Month: June 2019

HER MERCY Glossary

While reading Her Mercy, there might be some terms you aren’t familiar with, or places you need a refresher for. I’ve put together a glossary of biker slang and club roles, as well as terms special to the River Reapers MC, plus locations.

Looking for the character guide? Click here!

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Cara’s: A diner on 63 that many of the River Reapers frequent Cara’s.

Colors: A logo of sorts that adorns the back of MC members’ cuts. Usually embroidered onto the leather. The River Reapers colors is the Sludge Specter—a sludge-covered reaper that is a nod to the polluted Naugatuck River.

Cut: The leather jacket or vest that members of a club wear, usually with the club’s insignia embroidered onto the back, and various patches sewn on.

Enforcer: Sort of a bouncer for the club… or the guy who sorts things out when talking doesn’t work.

Hangaround: A non-member who hangs out with the MC, often at The Wet Mermaid. Usually other motorcycle enthusiasts and even non-rival bikers.

House Mouse: A woman who is unaffiliated with but hangs out with the club.

Holeshot: When someone in a motor vehicle rips up gravel. It’s also the fastest driver during a race. Not a biker term, but a reader asked about it, so I figured I’d include it. It also used to be my dad’s CB handle.

Ol’ Lady / Ol’ Man: Girlfriend/boyfriend, usually serious.

One-kicker: In A Disturbing Prospect, Cliff mentions that he isn’t a one-kick wonder yet; this means that he can’t start his bike with just one kick of the starter.

One-percenter: A club that is involved with illegal activity.

Lewisburg: The prison that both Cliff and Mercy served time in.

MC: Motorcycle club

Naugatuck, CT: The dying industrial town where the series takes place. Also a real town near where I grew up.

Naugatuck River: A river that cuts through Naugatuck and Waterbury. Known nationally in real life for its chemical pollution. More recently, there was an oil spill. Some say the river is cursed.

Patch: This can refer to the patch on a biker’s cut, or the verb—as in, getting patched in, meaning being accepted as a member.

President: The member who oversees club activities, duties, and operations.

Prospect: A potential member.

Pussy Pad: The seat on the back of the bike, usually where a biker’s ol’ lady rides.

River Reapers MC: A fictional motorcycle club named for the Naugatuck River.

Rocker: A curved patch that is usually placed on the side or back of a cut. Usually designates the club’s name.

Sergeant-at-Arms: The member who handles club rules, patches, etc. Also sometimes weapons. (In some MCs, the SAA and Enforcer are interchangeable terms for the same role.)

Sludge Specter: A patch awarded only to members willing to do anything for the MC, who have actually gone above and beyond member duties. Also refers to the MC’s colors.

“Take them to the river”: A River Reapers phrase referring to killing someone—usually determined by a club vote. Example: When the original members voted to kill Bastard for molesting Lucy, they voted whether to take him to the river. Bodies are often buried on the Naugatuck River front, making it a more literal phrase.

Treasurer: The member who takes care of funds. Also organizes activities, fundraisers, and other club events.

Vice President: Second-in-command, usually coordinates Church and other events, and also takes over President roles in case that member can’t perform his duties.

The Wet Mermaid: The strip club owned by the River Reapers. The business is under Treasurer Mark’s name.

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Her Mercy is exclusively for River Reapers MC fan club members. Click here to download your copy!

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HER MERCY Character Guide

As the River Reapers MC series grows, you might have a hard time keeping track of all the characters. (I know I do, sometimes!) The following is an appendix of the characters and their relationships as of the novella Her Mercy. This novella can be read as a standalone, and takes place between Books 2 and 3 in the series.) Find those books here.

