Death silences. Love echoes.
Ruby Buckley is no stranger to loss. She lost her twins in their infancy, lost her son to his demons, and lost herself to a life she never wanted.
Until him.
Jim Stone is lost. He’s a father who doesn’t know how to parent, a brother who doesn’t know why he ever patched in, and is completely numb to everything around him.
Until her.
Craving normalcy, Ruby wants to live straight, but that’s easier said than done when a member of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is determined to make her his old lady. She’s plagued by a past she can’t escape. He vows to give her a better future, even if it means delivering the impossible.
But falling in love was only the beginning.
Twenty years later and they’re still going strong, even if the world around them in crumbling. Jim’s put his club on the line and given Ruby the impossible—her now adult twins she thought she’d lost forever. She has everything she’s always wanted.
But at what cost?
Love is never more real than when it’s forever.
My Thoughts:
Wow. I just finished this book and I'm kind of at a loss for words. So many emotions right now. I have been a huge fan of JC Emery's and this series since I read the first book, but this final book, this last look into the lives of all the characters we love, took top prize. Every book in this series is amazing in its own, but this book is truly the masterpiece.
Ruby and Jim are the ultimate couple. In the other books we got glimpses into their lives, but we really never knew how their love story came about. This book started at the beginning of Ruby's journey to get to California. We get to see how she came in like a wrecking ball into Jim and Ryan's lives. She is such a fierce character. The love she has for her kids and husband is pretty much unparalleled.
In the final chapters we get to time hop and get a peek into all of our characters lives. As much as I would for this series to continue, I also feel that the author did a phenomenal job of tying up all loose ends and ending the series with a nice bow wrapped around everyone. This is hands-down a ten star read for me.
PROLOGUE
Time after time, I never cease to be amazed at how deeply I can be hurt.
Just a flesh wound, Mama.
Jim’s words echo in my mind over and over again. They’re all I hear as I watch my husband— the man who taught me that men can be good— being lifted into the back of the van by his brothers. Blood pools at the bottom of his vest and drips to the pavement.
My daughter— the precious baby I thought I’d lost forever— is being carried to the van by the boy who became my son at the age of eight. She’s lost so much blood. The dark red liquid completely covers her face, neck, and chest. My heart falls into my stomach as I catch sight of the blood smeared all over Ryan’s cut and his face.
My husband’s been gutted and my daughter’s been sliced open.
Both bleeding.
One dying.
Maybe two.
Hopefully none.
And all I can think about is my own selfish need to keep them with me. If I’m not a mother to my daughter or a wife to my husband, then I don’t know who I am. I’ll still have my sons— all three of them— but it’s not the same. My boys don’t need me the way my man and my girl do. I won’t get to hang on to Michael for much longer. He’s a Mancuso and he’ll be staying in New York to take over the family— and it doesn’t matter how I feel about that. Ian, my eldest, has his wife Mindy. He thinks he still needs me, but he doesn’t. Ryan, the boy I have to remind myself isn’t really mine, has Alex. My daughter.
If we lose her, there’s nothing anyone can do to make it better. Ryan will never recover and neither will I. He’ll shut down, just like Rage did when we lost Sylvia, and even I won’t be able to reach him then.
If we lose Jim, we lose our rock. I lose the only person I ever trusted enough to give my whole heart to besides my children.
I won’t survive it.
DON'T MISS THE PREVIOUS BAYONET SCARS NOVELS!
Ride (Bayonet Scars #1)
Death comes Armani. Salvation comes in leather.
Principessa to the Mancuso crime family, Alexandra knows a thing or two about living outside the bounds of the law. Suffocated by the future her father has laid out for her, she makes a choice she can’t take back, changing the entire trajectory of her life.
Thrust into the dark and dangerous world of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club for her own protection, Alex finds herself faced with the last thing she needs right now: the man of her dreams. He’s sex in leather, the devil incarnate, and one hell of a kisser. But he’s also off-limits. Ryan Stone can be her friend but he’s forbidden to be her love.
