Author: Elizabeth Barone

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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Trigger warnings for Her Mercy

Although I purposely wrote Her Mercy to be a bit less dark than A Disturbing Prospect and A Risky Prospect, it still contains some themes that might be uncomfortable or even triggering for some readers. As a rape survivor, I am a huge supporter of trigger warnings in entertainment; I cannot tell you how many seemingly fluffy romances I picked up, only to find themes I wasn’t mentally prepared for. When you have PTSD or something else you struggle with, being equipped is an essential tool in your recovery.

Here are the potential trauma triggers, as well as a content warning.

  • Age gap romance: There is a substantial age difference between Bree and Mercy; she is 14 and he is 33 when this book begins.
  • Drug and alcohol use: Some characters use drugs and drink alcohol.
  • Childhood sexual assault: Several characters have a history of being molested as children.
  • Guns and violence: My vigilante bikers use guns to fight the bad guys, as well as other violent means of taking out the trash.
  • PTSD from rape: A character experiences flashbacks, anxiety, and other symptoms of PTSD due to being raped by a teacher. Most of this is mentioned vaguely, on purpose; I needed to write a bit of a lighter book after A Risky Prospect.

If you feel that you won’t be safe reading Her Mercy, please don’t risk your health. As a rape survivor and someone with PTSD, I wish many books came with a list of trigger warnings. No book is worth your well-being.

Please also note that I don’t necessarily condone or endorse the themes contained in this book. I do, however, wish it was legal to kill rapists. 😉

If you’ve read Her Mercy and feel that I may have missed something, please email me.

Read Her Mercy

Runaway Bree shatters veteran Mercy’s peace when she shows up on his MC’s doorstep, then his heart when she runs away again. Can he find her and make up for twenty years lost?

Her Mercy, Chapter 1

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Same old Claudine, with “cunt” tattooed down between her tits. Another reason I hate her, but not the reason. “I must’ve got off the wrong stop.” I turn back toward the train.

Somewhere in Connecticut, Ravage is laughing at me.

Catch Up

Her Mercy is a River Reapers MC novella. This book can be read as a standalone, or pairs well with A Disturbing Prospect and A Risky Prospect.

Part 1: The Drifter

Chapter 1

Bree
Now

I breathe a sigh of relief as the train pulls out of the station. He didn’t come after me. I didn’t really expect him to, considering I kind of just dropped that bomb on him and walked away. Typical me. Still, there was a slim chance he’d chase me, but he didn’t.

No one is chasing me now.

I lean back against the seat and watch through the window as New Haven, Connecticut fades away. It occurs to me that I don’t really have a reason to run. Ravage thought it might be best until things cool off, but I could’ve told him to go fuck himself. Instead, I took his money and let his Prospect collect me and drop me off.

It doesn’t take a psychoanalyst to figure out why I keep running from this state.

By now I should be tired of running. The truth is, I find it thrilling. Leaving not only gives me a clean slate, but also an opportunity. There are fifty states in this country and millions of people—ample places and faces to get to know.

I always end up back here.

Not this time.

This time will be different.

This time, I’ll stay away.

The train rolls into Norfolk, Virginia thirteen hours later. The conductor on the loudspeaker pronounces it “No Fuck,” informing us that this is the last stop. I peer out the window, scanning the dusty parking lot for my ride and new roommate. There are too many people milling around, so I grab my bag and get off the train.

I step to the side so I’m not blocking the other passengers getting off and shield my eyes with a hand. I wish I’d thought to grab his sunglasses. They were some silly designer frames, but they’d come in handy right about now.

I’ve got no idea what this woman is supposed to look like, and I don’t have a cell phone, either. If she doesn’t show, I’ll have to figure something else out. I don’t panic because I always do.

“Bree?”

I wrinkle my nose at the woman in front of me. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I never kid around.” She winks.

Same old Claudine, with the word “cunt” tattooed down between her tits, her dark hair streaked through with red. “I must’ve got off the wrong stop,” I mutter, turning back toward the train.

Somewhere in Connecticut, Ravage is laughing his ass off.

“Oh, come on, Bree. It’s all water under the bridge.” She grabs my bag, spinning me around. “Besides, you look beat. And hungry. You always got bitchy when you haven’t eaten.”

“I’m even more bitchy when you’re around.” I smooth my paisley skirt across my thighs. It’s threadbare, but I’ll wear it ’til it dies.

“So let’s even you out, then. You look like you could use a burger. Three, maybe.” She eyes the way my skirt hangs on my hips, how my ankles barely fill my boots.

