MONSTER

FILTHY RICH VILLAINS

VANESSA WALTZ

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Copyright © 2021 by Vanessa Waltz
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means,
including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author,
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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 CONTENTS

Prologue
1. Evie
2. Evie
3. Evie
4. Tony
5. Tony
6. Evie
7. Evie
8. Tony
9. Tony
10. Evie
11. Evie
12. Evie
13. Tony
14. Evie
15. Tony
16. Evie
17. Evie
18. Evie
19. Evie
20. Evie
21. Tony
22. Evie
23. Evie
24. Tony
25. Evie
26. Evie
27. Evie
28. Tony
29. Evie
30. Tony
31. Evie
32. Tony
33. Evie
Epilogue

Chapter One
Thanks for Reading!
 Acknowledgments
Also by Vanessa Waltz
About the Author

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 ABOUT THE BOOK

Monster is a standalone romance novel, but it builds on the events of my

Sinners of Boston series. If you have never read them, you might enjoy
reading Arranged first!

Marrying a monster doesn’t change his nature...

They call my husband-to-be "Mob Prince," but his happily-ever-after

consists of bound wrists and broken promises. Tall, dark, and handsome
don’t begin to describe his level of gorgeous. Tony Costa is a dangerous
man with a beautiful face.

We’re arranged to marry.

Start a family.
Or else .

My father forced me to the altar, giving me to the silver-spooned gangster

with a blackened soul. He hates my family. Hates me. And he’ll make me
his perfect wife.

I’m supposed to serve him, bear his children, and obey.

I refuse to surrender to the monster in my bed...but submitting to his power

fulfills my darkest desires. Before long, I’m enthralled by his steamy
threats, his rough hands, his beautiful, deep eyes...and the terrible secrets
they hold.

Am I in love with the man?

Or am I submitting to a monster?

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 PROLOGUE
TONY

2 oz bourbon
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 sugar cube
Garnish: orange twist

V inn went too far this time.

My prick cousin bound my wrists. Threw me in a car. He dared to hood me,
as though where we were headed was a big fucking mystery. He was
probably taking me to his place in the Quabbin Reservoir, where he buried
his victims. My lawyer friend, Knox, would’ve helped me, but Vinn had
stolen my phone.
Murdering little shit.
Wheels crunched as the car slowed over bumpy terrain. Doors banged open,
triggering images, sensations—snarling fangs, a crimson-soaked leash, my
cheek hitting the curb.
Hands wrenched me out. My feet landed hard on a shifting surface,
probably gravel. The hold on my elbow yanked. Stumbling, I lost my
balance. My ass hit the ground as I made an undignified fall, sharp rocks
cutting into my skin.
They pulled me upright and shoved.
“At least buy me dinner before manhandling me. Is this because I won’t go
to your barbecues anymore?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“Don’t tell me. It’s another intervention?”
“You’ll find out in ten seconds.”
Vinn had no idea of the storm building within me, of the blind panic and the
wrath he’d provoked. If he didn’t let me go, I would hurt someone.
It might be him.
I swung my boot, connecting with a leg.
Vinn grunted.
A hand crashed into my shoulder, right into my scar. The phantom pain
pierced me like a white-hot poker. A vicious hatred burned my body before
the wind’s salted scent chased it away.
“You took me to your beach house?” A seagull cried as I faced the body
dragging me. “The one you bought for your wife?”
No response.
I laughed, even though I could’ve killed him. “Jesus, Vinny. Li won’t like
that. She’ll never forgive you.”
“Pleading for your life?”
“I’m saving your ass. When she finds out you murdered a family member at
your vacation home, she’ll divorce you. Get ready for bitter custody
battles.”
He marched me up a lawn, jerking me to his side. His fingers gouged my
flesh—predictable, boring idiot . The hood was a stunt made to scare me
straight, as if that ever worked.
The bag was ripped off my head.
Cold air stung my cheeks as the world exploded with light. Gradually, a
seaside cottage melted into my vision. It stood on a watery shore. My guts
clenched as waves lapped the beach. Foam crawled up the sand. A body
floated in the water, facedown. Seconds later, it disappeared.
Alarm rippled down my spine.
Vinn jabbed me. “Inside.”
I tore my gaze from the ocean, heart pounding. I strolled through a door
into a sprawling living room decorated in red, white, and blue. It resembled
my zia Lena’s house—lots of plaid. I stepped in as Vinn sliced the zip ties,
freeing my wrists.
Two men stood at the fireplace.
Once, I’d considered them brothers.
My insides blackened from the grim-faced Alessio to Michael’s softer eyes,
ice freezing my stomach.
It was an intervention.
They thought I was high. Everything boiled down to the addiction that
hadn’t been a problem in two years, and they wondered why I couldn’t
stand them.
Christian entered, blocking the door.
My throat tightened. “I don’t need a goddamned intervention.”
“This isn’t about your sobriety. For once .” Vinny grabbed a chair and
planted it in the middle of the room. “Have a seat.”
“I’m not. Fucking . Staying.”
Vinn didn’t budge. “You don’t have a choice.”
I hated those words.
Forcing me to do anything provoked my more violent tendencies. I couldn’t
handle losing control. It made me unhinged.
I stormed to the door, but Christian blocked me. Hesitation flickered in his
hawklike gaze as he squared his shoulders.
“Move.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. I can’t.”
Trapped .
The red haze flashed over my vision, and my hands balled into white,
trembling fists. Old-fashioned . I conjured an image of the drink and
focused. Two ounces bourbon. Two dashes of Angostura —
“That’s it, Tony. Have a seat.”
Dimly, I registered a touch on my bicep.
My fist whirled, slamming into his jaw. Christian dropped, clutching
himself. He moaned. I jumped on him and disappeared in the violence, my
body on autopilot. Blood splattered over my numbed hand. A pounding
grew in my ears like drumbeats.
Hands tore at my wrist. I snapped their digits. An arm banded my neck, and
I hurled him into the wall. A body slammed into my back. I jerked
backward. My skull cracked a hard surface, and the body stumbled away.
I wouldn’t give up.
I stopped smashing his face when Michael and Vinn tackled me. Three of
them forced me into the chair, and then the fog cleared, revealing a scene of
devastation.
A vase had been smashed, showering the ground with ceramic shards.
Pieces of furniture lay on their sides. Michael cradled his fingers, cursing.
They stuck out at odd angles. Christian peeled himself upright. Alessio
massaged his eye. Only Vinn was unscathed.
His accusatory stare drilled into me.
“What did you fucking expect?” I wheeled on Michael, who had the grace
to look ashamed. “You deserve it, you bastard. I saved your wife’s life. Now
you’re throwing me in vans?”
“He’s right. This was a stupid idea, Vinn.”
I smacked Vinn’s touch from my shoulder. “Why am I here?”
“You’ve crossed the line too many times.” Vinn glowered like a storm
cloud. “I’ve given you chance after chance. I told you what’d happen if you
defied me. I warned you.”
“I ignored you.”
“Honestly, Anthony. There are easier ways to kill yourself.” Vinn sank onto
the coffee table, staring into his folded hands. “But in case this isn’t the
desperate act of a broken man…I’ll let you off. Once. No more second
chances. But your conflict with the MCs is over.”
“Can’t do it.”
Vinn’s jaw slackened. “When will you be satisfied?”
“When they’re all dead, and my dad comes back to life.”
“You never used to be so hateful.”
I wiped the blood on my slacks. “I’m not hateful. I’m focused.”
“On what?” he shouted, the loudness ringing my ears. “Killing everyone
who’s ever pissed you off?”
“I’d have shot you in the ass already.”
He gripped my collar and hit me, displaying a lack of self-control I’d rarely
seen in Vinn. The impact smarted, but my pulse barely picked up the pace.
If he thought he could scare me with pain…he was more likely to kill me.
Vinn leaned forward, glowering. “I’m going to level with you, Anthony. I
think you’ve completely lost it. You’ve always been destructive, but this is
crazy . You’re taking us all down. I can’t have it.”
“Just do it, you fucking pussy.”
Vinn stood, raking his hair. “Not today. You’re lucky…You are so lucky I
caught you before you did lasting damage. I got you a lifeline.”
“I don’t need your goddamned help.”
“Refuse me, and you won’t leave this house alive.”
He was bluffing.
My stomach tensed. “You’ll lose everything.”
“Not necessarily. I can make a good case to your mom when she inherits
your estate. She’ll hand it over. I’ll tell her it’s what you would’ve wanted.”
I bristled. “What do you want? ”
“You to stop fighting,” he barked. “Stop antagonizing the people we’re
trying to make peace with. Marry a nice girl, and calm the fuck down.”
“You and my mother would get along.”
“I’m not kidding. I negotiated a deal with Legion. You’re off their backs,
forever.” Vinn’s mouth twisted wryly. “In exchange, you’re marrying one of
them.”
I froze, all decisions in limbo.
“What?”
“You’re marrying a biker girl.”
A vision of me at the altar with a girl in leather knocked the air from my
lungs. I managed to laugh through stiff lips.
“Anthony, it’s done.”
This was an absurd prank.
Gradually, the feeling returned to my limbs. I grinned at Alessio and
Michael, who glowered at me. All of them wore identical grim expressions.
They were serious.
Holy shit, this was real .
“Are you fucking insane?” I gaped at them, one by one. “What made you
think I’d ever agree to this? I’d rather eat a bullet than marry into that
garbage family!”
“That can be arranged.” Vinn crossed his arms. “Don’t push me.”
Heat scalded my face.
There was a difference between fucking around and taking a wife. I had no
interest in building a life with anyone, least of all a woman from that world.
“I’m not getting married.”
“You will not let me down.” Vinn stabbed my rib cage with a finger. “This
is exactly what you need.”
“Now you sound like my father.” My shout tore my throat. “Am I the only
one with working brain cells? You know damned well I am not husband
material. Tell them, Alessio.”
My former college buddy fixed me with a potent stare. His dark eyes bored
into me.
“I agree with Vinn,” he said, lounging on the fireplace. “You’re ready. You
just had to put down the drugs, and you’ve done that. You’ll be fine.”
My amusement at them playing matchmaker died.
Everybody thought they knew what I needed.
They had no idea.
“Are you speaking for your-fucking-self?” I burst, fed up with their bullshit.
“I’m not marrying anyone.”
“You’ll do it, or I’ll have you killed.” Vinn stood in one fluid motion,
sighing. “We’re staying here for a while. Lawyers are coming by tomorrow
to draft the prenup. Oh, and Anthony? I expect you to start a family. As in,
right after you’re married.”
This had to be a bizarre dream. I’d cracked on my sobriety and ingested a
hit of LSD.
I laughed so hard my voice broke.
I felt delirious. “You’re a trip.”
“I’m dead serious, Anthony.”
“You’ve lost your marbles. You’re nuts if you think I’ll go for this white
picket fence crap.”
“What you want has never been good for you.”
My body stiffened.
Then shock yielded to rage.
“You need a smack in the mouth. You don’t tell me what to do!” My fury
boiled over as Vinn faced the mantel, picking up a framed photo of his
toddler. “Wave the baby photos at me all you like. I don’t give a shit. I have
zero interest in settling down.”
He smiled, and it softened his appearance. “Once you’re a father, that’ll
change.”
Fucking moron.
I shook my head, smoldering. “I won’t do this.”
“You will.” Vinn shoved a peg board of headshots under my nose. “Pick
one.”
My sight landed on the third woman. She sat on concrete steps, legs crossed
at the ankles like a princess. A leather headband pushed back her dark hair.
She was like a firefly, lighting the gloom with her delicate beauty. I stared
into her eyes, and something shifted in my chest.
Something broke.
No .
Something threatened to ignite.
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 ONE