  • Abraham: Non-officer member of the River Reapers MC. He is a barber and is in a serious relationship with his boyfriend Rui.
  • Beer Can: The Sergeant-at-Arms for the River Reapers MC. He works at The Wet Mermaid (strip club) as a bouncer.
  • Mark Clayton: The Treasurer for the River Reapers MC. He works at The Wet Mermaid (strip club) as a general manager.
  • Sebastian “Bastard” Demmel: Cliff’s deceased father, and the previous President of the River Reapers MC. Lucy’s uncle.
  • Cliff Demmel: The hero of our story. Ex-con and new Prospect of the River Reapers MC. Lucy’s cousin. Olivia’s… something.
  • Lucy Demmel: Cliff’s cousin and Olivia’s adoptive sister. She teaches first grade.
  • Nora & Collin Demmel: Lucy’s parents, Olivia’s adoptive parents, and Cliff’s aunt and uncle.
  • Gavin: Enforcer in 1997.
  • Todd “Ravage” Harris: The current President of the River Reapers MC. Mercy’s best friend. Was the Sergeant-at-Arms in 1997.
  • Shannon Harris: Ravage’s ol’ lady. She runs a non-profit for sexual assault survivors.
  • Donny Jackson: A non-officer member in 1997. The current Enforcer for the River Reapers MC and Esther’s ol’ man.
  • Bree Reynolds: Olivia’s mother, whereabouts unknown.
  • Malcolm: Non-officer member of the River Reapers MC in 1997.
  • Mercer “Mercy” Reynolds: The previous Vice President of the River Reapers MC, and Bastard’s ex-best friend. Currently serving time in maximum security at Lewisburg. Considers Ravage his best friend.
  • Olivia Reynolds: The heroine of our story. Lucy’s adopted sister. Cliff’s… something. Bree’s daughter. She just graduated from the Social Work program with Esther (roommate) at Southern Connecticut State University.
  • Skid: A Prospect in 1997. The current Vice President of the River Reapers MC. Half of his body is covered in road rash due to a motorcycle accident, hence his nickname.
  • Ruth Wood: Cliff’s deceased mother, and Lucy’s aunt. No affiliation with the MC, other than Bastard’s ol’ lady.
  • Zed: Non-officer member of the River Reapers MC in 1997.

Please note that I excluded a few characters and details from this list in order to keep the book spoiler-free. Did I miss a character or a (spoiler-free) connection? Please email me and let me know!

Is there a glossary or guide you’d like to see for the River Reapers series? Leave a comment and let me know!

Read Her Mercy For FREE

Get the novella for free when you join the River Reapers MC fan club. Click here to download your copy!

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A Recap of A RISKY PROSPECT

There’s a lot happening in these River Reapers MC books, so you’re bound to forget something. Shoutout to Molli Moran for suggesting I write up recaps. I decided to do them as blog posts instead, as Amazon only allows for 10 percent of bonus content in an ebook.

Are you looking for the recap for Book 1, A Disturbing Prospect? Click here.

Before You Read

Take a look at potential triggers, and check out the glossary of biker terms. There’s also a handy character guide.

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t read A Risky Prospect, this recap will spoil the plot and ending. Consider picking up a copy instead!

Previously in the River Reapers MC series…

Olivia and her roommate Esther are about to graduate with Bachelor’s degrees in social work. Their plans are interrupted when Esther gets horrible news: her younger sisters are being given back to her parents, who sexually and physically abused all of them. Esther tells Olivia, Cliff, and MC Enforcer Donny about her father raping her, triggering Olivia’s memories of her own rape. Olivia, who just took a position as a DCF social worker, promises Esther to help get her sisters back.

Both Olivia and Esther miss the graduation ceremony, and Olivia and Cliff are running late to meet her parents for lunch. Before they head to the restaurant, Cliff asks Olivia to move in with him and she turns him down. Tensions between them worsen when Olivia’s parents give Cliff the cold shoulder.

On our way back to The Wet Mermaid, I let her take the lead. Something inside my chest swells, expanding until I can barely breathe. Pride and other emotions thicken in my throat. Despite everything, here she is, a real life hero ready to step out and save the world.

I just hope she hasn’t become tainted by me, the villain.

Away from my aunt and uncle, I feel less on edge. Everything is simpler. I don’t have to watch what I say or how I eat my food. By the time we reach the club house, I’m myself again. I let Olivia go inside first.

The guys whoop and whistle, holding up drinks to toast her and Esther.

“Congratulations, sweetheart,” Mark says, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Let me hug my goddaughter,” Ravage interrupts. He engulfs Olivia in a bear hug. “I’m proud of you, baby.”

