Child of Mercy

contents

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Excerpt from Feedback is Love

child of mercy

fallen [4]

lisa olsen

(2012)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tags: angels and demons
angels and demonsttt

Editorial Review

Abandoned by Adam, Mercy picks herself up by her bootstraps and gets on with life without
too
much wallowing in weepy tears. More family drama ensues as Mercy helps plan Matty’s wedding to the odd, but ever entertaining, witch, Oriana. It’s a struggle to rein in on the crazy and keep her life as normal as possible now that everyone knows she’s got a bun in the oven, but Mercy’s determined to make a stable life for her child. Faces from the past show up to complicate Mercy’s hard won normalcy, and she finds herself with a terrifying new friend when the play for her child turns perilous. I thought maybe the book would end with the birth of the child, but there is a whole new can of worms opened after the delivery. Thankfully, author Lisa Olsen didn’t leave us with a cliffhanger for once, but I hope this isn’t the last foray into Mercy’s world.

Product Description

“Have you ever gone to sleep one night and woken up and it’s two months later? Okay, not literally, but I swear it felt like two months went by in the blink of an eye. Still no word from Adam, but each day got easier to accept his absence, and I started to believe he might never come home. I started to think… maybe I didn’t want him to anymore.”

Child of Mercy continues the saga of angels and demons in Book IV of The Fallen. Left to raise a child on her own, Mercy contends with normal pregnancy woes, and a slew of dangers as new enemies and old vie for a piece of the child. Her heavenly cousins don’t seem all that pleased with her impending motherhood either, and Mercy needs all the help she can get to keep her baby safe. Luckily, she has friends and family around to help out (a little too much family if you ask Mercy), especially Parker who is more than happy to fill Adam’s vacant shoes. The question remains - will Adam stay away? And more importantly, if he waits too long, will Mercy want him to?

Table of Contents

• Copyright
  
• Acknowledgements
  
• Chapter One
  
• Chapter Two
  
• Chapter Three
  
• Chapter Four
  
• Chapter Five
  
• Chapter Six
  
• Chapter Seven
  
• Chapter Eight
  
• Chapter Nine
  
• Chapter Ten
  
• Chapter Eleven
  
• Chapter Twelve
  
• Chapter Thirteen
  
• Chapter Fourteen
  
• Chapter Fifteen
  
• Chapter Sixteen
  
• Chapter Seventeen
  
• Chapter Eighteen
  
• Chapter Nineteen
  
• Chapter Twenty
  
• Chapter Twenty-One
  
• Chapter Twenty-Two
  
• Chapter Twenty-Three
  
• Chapter Twenty-Four
  
• Chapter Twenty-Five
  
• Chapter Twenty-Six
  
• Chapter Twenty-Seven
  
• Chapter Twenty-Eight
  
• Chapter Twenty-Nine
  
• Excerpt from Feedback is Love
  

Child of Mercy

By

Lisa Olsen

Copyright © 2012 Lisa Olsen, all rights reserved.

This book is sold subject to the conditions that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, copied, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any other format or changed in any way, including the author’s name and title, and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

This is a work of fiction.  Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.  The use of any real person, company or product names are for literary effect only and used without permission.  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

Visit the author’s website at
http://www.lisaolsen.net

Acknowledgements

Thanks to everyone who suggested baby names for Mercy’s child!  Beckie Pimentel (the newest addition to my editing team) came up with the winning name and it fits perfectly into the plot.  That leads right into me thanking my editing team, Beckie, Marilyn Weaver, Keri Keen, and last but not least James Olsen, for helping make this book be a better version of what I imagined it could be.  More thanks go out to my beta readers Randi Pandi and DevilishLittleAnne for being my reader litmus test and my continuity experts.  And big thanks to all my readers for the great reviews and support for the series, I love hearing from you!

Chapter One

“Mercy?  Are you okay?”