EVIE

I’m grateful that my fiancé has good hygiene.

I’ m grateful that my fiancé is tall.

I’m grateful that my fiancé is handsome .
The ink bled through the paper as I wracked my brain for a fourth virtue for
my gratitude journal. Every day, I wrote five things for which I was
grateful. The simple reason for this was that when the darkness inside me
lightened so did the world outside.
Not today.
No amount of pretty thinking made this situation better because I was
giving up on love. I’d said my goodbyes to the man I’d never meet or
marry, the romance we wouldn’t share, the butterflies that’d never flutter,
the passion that’d never ignite, and the children we’d never have.
What I liked about my fiancé, Tony Costa, was vanishingly small and
mostly superficial. There wasn’t a single-fucking-quality about his
character that I admired.
My soon-to-be husband did not inspire people.
He put the fear of God into them.
The hotel suite’s door opened, admitting an older guy with an easygoing
vibe. I liked his smile. It was warm without being too friendly.
“This came for you, Miss Craine. Tony sent it.” He appeared at my elbow,
sliding a tall glass filled with a golden liquid into my hands. “Prosecco from
Italy.”
How thoughtful .
I had no clue about wines. The club gravitated toward beer and whiskey,
and anything more than twenty dollars was considered a waste.
My throat pounded as I swiped the drink. I tipped it into my mouth, the
bubbles snapping my tongue. I drank, unimpressed by the warmth fluttering
my chest. It lacked the punch of straight vodka, my go-to this week when
reality got too close for comfort.
“He’ll be along shortly to check on you.”
“Great.”
Christian stood behind me, brows furrowed. Perhaps the tone in my voice
concerned him. “You have nothing to worry about, hon. Tony’s a standup
guy.”
“Really?” I murmured, playing with my new phone. “Is that why he’s
forcing me to marry him?”
“He’s not as bad as you think.”
“Again, not very comforting.”
Christian grabbed the empty flute. He studied the glass, a deep frown
wrinkling his brow. His sympathy was wasted on me. I didn’t trust
Christian.
I didn’t trust any of them.
A combination of emotional blackmail and threats had forced me to accept
Tony’s proposal. Dad stole my life’s work and would’ve sold it for a
pittance if I hadn’t said yes, which was how I ended up in front of a vanity
wearing couture. A designer bag sat in my lap, the pillowed leather gliding
over me like silk. The finest accessory I owned, apart from my jewelry. The
pre-wedding gift held my phone programmed with one contact:

My thumb traced his number.

