Lying in Ruins
Fate’s Vultures #1
by Jami Gray
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Romantic Suspense
The world didn't end in fire and explosions, instead it collapsed slowly, like falling dominoes, an intensifying panic of disease, food shortages, wild weather and collapsing economies, until what remained of humanity battles for survival in a harsh new reality.
Charity uses lethal survival skills learned too early in her work as a 'Hound, sniffing out pivotal secrets for one of the most powerful people on the west coast. Her work is deceptive, deadly, and best performed solo, which means when she has a run-in with a member of the notorious Fate's Vultures, she has no intention of joining forces in some mockery of teamwork. The man might be sexy as hell, but she travels alone. She will accomplish her mission and she will settle a score - hopefully with the edge of her blade. But fate has other plans.
As one of Fate’s Vultures, a nomadic band of arbitrators known for their ruthless verdicts, Ruin witnesses the carnage of corruption and greed battering the remnants of humanity, and he bears the scars to prove it. Now he has a damn 'Hound showing up in suspicious circumstances, leaving every cell of his body sceptical - and painfully aroused. The woman is trouble, and Ruin has every intention of steering clear. But when they realise they have a common enemy, Charity and Ruin will have to set aside their distrust if they want to achieve their mutual goal - justice and revenge.
Sometimes, when the world's gone to hell, it's better to stick with the devil you know...
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‘How good is your crazy?’
He canted his head and took a moment to replay her question. ‘Come again?’
Those full lips twitched, causing his cock to do the same. ‘Time to let your crazy fly, Ruin.’
A light touch on the reins brought his horse to a stop. Charity’s paint took another step or two before doing the same. She twisted in her saddle to face him, dark mischief dancing in those electric blue eyes. ‘You and Boden seem certain the Raiders were leading Simon into a trap. Add in the fact we’re tracking them deeper in the mountains, I’m thinking we’re about to be outnumbered.’ Slim shoulders rose in a delicate shrug under the battered leather jacket. ‘Why go in hard, when we can go in soft?’
‘I’m listening.’ He touched his heels into his horse, nudging it forward.
She held his gaze as he came up beside her. ‘This Cammon place, how many people know about it?’
‘Long-timers mainly, those who’ve been out here for years.’ And obviously others if his guess was right.
‘So if one of those long-timers happened to be a trapper calling it home, no surprise, right?’ Her paint held steady as he crowded close.
He filled in the blanks even as he caught a flash of heated awareness in her gaze before she doused it. Deep inside, under his wiseass persona, the hunter smiled in anticipation. God how he loved a challenge wrapped in a puzzle. ‘Crazy ass loner comes back from a hunt, his woman in tow, only to stumble upon uninvited guests.’
She shifted in her saddle, touched the tip of a finger to her nose and tapped twice.
Hmm, it might work. ‘Guns or blades, you think?’ A question he hadn’t asked her earlier, too caught up in tracking Simon. Since she was there when the Raiders attacked, she might have an idea of their weapons.
‘Might be both.’
His gaze went to the gun strapped to her thigh. ‘You any good with that?’
Feminine arrogance straightened her spine, and her hand brushed lovingly over the weapon. The real woman peeked out behind the alluring mask. ‘Want to play target?’ It was a dangerous purr, but he liked it. ‘I’ll even give you a head’s start.’
Ignoring the invitation, he raised an eyebrow. ‘Confusion will only work for a few minutes at most before they decide we’re not worth the hassle.’
Unflinching cunning and intelligence met his gaze. ‘Long enough to even out the numbers if need be.’ She leant in, her hand a hot brand as she braced it on his thigh near his knives. ‘Then you can bring these boys out to play.’
Despite the temptation she presented, he locked her wrist in his grip even as her fingers brushed against the leather holding one of his blades. Dust and sweat couldn’t drown out the delicate spice of her scent. Using his free hand, he captured her chin and dipped his head, their lips a breath apart. ‘No touching.’