I sigh. I am hungry. There’s nowhere else for me to go, anyway, at least not right now. “Fine,” I relent, “but you’re buying.”

I follow her to a beat up Subaru, watching her bony ass in that tight little skirt. I can’t believe Ravage shacked me up with her. I’d just as soon be on the streets again. Which is probably where I’ll go, the second my stomach is full.

I expect her to take me to a restaurant, somewhere I can just slip out when we’re done. Instead, she drives the half hour to Hampton, where she pulls into a cute condo complex.

“Home sweet home,” she sings.

I flinch. This can’t possibly be her place. It looks so normal. I glare at the townhouse, crossing my arms.

“Oh, stop. Some of us get our lives together. Even a backwarmer like me.” She pushes open the driver’s side door and gets out, grabbing my bag from the backseat. Without another word, she marches inside, leaving the front door open.

Backwarmer. I sniff. More like homewrecker.

My stomach growls, reminding me what I came here for. As soon as I finish eating, I’m out of here. I follow her in, closing the door behind me out of habit. Immediately I wish I’d left it open. It’s too loud in here, the walls painted an angry red. Blue armchairs, accent tables, and a coffee table try to anchor it, but the red and purple throw rugs only amplify it. Scarves in reds, blues, and purples cover the wall behind the blue couch.

I rub my temples.

The outside might look normal, but the interior looks like Claudine threw up everywhere.

I wrap my arms around myself, longing for the eggshell walls of state housing.

The kitchen isn’t much better. The walls are still red, accented with more blue and a little golden yellow along the backsplash. I climb onto a stool at the counter dividing the kitchen from the dining area, and wrap my legs around its rungs.

Claudine dances around the kitchen, singing Bon Jovi while cooking. Another reason I hate her, but not the reason. She puts a plate of three cheeseburgers down in front of me, then sits across from me, her placemat empty. She folds her hands.

I pick up a burger, and grease drips between my fingers. The sensation makes me want to wipe my hands, but there’s no napkin holder on the table. I sink my teeth into the bun. Spices flood my senses, my mouth watering around the food. It’s good.

Fucking Claudine.

Of course she can cook.

While I’m chewing my second bite, she leans forward.

“What?” I ask with my mouth full. She doesn’t deserve manners, even if this might be the best burger I’ve ever had.

“I thought you’d wanna know,” she begins, her eyes intent on mine.

I take another bite, mostly so I don’t have to answer her. Almost one burger down. Two to go. Then I can go, too.

“Mercy’s getting out,” she says, and just like that, my day is ruined.

Thank you for reading Chapter 1 of Her Mercy, a River Reapers MC prequel novella.

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“Spill it… on her?” | Deleted scene from A Risky Prospect

Cliff needs to get his President’s attention, so he enlists the help of shitty bartender Trish in this deleted scene from A Risky Prospect.

I find Ravage sitting at a table downstairs, one of our dancers in his lap. Shit. I’d hoped to catch him before the party really got going. I don’t even see Donny, so he and Esther must be upstairs.

Interrupting Ravage right now would be a bad idea. He’s not in business mode anymore. The girl in his lap is down to a G-string and nothing else, so they’re not far from going upstairs. If I cock block him, he’ll cold cock me.

Hesitating by the bar, I signal for Trish.

“The usual?” She bats her eyes at me.

“Thank you, darling.” I smile back at her, the crooked one that my mom always said was going to kill the ladies. An unexpected twinge ripples through my chest. It shouldn’t be possible to miss someone this much after so long, but I do. Especially because she’d be able to give me some advice about Olivia.

But she’s not here. Apart from Lucy, I have no family left. Only my brothers.

Trish shovels ice into a glass and pours the whiskey over it. With a wink, she adds a cherry with a stem. Then she sets the glass down in front of me.

Stretching out, she leans on the counter, her chest framed by the stained and worn wood.

I take a sip, the whiskey cold and refreshing. Then I lean in close, so close she can hear me over the music, even though I keep my voice low, that intimate level that drops panties. “I need a favor.”

Her lips twitch into a smile. “Anything, baby. What do you need?”

“I need you to take a drink by that table and spill it on her.” I nod to Ravage and the dancer. “Make it look like an accident.”

“Spill it . . . on her?” She gapes at me, eyes flicking from me to the President.

Plucking the cherry from the glass, I pop it into my mouth, sucking on the fruit. I nod.

“Shit, Cliff.” Her teeth sink into her lower lip. “I don’t know. That’s a hell of a favor.”