I hadn’t worked up the nerve to call him. I’d treated the last week as a
vacation, relishing the pampering I never could’ve afforded on my own. My
future husband’s people had extensively prepped me. They’d waxed every
inch of me. They’d thrust my hands into hot baths and trimmed my cuticles.
They’d conditioned my hair, exfoliated my skin, and painted my nails.
I’m grateful my fiancé takes care of me .
He’d spared no expense to make me his possession. My engagement ring
was a gaudy diamond solitaire on a platinum setting. I’d studied it with my
jeweler’s loupe and appraised it at ninety thousand dollars. I hated the
damned thing. It looked ridiculous on my petite hand, but Tony hadn’t
asked for feedback. He hadn’t even proposed. His bodyguard had
awkwardly shoved the velvet box in my direction.
Tony seemed to be all about status, like all wealthy egomaniacs. The ring,
the Vera Wang dress, and the spa treatments belonged to someone else, a
trophy wife, not me. I still clipped coupons. I lived in a mobile home and
probably couldn’t name half the designers in his closet.
Why the hell did he want me ?
Christian’s pocket buzzed. He answered his phone, murmuring in Italian.
He always switched to the language when Tony called. He wheeled toward
the door, closing his cell.
I clenched my jaw tighter.
The door opened to Tony’s powerful, Viking-like frame. His broad
shoulders strained his suit. Normally, his hair was as untamed as the rest of
him, but for the wedding he’d slicked it back. Salt and pepper marked his
ebony mane. Everything about him was bold, the deep tan, the boyish lips
built for sin. The media had dubbed him Mob Prince for a reason.
Tall, dark, and handsome didn’t begin to describe his level of gorgeous.
Heat stole into my face as my gaze raked over his devastating appeal. I
drank in the lazy seduction of his big eyes, the cutting jawline. He was in
his late thirties, and it showed in how he carried himself. He stood as
though steel made his spine. A short mustache and beard clung to his upper
lip and jaw. Dark wisps peeked from the V neck of his shirt.
Hot. Very masculine.
It was like he’d just left a vacation in the Amazon. I’d lived in Boston my
whole life, and I’d never seen anyone like Tony.
“Looking good, T.” Christian slapped his back, exploding with enthusiasm.
“Ready to get married?”
A cloud settled over Tony’s features. “I need a moment alone with my
bride.”
“Of course, buddy.”
Tony glowered at Christian until the door swung behind him. Then his
lightning rod stare landed on me.
I fisted my clutch.
It was very strange. He glared at me as though I’d condemned him to hell.
As he crossed the room, my muscles tensed.
He held out his hand.
I took it, and a jolt passed from his skin to mine.
My body stiffened as he boldly assessed me, his gaze traveling down my
face, neck, and breasts.
“I’m Tony Costa, and you belong to me now.” He beckoned me with a wave
—a gesture for servants, not his fiancée. “Let’s see the rest of you.”
I stayed put. “Tony, I don’t want to be your wife.”
“You pick an odd time to complain.”
“I assumed you’d back out.” I lifted my chin, whispering with desperate
firmness. “I’ve tried to meet you for days. You weren’t at the negotiation
meetings. You didn’t come to the engagement supper.”
“I’m not a fan of chaperoned visits. My number is on your phone.”
“I only got it recently.”
His flat gaze held me still. “And?”
“Why the fuck do you want this?”
“I don’t,” he said, stunning me. “I rank marrying into your family slightly
higher than blowing out my brains, which is the only reason I’m here.”
My chest tightened. “You’re not my first choice either.”
“No doubt, but nothing you say will stop this wedding.” His deep-timbred
voice rose somewhat. “Are we clear?”
“Not one bit.”
My mind reeled. If he didn’t want to marry me, why were we doing this?
He squinted at me. “You are of age, right?”
I frowned. “I’m twenty-two.”
Relief smoothed his brows.
Weird .
He acted like he loathed me and had no idea of my age. I’d spent hours
researching him. I’d read op-eds and articles. I’d scoured the comment
sections for insight.
Tony literally didn’t know me.
“Didn’t you ask questions about me?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t care about the details, considering you were all
the same. They lined up photos of women and told me to pick. Yours
happened to be the one that made my dick hard.”
I stared at him, tongue-tied and frozen.
Tony brushed lint off his jacket. “Were you expecting something romantic?”
My face heated at his mocking drawl. “I had my blood drawn for fertility
tests.”
“So? ”
A flicker of adrenaline surged through me. “You could’ve asked me. I
would’ve told you to go with someone else.”
His mouth twisted into a cruel slant. “Should I have picked from the club
sluts with more STDs between them than Paris Hilton? I chose you, the
virgin, knowing at least I wouldn’t get the clap.”
This man couldn’t be serious .
“You’re lucky you got a choice,” I snarled, abandoning all attempts at
civility. “I’m stuck with Public Enemy Number One for my old man.”
“Don’t call me that,” he growled, the loudness piercing my ears. “I’m not
one of you, thank God. Once you have my name, you’ll drop the biker crap.
I won’t have it in my house or anywhere around me.”
That settled it.
I’d stab my husband before the night ended.
“I’ll wear ripped jeans and leather to all your family barbecues. And guess
what’s going on the wall? A giant Harley-Davidson poster.”
Tony’s dark eyes sparkled with the love of a challenge. “I’ll gag you with
your panties. Force you to taste your pussy for hours. I’ll drag you over my
lap and do things. Maybe in front of an audience.”
An unwelcome flush burned my cheeks.
He lightly fingered my chin, and the air vanished from my lungs. “You have
no idea what I’m capable of.”
No, I don’t .
My heart hammered.
“And you don’t know it yet, but you chose the wrong girl.”
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 TWO

EVIE

I’m grateful so many people support our marriage.

M om warned me .

Dating in the MC was not for romantics who planned their wedding in the
first two weeks of a new relationship. She said I couldn’t handle the club
girls, the cheating, and the heartbreak. Now I’d never know if she was right.
Because Dad was forcing me to marry him .
Tony stood at the altar, wearing an expression more appropriate for being
stuck at the DMV, not celebrating his marriage . Nobody wanted to be here,
least of all my fiancé. He glowered like I was the bug crawling up his ass.
Same to you, bastard .
A tense silence enveloped us as the march’s last notes faded, the droning of
the priest not enough to slice the tension. My gaze wandered to my leather-
clad father in the front row, a grim set to his jaw. Behind him, rows of
people shifted in their seats. Sympathy marked the women’s faces, but the
men mirrored Tony’s put-upon boredom.
My spirits sank even lower.
I curled my hands into fists and shut them out. A woman’s wild sobbing
broke the quiet, and I gaped at Tony’s side. His mother cried into a tissue.
I bristled.
Why was she crying? I was the wronged party in this situation. Her
murdering son would be my husband, and he’d made it clear that he
planned to use me like a blow-up doll.
Tony shot me a twisted smile full of lethal calm. Before long, his “I do”
echoed as though he stood in a tomb. Then the priest turned toward me.
“And do you, Evie, take Anthony to be your husband?”
Grief tore at my heart, but my father’s threats rang in my ears. I swallowed
the ache in my throat.
“I do. ”
Tony’s surly best man handed him the rings. My family’s oldest enemy took
my hand in his big, calloused one. Shock slammed into my ribs as he slid
another ring I hated onto my finger. His resentment drilled holes into my
skull.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” said the distant voice of the priest.
“You may kiss the bride.”
Our vulnerable gazes clashed.
Hatred blazed in those tawny brown pools. They had a burning, faraway
look, like he couldn’t bear to share the same space. His arm banded my
waist, pulling me roughly to him. He cradled my head. We stared at each
other as though across an unfathomable distance.
Married, but still strangers.
I anchored my hands on his shoulders, my stomach twisting as our bodies
pressed close. I tipped my head up to kiss my husband, stowing my rage for
later. Then his lips caught mine, and my senses leaped to life. His kiss was
punishing and angry, sending spirals of heat through me. His stubble raked
my skin. He was a flame eating the oxygen in the air, devouring my
sustenance.
Scattered applause cleaved through my brain.
Tony pulled away, stone-faced.
I swayed, fingers digging into his jacket. At the base of my throat, my pulse
beat and swelled. My lips tingled.
I wanted more. Tony was zoned out—and bored .
A fierce sting bit my cheeks.
That was it.
I officially belonged to a monster.

