Broken Mercy
Book Two
San Francisco Rock Romance
By
Stacy McWilliams
Copyright
Copyright © 2020 Stacy McWilliams ~ Broken Mercy
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be duplicated, transmitted, in any form or by any means—whether electronically, mechanically, by photocopying or any other means—without prior written consent.
To do so would result in legal proceedings.
This novel is a work of fiction and any similarities to any party are coincidental.
The ownership of this work is protected by copyright and belongs to the author.
Proof-reader:
Editor: Maria Lazarou ~ Obsessed by Books Designs
Formatter: Maria Lazarou ~ Obsessed by Books Designs
Cover Designer:
Acknowledgments
First of all, I’d like to start this section by thanking my readers group and all the readers. From those who’ve been with me since the beginning, to those who’ve discovered along the way. Thank you for your messages, your support, your reviews, and your love. It means the world to me and I adore you all.
Next up I want to thank my hubs, my boys, and my family. I couldn’t do this without you all and I adore you. Mike, you are my best friend, husband and soulmate and I’m so lucky to have you. Corey, Reuben, and Theo, you are my world and I adore every crazy, fun filled, sleepless day with you three.
To my mum, dad and sisters and amazing in-laws. You are the backbone and it really does take a village to bring my boys up and my village is strong because of you all.
To my girls, I adore you all. You are always there for me, holding me up when I feel low and picking me up when I stumble. You don’t judge, don’t criticize and I love you all so much for every bit of support you have given me.
Lastly, I’d like to thank my amazing cover designer, beta readers, proof readers, alpha readers and formatter. Maria you are simply amazing and I am so grateful to be working with you.
To the rest of my book family, thank you so much. I couldn’t do it without your support.
Thank you for everything and I hope you enjoy Broken Mercy.
All my love
Stacy
Dedication
I’d like to dedicate this book to my mum. You are my biggest support, biggest help, and most amazing mum.
I’m so lucky to have you and I wish you the happiest of birthdays and thank you so much for all your belief in me. This one’s for you.
Love you mum. xx
Blurb
As the lead singer of Black Mercy, Mason had it all. That is, until a catalogue of events changes everything.
Can he trust those around him or will he push away everyone he loves as he battles with the overwhelming emotions he feels.
Amber is isolated and struggling. Can Mason come through for her, or is he so consumed with his own demons that he’ll end up losing her?
Their world is in a tailspin, but can they hold on to each other?
Or is this Mercy too Broken to salvage?
Chapter One
Missing
Mason
My whole body shook, as I took in the image of Amber, tied and bloody. I couldn’t believe what had happened. First, I’d had to deal with Ollie and the knowledge that my mom betrayed me Now, I was dealing with the fact that I’d lost Amber and not only had I lost her, she was in danger. My hands shook as I text the number back.
Mason: What do you want?
Unknown: Nothing you can give me
Mason: Please, I’ll give you anything, just let her go.
Unknown: I don’t think so.
My fingers trembled as I text the guys, all I wanted was to down a fifth, but I couldn’t do that. I had to fight for her. I had to find her. They say you don’t appreciate what you have, until it’s gone and by fuck, was that true. I’d fucked around on Amber, screwed her, and ran, because I was scared, but she’d stayed by my side and still loved me.
My cell phone rang and interrupted my thoughts and my heart leapt when I looked down. It was her calling me. For a second, I prayed she’d escaped, but my hope quickly faded, when I heard her cry.
“Amber?” I asked hoarsely and I heard a scream, before the line went dead.
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. I just knew I had to get her back. She was it for me and I might have been a total douche, but fuck, if I didn’t love her. My hands shook as I called Harris. I needed him.
“Hey man,” Harris murmured as he answered.
I didn’t answer straight away. I couldn’t. My mind was going one hundred miles a minute.
“Mase, you okay man?”
“No, come over and bring the guys. I need your help. Can your mom mind the kids for me?”
“Yeah, course man, but where’s Amber? Can’t she watch the them?”
My fingers trembled so hard, that I almost dropped the cell.
“No man, Amber’s missing and I need you guys to help me get her back, please?”
“Of course, man, we’ll be over asap.”
He ended the call and I collapsed onto the bed, with my head in my hands. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there, tuned out, but the image of Amber kept flashing before my eyes. She couldn’t be far; I was only with Ollie, for twenty minutes. I wondered if Ollie was behind it and then I remembered Karl and his douche of a father, then her old boss. I hadn’t a clue who it was, but I would make them pay for hurting her.
My cell chirped again, but I didn’t want to look at it, so I closed my eyes again until I heard the gate. My legs were lead weights, as I made my way down the stairs to meet the guys. Everyone looked so confused, as I glanced around them.
“Mase, what’s going on? Harris said you needed us?” Quinn was the first to speak and I looked at him.
