Deviant by Callie Hart

Had a little bit of time to kill so thought I’d open up a short novel that I could polish off quite quickly.

What I didn’t realise was going to be introduced to the darkness that is Zeth. God can that man do mean and moody- along with downright psychopathic.

The story begins with a dark undercurrent and never shakes it off.

We start the story with Sloane Romera , a desperate woman about undertake a desperate act in the vain hope that the Eli (the Private Investigator she has hired) will be able to tell her where her sister Lex is – she is missing, having vanished off the street and Sloane is on a mission to find her. 

Standing in a hotel room in her underwear, waiting for a stranger is hardly the sharpest thing she will have ever done but she is desperate and the book expresses her desperation quite clearly. Little does she know that her companion for the evening is not someone she would ever choose to meet, he has particular nuances when it comes to the bedroom and like the smart girl she is Sloane grasps quickly to do as she is told.

Eli proves to be a dead end for Sloane and with all the information he has gathered on her sister, she is left defeated. So with a heavy heart the search for Lex grinds to a halt.

Jump forward two years and we find Sloane a qualified doctor keeping herself busy and her nose clean at the local hospital, getting on with life as best she can. Little does she realise that her world is about to be swept clean through by the mystery man from that night two years ago.

Zeth is the enforcer, the go to man for the local villain Frankie and when we first get a real glimpse into his life, it is obvious that he is not one of life’s good guys but a tiny chink in the armour is shown when we see his undertakings with Lacey. He has a heart in their somewhere, buried so deep that I’m not even sure he knows where to find it.  Carrying out a hit for the boss, he is devoid of emotion but caring for his friend when she ends up in hospital, he pulls no punches.

 Complicated man or what!  Even he sums it up when he is speaking to Frankie;

"I never had you pegged as the sentimental type, Zeth.”

"Not sentimental. Just not a monster."

He has his boundaries and when the gets wind of the fact that Frankie may be dealing in human trafficking, he has reached and line in the sand that he is not willing to cross.

Their paths cross again when Zeth takes Lacey to Sloane’s hospital – fate conspired to bring them back together that night. Sloane was just leaving when Zeth pulled in to the car park and bundled Lacey in his arms as he carried her to the emergency room. Sloane, with nothing and no-one to rush home too goes back into the hospital and begins to treat the stricken woman. When the time comes for details, she gets more than she ever anticipated because when she speaks, she knows it’s him – the voice from that night, the voice she dreams about.

The story gathers a little pace from then when she realises that he knows where she is –

“Two days, Sloane. Two days and I’m coming for you,” he whispers.

Undertaking to keep Lacey safe and away from the psychiatrists, as instructed by Zeth,  Sloane knows that she has to get her out of the hospital before Zeth makes good on his promise to return. Leaving her phone with her, she leaves the room only to discover when she returns that not only has Lacey gone but also her phone.

Shit – now to get it back!

Getting the phone was never going to be easy and Zeth has no intension of playing fair. Giving her instruction and an address he knows that the situation she is walking into is going to shake her to the core but he wants to see just what she is willing to undertake to get what she wants, a test of sorts. Sloane refuses to let his tactic get to her – she is stronger than he knows.

 A battle of wills has begun but we all know that there will only ever be one winner.

The scene described at Zeth’s place that evening is explicit and unforgiving, he has an insight into what make Sloane tick and he fully exploits that for his own gain. There is only one issue with his deduction – there is something about her that he is most definitely drawn to and that is the fact that he is not prepared to give her  up.

When he sends Michael to the hospital to give Sloane the key to his home and to demand the key to hers, we see that he may be all shades of fucked up but his heart won’t let him walk away from her. Trying to fight her corner, although I am sure she knew she didn’t have a cat in hells chance – she queries his request only to be told ,

“You gave yourself to me. You’re mine. That’s not something you can undo”

The continuation of their story is sure to be Electric. Erotic and Intense.

And I for one  can’t wait to get my hands on the next instalment

Rating 5 out of 5