval’ to the characters’ actions and behaviors. Please also be forewarned, that though the sexual relationship of the hero and heroine does not start immediately in this book, when it does begin, it is continuous, exceptionally graphic, and not for those that wish to avoid such details. This is fiction, a work from the writer’s imagination, but paired with countless years of research about the lifestyle in question in order for the characters to be authentic, and the situations accurately described to the best of the author’s ability and knowledge. The characters speak as many in this particular lifestyle speak. Thus, word choice must be taken into consideration. If the vernacular is something you find offensive, please be forewarned at this point.

  Example: “bottom bitch” is used several times in this novel. A ‘bottom bitch’ is a pimp’s most dedicated and coveted prostitute. She often ‘runs shop’ when he isn’t able to; she makes sure the other prostitutes, that he controls, are doing what they are supposed to do in and out of his physical presence.

  The author does not change the rhetoric, tone or language commonly used by people in this profession. It would do the story a disservice and whitewash the authenticity. That aside, however, this is still a love story. The main focus is placed on the hero and heroine’s relationship.

  For categorization purposes, this would be classified as an erotic, interracial, urban/dark romance. If the topics delved upon are not something you would wish to explore at this time, it would be advantageous on your part to not read this particular novel.

  Please proceed with caution. Thank you.

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  A Little Freestyle…


  Dizzy cigarette smoke, the scent of willowy paths burning like incense, clearing a trail as spiritual as Indian white sage for the natives.

  Bearskin rugs, silver, taut handcuffs, wrapped tight around a night of unadulterated sex—

  Languid bodies intertwined, arms and hands and tongues tasting all that is sinful and hedonistically inflamed.

  Seductive spells, charms, voodoo on one’s loins,

  Someone spit fire from the dragon’s lair—

  The moon beat the sun in a game of truth, hex and dare

  …Now, what’s next?

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  A Chat with Readers Regarding This Book

  Greetings readers!

  So, for people who’ve read some of my previous work, hello! We meet again!

  For those who are new to me, I wish to offer you a warm welcome and let you know that you’ve picked a heck of a book to start off with, lol. My condolences…ha!

  Okay, let’s get into it. I’ve gotten into a bit of a habit with putting these little ‘love letters’ in my books to my readers. I think it helps the reader as she or he travels the journey shotgun with the characters. I don’t want you to be passive. I want you to smell the food cooking, feel the angst of a woman who has been betrayed and envision the knife slicing into tattooed flesh. You purchased this book in order to go on a journey, to be told a story. And, that is what I plan to do. This is a story I don’t want you to stop thinking about after you’ve read, ‘The End.’ I want it to stay with you a bit longer, so much so, that you may have to sit and think about some things, possibly in a whole new way. I rarely just write a love story. I tend to write character studies that are all swirled in like a thick stew.

  It gives further insight as to what the author, that being me, was doing and thinking when this ‘world’ was being created. Now, that brings me to the world of grit… Yes, grit. Some have accused me of being an interracial ‘street lit’ architect based on my popular “Saint” series. I am not a street lit author, but regardless, that does not offend me.

  I bring this up, ladies and gentlemen, because this story has a rather ‘earthy’ vibe as well, if you will. It is in your face, it is rough, and at times hard to swallow. Unless you are devoid of any emotion at all, there will be times when you may think to yourself, ‘I don’t know if I can digest what I just read…’ I’m not a ‘shock’ author; I simply write the truth as I see it. It is a book of fiction, but the instances I describe in this novel happen to real life people, every day, all day…and the readers (you), know that. The fact that I don’t stay away from this stuff in romance novels turns some people off. Yet others expect it and, dare I say, relish what I do. And to those people, I am thankful for the love and continued support.

  Regardless, I’m proud of my work and make no excuses or apologies for the fact that I visit ‘seedy’ worlds, enjoy creating and cerebrally living in them to the utmost, and offer them gift wrapped in detailed naughty graffiti, shed blood from a murder scene, then tie the elements together with a huge counterfeit hundred dollar bill covered in cocaine dust to my readers.

  Fact of the matter is, I am rather unpredictable, though this is never intentional. I simply go with my mood, whatever dream I’ve had that I can build upon, and then the story takes off from there. One day, you will receive a story from me about an Italian American priest that falls in love with a beautiful Bohemian African American singer and pianist, “Forgive Me Father for I Have Loved,” and the next, you will read about a sexy warrior alien from another planet, kidnapping a Baltimore cop and falling madly in love with her to the point of love addiction, ‘The Blood Series’ (“Addicted in Cold Blood” and “The Tale of the Blood Diamond”). So it is nothing for me to dig into my warped imagination like a bag of tricks and pull out things that make people raise their brow and even shake their head a time or two. It is just how my brain works, and I won’t back down for it is who I am; it is what I do. I stand firm in my truth; thus, no one can define me, but me. Regardless of what I’m writing about, I promise to always put my best foot forward for you, and handle it in my typical, ‘Tiana Laveen’ style… and if you don’t know what this, people familiar with my work have more than likely grown accustomed to the following:

  My stories are usually longer than average (this is not everyone’s preference). I do not follow proper ‘romance’ protocol – I tend to write my love stories in an unconventional way, sometimes with unexpected pairings. I am, more times than not, very descriptive and rather graphic. I want you to be sitting right there, ‘watching’ the book play out. As stated, some people feel bogged down by this style of writing; others delight in it. I do not always get to my ‘sex scenes’ fast, quick and in a hurry. Again, this may cause frustration for some readers. Others tend to enjoy the slow climb to Mt. Orgasm-ville. Rather than use a ‘sex scene’ formula, I listen to my characters and prefer for the reader to know a bit about them before that occurs, if it makes more sense for the flow of the book. In other words, I do quite a bit of character study if you will, but I don’t believe to the point of ad nauseam, because essentially, their story is far more important. If my characters are hot to trot, I listen. If they don’t want to wait, so be it. I’ll listen to those cues as well. And last but not least, I’m insane. I just threw that in there to see if you were paying attention (but it’s true, nevertheless…)

  Okay, so let me get into what is going on this story. First of all, what you should know about me is that I have an unhealthy obsession with all that is considered ‘abnormal/vilified human behavior’, as well as topics that are drenched in the macabre and seen as ‘deviant’ in this world. If details that fit the prior description are to be found in a book, true crime show or documentary, I’m all over it. My friends know what to recommend to me, and that includes oftentimes my choices in music as well, but that is another topic for another day. The fact that I feel the need to blend these elements with romance shows that I probably need to make an appointment with a therapist, but it is what it is, and I happen to fancy it. I’ve been this way since I was child, since the show, ‘Cops’ debuted. My parents would argue that it occurred at a much earlier age than that. Anyway, that television program changed my life. It opened a world to me that I was sheltered from, at least to that degree. Then, during my high school and college years, I latched onto documentaries about prostitution, drug dealing, etc. I had no idea that it would one day help me in my future career, but it in fact has. It is amazing what one retains! I already had a ‘basic sense’ of the lifestyle due to watching literally over fifty films about the life of a prostitute from the streets of New York all the way to Mumbai, India. I had also seen many films and read so many books and articles regarding pimps as well as the johns that kept these professions in business, that I felt somewhat knowledgeable.

  Everyone at some point in time witnesses or lives some kind of dysfunction, be it an unhealthy friendship, co-dependency with a loved one, taking abuse from a superior at a job, suffering from a bout of depression, or feeling unloved to the point that the person in question really wonders if they should just end it all. These are things many people do not wish to discuss, especially in certain communities and social circles.

  There are issues that are tossed under the rug, never to be spoken of, or we simply say, ‘Our people don’t do that.’ Or, ‘We don’t air our dirty laundry.’ But to that I say, “How can the laundry ever get clean if we don’t pull it out the old hamper, declare it grimy, wash it and hang it out to dry?” Despite writing fiction, I put a lot of research into my books, and I prefer to be true to the characters and lifestyles tackled in the story. A perfect example is the Saint series. I am not a member of a gang, nor was I ever in one; however, I had to research in great detail the gang lifestyle of that era (1960s/1970s) in order to make sure I knew what the heck I was talking about. I needed the characters to be authentic and to avoid, if at all possible, being disrespectful in my representation due to sloppy analysis such as only hearing one side of a story, or bel
ieving everything I read without finding at least a few more sources to sustain my ideas. Again, though this is fiction, REAL people endured these circumstances, so because of that, I really try to put forth the extra effort.

  An example of research and what it entailed for me as an author: interviews with active and non-active gang members; detailed research about the Savage Skulls (yes, they were/are real though they are more of a motorcycle gang now); as well as research about the Bloods (Piru, in particular) and Crips.

  Regardless of what I personally believe, it was important for me, as a writer, to stay true to the characters and have them speak and act with authenticity, and see the world in the same manner that many enmeshed in these lifestyles see the world. It also gave an opportunity for redemption. None of my characters run around unscathed. None of them go on about doing their ‘dirty deeds’ without it being addressed in some manner, and I would venture to say, that is true for the majority of my books. This work in particular definitely had to be dealt with in a special way. Why? Because it IS a romance, regardless of the grittiness and topics explored, and no one gets to fall in love without sacrifice, redemption and revitalization. I don’t believe anyone on this planet is beyond improvement and opportunity for growth.

  Even if we do not like a person, possibly even detest them, as long as they are breathing and somewhat coherent, there is an occasion, every second of the day, for transformation into a more positive and productive version of ourselves. We should all be works in progress, growing, changing, and improving. Sometimes, we won’t meet the mark, and sometimes, we will supersede it. That is what I attempt to have my characters demonstrate. Someone may start off as a king-sized jerk, a total ‘pita’ (pain in the ass), but they may not remain that way. Some characters will actually grow worse, but they typically will not be the hero or heroine in my books.

  In this particular book, the hero is a pimp. Yup. He has a gang of beautiful, half-naked women around him at any given time, and they have sex with other people and give him their hard earned money…happily. So now that we’ve got that part covered, check this out: He is not your ‘typical’ pimp, though. For one, he is white. Now, I rarely make a big whoop de whoop about race in my stories. It is brought up though from time to time because ignoring it altogether in my opinion is too unrealistic, but it does not become the ‘theme’ of the story unless it is a historic romance, such as, ‘The Slave Master’s Son.’ In this book, ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, it is not continuously discussed either, but it is mentioned more than few times because it is pertinent to the nature of the profession of the hero, Smoke, as well as the heroine, Paris, and their own personal experiences.