“I’ll grab Ravage before he fires you. I just need him untangled.”

Smirking, she grabs a tray and a pair of glasses. “You owe me.”

“I figured.” I down my drink and try not to think about what she might call in when the time comes.

I watch as she fills the glasses with ice, club soda, and sugar.

“Gotta make it sticky enough to send her packing,” she says, “and I sure as hell ain’t wasting any booze.”

I better watch out for this one.

She eases out from behind the bar, the tray balanced on one hand, hips swaying as she moves across the floor. When she nears Ravage’s table, I stand.

“Shit!” she yells, pitching sideways. The whole tray slides out of her hand and right into the dancer’s lap. Liquid sloshes up, splashing her in the face and soaking her hair.

“What the hell?” the dancer shrieks, jumping out of Ravage’s lap. Several droplets land on his cut.

Frowning, he stands, a thick finger pointed toward Trish.

I step in.

Leaning in close, I speak so that only he can hear me. “Can I borrow you for a minute, Pres?”

Thank you for reading this deleted scene from A Risky Prospect, Book 2 in the River Reapers MC series.

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Who sat at the River Reapers MC table in 1997?

As you read Her Mercy, I thought I’d share with you the 10 original members and one Prospect who sat at the table in 1997. The novella takes place during A Risky Prospect, with flashbacks to 1997, right before Cliff went to prison (and right before Olivia was born).

President: Sebastian “Bastard” Demmel

Vice President: Mercer “Mercy” Reynolds

Enforcer: Gavin

Sergeant-at-Arms: Todd “Ravage” Harris

Treasurer: Mark Clayton

Member: Zed

Member: Abraham

Member: Donny Jackson

Member: Beer Can

Member: Malcolm

Prospect: Skid

Some of these faces will be familiar to you. The rest, you’ll get to know in the novella… and future books in the series!

Read Her Mercy Now

Keep Mercy & Bree for Your Shelf

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Photo by maks_d on Unsplash

I Stood My Ground

Last summer, I ran into one of the men who sexually assaulted me.

I knew it was a matter of time. We live in the same town. We have mutual friends. The clock was ticking. I was mentally prepared.

I thought.

It was a Saturday. I’d spent all week writing  A Risky Prospect. He hadn’t been far from my mind while I wrote Olivia struggling through her own PTSD. Still, I hadn’t exactly been worried about running into him.

I drove to the store for a pack of cigarettes. As I got out of my car and headed in, he went inside. I thought he looked familiar from behind, but talked myself out of it. I see men who look like him all the time and initially panic, then realize they are someone else. When I got inside, he turned around.

It was him.

We stood 10 or 20 feet apart. He stared at me. I stared back.

I wanted to turn and walk right back out. But I wanted that pack of cigarettes even more—especially since there he stood, right in front of me for the first time in years.

The last time I saw him was at the wake of a mutual friend.

As we stared each other down, I remembered everything: his hands around my throat, the mess on my face, the quiet and numb ride home, how I cut all contact with him as soon as I got out of his car and into the safety of my home.

I also remembered the good things: how he was my first kiss, how we stood there in front of our high school, snow falling around us. How he’d give me his hoodie when I was cold. How he always said the right things, but I no longer believed him.

He stood there in the store, I stood there in the store. He looked like he wanted to say something—just like the night of the wake. Except this time, I didn’t turn and walk away.

He was the one to walk away.

I bought my cigarettes and I drove home.

Even as the flashbacks slammed into me, I was proud of myself. I stood my ground.

It was a huge step forward for me.

Photo by Steinar Engeland on Unsplash

A RISKY PROSPECT Glossary

While reading A Risky Prospect, 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!

♠

Cara’s: A diner on 63 that Donny and Esther work at. 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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A Recap of A Disturbing Prospect

There’s a lot of stuff happening in these River Reapers MC books, and it’s been over a year since I published A Disturbing Prospect, so you’re bound to forget something. Shoutout to Molli Moran for suggesting I put a recap in the beginning of A Risky Prospect; I decided to do it as a blog post instead, that way it doesn’t take up any space in the book. (Per Amazon’s TOS, bonus content can only take up no more than 10 percent of your ebook.)

Before You Read

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

Previously on the River Reapers MC series…

Cliff was released from prison, but didn’t have anywhere to go. Thanks to terrible prison wages, he’d earned exactly enough for his cab and one night in a shitty motel. There was only one person he could call, but it was a long shot: his cousin Lucy. Would she even remember him? And if she did, would she want to talk to him?