DAD HAD SPENT a lifetime warning me against men like Tony. Despite
that, he’d permitted Tony to make my life hell forever. His only daughter,
fed to Tony like a sacrificial lamb.
The betrayal sawed into my chest.
After an hour of photos, we drove to our reception at a waterfront museum.
A giant wall of glass overlooked the harbor, winking with a sea of yellow
lights as the dark water reflected a cloudless sky. Seafood rested on ice, but
I’d yet to go anywhere near the buffet. I had a mild allergy to shellfish, but
nobody thought to ask for my preferences. His mother had planned
everything.
Tony sat at our sweetheart table, brooding. He’d skipped the five-course
dinner, glowering when guests approached us.
I grabbed a flute of champagne and offered it to him, but Tony waved off
my peace offering.
“I don’t drink.”
“Not even at your wedding?”
He shot me a black look but didn’t elaborate. Then his gaze dropped to his
ring.
I glared at him. “Strong and silent, huh? Are you that way because you’re
too proud? Or are you not bright enough to string together words that aren’t
insults?”
“I think we’ve had enough of each other.”
“Well, I have a lot to discuss, even if you’d rather sit there and pout.”
“This is the most backwards day in my fucked up life. I have the right to be
pissed off.” His eyes echoed the smolder in his voice. “So do you. You’re
paying for sins that aren’t yours. I enjoy tormenting my enemies, but this is
cruel, even by my standards. And believe me, honey, I’ve seen some shit.”
I didn’t doubt him.
I’d heard all kinds of rumors, but separating fact from fiction required
research. Since my father refused to tell me anything at all, what I’d read
painted a billionaire playboy’s fall from grace and his comeback as a
“human rights” activist. Hard to accept that candy-coated spin when it was
rumored he gave out cash for dead bikers.
I refilled the champagne and drank, hoping to dissolve the knot in my
throat. I could deal with being his wife, but icy fingers seeped into my flesh
at what was expected of me. The prenup had a list of requirements:
Sex once a week, bare minimum.
We were to start a family. If I didn’t conceive in a year, Tony could file for
divorce, and I would get nothing. Since my fertility was already established,
Tony would also be penalized if he failed to make an heir. Most of his estate
would be signed over to his cousin, including property, stocks, and overseas
bank accounts. A pregnancy within six months would grant me a bonus.
Any violation of the prenup would result in our marriage’s immediate
termination, and my assets would be split down the middle.
My business would never recover. Not to mention, I’d have to repay every
cent toward it. I could be in debt to Costa forever, but he could lose half his
net worth and still be a rich bastard.
“Dream a Little Dream” by Pink Martini pulsed from speakers, the jaunty
romantic tune stabbing my brain like a pitchfork.
“I guess we should dance.” Tony sounded like he’d rather drown, but he
grabbed my arm and pulled me upright. His touch splayed over my exposed
back, flooding my skin with heat.
“I’m not a good dancer. I have absolutely no rhythm.” I took his shoulder,
my skin flushing. “You’ll be embarrassed when I stumble over your shoes.”
Tony’s jaw clenched, but he nodded. Then he cradled me in a tight embrace,
his chin hooking my shoulder. His warmth enveloped me in a musky vanilla
scent. His arms banded my waist, pinning me to a wall of muscle. A current
ran through me as we slowly revolved on the spot. It would’ve been sweet
if not for the poison falling from his lips.
“They would give me an uncoordinated girl.”
I dug into him. “I have many talents. Dancing just isn’t one of them.”
“Like?”
“Jewelry design.”
“Jewelry design . Plastic beads, that sort of thing?” His voice boomed
through my stomach. “Do you have an Etsy? Do you go to makeup parties
to sell your handmade bracelets? How adorable.”
I rolled my eyes at his stupid assumptions and pictured his reaction when I
moved in with a fully stocked jeweler’s studio, which included a blowtorch.
“And what have you done with your life, except spend Daddy’s money?”
He leaned in, his whisper brushing my ear. “Lately, I’m all about activism.
Cleaning up the city.”
Killing bikers. Right .
“You should take a hard look at yourself.”
“I know what I am.”
A monster .
“I don’t have the luxury of waging crusades.” That was putting it lightly. “I
have bills. Endless bills.”
“Which I’m inheriting, no doubt.”
“You bet your conceited ass.” I hadn’t planned on milking him, but why
not? “I have bigger dreams than being your wife.”
Something that resembled a smile touched his brutally handsome face. “You
could open your legs for me regularly. Might net you a quarter of a million
dollars, if you’re lucky.”
“Not sure I’d call carrying your baby luck .”
“If not for me, where would you be?” His brows narrowed. “Living a
mediocre life with one of them, popping out three kids, only to be stuck
alone when he gets jailed for drug trafficking.”
A furnace blazed up my neck, claiming my ears. “At least I wouldn’t be
married to a psychopath. And I’d be able to work in peace.”
“Well, that won’t be necessary anymore.”
“I am not quitting ,” I ground out. “It’s not just my passion. It pays the
bills.”
“You need me to pay them, so how successful can you be?”
The barbed insult sank deep, striking behind my ribs. I inhaled sharply,
fighting to breathe around the wound he’d caused.
I ripped away.
I needed a moment before I shattered the champagne glass fountain or
threw him over the balcony. Unbearable heat flushed my arms. I crossed the
glitzy reception hall to the wall of bearded men wearing leather cuts. A
handsome prospect with chestnut brown hair waved.
Ghost .
A flash of loneliness stabbed my heart. I headed toward him, but a hand on
my wrist stopped me. Glowering, I faced my husband.
“What? ”
Tony’s grip slid down my arm and tightened.
“My wife is not associated with bikers. Especially with the boy that’s been
eye-fucking you all night.” An ugly suspicion darkened his voice. “Yes, I
notice everything that concerns me or mine.”
This was a bridge too far.
“I’m part of that world. You can’t pry it out of me!”
“I can and will.”
I wrenched hard, but his hold was iron. “Let me go.”
“I will not have him around you, Evie.” His tawny eyes blazed, daring me
to challenge him. “I don’t hurt anyone without reason, but if I find out
you’re still friends , I’ll send you his hands in a box. Do yourself a favor
and behave.”
The threat plunged me into ice.
“You’re every bit as horrible as they say. You’re a sick bastard.”
OceanofPDF.com
 THREE

EVIE

I’m grateful that my husband doesn’t mince words.

I’ d married the monster .

Soon I’d have to sleep with him.