She didn’t fight his hold or jerk back. Instead she held his gaze. Heat and awareness darkened those bright eyes, but she remained still, waiting, watching.
A curious tension sang between them, one that left him cautious despite the expected lust rising hard and rough. He couldn’t remember the last time he got hot and sweaty between the sheets. This wasn’t the time, and she sure as hell wasn’t the right woman, but … Giving into temptation, he brushed his lips over hers, just once. Her breath hitched, then she retreated, leaning back. He let her go, the warmth of her lips lingering against his. He watched her resettle in the saddle, his voice a rough rasp as he brought their conversation back on track. ‘You got anything against getting dirty?’
Surprisingly, a red stain rode under her gold skin, but she lost none of her edge. ‘How dirty?’
In a post-apocalyptic world where there is disease, food shortage and bad guys run amuck our story opens on a gruesome murder scene. Charity a Hound is called to the scene to investigate. Charity is good at what she does like investigating a scene and tracking down people down. She is a very strong fighter who knows how to take someone down. She will do what it takes to get the job done even if it means making the criminal suffer slow like.
While Charity is investigating the murder scene a guy from her past, a Vulture, Ruin shows up on the scene. Ruin is a bada** kind of guy it is like Charity in that he is a little ruthless when he is interrogating a perpetrator too and he doesn't show them much mercy.
Ruin likes to work alone himself but they find out that a friend of theirs has been taken, they decide that is a problem and it may be in their best interest if they work together on this one case.
Charity and Ruin both have a lot of secrets in their past and we only learn of their secrets a little bit at a time. The author doesn't like to throw everything at you at once but that is a good thing and what keeps you hanging on for more. Charity and Ruin both are very secretive people who keep things bottled up inside them.
So now Charity and Ruin have teamed up and on the search for the bad guys and he learns some of Charity's secrets along the way and one of them being is that she is hunting a little girl and that she is not the only child that has been taken. Who has taken the children and what are they going to do with them? Who murdered their friend? To find out you will have to pick up your own copy as I don't want to spoil it for you.
If you like your books filled with lots action with lots of gory details right from the first page then you will love Lying in Ruins.
While Charity is investigating the murder scene a guy from her past, a Vulture, Ruin shows up on the scene. Ruin is a bada** kind of guy it is like Charity in that he is a little ruthless when he is interrogating a perpetrator too and he doesn't show them much mercy.
Ruin likes to work alone himself but they find out that a friend of theirs has been taken, they decide that is a problem and it may be in their best interest if they work together on this one case.
Charity and Ruin both have a lot of secrets in their past and we only learn of their secrets a little bit at a time. The author doesn't like to throw everything at you at once but that is a good thing and what keeps you hanging on for more. Charity and Ruin both are very secretive people who keep things bottled up inside them.
So now Charity and Ruin have teamed up and on the search for the bad guys and he learns some of Charity's secrets along the way and one of them being is that she is hunting a little girl and that she is not the only child that has been taken. Who has taken the children and what are they going to do with them? Who murdered their friend? To find out you will have to pick up your own copy as I don't want to spoil it for you.
If you like your books filled with lots action with lots of gory details right from the first page then you will love Lying in Ruins.
Beg For Mercy
Fate's Vultures #2
Choosing a side has never been so dangerous…
The world didn’t end in fire and explosions, instead it collapsed slowly, like falling dominoes, an intensifying panic of disease, food shortages, wild weather and collapsing economies, until what remains of humanity battles for survival in a harsh new reality.
An assassin by trade, a loner by nature, Mercy is sent to infiltrate the Cartels and unmask the identity of their new silent partner. Instead, she discovers a darker plan threatening to crumble the entire Southwest and ends up with a hefty bounty on her head. Still, she’s determined to stop the impending attack at any cost, even if it means partnering up with a member of the notorious Fate’s Vultures.