It turned out that not only did Lucy remember him, but she was still grateful for what he did for her. She immediately offered to come down to Pennsylvania from Connecticut and pick him up. She planned on going by herself, but her adopted younger sister Olivia insisted on tagging along. She could use the break from her mundane life as a college student. In just a few months, she’d be graduating and officially a social worker. She had to live it up while she still could. Not too much, though—they almost missed their train!

When Olivia and Cliff meet, they’re instantly attracted to each other.

And then suddenly we’re in Lewisburg, and the Escalade pulls up in front of the entrance to a Days Inn. A man paces out front, his hands shoved into the pockets of his coat. Long brown hair that’s nearly black frames his face, and he’s got a beard, so I can’t really make out his features. But he’s big.

Not in a heavy way. He’s tall and broad. Even with that bulky hand-me-down coat, I can tell he’s built. It’s like I’m psychic and imagined him into being. Biting my lip, I stifle a giggle. For all I know, he’s really ugly and has a beer gut.

It really has been too long since I’ve gotten laid.

Lucy pays the Uber guy, we grab our luggage, and then my sister and I are standing in front of the motel with Cliff.

“They kicked you out?” she asks him.

He looks up, and depthless brown eyes meet hers. Despite the massive amounts of fur on his face, he’s handsome.

Hot, even.

There’s a scar next to his eyebrow that’s more like a pocked hole. It looks like someone bludgeoned him with a big rock. They probably did. But the rest of his face is intact—no teardrop tattoos or anything like that. His eyes are surprisingly soft and kind. When he smiles at Lucy, it lights up his whole face.

Olivia, Cliff, and Lucy spend a few days in Lewisburg while Cliff gets himself transferred to a probationary officer in Connecticut. Then they’re on the road again—or at least, they should be.

To celebrate, they go out for drinks. Olivia and Cliff have a few shots too many and get skin to skin in the back of someone else’s station wagon. Olivia swears to herself that it’ll never happen again. After all, they’re practically cousins.

But Cliff can’t shake lively, lovely Olivia from his head. It’s been 20 years since he set eyes on a woman, so maybe he’s just crushing on the idea of her. Or maybe it’s something more.

Cliff’s new P.O. sets him up with a job, and on his first day, he realizes he and Olivia have even more in common: they’re both working for a motorcycle club. Neither of them want the other there, and they both keep trying to change each other’s mind.

“They sell drugs, Olivia. This is just a front.” And fuck knows what else they do. I don’t say that, though. “This isn’t a good place for you.”

The relaxed woman in front of me morphs before my eyes. Her eyelids droop so that only slits of her pupils, irises, and whites are showing. Her lip curls. Nostrils flaring, she stabs the cigarette into the air in front of me. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”

“Look, I’m not trying to be a dick, Livvie—”

“And you don’t get to call me that.” She sucks in a long drag. “The only way this is going to work, Cliff, is if you do you and I do me. We agreed: family reunions. That means you don’t stomp around acting like my fucking daddy.”

I rub my temples. “So you don’t mind working in a place that sells coke?”

The dirty look she tosses me is simultaneously condescending. “What the fuck do you think I do behind this bar? Pour beer for shit tips?”

Oh, Olivia. I look down at my drink, at the cigarette in my hands. I need something a lot stronger. It’s only my first shift and everything is spiraling out of what little equilibrium I had. “You’ll go down with them,” I say. “Do you want that?”

She rolls her eyes. “I want to pay off my student loans. The most I can possibly hope to make is $40,000 a year in this fucking state. I’ll be lucky if I can land a job with DCF. I don’t want to start off in debt right out of the gate.”

“What is it you’re going for?” I pictured her as doing something more adventurous, not sitting in a goddamn state office all day.

Stubbing out her cigarette, she settles those brown eyes on mine. “I want to be a social worker. I wanna help kids in the system.” The unsaid remainder of that sentence hangs between us: So they don’t end up like you.

“Don’t you think,” I say slowly, “that it’ll be a little hard to get a nice state job if you’re convicted of selling drugs?”

“Fuck you,” she lobs at me.

Grinning, I stand. “You already did.” I walk away, the whiskey soaking into me. Not in an out of control way. My veins swim, limbs relaxed. This head is clear.

But Olivia has even bigger problems. A guy from her photography class just won’t take no for an answer. She lets him down gently, but something about him seems off.

Meanwhile, Cliff learns that his father Bastard was the MC’s President. His mother Ruth shielded him from the MC until she died, so he was naive to much of who and what Bastard was.

