I was barely speaking to Nickie now. I held her to blame for what had happened, but if she hadn’t told Tony the Hound where we were, I’d most likely be dead now, killed at X’s hand. I tried to convince myself that he might have changed his mind anyway, even if things hadn’t gone down the way they had, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe that. He’d stalked my house that night in order to break in and kill me. Only the events that had preceded it prevented that happening.
I’d had no choice but to contact the U.S. Marshals and tell them I was voluntarily leaving the Witness Protection Program and was taking my sister with me. They weren’t happy about it, to say the least, but I had no choice. We were under Tony the Hound’s protection now.
Unsurprisingly, Nicole still wasn’t happy. I guessed she’d expected to come back to New York and just carry on with her life, but of course that didn’t happen. Our father knew I was still alive, and that Tony had Nickie, so we were living constantly under the watch of armed gangsters. She hadn’t been allowed to go back to school or see her friends. The boredom was driving her crazy, but I had little sympathy for her. In my own cloud of sorrow, I struggled to find any pity for anyone else. She’d brought this upon herself.
I still hadn’t been given a date when I would be standing up in court and testifying against my father, but I was determined to make it happen. The last few days with X had shown me that I still had something to live for, and it wasn’t only about the few snatches of happiness I’d experienced while in his arms. If it had all been about him, I would have given up, just as I’d wanted to so many times after my mom died. No, instead X had shown me that, despite everything, and even in the most dire of circumstances, we could still find happiness, even for a short while, and I would have rather have had those few days with X than a lifetime in the black nothingness I’d been caught in before. I was a strong person, and I still had a fight ahead of me, one that would see my father being sent down for the rest of his life. I missed X with every single breath I took, with every heartbeat, with every blink of my eyes, but I wasn’t going to let losing X mean everyone else would win.
No, his loss wouldn’t break me.
My time with X had only made me stronger.
And I would continue to fight.
THE END
Like what you’ve read? ‘Warped’ Book two in The Mercenary Series will be out on the 26th of January 2017 and is available to pre-order from AMAZON now! So you never miss out, make sure you sign up to Marissa Farrar’s new release list to stay updated about new releases, exclusives, and special offers! http://forms.aweber.com/form/61/19822861.htm
Acknowledgements
I added a new member to my fabulous little team in the form of Tammy Payne from Book Nook Nuts, who did a fantastic job of proofreading this book after my editor had worked on it. Thank you, Tammy, for your work on this book. I’m so pleased you enjoyed it.
Thanks also to my long time proofreaders, and first readers, Glynis Elliott and Karey McComish! You know I always appreciate your extra eyes on the book, as typos are the sort of thing my nightmares are made of!
As always, thanks to my fantastic friend and editor, Lori Whitwam. I don’t know what I’d do without you.
Thank you to my facebook group, Marissa Farrar’s Fandom, for enduring my numerous questions about the cover for this book and helping me with all your advice and support, I really appreciate it.
And thanks, of course, to you, the reader. I hope you enjoyed the start of this new series!
Thanks for reading!
Marissa. XXX
Also by Marissa Farrar
Contemporary Fiction Novels
CUT TOO DEEP
SURVIVOR
THE SOUND OF CRICKETS
The Monster Trilogy
DEFACED
DENIED
DELIVERED
The Serenity Series:
The Vengeful Vampire (free short story)
Alone (free first novel of the series!)
Buried
Captured
Dominion
Endless
The Dhampyre Chronicles:
Twisted Dreams
Twisted Magic
The Spirit Shifters Series:
Autumn’s Blood (free first novel)
Saving Autumn
Autumn Rising
Autumn’s War
Avenging Autumn
Autumn’s End
UNDERLIFE
THE DARK ROAD
About the Author
Marissa Farrar is a multi-published romance, fantasy, and horror author. She was born in Devon, England, has travelled all over the world, and has lived in both Australia and Spain. She now resides in the countryside with her husband, three young children, a crazy Spanish dog, and two rescue cats. Despite returning to England, she daydreams of one day being able to split her time between her home country and the balmy, white sandy beaches of Spain.
Even though she’s been writing stories since she was small and held dreams of being a writer, her initial life plan went a different way.
In her youth, inspired by James Herriot, she decided to become a vet, and would regularly bring home new pets to her weary parents. Upon discovering her exams were never going to get her into a veterinary degree, she ended up studying Zoology. Once she completed her degree and realised she’d spent the majority trying to find time to write, she decided to follow her dream of being an author. Seven years later, she was published and two years after that she was able to say goodbye to the day job.
However, she’s continued to collect animals!
Marissa is the author of over twenty novels, including the dark vampire ‘Serenity’ series. Her short stories have been accepted for a number of anthologies including, Their Dark Masters, Red Skies Press, Masters of Horror: Damned If You Don’t, Triskaideka Books; and 2013: The Aftermath, Pill Hill Press.
If you want to know more about Marissa, then please visit her website at www.marissa-farrar.blogspot.com. You can also find her at her facebook page, www.facebook.com/marissa.farrar.author or follow her on twitter @marissafarrar.
She loves to hear from readers and can be emailed at [email protected].
SKEWED
The Mercenary Series
Book One
Copyright © 2016 Marissa Farrar
Warwick House Press
Edited by Lori Whitwam
Cover art by Marissa Farrar
License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.
Publisher’s Note
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Skewed (The Mercenary Series Book 1) Page 19
