Dark Romance Book 1

 Lost Without You by M. O'Keefe

This starts out rough and then gets way worse before it gets better. I almost DNF'ed it because of how awful the beginning was, but I needed to know if the bad guy got his comeuppance. This starts in a foster home with and abusive pastor and his wife. Tommy and Beth are in the home together and they start dating. They get caught making out in the art room instead of being at lunch. The pastor is notified. Tommy expects that he's going to be the one getting punished; he's prepared for the beating. But, instead Beth is taken. He and the other kids break out of their rooms and Carissa goes down to the kitchen to get a knife. They break into the office right as the pastor is about to start raping Beth. Tommy stabs him, but he gets knocked out in the process. When he wakes up the pastor is dead and instead of getting the medical attention that he needs, he is taken to jail along with Carissa and Simon. Enter Mr. Bates. He is a bad guy that works for an even worse guy. But he has power and says he can make the charges disappear if they agree to owing him a debt that he can collect at any time. They all agree. Simon makes sure that Tommy gets medical attention and then they live together, under the radar, until Simon goes away to college. Fast forward 7 years and Tommy is at the bar with his dog having dinner. In walks Carissa with an envelope. It's time to pay the debt. He has to drive to one address, make a pick up, then drive to another address and make a delivery. Oh, and Beth is involved. He gets to the house and she is drugged out of her mind, being attended to by a shady doctor who may or may not have a valid medical license. He takes Beth and they leave. She starts going through withdraw on the trip, but eventually she recognizes him. They get to the drop off address and it's a rehab facility. Then her mother walks out. She begs him not to leave her there and they drive off together. They rent a cabin, get a new car, and spend time together while she detoxes. Then, they finally consummate the relationship. She decides it's time to leave, to get back to being Jada the popstar and he agrees to take her home. But, her mother has made a statement saying she was kidnapped. He gets attacked in the bathroom at a gas station and that's where the book ends. Once I got through the horrible beginning the story and the characters were compelling. But, that beginning is really hard.