Saving Mercy by Abbie Roads
Series: Fatal Truth Series
Genre: Dark Romantic Thriller
Publication Date: April 4, 2017
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He’s found her at last…
Cain Killion knows himself to be a damaged man. His only redeeming quality? The extrasensory connection to blood that he uses to catch killers. His latest case takes a macabre turn when he discovers a familiar and haunting symbol linking the crime to his horrific past—and the one woman who might understand what it means.
Only to lose her to a nightmare
Mercy Ledger is brave, resilient, beautiful—and in terrible danger. The moment Cain finds her the line between good and evil blurs and the only thing clear to them is that they belong together. Love is the antidote for blood—but is their bond strong enough to overcome the madness that stalks them?
“Mercy.” He whispered her name to the moon and some of the anger evaporated. “Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.” He used the word as a mantra, reveling in the taste of those vowels and consonants inside his mouth. Just saying her name calmed him.
From inside the building, a rusty bolt scraped and banged, loud as a cherry bomb. The door swung inward, the squeal of old hinges shrieking through the night. In the woods, the coyote howled as if claiming its territory against the odd sounding intruder.
Liz backed out the door, pulling a wheelchair. Twenty-five years ago, when he’d first met her here at The Institute she’d looked like a mom—a smile on her face, encouraging words on her lips, and a stout don’t-break-the-rules attitude. Now she looked the grandma version with her gray hair and pleasant plumpness.
“Getting her out here was easier than I expected.” Liz didn’t exactly whisper, but didn’t speak at normal volume. “Ward A doesn’t have cameras since everyone is locked down. Thank the angels the night shift are notorious slackers—we didn’t run into anyone.” Liz turned the wheelchair to face him.
The woman in the chair slumped in the corner of the seat, head hanging as if it were too heavy to lift. Her hair dangled in limp, stringy hanks that reminded him of blond worms.
“This isn’t my Mercy.” Shit. The my had just slipped out. He didn’t look at Liz—didn’t want confirmation that she’d heard the slip.
His Mercy had always been strong. Even at ten years old, throat wrapped in a fat wad of bandages, she’d seemed oddly poised and imperturbable during all the media interviews. She had survived something worse than what he had endured and yet retained her strength. She’d inspired him, intrigued him and tied herself to him without ever knowing.
And she’d always been pretty. All strawberry blond hair and turquoise eyes and features that he’d just wanted to stare at because it made him feel all warm and nice on the inside. He’d never gotten close enough to smell her, but he imagined her scent to be a cross between fresh baked cookies and sunshine—not body odor and vomit like this woman.
“It is her. See what he’s done to her?” Liz’s voice snapped like a whip.
“Who?” Cain asked the question to Liz, but his gaze remained locked on Mercy. She hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken, didn’t even seem alive.
“Dr. Payne. He’s had a sick fascination with her from the first. Probably because she was the only person on Ward B who didn’t deserve to be there. He’s been pretty harmless until three days ago, when he moved her to Ward A.”
“Why the fuck is she even here if she’s not—?” He’d assumed her past—what his father had done to her and her family—had finally caught up with her. He knelt in front of her wheelchair.
“Don’t you curse at me boy.” Liz’s tone was all angry mom, making him feel like a bad kid. “Her official record says Undifferentiated Schizophrenia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But I’ve seen psychotic—she’s not psychotic and never has been.”
He’d never spoken to Mercy before, never been this close to her, never dared to. He’d been a wuss—too damned scared of her reaction to approach her. She had every right to hate him. It was his father that killed her entire family, his father that slit her throat, and his father’s blood that ran in his veins.
Abbie Roads
Abbie Roads is a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. By night she writes dark, emotional novels always giving her characters the happy ending she wishes for all her clients. SAVING MERCY is the first book in her new Fatal Truth Series of dark, gritty, romantic suspense with a psychological twist.
SAVING MERCY
Fatal Truth #1
by
ABBIE ROADS
✬✬✬ 5 MERCIFUL STARS ✬✬✬
The air smelled of pine and tasted of remembered pain.
I'm trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible. One warning though - if you are sensible to blood or violence this book is not for you.
I love when an author introduces you to a new story and you don't feel disoriented but at home from the get-go. The premise of this book sounds fascinating: The son of a serial killer helps the FBI finding murderers by re-living scenes from the crime as a consultant. The blood on scene is his tool - when he paints himself with it he can clearly see what transpired.
The former victim of the consultant's father is being held in an asylum. Against her will. What makes it worse is that she endures abuse on a daily basis with no chance to escape.
Our hero, Cain, has been keeping tabs on Mercy but he doesn't know about the atrocities happening at the psychiatric hospital until an old friend, who works there, makes him take her with him to save her. From here on the mindf*ck starts and let me tell you, it's an awesome one.
He was Killer Killion’s Kid— Triple K, the media called him. The spawn of a killer with the genetic predisposition to be a murdering machine.
Cain has a love-hate relationship with blood. He craves the feeling of it on his skin, it is the gateway to the minds of those who kill mercilessly.
He became the killer. He saw what the killer saw. Did what the killer did. Felt what the killer felt.
He doesn't want to become like his dad. Often times he thinks there is to much of his sperm donor in him so there is a lot of self loathing inside him going on when he meets Mercy. She shows Cain from the first moment on that he is nothing like his father, to convince him and make it stick is the real problem. There is so much self-disgust inside of him that she often struggles to make him believe in himself.
As a character Cain is sweet and so painfully broken, I wanted to hug him all the time. His father broke him when he was a boy and that child surfaces often. I bawled when I felt how starved for love Cain was. Mercy is the band aid and salve to all his emotional ailments.
He squeezed her hand holding his, and his free arm snaked around her slowly, as if he was waiting for her to change her mind. But only love lived here between them. Slowly he settled his head against her shoulder and neck.
Sometimes he lashes out at people. Like a hurt animal he bites first before he gets bitten.
Mercy is a tremendously strong heroine yet has a kindness about her that is miraculous. The things she has gone through should have broken her beyond repair, yet she is endearing, sweet, caring. Both of them feel immensely protective of one another and it is that trait that causes a lot of hurt between them.
Their behavior is sometimes erratic and I had to keep reminding myself that these people don't act like you and me. They are too complicated, too damaged but in a roundabout way they make sense and are utterly perfect for one another. And that's why their moods and actions, while erratic, make sense to me too.
Mercy's and Cain's connection is instantaneous - they bond over the fact that they both have been broken by the same person and the connection deepens very fast. You could call it insta-love but it is absolutely believable which I appreciate.
His hands cupped her face as if he held something fragile in his palms, and then his tongue was in her mouth and she was lost. She didn’t know where she was. Didn’t have a past or future. All that existed was this moment where every muscle and bone, every breath and heartbeat, every working brain cell tuned in to Cain and his tongue in her mouth filling her with the warm, sweet taste of him and the feeling that for the first time in her life, she’d found perfect harmony.
Abbie Roads has a very vivid writing style. The words on the pages transform easily into images in your mind. I really loved that, and generally the story flows smoothly.
I wouldn't call this book paranormal romance. It is a mix of thriller, paranormal and romance and all these elements are in balance. The suspense is so good and full of tension that I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. I didn't see the solution coming until I the last plot twist - and there are a couple that left my mouth hanging open. The end was completely satisfying in every aspect. If you love any of these components give this a shot (if you can handle a lot of blood). I am convinced you won't regret it. She has totally won me over and I can't wait to get the next in the series in my hands.
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