It was a splinter in my mind, driving me mad.
Until now, the activity at the reception had swept it from my head. There’d
been enough to occupy me with the forced wedding, the endless receiving
line, and my husband’s strange hostility. Getting in the mood would be
impossible, even if he hadn’t threatened to dismember someone.
Tony was certifiable, more jaded than a former convict. He stood on the
harbor, his sharp silhouette illuminated by yellow lights. Apparently, he
preferred standing outside in the miserable weather than talking to me.
What the hell was wrong with him?
And didn’t he eat?
My vision tunneled as I finished my Aperol spritz, a cocktail I’d never tried
before. There was so much I hadn’t experienced because I’d grown up in a
clubhouse, and I loved the way the orange syrup cradled the bottom of the
glass, the citrus tang, how the sparkling wine teased my tongue before
sweetness rolled in. The drink went down easy, so I’d had four.
A blurry outline swam into focus.
I ignored the bold frame. My mouth was papery, dry and dusty. I gulped the
melted ice. The heavy presence lingered, heating the space between us like
smoking coal.
What did he want?
I gave his immaculate suit serious side-eye.
Tony didn’t take the hint. He leaned into my chair. Then a jacketed arm
swung forward. He pried the cup from me and set it aside. He had beautiful
hands—tapered, tanned, neat cuticles, with tattoos crawling from his sleeve.
Small nicks and scrapes marked his knuckles, but I could’ve used him as a
model for my watch.
“You’ve had enough. No more.”
Drinking wasn’t making it better, but his cold disapproval whipped me in a
fury.
“If I’m spending the night with my cheek stuck to the bathroom floor, that’s
my problem.” I raised my head, glaring at him. “Not yours.”
“By all means, make a fool of yourself. Peeling you off the ground would
be the perfect ending to this wedding.”
“You realize you’re the reason I’m drinking, right?”
I thought he’d leave. Instead he slid into the seat beside mine.
“You’re in for a rough eight hours unless you eat.” He turned, addressing
the bodyguard. “How many has she had?”
Christian squinted. “Five?”
“Get her some water.” He grabbed my empty glass and handed it to the
man. “And a plate of food. Something heavy with meat. Don’t skimp on the
starch. She needs it to absorb all the cocktails.”
A thin chill clung to Tony’s words.
Christian raked his hair. “It’s a wedding.”
“You trying to give my bride alcohol poisoning?”
My cheeks warmed. “Tony, I’m fine .”
“Sorry, T.”
“Don’t let it happen again.” He gripped my arm. Then he leaned in, his
body heat burning through his suit.
The aggression didn’t scare me, but the hand weighing me knotted my
insides.
“I’m not that drunk.”
“You’re a lightweight, Evie.” Sparks in my chest erupted at my name
rolling off his tongue. “Evie. Is that French?”
“No idea. Mom probably heard it on TV.”
“Where is she?”
I shrugged, ignoring the ache. “Living her best life somewhere else.”
“What does that mean?”
“Now you’re interested in my backstory? After biting my head off the
whole fucking night? Give me the spritz back. Then make like a leaf, and
split.”
His grim expression broke with the ghost of a smile. “You’re so wasted that
you’re confusing your idioms.”
“Oh fuck off.”
I rarely got this nasty, but he brought it out in me. He’d trashed my every
expectation and turned a celebration into a funeral.
A Whitney Houston ballad warbled through the air, breaking up the agony
of another Italian folk song. Couples in the dark revolved, spinning
effortlessly. That shot an arrow through my lingering euphoria.
A pang burrowed in my heart.
God, this sucked. “Can we go?”
“Not yet. You’re slurring and off-balance.” He planted the water in my
hands. “Drink. Sober up.”
“Why do I have to sober up?”
“I need to make you mine, and I don’t fuck drunk girls.”
I squeezed the glass.
The bodyguard returned, balancing a giant plate of frites and poached
salmon. The fat from the fish spiraled into my nostrils. Tony’s stare bored
into me until I seized the fork. Then I dug into the entree. Cajun spice hit
my tongue, melting with the buttery meat. I ate until the heaviness
dissipated from my mind, leaving me in a frazzled panic.
What would I do when Tony got me alone?
“Feel better?”
I nodded, staring at his tie. I waited, torn apart by nerves.
He took my elbow. “Let’s get this over with.”

THE HOTEL ROOM was smaller than I liked.