Until he caught Bastard molesting Lucy.

Cliff killed Bastard and went to prison for his murder. The MC’s current President Ravage explains that he and some of the other members wanted to kill Bastard themselves, but club protocol meant they had to vote. Unfortunately, the vote was split right down the middle, meaning none of the members could take any action against Bastard. Cliff, Ravage explains, did them a favor, so if he wants to join the MC, he’s welcome to be a Prospect.

It’s a lot to take in, but Cliff ultimately decided to become a Prospect because, apart from Lucy, he has no family. The MC could be his family, if he lets it.

Olivia starts noticing odd things: first her roommate Esther’s car gets keyed, then someone tries to kill her kitten. She approaches Donny, the MC’s Enforcer, for a gun—just in case. She’s been hurt by too many men in the past, and it can’t hurt to err on the side of caution.

It all comes to a head when her classmate Eli makes a copy of her apartment key and breaks in. Thankfully, she’s prepared, but she wasn’t prepared to fight him. After a close call, she takes Eli out with a shot to the hand and then to the head. The only thing she didn’t prepare for was the aftermath. She can’t call the cops. Instead, she calls Cliff.

Cliff calls the MC, and with Enforcer Donny and Sergeant-at-Arms Beer Can, he dismembers and disposes of the body. Eli can’t hurt Olivia anymore, but she’s still in a state of shock. It shouldn’t feel so good to take a life. Cliff knows exactly what she means.

MC President Ravage is both irritated with and proud of both Cliff and Olivia for the way they handled things. He reveals to Olivia that her father was Cliff’s father’s Vice President. The club is her birthright, too, if she wants it. The MC offers her a position as a Prospect, and patches Cliff in as a full member.

All that’s left is for Olivia and Cliff to decide whether they should be together. Neither of them can deny the pull they feel toward each other. Besides, the couple that hides a body together stays together, right? They decide to give it a go, for now…

The story continues in A Risky Prospect, Book 2 in the River Reapers MC series.

A RISKY PROSPECT 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 second book in the series, A Risky Prospect.

NOTE: This guide contains spoilers! If you haven’t finished Book 1, A Disturbing Prospect, please see this character guide instead.

  • Abraham: Non-officer member of the River Reapers MC. He is a barber and is in a serious relationship with his boyfriend Rui.
  • Salome & León Aguirre: Esther’s grandparents. Current guardians of Esther’s little sisters.
  • Beer Can: The Sergeant-at-Arms for the River Reapers MC. He works at The Wet Mermaid (strip club) as a bouncer.
  • Finn Byrne: Greg’s brother. Naugatuck police officer.
  • Greg Byrne: Olivia’s ex-boyfriend and the frontman of Oh Vile Eye.
  • 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.
  • Dio: Olivia’s orange tabby kitten. Named for the god of heavy metal.
  • Esther Figueroa: Olivia’s bookish roommate and Donny’s ol’ lady. She just graduated from the Social Work program with Olivia at Southern Connecticut State University.
  • Abril Figueroa: Esther’s 11-year-old sister.
  • Cierra Figueroa: Esther’s 14-year-old sister.
  • Toci & Josué Figueroa: Esther, Cierra, Abril, and Ximena’s abusive parents.
  • Ximena “Jimmy” Jimenez Figueroa: Esther’s five-year-old sister.
  • Todd “Ravage” Harris: The current President of the River Reapers MC. Mercy’s best friend.
  • Shannon Harris: Ravage’s ol’ lady. She runs a non-profit for sexual assault survivors.
  • Donny Jackson: The Enforcer for the River Reapers MC and Esther’s ol’ man.
  • Elijah “Eli” Moretti: Olivia’s deceased photography classmate. He stalked Olivia, assaulted her cat, and broke into her apartment, where she shot and killed him.
  • Pru: Dancer at The Wet Mermaid.
  • Bree Reynolds: Olivia’s mother, whereabouts unknown.
  • 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: 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.
  • Stixx: Non-officer member of the River Reapers MC. He’s all tatted up and a little wild in the eyes, but he’s got a soft center.
  • Trish: Bartender at The Wet Mermaid.
  • Vaughn: Non-officer member of River Reapers MC. He is a hacker.
  • Ruth Wood: Cliff’s deceased mother, and Lucy’s aunt. No affiliation with the MC, other than Bastard’s ol’ lady.

Please note that I excluded a few characters 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!