Third-generation Forsaken, Ryan knows nothing other than life on two wheels, and he would’t have it any other way. He enjoys the many privileges that come with the patch, and the only laws he recognizes are the ones set-forth by his club. That is, until who he wants more than anything isn’t allowed on the back of his bike—or in his bed. Balancing his desire for her body, and need to keep her safe, Ryan tried to keep Alex at a distance. Finally having made a choice for herself, she’s done hearing the word “no” and will push boundaries even Ryan himself doesn’t dare cross.
Love is never more tempting than when it’s forbidden.
Loneliness suffocates the heart. Acceptance breaks down walls.
Thrash (Bayonet Scars #2)
As a Lost Girl to the Forsaken Motorcycle Club, Nicole Whelan knows how to party. She’s not cut-out for relationships and her life is way too complicated for anything more than casual encounters. But one night when she falls into Duke’s bed at the clubhouse, he sees something in her that he can’t let go of—no matter how many times she tries to run.
Having been left to raise her teenage brother, Jeremy, she’s already got her hands full and isn’t looking for anymore complications. But Duke’s just watches his best friend fall for the only girl he couldn’t have, and then almost lose her so shortly after, shaking him to his core. Faced with his own loneliness, he’s more determined that ever to break down Nic’s walls and show her that he can be good for her; but he’s got a bad track record and she’s got a bad temper. Changing his ways isn’t easy when he’s not sure what he’s even changing for.
The violence and turmoil are at an all-time high, and Forsaken is in a vulnerable place when a twist of fate breathes new life into the club. It’s a much-needed beacon of hope for the embattled biker family, even if everyone’s not exactly on board. With Duke and Nic’s relationship already on shaky ground, and something even more important at stake, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club will fight like hell to keep their family together and whole.
Love is never more precious than when it’s new.
Rev (Bayonet Scars #3)
With the looming threat form the Mancuso Crime Family, the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is preparing for a war that could destroy them. Grady, the club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, knows that love makes you weak, and he has zero interest in adding to his liabilities—especially now. He’s already got his teenage daughter who keeps him on his toes and a beef within the club that could fracture his relationship with a fellow brother for good.
For Holly Mercer, her life is finally getting on track and the last thing she wants is trouble former her hometown’s resident outlaws. Keeping her nose clean is easier said than done, when suddenly she finds herself embroiled in club business. Holly might like the idea of being with a era-life bad boy, but even being int eh same room with tough-as-nails Grady flusters her.
When Holly inadvertently finds herself on Mancuso’s radar, she has two choices: trust Grady will protect her, or continue to refuse the club’s help. Both rads are dangerous, but only one has the chance to damage her beyond repair.
Love is never more dangerous than when it can destroy you.
Crush (Bayonet Scars #4)
You love is always perfect. Until it’s not.
Cheyenne Grady is a total daddy’s girl to her bad-ass father, the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Forsaken Motorcycle Club. She’s funny, and kind, and she just wants that deep, earth-shattering love like her dad has with her school secretary, Holly. But Cheyenne’s been looking in the wrong direction, because the only good that can come from the way she looks at Jeremy Whelan is a lesson in heartbreak.
Jeremy always wanted to prospect for the Forsaken Motorcycle Club and wear the same patch as his father. When a life-long dream becomes reality, Jeremy realizes that eh outlaw lifestyle is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it easy on relationships. He wants to be a good man, but temptation is everywhere.
Cheyenne is beautiful, and strong, and exactly what Jeremy could have forever. As long as he doesn’t screw it up.
Love is never more powerful than the first time.
Vow (Bayonet Scars #4.5)
He refuses to five in. She refuses to give up.
Alexandra Mancuso knows all about regrets. She talked other wrong person and started a war that’s ravaged her newly adopted motorcycle club family and threatens to cast Alex her life. Now’s cautions with the commitments she makes.
Ryan Stone, road captain for the Forsaken Motorcycle Club regrets nothing—except putting Cub in danger one time too many. The Forsaken Motorcycle Club has a plan to end the war with the Mancuso crime family and they need everyone’s head in the game. But Ryan can’t focus on the club when he’s so distracted by a certain reckless brunette. She gives him everything except for what he really wants.