It took me a minute to realize Daphne was talking to me.  “Okay?” How could I possibly be okay with the giant hole where my heart used to be?  But that isn’t what people want to hear when they ask a question like that, even if they’re your best friend.  Unless you’re bleeding out your eyes, people just want you to smile and say, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?  ‘Cause you look kind of green.”

“Yeah well, being pregnant can do that to a girl.”  I’d already thrown up so much, there were broken blood vessels underneath my eyes, but thankfully my supercharged angelic healing meant they’d fade in a few hours.  Mostly it was nerves though, the upcoming meeting with Adam’s attorney kept me up most of the night.  The folded slip of paper in my fingers with the lawyer’s name and address was worn to a sharp crease from all the times my fingers smoothed over it. 

“Even with that, you look kinda…”  At my look, Daphne’s mouth snapped shut and she seemed to think better of what she’d been about to say. 

“I can’t help it, I don’t want to do this.”  Somehow meeting with they guy made it all seem that much more real.  If I put it off, I could still fool myself into believing Adam might stroll through my door some day, make a smart aleck remark, and life could get back to normal.  On second thought… normal?  Who was I trying to kid?  My life hadn’t been normal since I’d found out about fallen angels, demons, and all the supernatural stuff in between. 

“Don’t you want to know what Adam set up for you?”  Ever upbeat and bubbly, my best friend Daphne tried to look on the bright side of life.  I would have appreciated it for the most part, if I hadn’t been so absolutely certain there was no bright side for me in the foreseeable future.

“I don’t care about any money.”  Even the idea of taking handouts from Adam left me cold.  Maybe it was a stupid stand to take facing life as a single parent.  When the hospital bills came from the delivery I might change my mind, but for the moment I hadn’t budged from my perch on the high moral horse I’d hopped onto. 

“Maybe they’ll have a message from him.”

“I know you’re trying to help, Daph, but the last one seemed pretty final.”  I gave her a grim smile.  In order to keep me and our unborn child safe, Adam fled for parts unknown and he didn’t intend to come back. 
Ever.
 

“But maybe…” 

Whatever ray of hope Daphne had been about to offer, she cut it short when the door opened, and a guy with wispy brown hair and thin shoulders entered.  Everything about him was tan or brown (including his socks, which I’m pretty sure started out as white at some point), except for his aura which was a deep purple.  While we watched, he struggled to remove his Member’s Only jacket without dropping the paper bag balanced on top of the coffee cup in his hand.  His eyes bulged slightly when he noticed us, at least I thought they did, but once the surprise faded, I realized they bugged out naturally.  Not exactly what I’d been expecting in a lawyer, but I guess they come in all sizes and shapes. 

“Ah… sorry, it’s my secretary’s day off.”  He offered a toothsome smile.  “Can I interest either of you in some coffee or a donut?”

“No, thanks all the same, I’m good.”  I looked to Daphne and she shook her head with a smile.  “You are Mr. Finch, right?”  All of a sudden I started to wonder if we had the wrong office.

“That’s what it says on the door.”  A half shrug was given.  He hung the jacket on a hook before entering his inner office.  “Come on in, girls.  I won’t bite.”   

He didn’t act much like a lawyer either.  Then again, my experience with lawyers was limited to reruns of Matlock and LA Law.  Daphne and I traded looks as we gathered up our coats and followed him to the cramped office.  It wasn’t that the room was small, but file cabinets lined all four of the walls, making the room feel claustrophobic. 

“So…”  He laid his hands out on the desk as we took a seat.  “You probably came to see the enchilada, right?” At my blank stare he pulled open the top drawer to his desk, rifling through the file folders.  “I had it right here…”  His brow puckered as he dug deeper, until he pulled out a weathered interoffice envelope tied closed with a piece of string.  “Ah, here we go, Merceline Renault.  That would be you, right?  He described you to a T.”  Not that it was all that hard to tell us apart, Daphne and I don’t look a thing alike.  She’s got golden blonde hair that naturally falls in perfect ringlets past her shoulders and my hair is dark and wavy.  I was in the process of growing out my bangs and they formed a heavy fringe just above my eyes.