Savage Bloods MC: The Beginning
Series: Savage Bloods MC, #0.5
by Ember Sparks
Release Date: December 15, 2023
Genre: Adult contemporary motorcycle club romance
Content Warnings: Violence / death / sexual situations
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203905931-savage-bloods-mc
Buy Links: https://books2read.com/SavageBloodMC
Blurb:
A simple rescue mission ends in death…
The mission was simple—get in, rescue Caleb, and get out. But things go horribly wrong when the team is ambushed. Now, Caleb’s dead, several team members are injured, and no one knows what the hell happened. And now, Harland Carter needs to go home and tell his parents and sister that Caleb is never coming home.
She blames them…
Cassandra “Cassie” Carter blames her older brother, Harland, and their lifelong best friend, Steven Graham for not saving Caleb. Now, she’s left in a pit of grief that she’s not sure she’ll ever crawl out of. To make matters worse, Harland and Steven have the ridiculous idea to start a motorcycle club in Caleb’s honor.
The Savage Bloods are born…
Terrified of what this club means for her brother—and Steven, the man she’s secretly loved for years—Cassie begs them not to go through with creating the club. But they have their minds made up, and there’s nothing she can do to stop them. The Savage Bloods Motorcycle Club is born, and with it, Cassie loses everything and everyone she’s ever cared about.
Excerpt:
Slade…
“Harland… what’s going on?” Cassie asks. “You’re scaring me. Where’s Caleb?”
“Yeah,” his father says. “You did just get home from a rescue mission, right?”
Slowly, almost as if he’s being tortured, Harland lifts his head. “Yes, and we failed.” His voice catches, but he doesn’t stop. “I’m so sorry. Caleb’s dead.”
His mother gasps, and his father wraps his arm around her shoulders, turning her against him. She sobs.
“You’re lying.” Cassie stands, her hands balled into fists by her sides. “He’s not dead. He’s not.” She shakes her head.
Harland pushes to his feet and takes a step toward Cassie. She shakes her head even harder and holds up her hand to stop him. He freezes.
“I’m sorry, Cassie. I swear to you, I did everything in my power to save him.” The sheen of tears glistens in Harland’s eyes.
“No. He can’t be dead.” Cassie’s bottom lip trembles, and tears spill down her cheeks.
I have to force in a lungful of air, and I flex my hands. I want nothing more than to pull her into my arms and comfort her the way her father is comforting her mother, but I suddenly feel like an outsider, peeping on a private moment that I have no business witnessing.
“Cassie, I—”
“No!” she screams and then darts around Harland. She’s out the front door before I can register what she’s doing.
Harland moves to go after her, and I stop him with a firm hand to his chest. “I got her. You stay here.” I nod at his parents.
He turns back to his parents without another word, and I walk outside. Truthfully, I need the fresh air. Even from the front porch, I can hear Mrs. Carter’s sobs, and the sound rips my heart to shreds.
But the sight of Cassie on the ground, rocking forward, face buried in her hands, wailing is my undoing. I stride toward her, kneel down, and wrap her in my arms. She buries her face against my chest and cries even harder, which I’m not sure how that’s possible. But she does. And I let her.
I don’t know how long we’re out here, but when she finally eases back, her face is red and splotchy, her cheeks are streaked with mascara, and my shirt is wet from her tears.
“He can’t be gone.” She hiccups.
I frown, wishing I could say something to make this better for her. I can’t bring the dead back to life, though, and no amount of stupid platitudes is going to make any of this okay.
“Did he suffer?” she whispers, staring up at me.
“No,” I lie.
She nods and hugs herself. She tucks her bottom lip between her teeth, and I can tell she’s trying not to cry anymore, but she’s quickly losing the battle. She’s much too strong for her own good.
I reach for her again and drag her back into my arms. She doesn’t resist. “Let it out, Cassie.”
She clings to me, her body shaking with grief. I can’t stop the tears from pooling in my eyes. Caleb was just as much a brother to me as he was to Cassie and Harland. Maybe not by blood, but I loved him like he was.
Several moments later, Harland steps outside. His hands are once again shoved into his pockets. His hair sticks up in all directions, and he looks exhausted. His gaze meets mine, and I give a quick nod. His shoulders slump, and he slowly makes his way toward us.
“Cassie?” He gently touches her back.
She stiffens in my arms. “I need to know what happened.” She sniffles and sits back so she can see me and Harland. “I need you to tell me everything, Harland.”
The sheer terror that washes over Harland’s face has my gut clenching. Technically, we weren’t supposed to even tell her or their parents that we were going on a rescue mission—for this exact reason. But Harland had wanted to ease his parents’ worry, and so he’d broken protocol to tell them.
“I can’t,” Harland says. “I’m sorry, Cassie.”
She scrambles to her feet, sadness morphing into anger. “This is your fault!” She pokes him in the chest. “You were supposed to watch out for him. Protect him.” She chokes out a sob. “You promised me.”
I get to my feet, ready to jump in to play mediator when she turns on me. Her anger is palpable, and I brace myself.
“This is on you, too, Steven,” she snaps, her tone vehement. “Caleb did whatever you two wanted him to do, and now he’s dead. Because of you!”
Before either of us can respond, she spins on her heel and runs back inside, slamming the door hard enough to make me flinch. I clasp my hand on Harland’s shoulder to still his movements. One look at his face, and I know Cassie’s words hit their mark. Harland already blamed himself for not saving Caleb, and now his own sister is blaming him, too.
“Give her some time,” I say, though I’m not sure all the time in the world will be enough for her to grieve the loss of her twin brother.
“I can’t do this.” Harland shakes his head, climbs onto his bike, and takes off, dirt and gravel flying up around his tires.
I stand there, heartbroken. Angry. Confused. I have no idea if I should take my own advice and leave Cassie alone or if I should go check on her. Eventually, I decide to leave her alone. She and her parents need time to process and grieve, and they don’t need me in the way.
I mount my bike and leave. I have no idea where I’m going, and I don’t need to have a destination. Right now, I just need the wind in my face and the open road ahead of me. I can figure out the rest later.
Ember Sparks is a passionate steamy romance author who draws inspiration from personal experiences and the world around her. Her stories are full of heat, love, and the unlikely connections that form between people. As a writer, Ember uses her vivid imagination to transport readers to new worlds and leave them wanting more.
With a fiery passion for storytelling, Ember’s writing style is designed to inspire readers and show them that joy, love, and passion can be found even in the most challenging times. Through her work, she encourages others to find their own escape, whether it’s through writing, reading, or embracing life to the fullest.
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