Today, he refuses to take no for an answer and maybe, just maybe, this time Alex won’t be able to stand her sound.
True love always defies the odds.
Burn (Bayonet Scars #5)
Tragedy cuts deep. Revenge burns deeper.
The blood of their enemies coats the leather of their cuts and a trail of bodies lie in their wake, but the Forsaken Motorcycle Club isn’t done yet. Carlo Mancuso still needs to pay for his sins. Nobody knows that more than Ian Buckley, the Treasurer for Forsaken.
Ian prefers pleasure mixed with pain and he’s only ever at peace when he’s doling out justice. Convinced that he’s too unstable and sadistic to take and old lady, he keeps his trysts, like all of his relationships, brief and anonymous. But with his club at war, and the stakes being so personal, Ian’s feeling the events around him more deeply than he expects.
Mindy Mercer is the sweet daughter of For Bragg’s most respectable cop. At least that’s how the town sees her. Very few people know the Mindy who hides her tracks and battles her cravings by lying to everyone around her. She thinks she has control of her addiction until she suffers as attack that leaves her searching for a way out of her own personal hell.
Mindy has never been more desperately in need of a saviour and Ian has never seen a more beautifully destroyed creature in his life. Their attraction is intense, but their damage is extreme. Some scars never heal, and some people never get better.
Love is never more painful than when it can kill you.
Crave (Bayonet Scars #5.5)
She’s heartbroken. He’s a heart-breaker.
Elle Phillips’s relationship with the Forsaken Motorcycle Club is strained, much like the relationship she had with her father, a Forsaken brother, before he died. The only piece of Forsaken that Elle wants to hold onto is their Sergeant-at-Arms and her former lover, Sterling “Bloody Knuckles” Grady. Unfortunately, Grady’s moved on and he doesn’t seem to be coming back. With her heart hurting over one man who’s died and another who’s practically dead to her, Elle throws herself into her work as a private investigator and tries to keep a low profile where the club’s concerned. But when a case comes along that she can’t refuse, she finds herself embroiled in club business in a way that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about Forsaken.
Diesel knows that keeping tabs on Elle Phillips is going to bring him trouble. He already loves her even though he barely knows her, but when Grady asks Diesel to keep her safe, he can’t say no. HIs patience has run out and he’s going to do anything to get Elle to realize he’s the man she’s been craving—even going behind the club’s back to help her solve a case she shouldn’t be working.
Real love is always the cure.
Haunt (Bayonet Scars #6)
Kings rule men. Queens rule kings.
Wyatt Strand is a hard man. He has hard features, speaks with harsh words, and has a hardened heart. Having served the Forsaken Motorcycle Club as Vice President, Wyatt is used to taking responsibility for his brothers, but when he’s handed the gavel everything changes. His brothers are now his men and the threat from the Italian mafia still looms in the distance a president needs focus, but that’s nearly impossible when his old lady blows back into town and drops two very large bombshells on him.
Amber Wallace is a tough woman, but an even fiercer mother. She once told a lie to protect her unborn child that tore her away from the man she loves. And now, years later, she’s coming home to make amends. Wyatt’s changed, but the club hasn’t. Women are to be obedient. Unfortunately for Forsaken, Amber’s not about to let a few rules stop her from living the life she always imagined.
The Forsaken Motorcycle Club started a war with the Italian mafia and they’ve paid dearly for that choice. With a new president at the helm, the wheels are finally in motion to take down Mancuso once and for all. Even if it means taking the fight back to where it began.
Love is never more beautiful than when it consumes you.
As a child, JC was fascinated by things that went bump in the night. As they say, some things never change. JC is known for her bad-ass anti-heroes who lure unsuspecting readers into their dark stories and refuse to leave them alone—even once their story is finished. JC is a San Francisco Bay Area native, but has also called both Texas and Louisiana home. She just recently ditched her flip flops for winter boots and now resides in Southwestern Illinois. When she’s not torturing her characters for fun, JC drops the pend name and goes by Christina.
JC is the author of the Bayonet Scars series—about and outlaw motorcycle club that starts a war with the Italian mafia.