A king-sized bed sat in the middle, swallowing the space. My dress trailed
the carpet as I approached the windows overlooking the Boston Common,
showcasing a flurry against the midnight sky. Snowflakes danced,
weightless and free. I pressed my palm against the cold, willing it to enter
my body and freeze my heart.
The door shut.
I swallowed hard.
My cousin coached me for tonight. She’d held my hand through the gory
details of violent sex. Guys in the clubhouse could be rough, borderline
abusive. There was always gossip about one or two members. The worst
had been Crash, who’d died several years ago. He was a biker with an
unblinking glare that reminded me of Tony.
Something was…wrong with him.
I turned, unable to bear the silence.
Tony stood nearby as though he expected me to run. He lifted his square
jaw, his dark eyes growing with a wildness.
A hunger .
He’d already unbuttoned his collar. His rolled up sleeves revealed hairy,
tatted forearms. Taut muscle peeked through his shirt, the bronzed skin
accenting the shadows. My gaze panned down his golden neck and the
savagely virile, perfectly sculpted body. Every fiber in me urged me to
escape, but his beauty sucked the air from my lungs.
He’d take my virginity.
And the bastard wouldn’t be gentle.
A furnace-like heat consumed me, but I didn’t fight when he peeled his coat
from my back. He’d wrapped me in it as we’d left the reception, the gesture
warming me more than the wool.
I flexed my hands. “I guess we’re doing this.”
“Yes.”
He dropped the coat.
It landed, the sound making me jump. I gathered his coat. Shaking, I
smoothed the fabric and draped it over a chair.
“It’s too nice to leave on the floor.”
He studied me, head cocked. “Nervous?”
His velvet-edged tone sounded curious, and my pulse raced uncomfortably.
I inhaled a ragged breath as I paced the narrow space between the bed and
the dresser. I itched for something to do and glimpsed the mini-fridge. I
opened it and grabbed a bottle.
Tony seized my wrist.
“I said, you’ve had enough.”
His growl mangled my nerves, but I daringly met his eyes.
“Who the fuck asked you?”
“Your liver.” He twisted the vodka from my grasp and shoved it away.
“Your heart. Your brain. Every organ gets damaged from alcohol.”
“Is that why you’re such a nutcase?”
Doubt and fear congested my mind as Tony refused to take the bait. He
kicked the fridge shut. “You’ll thank me in the morning when you’re not
dry heaving.”
“You won’t even be here,” I shot back. “Right?”
“Nope.”
Thank God .
I sagged as a weight lifted from my shoulders. Then my spirit blackened as
I pictured waking up alone, every single day. His tone confirmed a lifetime
of lonely mornings. What a depressing start for our marriage.
My throat thickened.
None of this was what I wanted.
Tony seemed to hate it, too. He ripped off his suit jacket and threw it in the
door’s direction. Rage spoke through the violence in which he undressed. It
scoured my skin when his gaze fell on me.
He moved fluidly to my side, a big cat stalking prey. He caught my neck
like jaws on a kill. Dread pitted my stomach. My cousin had instructed me
not to resist, and I wouldn’t, but this was worse than I’d imagined.
I trembled at being taken by such a powerful man. My lungs tightened. I
breathed in shallow gasps. His stare sent a tremor through me as he unlaced
the buttons on my lower back.
Snap.
Snap.
Snap .
I swallowed hard. The roaring in my head drowned out my panic as his lean
body molded into my curves. The wall of mouth-watering muscle reminded
me there was no escape.
He seemed to notice my torment. His burning palm briefly cupped my face.
Then he stroked, the sensation warm and sweet. Heat webbed my skin as he
slipped to my neck. I held my breath as he explored my curves. All my
senses filled with Tony, the feelings he provoked. He made no sound, but
his breathing vibrated through me. I could taste the musky, vanilla scent
clinging to him. Flames erupted everywhere he touched.
I waited, my nerves shot. “Are you always like this?”
His eyes flicked at me with a silent question.
“You’re very…intense.”
That was putting it lightly. Tony clasped me to him, roughly, like he’d
forgotten how to hold a woman without causing her pain.
I couldn’t swallow the rock in my throat.
“And you’re jumpy for someone who grew up in a clubhouse.” Tony’s stare
sliced into my bones. “You must’ve seen all kinds of shit.”
I shuddered. “Nothing I want for myself.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not that kind of girl.”
A sadistic curve touched his full lips. “I’m supposed to believe you’re as
innocent as you look?”
“Believe whatever you want. It doesn’t change who I really am.”
He yanked the straps down my shoulders.
Holy fuck .
His violent movements fired my bare skin. He teased the lace over my
breasts, and a bolt of pleasure struck my core. I gasped at the unexpected
passion flooding me. Shame bit my cheeks as my nipples hardened into
stiff, aching points. Suddenly, he pulled the dress down, and just like that, I
was topless.
“Fuck ,” he cursed, hands on me. “Jesus.”
More soft curses heated me as his arm slid in between my breasts. He took
one in hand. The sight of him fondling me was so titillating I clenched my
thighs. A hot ache swelled in my throat as he played with me. Warmth
spiraled where he stroked.
It felt so good. I was dipped in molten heat.
He flicked my peaked nipple.
I moaned.
“So responsive.” His cold gaze danced over my body, which had begun to
tremble. “Maybe you’re not a liar.”
“Of course I’m not!”
Tony seemed unconvinced. He looked at me through a fog. He was on
autopilot—not remotely romantic. Even more disturbing, he didn’t dial
back the aggression. He turned me around and pushed me against the wall,
hard .
I didn’t struggle. I never moved against him, but he ripped off my dress like
a wolf tearing into a kill. Flames chased the chill biting me as he jerked me
close. A gasp escaped my lips. I had no time to feel embarrassed about
being stripped to my thong. A growing hardness pushed into me with
bruising pressure. Painful. Deliciously feral. One arm gripped my waist,
keeping me still.
My frantic breathing frosted the glass wall.
Did he hate me that much?
I studied his reflection, the grim set of his jaw.
How could he be so cruel?
He raked my hips, catching the cotton string. It caressed my thigh, and then
my panties tumbled to my feet. I stared at them, legs clasped, the space
between them extremely hot.
The lack of light meant nobody from the street could see us, but my mind
ran wild with images of people at the ground floor, pointing at the groom
pinning his naked bride against the window.
The air thinned, and I made a choking sound.
“How can you be so afraid of sex?” His nails lightly brushed my curves,
and the shock scorched through my body. “Haven’t you seen what happens
to club girls?”
I swallowed tightly. “I-I’m not a club girl. I’m the president’s daughter.”
“So it’s all right for them to get fucked by everyone, but not you?”
“Your ideas about us are so warped,” I hissed, annoyed with his
assumptions. “They want to be there. Club girls like tattoos and Harleys.
It’s a trade-off for free food and shelter.”
“Sure. All they have to be is village pussy and can never refuse sex.”
“You elitist prick. You think you’re better than us.” I glared as a muscle
flicked in his stubborn face. “Look at what you’re doing!”
“I didn’t choose this.”
“But that won’t stop you from taking my virginity.”
Tony flipped me, and I winced as my shoulders kissed the freezing glass.
“Why the fuck would it?” His eyes blazed, the fire in them growing as I
prolonged the moment.
“Because ,” I choked out, “we hate each other. We don’t even want each
other.”
“Sounds like a typical marriage to me.”
He thought bullying his wife was normal ?
Saliva pooled in my mouth. If he tried to kiss me—if he dared —I would
spit at the motherfucker. His eyes, black and dazzling, darkened like angry
thunderclouds. Tony lifted a finger to my lips as I shook. The caress was a
command, one I wouldn’t have obeyed if I weren’t so vulnerable.
He hovered over me, his face kindled with a passionate beauty. He fingered
a loose tendril on my cheek. Then he trailed down my temple, my skin
tingling where he touched. His closeness was like a deadly drug, conjuring
warmth in my belly.
I couldn’t move.
I could barely squirm.
Heat bubbled in my chest at being made weak.
“Don’t talk. Just listen.”
My breath burned in my throat.
“I know that you’re scared and pissed off. You’re here against your will,
totally helpless, and you don’t trust me. I’m the opposite of what you
wanted in a husband. You probably think I’m up to no good, and you’re
absolutely right.”
Did I hear that correctly?
Pain shot through my jaw from my clenched teeth.
“You can still walk away unscathed. Say the word, and I’ll let you go.”
Tony’s nostrils flared as though he’d scented my desperation. “Then you’ll
be back in the clubhouse, catching all the dick. Is that what you want?”
“You don’t scare me,” I snarled, sounding a lot braver than I felt. “I’ve
heard it all, and you’re nothing compared to my boys.”
“Your boys . The same guys who let an Italian marry one of their women?”
I imagined throwing him off the balcony.
“Make your decision, Evie.”
My jumbled thoughts collided like two fireworks exploding into each other.
Dad would be furious if I screwed up this alliance. He’d write me off, and
then what? He’d sell my jewelry and the gold, torch my studio, and kick me
off the property.
I couldn’t risk that.
His hand rolled over my shoulder, anchoring there. He branded me like a
hot iron. It didn’t occur to me to shake him off. He made his intentions clear
with the massage he pressed into my lower back.
I wouldn’t allow him to play games with me. If I had to do this, we would
have sex on my terms.
Should I touch him?
I was morbidly curious about that stony jaw but couldn’t work up the nerve.
Instead I stroked the sliver of chest peeking from his shirt. Hair brushed my
palm before I pressed down to caress his warmth. He was so strong. His
rock-like shoulders filled my hands.
Tony seized me like I came at him with a knife.
“What?” I asked, rattled. “Can’t I touch you?”
His nostrils flared.
Apparently not .
Slowly, he released me. Then he turned his head, lips grazing my arm.
Sparks danced where he kissed—my forearm, the inside of my elbow,
gliding to my shoulder. His mouth fastened in the crook of my neck. He
sucked, crumbling a mountain of tension.
His teeth sank into me.
I winced, but the pain tingled like warm feathers. The burn spread between
my widening legs. He lapped at the sensitive skin. I arched my back. A thrill
leaped in me when he ripped away from me. He pulled me from the wall.
His hand found my waist, shoving me over the bed.
I braced myself.
It was coming—the rough sex my cousin warned me about. She told me to
separate mind from body, but I didn’t want to hide. I wanted to be present
for every agonizing second. I didn’t hate his hands on me, far from it.
His fiery touch swept across my back, sliding lower, to my ass. He tapped it
lightly. Then he struck. Stinging burst on my skin. He landed another
smarting blow on my thighs, forcing my legs apart.
“Ow—what the fuck?”
“Hold still.” His detached voice chilled my blood as his palm rained
hellfire. “It’ll hurt less if you don’t struggle.”
“Why are you—ow!”
He spanked me again. I gritted my teeth, hissing with the fierce ache. He hit
me. Did he think I would allow him to—I gasped, distracted by him
caressing my inner thigh. The sensual movements lit my body on fire. He
stroked me as I clung to the bed, trembling.
A bold strike slapped my left cheek, and I jumped forward.
“You’ll be a perfect wife. You’ll greet me at the door with a kiss and a
blowjob, in that order.”
“You picked the wrong girl for your 1950s cosplay.”
His hand whirled, snapping my skin. My legs tightened with the stinging
slaps, the blows erotic more than painful. He grasped a fistful of the fullest
part of my ass and then—smack .
I licked my lips, jaw clenched tight to prevent a hiss of pleasure. I couldn’t
take much more. It was amazing. He’d thrown me into a pool of bliss, and I
had no idea what to do with myself. The wicked burn flowed inward,
stroking my pussy.
He fisted my hair and yanked.
My back arched, thrusting my hips closer.
Warm liquid dripped on my ass. Was it his cum—no—he’d spat on me.
Tony scooped his saliva and lathered himself, slipping between my legs.
Then he jammed his fingers inside me.
The blunt force stole the breath from my lungs. I writhed at this forced
submission. He fingered me with his saliva, coating my walls. He might’ve
been preparing me for him, but he was getting me off. Perfect. I sank into
the bottomless ecstasy as a burning ramped in my chest. I leaned into his
touch.
His fingers shoved into me. His hands assaulted me, bringing me to the
brink of pleasure.
I bit my lip to kill my groan.
Oh shit .
I was coming.
It built up before I could resist. A high-pitched moan exploded from my lips
as the slick pressure fucked me. I welcomed him into my body. I couldn’t
grab him, so I bunched the blankets. His fingers stroked the bundle of
nerves in my pussy. I reached behind to grab a handful of his steel ass and
squeezed, relishing in his fitness. Damn it, but I needed to touch him. I
turned my head and kissed his shoulder.
He pulled his fingers out and slapped my ass.
The burn jolted my arousal. Fuck, that was amazing. My breathing hitched.
I shuddered. Then he shoved his fingers back inside me. A wall inside me
crashed, obliterated by Tony’s thrusting. I screamed into the mattress. My
thighs twitched as his strokes slowed, and then I shattered into a thousand
glowing stars.
The wave of bliss burned behind my eyes. Suddenly, I burst into tears,
overwhelmed. The orgasm was like sunshine hitting my face, pure and
joyful. I lay in a flood of liberation. I wanted to hold him.
I groped the sheets, searching for him.
Tony backed away. His warmth left me, dousing me in ice.
What the hell?
I flipped over.
Tony’s shirt still hung on his back. His bronze skin cast darker shadows
over the lean muscle, and I could’ve run my tongue over the valleys. A pang
hit between my legs at the outline of his perfect cock.
I imagined him taking it out and rutting me. I expected him to.
But he didn’t.
Shock flew through me as Tony buttoned his shirt. He dressed like the room
was on fire.
What happened?
I wiped my face, thrown by his behavior. “What are you doing?”
Tony threw the dress at me, his voice detached. “Leaving .”
Cold struck my belly. “You are?”
He’d owned me. Made me come so hard I’d cried. The space where he’d
filled me ached for more. He should finish what he started, not leave me
wanting.
“I was never going to fuck you.” Tony zipped up his slacks, his mocking
drawl in full force. “Just had to see how badly you wanted my cock.”
Heat blistered my cheeks.
He winked.
Then he left.
OceanofPDF.com
 FOUR