“Amber’s been abducted. She’s in danger and I need to go look for her. Will you guys help me?”
“What do you mean you? You aren’t alone in this shit Mase, we’ll all go look for her. Okay?” Harris answered and then he glanced around the room. “I think it would be a good idea to involve the cops. If she’s hurt or injured, then we’re, gonna need help.”
“I dunno,” I mused, praying they’d just let her go.
She didn’t deserve this. I couldn’t think straight, but I needed to clear my head. My body moved almost without thought to the liquor cabinet. I reached in, grabbing a fifth of Scotch that I kept in there. Twisting the cap off, I raised it to my lips, when Harris put his hand on my shoulder.
“Mase, are you sure you wanna drink that?” His tone was careful and when I glanced at him, I could see the worry in his eyes.
“Yes, I am,” I shrugged him off and tipped the bottle upwards.
“What if Amber calls and needs you to go get her?”
His words turned my veins to ice, as the image of her, flashed back before my eyes. I lowered the bottle, tasting a little of the whiskey on my tongue as I did and swallowing hard.
“One of you can drive…” I began, but he shook his head and I glanced around at the other guys, who glared back at me.
“She won’t want any of us. She trusts you and if any of us turn up, I’m pretty sure she won’t even consider getting in the car.”
With trembling hands, I fought the urge to ignore them and drink, but he was right. She wouldn’t want them. She wouldn’t trust them. I wasn’t sure if she’d even come to me. She didn’t trust me. She’d left me again, after promising she would stay, but who could blame her? She heard my conversation with Ollie and when I didn’t turn her down, or defend my relationship with Amber, she concluded that I was playing her and left me.
Why did everyone I love to leave me?
What was wrong with me?
My musings were interrupted as my cell rang, I dropped the bottle and raced towards it. Helena’s number flashed up and I rolled my eyes, letting it ring out. I didn’t want to deal with her, or her shit. Quinn looked at me and saw my face.
“Dude, you gotta report this. I have a friend in the PD. You want me to call him over?”
For a moment I stood frozen and then I slowly nodded. She’d left me, but I wouldn’t abandon her. I’d save her and let her know, that I was worth having. My head swam as I considered fighting to win her back, but I had to deal with the fact she was missing first. I had to rescue her. My cell chimed in my hands. I looked down to see an image of Amber on the floor, beaten and bloody, with her hands behind her back.
Unknown: How much is she worth to you?
My hands were shaking as I saw her, and my eyes filled with tears. This was because of me. She was in trouble because she was with me.
How much more shit could I take?
First it was the takeover and the shit that happened there. Then the guy with the gun in my house and now this. I was done. I was done with it all. The past year had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions and I couldn’t cope with it anymore.
Trying to steady my hands, I typed.
Mason: Everything. She’s worth everything.
A few seconds passed and then my cell chimed again.
Unknown: I want ten million in cash if you want her back again.
My eyes blurred as I read the text, but I could get ten mill. Hell, I was worth ten times that.
Mason: When and where?
As soon as the message was sent, Quinn came over and took the cell from me. He glanced down at it and screenshotted the messages, before sending them to his friend. He’d been on his cell for the past few minutes, but I wasn’t paying enough attention. Sophia came toddling into the kitchen in her cute little onesie, and came straight for me. I lifted her without question and held her tightly, trying to hold it together. Lexa walked through the door with Lewis and I rolled my eyes at them. She had Lucca in her arms and was cooing at him.
Harris and his mom arrived, and she took one look at me and came over. Plucking Sofia from my arms and taking her and Lucca from the room. I heard her singing to them through the baby monitor, as Harris stared at me with wide eyes. Lexa was standing beside Lewis, staring up at him and frowning as he told her a story about a girl he was seeing. I wondered if anyone had told her what had happened. I didn’t think they had, because she didn’t look even remotely freaked out.
For a moment, nobody spoke at all. Then Joe came in with Norry and Archie, and we all sat around the kitchen table, as Quinn came back in with a few guys, Norry knew. He nodded at them and they came towards me.
“Mr. Michaels, can we speak to you in private please?”
The taller of the two guys spoke, looking directly at me and I nodded, moving towards them. We left with Norry, Quinn and the two officers. Quinn stepped into the sitting room and put the light on, and we all sat on the sofa.
“What time did you last see Miss Davis?” he asked me in a serious voice.
I stared into space, trying to think when we’d gotten home and how excited I’d been to start my life with her. Then Ollie appeared and everything got so fucked up.
What time did I last see Amber?
I tried to think about what time it was, but I wasn’t sure.
“Sometime around ten pm, I think,” I answered and chewed on my lip.
My hands clenched on my lap as they looked at me. It was a little after one am, and my kids were up. I wasn’t sure why they were, but I guessed it was because they missed Amber, much like I did.
She left you!