A Risky Prospect
River Reapers MC, Book 2
Available March 18th

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What Inspired A RISKY PROSPECT and the River Reapers MC Series

TW: This post discusses my recovery from sexual assault.

I’ve been asked a few times about what inspired A Risky Prospect; mainly, whether Olivia’s PTSD and recovery from sexual assault is based on my own experience.

I am a sexual assault survivor.

It still feels weird to say that. It’s only been four years since I started facing my traumas and recognizing what happened to me. Two different “boyfriends” hurt me—one over a period of years, the other over a few months. Both assaults happened in different ways—not the textbook “attacked in an alley” way. I’m still working through what that means. Our society has a huge denial issue when it comes to rape. We don’t discuss it. We don’t believe survivors. We don’t punish rapists.

Once I started unpacking what happened to me and how, I started feeling less ashamed and more angry. I didn’t know what to do with that anger, though. Both of the people who hurt me are long out of my life.

I knew before I even sat down to write this series that eventually I wanted the River Reapers to be vigilantes, to be the ones that people in their town turned to when no one else would help. I also knew I didn’t want to just jump into their adventures as vigilantes; I wanted to build up to it, lay down a foundation of some history, and then let ’em at it.

“One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives,” reports the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. In the face of these astounding statistics and the rape culture the U.S. is stewing in, I needed to do something. I also needed to tell my story for my own healing. So I took those two “men” who hurt me, rolled them into one character, and let Olivia’s story unfold. It was cathartic for me but also served as a driving force for the River Reapers to take things into their own hands.

My own traumas weren’t the only things that inspired this book, though.

In 2006, not too long after the second event, I met a man who restored my faith in men. Mike showed me what it’s like to have a healthy relationship. He also supported me relentlessly while I unpacked all of my shit and dealt with it. He might not fully understand PTSD, but he tries. From the very beginning, we just fit. In a way, he’s the reason I started writing romance; through him, I started believing in love again. Pieces of him found their way into every hero I’ve ever written, but I put a whole lot of him in Cliff.

I’d need more than a few sentences to capture what he means to me. Cliff is sort of an ode to Mike.

Especially the crusty man socks in Book 1. 😉

My love for vigilantes and Sons of Anarchy sparked this series, but I also wanted to do things a little differently. If you’ve been with me for a while, you know I write “badass belles who chose the other path.” I often flip gender roles and stomp on assumptions about women. I write “unlikable” heroines: women who are strong, foulmouthed, and sex positive. I hate how much our society shames women for loving sex. I hate that both men and other women do this. Women who love sex are called all sorts of awful things, and it makes my eye twitch. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your body and having sex. Nothing! Sex is one of my favorite things, so I passed that on to Olivia. I wanted to show other women that it’s perfectly okay to be sex positive.

This book also has several healthy female friendships. I’m lucky to be surrounded by many strong, supportive, loving women in my life. Some of them I got by birth, others by chance and choice, but I’m grateful for all of them. A Risky Prospect dives deeper into Olivia and her roommate Esther’s friendship, and strengthens Olivia and Lucy’s relationship.

It’s not all about Olivia, though.

While doing research before and while writing this series, I learned a lot about the prison system and the hardships that people like Cliff face when they’re released. Cliff lost 20 years of his life and is going through a sort of identity crisis. He isn’t sure whether he loves Olivia or just the idea of her, and he has no idea what to do with himself outside of their relationship. While Olivia is unpacking her PTSD, Cliff has to figure out who he is and what he wants in life. He also has to reconcile his dreams with the reality in front of him.

A Risky Prospect is the hardest and darkest book I’ve ever written, but it’s also the book I’m most proud of. It’s got many bright spots and swoony moments. I can’t wait for the world to experience the next installment of Olivia and Cliff’s story. I hope you’ll all be as obsessed with these two as I am.

A Risky Prospect
River Reapers MC, Book 2
Now Available

Brash social worker Olivia has been through her own personal hell and come out the other side, tattered but determined to make things better in her corrupt town—no matter the cost. Her roommate’s current situation is the perfect place to start.

When ex-con Cliff’s wild ol’ lady Olivia comes to him and the River Reapers for help, he’s on board. His vigilante motorcycle club can get the job done, and it’ll help convince Olivia to take the next step in their relationship.

But when Olivia’s traumatic past walks through the club’s doors, there’s no stopping her from doing whatever it takes to settle her own score. Even if it means crossing a line that Cliff might not be able to pull her back from.

Read Chapter 1 | Read with Kindle Unlimited | Order a Signed Paperback

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