TONY

3 oz prosecco
2 oz Aperol
splash of soda
Garnish: orange wedge

I thought about them .

Every night, their faces pressed into the silk fabric of my mind. I relived the
things I’d done. Depraved acts that made my heart thump and the blood
rush to my cock. I’d escaped that place, but I wasn’t free.
I opened my eyes.
It was dark, the sort of pitch-black heaviness that can’t be penetrated,
invading my lungs and devouring my being like smoke belched from a fire.
I was a charred husk, angry and empty. My rage heated the bed as I lay
there. No relief could be found in this darkness, only more torture.
I tossed.
I turned.
I lost minutes…hours before my brain paused its war on itself. My head hit
the pillow. I drifted, but there was nothing peaceful about my sleep.
Wood creaked.
Heavy boots scraped the floor.
I rolled over, stomach tensing.
A faint glow crawled into the room as the door swung. More footsteps, then
a man’s strong silhouette stood in the threshold.
My heart skipped a beat.
I froze at the familiar face—round cheeks framed with shaggy blond hair—
the face of my enemy.
What was he doing here?
Shock yielded to the pounding in my ears. I shot upright, fists clenched.
His lips curved.
I launched at him.
He flew back, skull cracking into the wall. Plaster splintered. He shoved
me. My feet slipped on the wood as he hammered blows into me. I gritted
my teeth, holding him back.
Then his fist slammed into my shoulder. Agony plunged into my flesh. The
pain jarred me into consciousness.
I bolted upright, blinded. I gasped for air as I groped for the curtains. I
yanked them so hard they broke from the rod.
My pulse galloped ahead as light spilled across the bed, illuminating
tousled sheets. The compression on my lungs eased. I rubbed the two-inch
scar. The comforter poured onto the carpet of a room I didn’t recognize. My
feet hit a bundle of clothing.
A hotel room.
Right. I got married.
Married . It still seemed unreal.
The digital clock on the nightstand bled with red numbers—six a.m. She
was probably asleep. My awareness drifted to an object that pressed into my
palm. The metal bit into my skin before a ripple of shock zipped up my
spine.
A knife.
Christ . Get it together .
My breath stalled as the door trembled with a knock. I gripped the knob,
hiding the blade behind the door. The lock unlatched, the door swinging
open to reveal my cousin.
“Morning.”
I gritted my teeth. “It’s too early for me to deal with you.”
Nevertheless, I stepped back. Vinn strolled inside, dressed down in jeans
and a hoodie. He frowned at the knife in my hand. His gaze flicked to my
face, to the weapon, to me again.
Vinn might’ve been boss of the Family, but I pulled the strings. Officially, I
wasn’t involved in the mafia. Dad had kept me out of the mob, but
everything had changed when he died. He’d left me the accounts and
contacts. The whole empire was mine, locked in trust funds and real estate
that made Vinn’s position mostly symbolic. I owned it all, except Vinn had
wanted me to stop funding the biker wars.
My feud with Legion MC was terrible for Boston. I backed street gangs like
Rage Machine financially and bought them weapons. In return, they
hammered the shit out of Legion, who then retaliated by bombing Italian
businesses, which forced the mayor to summon the National Guard. The
mandated curfews and violence killed small businesses throughout Boston,
which affected Vinn’s bottom line, and the mafia was all about money. After
I’d funded a local politician’s efforts to pass a heavy-handed drug
trafficking law, I suddenly found myself tied up and thrown in a car.
Legion was keen to get me off their ass forever. They were paying hand
over fist just for peace. This marriage was supposed to end the feud
between the groups, and having a baby with Evie would cement that
alliance.
The injustice clawed at my insides. It demanded reprisal. This match was so
ass-backward I couldn’t see us lasting more than a few months, during
which I’d lose my mind. We would never work. I couldn’t accept this—the
very idea disgusted me.
Vinn had done this.
It was his fault.
My throat tightened, and I resisted the urge to lash out—A perol cocktail
recipe . I breathed in deeply. Three ounces of Prosecco.
“You should return to her hotel room,” he said in his low, deep voice. “You
don’t want people to talk.”
Two ounces of Aperol. Less, if you prefer a dry cocktail.
I held out my hand. “Give me my fucking phone.”
“No .”
I could’ve punched his throat. All last night, I’d endured his smug grins, his
glib comments, his pats on my back.
A splash of soda water. Garnished with —
“What more do you want?” I bellowed, blood rushing in my ears. “I
married the girl. She’s moving into my apartment. She hates me, and I can’t
stand her, but we are together .”
“You both agreed to start a family.” He pulled the cell from his pants and
slapped it onto my palm. “No more messing with bikers. You will embrace
domestic life and focus on her.”
I shoved the phone into my pocket, annoyed Vinn hadn’t disappeared.
“Leave before my hair-trigger temper gets us both killed.”
Vinn gave me an unfathomable look before he shook his head and left. As
soon as he’d gone, I swiped through my texts. I shot a message to my
lawyer friend. I’d headed out the door before I remembered my wife.
Damn it .
Heaviness centered in my chest. An odd twinge nagged at me as I changed
directions and strolled next door.
Last night was a disaster.
The rage had built in me as she drank Aperol spritzes, which happened to be
my favorite summer cocktail. I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol in ages, but
watching her drink them had triggered me. I could’ve sucked her tongue
dry.
God, the way her cunt gripped my fingers. Evie was more tempting than a
line of Colombian powder. I’d almost held her down and fucked her. She’d
begged me to, but I took it way too far. She’d made me lose control.
I was off balance.
Fuck .
A clawing sensation gnawed my throat. I shut my eyes, inhaling through my
nose. I had to master this crazed impulse.
I slid my keycard in the lock.
The door yawned. Wide-open curtains glowed with the faint light, washing
her sleeping silhouette in blue. What I wouldn’t give to be that blissfully
unaware.
Her cheek pressed into the pillow and her mouth was parted. Her brown
mane fanned on the sheets, the perfect bun from the wedding undone.
Without the makeup, she looked younger than her twenty-two years.
I kicked the bedframe. “Wake up.”
She startled horribly, dragging the sheets to her mouth. I braced myself for
pleading and begging, but Evie groaned like I woke her up for school.
“Get up. We’re leaving.”
Evie pulled the comforter over her head. “Too early.”
“We need to go.”
She didn’t move.
I ripped the covers from her body.
She hissed, legs curling under her satin slip. “Fine. Jesus. I’m getting up.”
She rolled off the bed and stretched. Light kissed her, illuminating her
bewitching face. Dark, mysterious eyes frowned, furrowing slender brows.
Her plush pink lips offset the gentle slope of her chin. Her skin
complemented the golden room. She seemed of the earth, pure , and
desiring her felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Evie’s beauty was the devastating kind that hit a man in the chest, and if I
didn’t pull back, I would lose sight of my goal.
I could never love her.
So I set my heart on hating her.
OceanofPDF.com
 FIVE