“Thanks, Pres.” She moves away from me through the crowd, toward the bar.

“You good?” Ravage asks me.

“He’s had a rough day,” Lucy says from beside me.

“Hey.” I wrap her in a hug, careful not to crush the flowers she brought for Olivia. “I didn’t know if you were coming.”

“I wouldn’t miss the real party.” She kisses my cheek. “That was fun, huh?”

“I need a drink.” I nod toward the bar, where Olivia is yelling at the poor young woman making drinks in her place.

The crowd parts for me and Lucy, and I lead her toward two empty bar stools.

“Are you two okay?” she shouts over the music. “I caught a vibe.”

I scoff at her over my shoulder. “Like the vibe between you and the waiter?”

“Waiter?” She tries to smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Is he the would-be fiancé, Luce?”

Her eyes tighten, lips flattening.

A dance brings Olivia and Cliff closer, until the night’s band takes the stage. The lead singer is all too familiar to Olivia, and she goes running from the club to avoid him. Cliff doesn’t put the two together and thinks that she’s still upset with him. Before they can talk, Ravage pulls Olivia aside to let her know that her father is getting out of prison and she is to go pick him up.

Hoping to smooth things over between them, Cliff offers to take her place so that she can also start her new job and, hopefully, help Esther and the girls.

On Monday, Olivia starts looking at Esther’s case, with her own trauma and convictions jeopardizing her other cases. She also starts investigating her ex, Greg, who raped her. Cliff picks up Mercy, who takes off as soon as they get home, hoping to find Bree, Olivia’s mother. Olivia is devastated when she finds out.

Flashbacks plague Olivia during all hours of the day. When she runs into Greg at the club again, she runs. Cliff follows, and she tells him.

“Greg got married.” Her voice is so low, I have to strain to hear her. “Her name is Cami, and right now, his hands might be around her neck. Or he’s having sex with her when she doesn’t want to.” She tenses in my arms. “I let him do this to another woman.”

The blood in my veins turns to ice, then boils. Every muscle in my body contracts, straining, fingers itching to wrap around his neck. My fists feel hot and heavy, battering rams attached to my arms. “He raped you.”

“That sums up all of the awful things he did to me, yes.”

I’m torn between staying here with her and flying back to the club. I want to yank him off that stage, bludgeon him with his own guitar. Then it hits me.

She told me.

She trusts me.

I can’t break that by racing off to kill him. Olivia let me in—something I never thought would happen. I’ll be damned if I leave her here now.

I pick her up, carrying her to our motorcycles out front. I sit her on mine and straddle it, her arms wrapping around me. She nestles into my back, and I take us back to her place with the heat of her body keeping me grounded. Keeping me with her.

In her bed, I tuck her into my side and hold her until she falls asleep. I don’t sleep at all.

All I can think about are the thousand ways I will kill him the next time I see him.

Olivia’s confession brings them closer, and she realizes that Cliff is in love with her. To distract herself, she buries herself in Esther’s case. Because Esther’s parents have done everything they were supposed to do, it seems that DCF’s—and Olivia’s—hands are tied. When Esther’s parents kidnap the girls, the MC intervenes. Olivia and Esther kill her parents, and the club makes it look like they skipped town. DCF gives Esther guardianship of the girls.

Olivia tells the MC about Greg, and they vote to kill him. Before they can make solid plans to take him out, Greg lures Olivia to his house and attempts to kill her. Realizing that she needs to do whatever it takes to survive, she plays into his desire for her and pretends that she is getting back together with him. She gets him into a vulnerable position by having sex with him, and when he is off guard, she kills him.

Cliff walks in at the last minute, stunned but dedicated to her as always. He and the rest of the club make it look like an accidental fire started, and everyone tries to move forward with their lives. Olivia seeks help for her PTSD, and Cliff starts a new job so that he has something else to focus on beside his feelings for her. Olivia realizes that she doesn’t feel the same about Cliff but does care about him, so she makes the commitment to be with him fully. No one has heard from Mercy or Bree, and Olivia begins to fear the worst: either she’s been abandoned again, or they are dead…

The story continues in Book 3 of the River Reapers MC series, coming soon.

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