Dear Reader,
When I first began to form the idea of Torpedo Ink, I knew it was going to be a very gritty, edgy and raw series, certainly not for everyone. In fact, at first, although I had to write the stories because I felt it was necessary, I doubted if I would ever publish them.
I had learned over the years that males, when molested, were often not given the same treatment as female victims. Often families were too ashamed to have the child go into counseling. They didn’t want friends and family to know what happened. Sometimes the family members would even applaud the boy if the offender was a female and tell him how lucky he was. Other times, the males in the family would shun the boy or even want him sent away if he was molested or raped by a male. To me, it was a tragic situation. I hope that over time, these responses have changed a little, but I don’t think they have by that much.
Why a motorcycle club? First, most motorcycle clubs are not running around the nation committing crimes. Often, they are men and women getting together because they like the freedom of riding. Many clubs fundraise for all kinds of causes. There is a real club that stands for victims like the children I portray in my novels. Usually the perception of those riding motorcycles is that they are tough. I wanted men and women my readers saw as tough. These are men and women who started out as victims. They survived abuse and understandably have PTSD and issues with sex due to their backgrounds. I needed readers to understand and be sympathetic toward my heroes and heroines.
Nevertheless, even by portraying them as close to reality in these conditions as possible, these are still works of fiction. I have tried to handle these situations with understanding and compassion and without judgment. I read as much as possible on each issue and then consult with primary sources before I feel able to write on the subject without prejudice or judgment. I don’t ever want to depict one moment where a character is in an abusive situation and has no choice. The books are intense and some of the situations can be abusive, especially in Savage’s books, as he is a sexual sadist. I want any reader to be clear on that fact before choosing to read this book. Savage’s first book, Annihilation Road, stopped prior to Seychelle’s training. That was a deliberate choice I made so that readers demanding his book, knowing what he was but also knowing they would have difficulties, would still have a satisfactory, happy ending to his story.
Savage Road is much more difficult to read and much truer to life, after the beginning of the love story between two people who truly love each other and have made a commitment but come from very different worlds. Savage’s world could easily be one of abuse. There is a very important moment where Savage makes certain the heroine knows she can speak with her friends and receive support about their relationship if she needs to.
Again, it is important to me when writing a book to research the subject matter heavily so I can write without prejudice. There are many different lifestyles and needs, and not all people are alike or have similar pasts. People are shaped in many different ways by their experiences. Seychelle entered consensually into Savage’s world because she needed the same things he did, which made them a perfect couple. She entered the relationship knowing what he was and wanting to share this lifestyle with the man she loves and trusts wholeheartedly with her body, mind and heart.
For the readers who have decided to continue the ride with Seychelle and Savage, I hope you feel that I’ve done their story justice.
Christine Feehan
Be sure to go to christinefeehan.com/members to sign up for my private book announcement list and download the free ebook of Dark Desserts. It’s a collection of yummy desserts that we all certainly could use right now. Join my community and get firsthand news, enter the book discussions, ask your questions and chat with me. Please feel free to email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear from you.
As in any book, there are so many people to thank. Domini, for hanging in there with me on this one. It was tough, but we did it—even in the worst of times, when neither of us could see. Thank you for always editing, no matter how many times I ask you to go over the same book before we send it for additional editing. Denise, you took over so many jobs for all of us, handled so much business when everything was so difficult. I admire you so much. Thank you. Brian, you got me through all those hours of writing, keeping me on track and insisting I could do it! You are the best!
Viktor Prakenskii aka Czar—President
Lyov Russak aka Steele—Vice President
Savva Pajari aka Reaper—Sergeant at Arms
Savin Pajari aka Savage—Sergeant at Arms
Isaak Koval aka Ice—Secretary
Dmitry Koval aka Storm
Alena Koval aka Torch
Luca Litvin aka Code—Hacker
Maksimos Korsak aka Ink
Kasimir Popov aka Preacher
Lana Popov aka Widow
Nikolaos Bolotan aka Mechanic
Pytor Bolotan aka Transporter
Andrii Federoff aka Maestro
Gedeon Lazaroff aka Player
Kir Vasiliev aka Master—Treasurer
Lazar Alexeev aka Keys
Aleksei Solokov aka Absinthe
Rurik Volkov aka Razrushitel/Destroyer
NEWER PATCHED MEMBERS
Gavriil Prakenskii
Casimir Prakenskii
Fatei Molchalin
PROSPECTS
Glitch
Hyde
SIBLINGS WITHIN THE GROUP
Viktor (Czar), Gavriil and Casimir
Reaper and Savage
Mechanic and Transporter
Ice, Storm and Alena (Torch)
Preacher and Lana (Widow)
TEAMS
Czar heads Team One
Reaper, Savage, Ice, Storm, Transporter, Alena, Absinthe, Mechanic, Destroyer
Steele heads Team Two
Keys, Master, Player, Maestro, Lana, Preacher, Ink, Code
OLD LADIES
Blythe, Lissa, Lexi, Anya, Breezy, Soleil, Scarlet, Zyah
Seychelle Dubois sat on the bathroom floor staring at the toilet for the second morning in a row. She felt like an idiot. “No, Savage, I’m not pregnant. And I’m not a secret drinker either.”
“What the hell is wrong? Should I call Steele? I want you to go see him.”
She pushed herself up, glaring at him. “I do not need to see a doctor. Do you remember the talk we had on privacy?” Stumbling over to the sink, Seychelle washed her face with cold water, rinsed out her mouth and then started the process of brushing her teeth.
Savin “Savage” Pajari continued to watch her in the mirror. He leaned one hip against the doorjamb, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were arctic blue, so cold they made her shiver. It didn’t help that he wore a thin pair of drawstring pants, indicating he was going out to practice with his whip. She had been avoiding watching him the last couple of days because for some unexplained reason, just the sight and sound of it turned her on like nothing else in the world possibly could. That was the last thing she needed to know right now on top of everything else—that she was truly messed up in the head, or body, however one wanted to look at it.
“Seychelle, we did have a talk about privacy, and I told you how I felt about it when it came to my woman. Now fuckin’ tell me what’s going on.”
She took her time finishing with her teeth, rinsed her mouth multiple times and then turned to face him, leaning her butt against the sink, arms crossed to match his. “I’m having hideous nightmares. Really vivid nightmares. They make me sick.” She did her best not to make it an accusation, but she knew it came out like one. What was she accusing him of? He wasn’t in her nightmares.