Merk walked around the fire. He lifted his chin to Cam, keeping his eyes off Christina. He privately wished her well, but failed to support her decision to stay with his president.
It seems everyone has been waiting to see how I feel about this book. It is no secret that I loathed Merk. My opinion stems from when he told his Moroad Brothers "I shot him to protect her feelings". Men in my world do not say comments like this. I believed all his emotional manipulation was worse then the cold, methodical ways of Cam.
Knowing Cam connected the dots failed to surprise Merk. Cam came by his information in ways Merk never found out about and stayed ahead of everyone in Moroad MC. His control over the club made him the leader for a reason.
In Time Owed, Debra Kayn, continued to mess with my mind. As with all books, everything is not as it seems. What you think happened in Book 1 to 3, you find out in Book 4, there are ulterior motives and backroom dealings that we weren't privy to then, that now come to light.
Merk is a convulted, complex man. None of the men in Moroad are going to be white knights in shining armor that are going to come in and sweep their damsels in distress off their feet. They are felons who do what they want, when they want, and how the want to further their own agenda. These are men who fuction outside the law who will never be innocent. They are men who protect what they have and trust each other as much as they can. While they love deeply it is always on their terms.
There are a lot of moving parts to Moroad where no one quite knows the whole story. Merk & Cam aren't as different as I thought. In fact, they are scary in how alike they are. They both have their own agenda and just happen to be in the same MC. I do think if they had met at a different time and place, they could be intense rivals, who seperately would really give each other a run for their money. Now, Debra, I am not asking for that to happen because really my mind and heart couldn't take it.
BeforeI tell you how I feel this is one of my favorite parts of the book:
"I could give a shit about your plans. You end up in prison againa, that's your risk. I can always use you on the inside. Just remember, no man bends forward and gets ass raped for fun. Stay smart."
Who knew Cam could be funny! And they say he is uncaring! :-)
He no longer worried about Cam or Christina. She was obviously happy and settled down with Cam, and he and Cam always straightend out their own problems without anyone's help.
Ok, so now the part that you all, I am sure have been waiting for, has my opinion of Merk changed? Am I converted to #TeamMerk or am I still #NotTeamMerk? Well, let me try and explain.
When I was reading this book, I messaged Debra and said "Merk is a Dick." Merk is, in fact, still a dick, but he is a dick I can now understand. The part that made me think Merk was a pussy ended up being not as I thought.
Did it change my opinion of Merk? Yes
Did it make me change my feelings toward Merk? Yes, but only in a sense
Am I now #TeamMerk? In all honesty, no, I am not. While I do understand where he came from, his reasons for his actions, and how he ended up how he is, I am still not a convert. Merk is out for Merk and only Merk. As you will read in this book, his need for revenge fueled everything he did, until it didn't. Does that make sense? Merk runs on passion and emotions in going one way until he decides everything changed what he was doing and goes another way. When you think it is all revenge, he changes it up. Whereas, Cam is cold and methodical, Merk is passionate and emotional and can change gears as he sees fit. The story of Merk and Desiree is not typical, as with anything associated with a DK book is, but it is emotional. You will come to a new light about Merk and who he is. I understand what drives him.
I would say Merk and I have come to an impasse. I don't hate him, but I don't love him. I understand him, but do not love him. (at least until book 5 comes out and DK changes all that as it seems to be with Moroad)
This book, this series, as always is a constant evolving storyline that really makes you think and try to understand the method behind the madness of the characters. When Wrapped Around Her was released, I said it was a game changer for the MC genre. Time Owed is nothing less then brilliant writing and an exceptional plotline that as always leaves you thinking and feeling more than you thought possible.
As with other series, some get worse as more books are released, but with DK books she always impresses me with setting the bar high and hitting the mark everytime. I didn't believe she could make me understand Merk, but as always she accomplished the impossible.
Well played, Debra Kayn, well played.
Shauna