Broken Road - Book 2 in the Breaking Black Series and the sequel to Black Horse
Signed Paperbacks can be ordered from Addison's website!
It is
often said that time heals all wounds. It is spoken like a promise... a vow.
These words are repeated to people who have been beaten down to their lowest
state. To the poor souls who have nothing left to lose. Whispered into the ear
of a grieving daughter, told with a shrug to a man who has nothing left to live
for.
These are
dangerous people.
The
down-trodden.
The grieving.
The ones
who love more people dead than alive.
The words
should never be uttered. Not to the ones who have no solid ground on which to
stand upon, no rail in which to clasp. The white-knuckled moments of life have
come to be expected rather than feared.
"Time heals all wounds."
The words
are an insult. A slap in the face... and around here, they'll get you hurt. For
Averi McClain and her husband Colt, there were few deeper insults.
If time
could heal all wounds, Jessa McClain would be proud to know that she was going
to be a grandmother. Nathan Ford would have proudly walked his little girl down
the aisle with Corinne beaming from her seat. Sitting by her side, Anna McCord
would wipe a tear from her eye. Standing proudly by Colt and Randy at the
arbor, Seth would have stood as a groomsman for his childhood friend. That is,
if time truly healed all wounds.
But what
about the hurts you cannot see? The deep gashes and the mangled hearts that
remain after the brutality of a war. Their childhood was a battlefield. Colt
and Averi didn't want that for their own sons and daughters.
What does
time to do wounds? Time is nothing but a reminder of how much time has past
since you last saw the ones you love most. The line is bullshit. A scape goat.
A cheap cop out. It is something people say when they don't know what to say.
It's not deep or sympathetic. It doesn't stop the heart from bleeding. Colt
would not have a granite wall built around his heart like a fortress. A barrier
which only Averi could crack.
Randy's
soul would not quake with anger every time he heard mention of Black Horse, his
roving band of lunatics, also known as the Seventy Devils, or Jimmy Hearns. You
can’t even say the name Trent Myers to him without his sanity flickering out of
sight. Tim wouldn't have to fight his anger out at the gym for several hours,
five days a week. Shelly's sense of security would be intact and undisturbed.
Averi's legs would not be permanently scarred with evidence of Black Horse's
fiery insanity.
Time doesn't
heal all wounds. Wounds fester. Sometimes the strain and exertion of trying to
get
better puts so much stress on the wound that the scab rips open, stitches and
scar tissue be damned.
Some
wounds cannot be mended.
Some
lines are just begging to be crossed.
Some
roads are meant to be broken.
As one of
Averi's favorite bands so poignantly croons, "God blessed the broken road
that led me straight to you." In the case of Colt and Averi, no song
lyrics could more perfectly describe the road that they have traveled. They
have a love like no other, acting as a guiding light, a beacon in a world turned
dark by Black Horse. What would you do if the the one man you couldn’t live
without, was the son of the bastard that murdered your parents and your eldest
brother? In the case of Averi Ford, she knew Colt was nothing like his father.
He had spent his entire life running from his shadow. He had always been the
one to protect Averi, even moreso than her ever watchful brothers. You can’t
turn away from a love like that.
Theirs
was a love that was intensified by pain and longing, desperation and heartache.
They faced seemingly unsurmountable odds, and continue to do so, side by side.
She needed him, not to be her hero, but as her equal and her friend until the
end of their days. He needed her, not only physically, but spiritually,
emotionally, he had wrapped all his hope in her. His humanity relied on her
happiness. If her heart ceased to beat, he would let the darkness overcome him.
He wouldn't stop until every single member of the Seventy Devils were dead.
Lord
knows Randy and Tim would fight right alongside him. Averi was as essential to
Colt as oxygen. Without her, the Colt that she knew and loved would cease to
exist. They loved each other despite the odds they faced; in spite of those who
said they shouldn't. Averi loved him regardless of his family history, of the
stares and gossip, the upturned noses and blatant hostility. When Colt McClain
walks into a room, the citizens of Oakely don't see him. They don't see his
face or his kind soul. They don't see him at all. They see Black Horse - the
man he so closely resembles, but whose hearts are night and day. There is a key
difference. There is a gentle warmth to Colt's gaze. A calm depth that if you
look deep enough, you can see all the good in him. Look into Black Horse's eyes
and you'll see your own demise. When people look Colt's way, they see a
murderer, a thief, a snake. They see a man with no soul. But Colt never killed
a man that didn't have it coming, and let me tell you, Jimmy Hearns has it
coming.
Most
motorcycle clubs are not street gangs, but in the case of the Seventy Devils,
there was no point in hiding it. The Seventy Devils ran the streets of Oakeley.
