Title: Heath (A Roughnecks Short, #2)
Author: Chelsea Camaron
Release Date: April 20, 2015
Blurb
“One day, I will be more than an item to be bought or sold, won or lost.”
At fifteen, she was helpless. At eighteen, she was ruined. LoraLeigh Riffel fights every day to hold on to herself as she is tossed from the loser to the next winner, time and again.
Heath ‘Hitman’ Thomas works hard and plays even harder. From tripping pipes to winning fights, his world is in his hands.
When a battered and unstable woman is left at his doorstep for payment on a fight, every-thing changes in an instant.
She is the prize, but is he willing to accept the payment?
4-4.5 Stars
Heath is book 2 in the Roughnecks short series. It was another intensely emotional ride from author Chelsea Camaron, and a bit different than what I expected was going to happen :)
We first met Heath in book 1 of he series, and now we get to hear his story. Heath works on the oil rig by day, and is an underground fighter by night. But the unique thing about Heath as a fighter is that he doesn't do it to make money for himself… no, he does it to make money for an amazing woman's shelter. When his opponent, Professor, loses to Heath "Hitman" in a fight, he owes him a good chunk of change, and Heath expected to be paid the money he was owed. What he did not expect was Professor to send a girl as his payment.
LoraLeigh grew up with a drug addict mother. When her mom passed away when LoraLeigh was a young girl, she was left with no family or friends to care for her. Being that her mom had a debt with her dealer, LoraLeigh was then sold off to repay her debt, and this began many years of being passed around from owner to owner. She suffered from abuse and was forced to perform sexual acts which she wanted nothing to do with. With no way out she many times contemplated, and even tried, suicide, but each time was "saved". When her last owner, Professor, loses a fight to Hitman, she is once again used to pay off a debt. What she didn't expect was to find her first bit of hope in a dark, dark world when she meets Heath and his friends.
The relationship that forms between LoraLeigh and Heath was absolutely heartwarming, and I LOVED it.
**SPOILER ALERT**
There were a couple things in the story that we a little hard to believe for me personally, which I found hard to get over. One was that Heath was talking to LoraLeigh about starting a job the day after she tried to take her life. I felt like this was rushing things a bit and that if someone just attempted suicide you would at least give them a little time to recover and become more comfortable with the situation they are in.
The second was that when Heath found her in the kitchen with her wrists slit and bleeding out, I would have figured he would have reacted a little differently. He didn't seem as freaked out about it as I would imagine someone would be….he actually seemed pretty calm considering.
**END SPOILER**
With that being said, I felt Chelsea did a great job with the story and look forward to the next book in the series! I absolutely love these Roughneck men, and can't wait to get my next fix. I really wish these stories were a bit longer because you do become quite a bit attached to all the characters, and I would love to hear more about their stories BUT I think it's amazing how Chelsea has been able to make you feel so attached in such a short story!!!!!
Excerpt
Copyright © Chelsea Camaron 2015
~LoraLeigh~
“Once upon a time…” my mom begins reading. The softness in her voice is a lullaby all its own. Sweet memories of a moment in time, these small blips in my existence are a silent torture all their own.
“Lora—” She stops abruptly, most likely pulling her own hair out at the roots. “Fucking twat, where are you?” I listen as she continues to screech. “I know you took them. You took my candy, you little cunt. When I find you, I’m gonna claw your eyes out!”
Did I imagine the bedtime stories? Is my subconscious playing tricks on me? Is this all some game, played in my mind? Where is the mom I had in my little girl dreams?
The woman who once braided my hair and read me stories about castles and princes on white horses now lives to torment me. The last time she thought I hid her stash, she pulled my hair so hard it came out in a big chunk in her hand.
Absently, I run my fingers over the still healing scratches on my face. Two days ago as she was tweaked out on God knows what, she attacked me, saying I was a zombie trying to eat her flesh.
Rigging the string to the attic access door, I settle into my little nest. Today is the twenty-third. Any time after mid-month is when the stress level escalates. The welfare and food stamps have certainly run out by now. As soon as the first of every month comes, she trades the grocery card for cash. That very cash then pays for her stash while I live off my free breakfast and lunch at school each day.
Tears fill my eyes. Summer is coming, and I know I will spend my days hungry and my nights hiding from whatever scumbag hangs out while she lives from one high to the next.
“LoraLeigh, where did you put it?” she cries out desperately. “Please, baby girl, Momma needs her medicine.” The walls bang as she begins hitting them with her arms and head, trying to draw me out of hiding.
“Dear God in heaven above,” I whisper as the tears fall down my face, “my friend at school, Tawnie, told me to believe in you. She says you protect little children. I need to be protected. Send me someone to take it all away. Please take me away.” I look to the darkened ceiling above me, hoping on some miracle there really is a God, and he will save me from my hell on earth.
Purchase the Roughnecks today!
Coming May 18th!
Lance (Roughnecks Short, #3)
Value, worth—these are things I don’t have. College degree, great job—none of that matters if you look in the mirror and can’t find anything to love.
Structure, dedication, and determination are the traits that Candace Jones has survived and thrived on. When no one cares at home, it takes her self-drive to push and work her way through college. Life is funny while you’re growing up, and adulthood isn’t any easier than childhood. Little girl dreams are often destroyed before they can even begin.
Lance ‘Rush’ Miller works hard and plays even harder. He lives life from one adrenaline rush to the next, from working as a roughneck to trick riding his street bike. He has it made and knows it.
Two complete opposites are thrown together when Candace finds herself in need of a quick escape that Lance is all too willing to give her.
What happens when firm resolve crashes into wild abandon?
About the Author
Chelsea Camaron was born and raised in Coastal North Carolina. She currently resides in Southern Louisiana with her husband and two children but her heart is always Carolina day dreaming.
Chelsea always wanted to be a writer, but like most of us, let fear of the unknown grab a hold of her dream. She realized that if she was going to tell her daughter to go for her dreams, that it was time to follow her own advice.
Chelsea grew up turning wrenches alongside her father, and from that grew her love for old muscle cars and Harley Davidson motorcycles, which just so happened to inspire the Love and Repair and Hellions Ride series.
When she is not spending her days writing you can find her playing with her kids, attending car shows, going on motorcycle rides on the back of her husband’s Harley, snuggling down with her new favorite book or watching any movie that Vin Diesel might happen to be in.
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