After enduring a brutal, blood-soaked lesson on the savagery of civilisation’s scavengers, Havoc is well acquainted with the consequences of battling predators. But as a member of the nomadic band of arbitrators known as Fate’s Vultures, he’s determined to cement the necessary alliances to oust the biggest threat looming on the horizon. When an enigmatic woman crosses his path, her secrets and troubling loyalty light the fuse on an unexpected craving and his insatiable curiosity.
In order to trap a common foe and derail an impending threat, Havoc and Mercy must turn the tables to hunt a predator. Can an assassin and a mercenary find their balance on the thin line of loyalty, or will it snap under the weight of their wary hearts?
I love reading dystopian and post-apocalyptic books and Beg For Mercy did not disappoint in the least. I loved the world building with the description of the buildings, the ghost-like towns with little to no water and riding in the dust and not being able to see much at all. The author gives a whole new meaning to the expression of eat my dust. It was like watching a movie play out in my head or as if I was right there with Mercy and Havoc riding along with them and eating the dust. I love the fights those two could get into both are very strong characters and can hold their own up against just about anyone or two in a fight.
Mercy is an assassin and works alone. She is sent in undercover to work with the Cartels of this new world to try and stop a war that is about to unfold. While she is working with one of the Cartel families something horrible happens and Mercy finds herself with a bounty on her head. She is now on the run looking over her shoulder at every turn trying to stay alive.
Havoc a mercenary like Mercy is used to fighting gruesome battles of his own. He knows that impending doom is about to fall upon them with the Cartel families trying to take over and Havoc has every plan to go in and stop it from happening. When he crosses paths with Mercy and they find out they are fighting for the same thing they figure it may be in their best interest if they fight this battle together.
Mercy and Havoc are both loners with a lot of history that they keep close to their hearts. They are not ones to give up their secrets. Mercy and Havoc both have trust issues and is always afraid that the other is going to screw them over. So when the sparks start to fly and the flames to burn they want to feel the burn but they have no intentions of letting their heart enter into the situation but sometimes the heart works all on its own and its owner has no say in the matter.
I would recommend Beg For Mercy to anyone who loves dystopian, post-apocalyptic novels with action from the first page and a little burn in between that will leave your toes curled.
Mercy is an assassin and works alone. She is sent in undercover to work with the Cartels of this new world to try and stop a war that is about to unfold. While she is working with one of the Cartel families something horrible happens and Mercy finds herself with a bounty on her head. She is now on the run looking over her shoulder at every turn trying to stay alive.
Havoc a mercenary like Mercy is used to fighting gruesome battles of his own. He knows that impending doom is about to fall upon them with the Cartel families trying to take over and Havoc has every plan to go in and stop it from happening. When he crosses paths with Mercy and they find out they are fighting for the same thing they figure it may be in their best interest if they fight this battle together.
Mercy and Havoc are both loners with a lot of history that they keep close to their hearts. They are not ones to give up their secrets. Mercy and Havoc both have trust issues and is always afraid that the other is going to screw them over. So when the sparks start to fly and the flames to burn they want to feel the burn but they have no intentions of letting their heart enter into the situation but sometimes the heart works all on its own and its owner has no say in the matter.
I would recommend Beg For Mercy to anyone who loves dystopian, post-apocalyptic novels with action from the first page and a little burn in between that will leave your toes curled.
Jami Gray is the coffee addicted, music junkie, Queen Nerd of her personal Geek Squad, Alpha Mom of the Fur Minxes, and award winning author of the Urban Fantasy series, The Kyn Kronicles, the Paranormal Romantic Suspense series, PSY-IV Teams, and her latest Romantic Suspense series, Fate’s Vultures. She writes to soothe the voices in her head.
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Also, enter to win a $25 Gift Card to either Amazon or B&N!
1 comments:
Thank you for letting me share my books and I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Happy Friday and wishing everyone best of luck with the giveaway!
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