The Seventy Devils, the band of lawless savages that did Black Horse's bidding,
lived on, leaderless and hell bent on anarchy. When the strange circumstances
surrounding Black Horse's death went public, Jimmy monopolized. Playing the
role of a mourning son, Jimmy earned the respect and the power Texas' most
violent motorcycle gang. To say the devils are out for blood is an
understatement of epic proportions. The band of sociopathic heathens were
rallied by Black Horse's death. It was a call to action, a call to arms, each
one of them thirsty to drain the blood from Black Horse's murderer. Each one
yearning to display his killer's head on a pike for the whole community to see.
If the Seventy Devils were hostile during Black Horse's reign, it was nothing
compared to their mental state after Black Horse was found burned, shot and
murdered.
A war has
erupted. The Seventy Devils are scattered and on alert, gnawing at the bit for
the go-ahead to strike. They would not hesitate to spill the blood of anyone
who stood in their way of recompense. They knew they would need to act fast if
they wanted to come out on top. Colt was not the kind of guy that you slept on.
He'd stop at nothing to protect his family and he was lethal whether he was
heavily armed or going toe to toe, bare knuckled beat-down style. Colt did have
Black Horse's blood coursing through his veins, after all. But then, so did
Jimmy, and he is ready to show everyone that the apple didn't fall far from the
tree... in fact, they appear to have formed on the same poisoned branch.
As leader
of the Devils, Jimmy had seventy miscreants to do his bidding - and three goals
in which he needed to achieve:
1. Avenge Black Horse
2. Kill Colt McClain and Randy Ford
3. Take Averi for his own
Jimmy has
another thing coming if he thinks victory is easily won. Will Colt and Averi's
broken road end in tragedy? Or will they be the ones to banish the devils
straight to hell? When the demons of the past rise up, can Colt and Randy face
them fearless and determined? Whatever happens, don't expect Colt and Randy to
stand alone. Buckle up. The broken road makes for one hell of a ride.
I HEART BOOKS REVIEW
Review by Angela
Stars: 5
This is a romantic mystery, an attention holding book. This is the second book in the Breaking Black series, it picks up where the first book left off. Addison Kline does give enough detail that you are not lost in the story, so you could read this as a stand alone, but I recommend reading the first book Black Horse, so you get the whole amazing story. I recommend this book to anyone whom loves an action packed book, an emotional roller coaster, I was cheering, laughing, sad and relieved. This is an perfect example that love conquers all, and that sometimes love is found in the most unexpected places. The heart wants what it wants.
This is Averi and Colts story, there new beginning. They have finally found some peace with knowing that Black Horse is dead. Averi who is very pregnant is able to sleep, Colt is able to breath, but he never lets his guard down, he is prepared for anything. Little do they know that trouble is lurking around the corner in the form of Colt's half brother Jimmy, who plays the role of the mourning son, and he has the power of revenge with The Seventy Devils.
Averi's brother Randy is having a situation himself, dealing with Cheyenne. She has capture his heart but crushed it with her lifestyle choices. She is determined to prove she has changed. She tries to contact him repeatedly to no avail. Until The Seventy Devils use her as bait to get to Randy. Which is another ploy to get to Colt and Averi.
What no one realizes is this unconventional family will protect each other till the end. Enough is enough, they have been through hell and back, doing it again is no problem. Will they have the peaceful ending that they have dreamed of? Or will Jimmy and the Seventy Devils get the revenge they so desire?
favorite passages:
"Time heals all wounds. The words are an insult. A slap in the face... and around here, they'll get you hurt." <3
"Time is nothing but a reminder of how much time has passed since you last saw the ones you love most. The line is bullsh**. A scape goat. A cheap cop-out. It is something people say when they don't know what to say." <3
"Time doesn't heal all wounds. Wounds fester. Sometimes the strain and exertion of trying to heal puts so much stress on the wound that the scab rips open, stitches and scar tissue be damned." <3
"He had spent his entire life running from his shadow."
"One hundred and fifty-two taps of her nail on the dirty surface of the pay phone."
"So a band of lawless idiots running themselves... with no intelligence... no money... and no leader."
"Her very overprotective uncle."
"This is Heaven."
"Trent looked as white as a ghost."
"Get out. Get out of my man cave!"
"We're a dysfunctional family, but we're still family."
"Averi's safety, the safety of the baby, and the rest of the family was top priority for Colt and it was always looming in the back of his mind."
"I was hurt bad, Chey... I couldn't talk to you on the phone because I would crumble."
"Colt brought the beautiful baby to Averi as his heart soared in his chest."
Want more Broken Road? Check out these teasers!
To the Broken Road Release Party!
Hope to see you there!
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