Blood Loss by Kerena Swan

Today I am sharing an extract from Blood Loss by Kerena Swan as part of the blog tour. My thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel's Random Resources for inviting me and to the author and publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

Sarah

With one eye on the rear view mirror and the other on the road ahead, Sarah is desperate to get as far away from the remote Scottish cabin as she can without attracting attention. But being inconspicuous isn’t easy with a black eye and clothes soaked in blood…
… and now the fuel tank is empty.

DI Paton

When a body is discovered in a remote cabin in Scotland, DI Paton feels a pang of guilt as he wonders if this is the career break he has been waiting for. But the victim is unidentifiable and the killer has left few clues.

Jenna

With the death of her father and her mother’s failing health, Jenna accepts her future plans must change but nothing can prepare her for the trauma yet to come.

Fleeing south to rebuild her life Sarah uncovers long-hidden family secrets. Determined to get back what she believes is rightfully hers, Sarah thinks her future looks brighter. But Paton is still pursuing her…

… and he’s getting closer.

Kerena Swan’s brilliant novel explores how honest mistakes and human frailty can have terrifying and long-reaching consequences. It’s a tale of family ties and loyalty, revenge and redemption that you won’t want to put down.

Blood Loss was published by Hobeck Books on 19th March 2021.


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Blood Loss will be just 99p for a limited time only!

 

Extract

Jenna

My breath wheezes through my constricted throat, my heart thuds against my ribs and my eyes bulge as I stagger around the kitchen. Where’s my EpiPen? I’m sure I left it on the table, but it’s not here now. Oh, God, help me.

‘Mum!’ A faint rasp is the only sound to emerge through the sadistic grip on my windpipe. I don’t know what to do. If I try to make it to the lounge I might pass out. Mum may not find me in time. My throat will carry on swelling until it closes completely. My lips and cheeks are tingling and my skin is on fire. I must find my EpiPen. Only an injection of adrenalin will save me now.

I swivel my head frantically from left to right, scanning the worktops. My vision blurs as the room flashes past my eyes. I can’t focus. I want my mum. I need Mum. I see the vase of bright sunflowers on the table and in a flash of inspiration I sweep my arm out and send it crashing to the hard stone floor. Shards of china and water explode across the kitchen and hit my legs.

‘Are you all right, Jenna?’ Mum calls from the other end of the house.

I can’t reply. My vision is turning red and I’m going to pass out any minute now. I push a chair over and it hits the floor with a clatter then I lean against the wall and slide down it to avoid falling.

‘What’s going on?’ It’s as though Mum is calling to me from a distant hilltop and there’s a whole valley of countryside between us. The sun drops beyond the horizon and darkness descends.

I wake to the soothing sensation of a hand stroking my hair back from my forehead and Mum’s gentle, comforting voice.

‘It’s okay, Jenna. I’m here. I’m looking after you.’

I feel disorientated but safe. Mum will care for me as she always does. She knows what to do. I relax under her calming ministrations, then, without warning, I see with sudden clarity an image of Mum on her death bed and me stroking her hair. Cold dread takes a bite from my heart. No, no, no! It’s not meant to be like this. I’m too young to lose my mum, the most important person in my world. I can’t bear it. I want to die with her. Tears well in my eyes, run across the bridge of my nose and gather in my right ear.

‘Don’t cry, love. You’re okay. We’ll give you another injection in ten minutes and the ambulance will be here soon.’ Mum takes a seat pad from a kitchen chair and places it under my head with aching tenderness. ‘What have you eaten?’

My mind struggles to grasp what has happened. I raise my head and see an EpiPen cartridge lying on the floor in a puddle of water. Fragments of china, like broken teeth after a fight, are littered around the empty medication tube. The blue cap has been ripped off and discarded nearby and the needle is encased in the retractable orange plastic again. I remember gasping for breath. ‘Where was my pen?’ I can only whisper but Mum understands me.

‘I couldn’t find it so I fetched a spare one. You really should keep it in your pocket, Jenna. In fact, remember what the doctor said? You’re supposed to carry two on you.’ Mum reproaches me but she’s only trying to keep me safe.

‘It was on the table. I got changed to muck out the stable and I didn’t have a pocket so I’d been carrying it around,’ I rasp. I know I put it on the table when I came in.

‘We need to buy you one of those little bags to strap around your waist for when you don’t have a pocket.’

‘You don’t understand, Mum. I definitely put it on the table.’


The Author

We are thrilled to be introducing DI Dave Paton and his son Tommy, the stars of the first novel in Kerena Swan’s new series, to the world. Before coming to Hobeck, Kerena had published three novels, Dying To See You, Scared to Breathe and Who’s There? and has built a solid fan base around her writing career thus far. She is a juggler extraordinaire: driving forward a successful care business she runs with her husband yet finding time to write. She loves to write, here and there and everywhere when she’s not working. We don’t know how she does it but we are glad that she does! Kerena talks about her writing, her influences and how she came to Hobeck in this video.


Author Social Media Links

Website: https://kerenaswan.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @kerenaswan
Facebook : @kerenaswan · Author


Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour!