Body Count (Wayward Sons #1)

Here's "Body Count" by L Eveland. It's the first novel in the Wayward Sons series.

["Death is his business, and I live to serve.

Theo
Mortician River Laskin is a monster, a narcissistic sociopath with blood on his hands, but he’s also my savior.
When he rescues me from a human trafficking ring, the last thing on my mind is vengeance. I need to pull my life together and figure out how to survive in a world where I don’t exist. Without someone to tell me what to do, I’m lost. River is all I have to cling to, the only thing that makes sense in this terrifying new world.
But he and his family of murderous psychopaths have other plans, mafia connections, and murder on their minds.

River
I knew from the moment I saw him that Theo was mine. Mine to protect, mine to break, mine to put back together again.
My favorite toy.
I will use every resource at my disposal to find the men who hurt him and make them pay, whether he wants me to or not. It’s not up to him.
I’ll burn every bridge, turn over every stone, dig up every body until I get what I want.
And what I want now is vengeance for Theo. The Devil himself couldn’t stop me. I dare him to try."]

This was dark and utterly delightful. A psychopath who has no clue how to emote, let alone human, let alone take care of a human he just "adopted." A broken boy never introduced to society who thinks everything and everyone is a threat. Except the psychopath threat is offering to protect him from all the other threats. Even though he is big on sexual consent, he's not big on, you know, kidnapping consent. 

These two were adorable and perfect for each other. Both a little broken. Both a lot lonely. Both looking for something all their own, safe and never leaving. Turns out, that psychopath is a huge fucking mushroom nerd and that broken boy just needed some choices (and some musicals and cuddles). 

This family is...a lot. They're Mulvaney's but less organized (and, quite arguably, more neuro-spicy). They're all broken and all "crazy" and all desperately wanting what River/Theo have, even if they won't admit it. Here's to more secretly nerdy psychos/socios getting their HEA, as messy and unconventional as it will all be. 

Trigger Warnings: child trafficking, sexual abuse of minors, physical abuse, violence, blood, torture of antagonists, drug and alcohol references including references to overdoses, reference to child abuse and neglect, PTSD/C-PTSD, OCD, DID, schizophrenia, suicidal ideation, blood/knife play

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