Defying Evil: A Dark Romantic Thriller by Abbie Roads
Publication date: October 17th 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance,
He’s the son of a serial killer.
She’s his father’s only surviving victim.
He’s obsessed with her.
She’s frightened of him.
Before it’s all over they’ll need each other to survive.
Cain Killion’s life has revolved around blood. From a childhood of torture by his father, to his gruesome ability to solve crimes. When a current case is directly connected to his past, there’s only one person with answers.
But she isn’t talking, and the bodies are stacking up. The only solution… Kidnap her.
Defying Evil is the first book in the Blood is Thicker Than Series of dark romantic thrillers. It features a man tortured by his past who never thought he was capable of love. If you devour edge of your seat thrillers and romance novels, you’ll love a series that combines both in a roller-coaster ride of mind games and tragic love.
Read this dangerously dark romance today!
Trigger warning: Depictions of violence.
Previously published until the title Saving Mercy.
He drove past a gas station, a fast-food restaurant, a
person walking alongside the road. His foot hit the brake before his brain had
a chance to talk him out of it.
Mercy.
Her hair was slicked to her skull, and her clothes were
sucked to her body, doing a shitty job of hiding her curves. At least the
T-shirt she wore was black, not white. He pulled over to the berm and watched
her in the rearview mirror.
She stopped walking, stared at the car—knew it was
him—but didn’t move. Could he blame her for not wanting to be around him after
what he’d said to her? Not really. And yet he couldn’t leave her alone and
walking in the rain with Payne still out there. Not to mention that she didn’t
have anyone or anywhere to go.
She still hadn’t moved from her spot. He left the car
running, opened his door, and got out. The rain slapped him—frigid, bordering
on icy, soaking his clothes and dripping in his eyes. The pressure of it
hitting the wounds in his bicep and shoulder made him wince. But that was all
the attention he’d give to the pain.
“Get in the car.” The words came out harsher than he’d
intended.
Mercy crossed her arms in front of her chest, lifted her
head, and somehow managed to stare down her nose at him, even though she was
almost a foot shorter. “No.” She said the word as if it didn’t matter that they
were standing in the middle of a downpour.
“Get in the goddamned car.” This time the words came out
loud and angry sounding. Like that was going to win her over. What was his
problem?
“F@ck you.” She looked miserable—all wet and shivery, and
yet feisty and taking none of his crap.
He should soften his tone. He should try to be nicer. He
should, but his inner asshole seemed attracted to her inner bitch. “You don’t
have anywhere to go. You don’t have any money. You don’t have friends.” His
voice softened and filled with some emotion he couldn’t name. “You don’t have
anyone looking out for you, caring for you, able to help you in a pinch. You
got no one.” He sucked in a breath, and when he spoke next, his voice was soft
and pleading. “Except me.”
The moment he finished speaking, he wanted to retract
every goddamned one of those words he’d spoken. “I’m… Shit…” He ran a hand
through his soaking hair. “Goddamn it. I’m a dick. Okay?” He softened his tone.
“Now, will you please get in the car?”
Her shoulders straightened, her chin lifted, and she
walked forward without looking at him. He expected her to stomp past the car,
but she yanked open the passenger door and got in. Seconds passed while he just
stood there, getting even wetter and staring at the back of her head poking
above the headrest.
He got back in the car. Every inch of him was soaked. He
brushed his hair back off his face and wiped the water from his eyes.
Mercy stared out the passenger window, refusing to look
at him. He reached over and touched her shoulder. Underneath his hand, her body
tensed, then trembled. Shit. Was he scaring her?
He wrenched his hand off her and wanted to use the damned
thing to slap himself around a little. Maybe then he’d get it through his
stupid brain that she was f@cking frightened of him. Too many words flooded his
mind, and he didn’t know which ones to say. The I’m-sorry ones. The
I-won’t-hurt-you ones. The I’m-an-asshole ones. The I-don’t-know-what-to-do
ones.
She turned to him. Rain slicked her cheeks. Or was that
tears? Her beautiful eyes were the color of tropical waters—deep and
fathomless. He held up his hands in a show of surrender, and she flew across
the console at him.
He closed his eyes and braced for the blows, but none
came.
Instead, slender arms wrapped around him. Her hair, cold
and wet, dripped against his chest, but her cheek over his heart was warm—so
warm.
Maybe he’d had a stroke or something, because this felt like
she was hugging him. And that couldn’t be. Could it? He opened his eyes and
looked down at her.
Yep. She was wound tight around the front of him. And
suddenly his brain let him feel the total sensation of it. Of being held tight
as if he mattered to her. He let his arms fall around her and squeezed,
pressing her tighter to him. Damn, this felt good. She felt good. It was oddly
comforting to have her clinging to him so tightly.
He closed his eyes and memorized the pressure of her arms
around him and the way her hands pressed into his back. The subtle ripple of
her spine and ribs underneath his fingers, the way her skin felt warm against
his when every other part of him was cold.
If he’d been
given a stop-time button, this was the moment he would’ve used it. Here,
holding her, the gentle lullaby of rain playing in the background, was the only
perfect moment of his entire life.
AUTHOR BIO:
By day Abbie Roads is a mental health counselor always focusing on the bright side. By night she writes on the dark side, putting her characters through the wringer before she gives them their happily-ever-after. She loves a good inspirational quote and is a fan of true crime.
Author links:
https://www.abbieroads.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
https://twitter.com/Abbie_
https://www.instagram.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/
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Thanks for being on the tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! :)
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