Ignition

Picture yourself lost in a jungle. You’re dead on your feet from lack of sleep and food. If you stop to rest or wander off trail you run the risk of being eaten alive by a plethora of creatures lying in wait. You curse yourself for making that big mistake resulting in your current predicament. You rack your brain for a way out. Suddenly, on one side of the trail appears a tiger, leisurely licking his chops. On the other side of the trail stands a hunter, rifle slung over his shoulder. The choice is obvious, right? You’d beg the hunter to eliminate the creature ready to end your life, and ask for his help. Ah, but is the hunter any less dangerous than that tiger? You have no way of knowing until you put yourself in his hands.

This is precisely Aubrey’s predicament in Ignition, book 1 in Skye Callahan’s serial, Redline.

On the run from circumstances we have yet to discover, Aubrey has naively fallen into her worst nightmare. What she thought was good luck and coincidence turned out to be a calculated trap set by suave, smooth talking, strip club owner, Devlin. His offer to help Aubrey find a job and get back on her feet are merely a way to pull her into his sick game of drugs, prostitution, and who knows what else. She hasn’t been at the club long. It’s her first night to appear on stage.  However, Aubrey has come to the horrifying realization that once you owe Devlin, you will always owe Devlin, and the debt only grows higher each day.

Ms. Callahan has thrown us into a dark and seedy world where drugs, alcohol, and prostitution are a lucrative business, and the women employed to provide whatever is expected of them are merely toys to be discarded when they are no longer profitable. We see it from Aubrey’s perspective as she resigns herself to Devlin’s demands, readying herself to go on stage for the first time. Interesting that Devlin’s name so closely resembles Devil. For that is exactly what he is.

After a less than acceptable performance, Aubrey is serving drinks when a tough looking, albeit handsome, man orders her services in a private room. He’s rough around the edges, and even displays a sadistic streak, however, he’s much kinder than she expected, and seems genuinely interested and concerned about her. When he learns enough of her story to satisfy his curiosity things get interesting. Turns out his name is Colt and he is none other than Devlin’s brother. Not only does Colt despise Devlin, he wants to crush him. The feeling is mutual, but Devlin never shows his hand, preferring to maintain an air of calm, calculating evil. All the better to freak you out, my dear. So when Colt announces he’s taking Aubrey out of Devlin’s clutches in exchange for a chunk of change, and six months of her life, Aubrey is stunned. Should she take him up on his offer? How bad could it be, right?

Ms. Callahan takes us on a journey through some very twisted neighborhoods, so to speak, as this tale unfolds. Colt has his own demons lurking in the background just waiting to trip him up. He may have kicked his heroin habit, but his brother would like nothing more than to see him back on the horse, heading toward a cliff. Now that he has Aubrey he has someone to unleash his sadistic needs on, hopefully holding the addiction at bay. But this little arrangement is totally against Colt’s norm. He doesn’t do relationships of any kind. So what the hell is he going to do with this waif for six months?

Torque

Book 2 in the Redline serial continues with Aubrey coming to the realization she may have traded one bad situation for another as she settles into this strange arrangement with Colt. The only glimmer of compassion she sees in this heartless man is his love for his St. Bernard. The only glimpse of respect for anything, the expensive cars he boosts. When Colt drags Aubrey in as an accomplice in his dangerous game of thievery, she begins to speak up, fight back, demand to know more. She has a feeling there is more to Colt than he lets on, and she’s determined to find it and use it to her advantage. Because for the first time in ages she feels hope. Six months and she’s done. She can walk away. With Devlin, she was committed to two years! I began to like Aubrey more as she lost her poor me innocence and started standing up for herself. Even as she succumbs to Colt’s sadistic sexual demands, she isn’t the victim anymore. It’s a means to an end.

For his part, Colt needs Aubrey to hate him because he sees nothing good in himself and can’t let his defenses down or his brother will win. Win what? We still don’t know. But the rivalry between Colt and Devlin is ramping up fast and furious. In addition to that threat, Colt has Aubrey demanding to know more details with each boost, which initiates suspicion. Is she working for Devlin?

Once again, Ms. Callahan gives us a dark and evil world where you’d best watch your back, and weakness equals death. Just as Aubrey manages to muster up confidence that she will prevail against not only Devlin but Colt as well, the unexpected happens.
To be continued in Brake…

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