Heavy Load

Marcus Cole is broke, invisible, and desperate for a job that pays more than almost.When he answers a Craigslist ad for Big Load Junk Co. — a hauling company with a winking strongman logo and a tagline that should be illegal — he expects backbreaking work. He gets it. Hoarder houses with cockroaches. Dead women's pianos down narrow staircases. Waterlogged mattresses that weigh more than his future.But the crew is tight. Dex, the magnetic crew lead, sees something in Marcus — an instinct for reading people, for noticing what others miss. T-Bone, the gentle giant who quotes Scripture between profanities. Rico, the silent tech who runs the operation from two phones and trusts no one.Then the real job reveals itself.Behind the junk removal is a premium service catering to wealthy, neglected wives in Calabasas, Hidden Hills, and Bel Air — women whose husbands are absent and whose loneliness has a price tag. Marcus is invited in. The money is intoxicating. The attention is addictive. And for a man whose deepest wound is the need to be chosen, being wanted by appointment is the most dangerous drug he's ever tasted.But every house he enters is also a house being catalogued. Every bedroom is a blueprint. And the women who trust him most are the ones closest to becoming targets.Heavy Load is a dark comedy, an erotic thriller, and a crime novel that never lets you get comfortable. It is a story about what it costs to be seen — and what it takes to walk away from the only people who ever made you feel like you mattered.For mature readers. Contains explicit sexual content, strong language, and criminal activity.