The voice in my head reminded me again, that she’d left me again, but I shrugged it off as the cop spoke. He was familiar to me, but I couldn’t place him.
“Nine times out of ten the victim, is abducted by someone they know. So, has anyone been acting strange, or threatening towards Amber, yourself or your kids.”
I wondered who’d do that to me, to us. Were they using her to get to me, or was it someone from her past? I wondered if Amber had any enemies, or if I had anyone who hated me enough to try and abduct the girl I loved.
Fuck! I did love her, didn’t I?
I realized that I loved Amber. Like really fucking loved her, enough to wanna spend the rest of my life with her.
What had I been thinking, letting Ollie speak to me like that? I knew her though and I knew if I outright said no, then she’d have fought me, with everything she had. I had to be smarter than her. I had to get her out of my life and out of Sofia’s, once and for all.
“Mr. Michaels?” one of the cops asked and Quinn nudged me.
I glanced around at them all and I could see them all waiting for a response to the question. I closed my eyes for a moment and then gave my head a shake trying to clear my head.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
“I asked whether you, or Miss Davis have any enemies?”
“Yeah, I’m sure I have a few, but I’m not sure about Amber’s. The cop whose son killed his girlfriend and her douchebag of an ex, might be candidates, but other than that I’m not sure.”
“You do know who, Amber is, don’t you, Mr. Michaels?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Amber, is Lucia Davis, former party girl?”
My head swam as I remembered the stories about Lucia Davis in the press. A few years ago, she was all over the press. partying hard and getting arrested, but in recent years there was nothing. I’d checked Amber out though and her name was Amber Davis. She had a birth certificate and everything,
“I… I didn’t know that.”
I needed to see her. I needed to ask her about her past and why she’d kept that from me, but I needed her home to ask her these things.
“She might have some enemies from then, don’t you think?” he pressed on.
I shook my head, checking my cell again for the one hundredth time, but there was nothing.
“Yeah, maybe.”
A distraction arrived in the shape of Harris’ mom and I took a moment to go to the bathroom. My eyes were glazed, and my hands trembling, as I turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on my face. When I returned, the police had left and Quinn and Harris were sitting on the sofa, speaking in low voices. I didn’t want to know what they were discussing, but I didn’t get a choice.
“Mase, have you considered that she might have orchestrated this abduction to get your money?”
My head snapped towards them as I considered their words.
Could Amber have done that?
Would she have done that?
I wasn’t sure and the thought made me feel sick.
What if she was just using me as a meal ticket?
She had begged me for a job, so what if she’d just done that and convinced me to fall for her?
I had to be sure.
I text the number back telling them that they could have their money, only if they dropped her off here. I wasn’t going to go, chasing them. My eyes blurred and I looked at the image of Amber tied and bloodied again, and my stomach sank. I didn’t know what to do.
What if she was telling the truth?
What if she really had been kidnapped?
Had I just signed her death warrant?
My head was swimming and I couldn’t think straight. I wanted a drink. No, I, fucking needed a drink. I really, really fucking needed one. I sat there trying to think who would, do that to me and how to get Amber back here safely, and if she even was in danger.
Chapter Two
Chasing Cars
Amber
The jolt of the car startled me awake. I tried to lift my arms to wipe away the blackness covering my eyes, but they wouldn’t move. My body was leaden and wouldn’t obey my commands. Panic threatened t
o overwhelm me, as voices overhead, spoke words, that were muffled and distant. My breaths came in short, sharp gasps and I tried to calm myself, but as the car jolted me from left to right, my panic grew.
Where was I?
What had happened to me?
I remembered leaving Mason’s when I heard him and Ollie speak, but I couldn’t remember anything, after packing my bags into my car. My head throbbed and my chest ached, as I tried to recall what had happened to me.
Suddenly the car stopped, and I was dragged out by my feet, struck again, by how little I could move. Rough hands lifted me and carried me, before dumping me on the floor, without a word. There were loud footsteps, followed by a loud bang, which made me try to scuttle backwards and then nothing. My eyes stung as the pain in my head ramped up and something warm trickled down the back of my neck.
Blood, I wondered.
Am I bleeding?
How am I bleeding?
What happened?
Random thoughts crashed around my mind. Leaving that note for Mason, hearing him talk to Ollie. My heart breaking, as he told her it was a shock, her being back in his life, after all the time that had passed. He didn’t say he wanted her to leave because he wanted me. He didn’t tell her he was with me, so I’d done the only thing I could think of, and left.
My head swam as broken images overwhelmed me and I remembered someone in a balaclava approaching, as I loaded my bags into my trunk. My heart sped as I spun around, wondering how they’d gotten past security and what they were going to do to me. When something hit me hard on the back of my head, so hard, my teeth snapped together. I probed along my lip with my tongue and found a rough patch of skin.
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