TONY

3 mint leaves
½ oz simple syrup
2 oz white rum
¾ oz lime juice
club soda, to top
Garnish: mint sprig

I spied on my wife .

Cameras placed around the house provided me with constant access to the
biker girl. I kept an eye on her, and it gave me an excuse to stay the hell
away. Evie hardly seemed the type for espionage, but who the fuck knew.
Her family was the sickest bunch of bastards. I could still feel the things
they’d done to me.
I sat in my dad’s office, watching Evie on my tablet. His spirit surrounded
me, whispering from the dusty volumes that filled the shelves, the desk
splotched with grappa stains, the framed photo of me at eight. Dad would
roll over in his grave if he knew who I’d married.
Knox winked at me, spinning a pen in his tapered fingers. I’d called him
over to help me figure a way out of this mess. The twenty-five-year-old
genius was night and day from me at his age. He’d already achieved what
most men couldn’t in a lifetime.
He’d graduated from MIT at fifteen with a double major in engineering and
political science. At eighteen, he launched some software that had
consumed the tech world. By twenty, he was the CEO of a cybersecurity
firm worth $2.4 billion. Two years later, Black Prism was under fire for
hacking into phones of slain foreign diplomats. When they dragged him to
the Court of Appeals, he fired his defense team, represented his company,
and won. Then the asshole took the bar exam just for kicks.
“How’s married life?”
“Exceptionally dull,” I muttered as Evie moved a large sketchpad over her
lap. “I haven’t seen her since the wedding.”
It’d been a couple of weeks since I’d dropped her at my penthouse in
Beacon Hill. Fourteen days of wearing my father’s ring, dodging my
mother’s calls, and fantasizing about being single.
“Is that your wife?” Knox put down the pages of lawyerese and peered at
the screen. “She’s attractive. Decent body, too.”
My neck flushed. “It’s more than decent, you shit.”
Today, she wore a black leopard-patterned dress generous to her feminine
contours. She was sitting on the rooftop garden, staring out into the city.
Her dress rode the wind, floating, as though it could be blown off, and she
could be undone.
She bent over, displaying her rack to the overhead camera. Big and natural,
just how I liked them. Her nipples would fit nicely in my mouth. The breeze
played with the flyaway fabric, the top sliding way too high, and the strands
slipping down her arms.
My balls squeezed with a pang.
Knox’s whistle blast was like sandpaper on my cock. “She missed her
calling as a porn star.”
I punched his arm. “Get the fuck away from the screen.”
My eyes grew hot as she returned inside and stretched out on my couch. I
burned with the need to kiss her soft lips, and it sickened me. The last thing
I needed was an obsession with my enemy’s daughter. I had to do
something productive and stop fantasizing about all the dirty ways I would
fuck my wife.
This marriage had screwed up everything. My professional and personal
relationships went up in smoke. I’d compromised my reputation by
marrying a woman from that family.
For a year, I’d been associated with like-minded wealthy businessmen.
Three of us made The Dark Circle—Knox, Cainan, and myself. Our goal
was dismantling the biggest biker gang in Boston.
Harder than it looked.
Even with our resources, a conglomerate like Legion hadn’t folded under
the pressure. When I’d first joined, I thought it’d take a matter of months.
Try years .
Legion MC had thousands of chapters nationwide. They had multiple
revenue streams. They were involved in drugs, prostitution, murder for hire,
loansharking—anything illegal.
I was committed to the cause, but now my loyalty would be questioned.
Vinn had forced me into an awkward position.
“I didn’t choose this, Knox.”
“I know. I figured you were dead when you didn’t answer your phone for
three days,” Knox murmured. “Cainan was super annoyed when he saw
your wedding photos on social media. He thought you’d relapsed.”
“You and half the fucking world. Help me get out of this marriage.” I threw
the tablet on the desk and raked my hair. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Family law isn’t my specialty, but it looks like Vinn went through great
pains to stop you from exploiting any loopholes. Why on earth would you
sign this?”
“I had a gun to my head. He kidnapped me.”
“Sounds right for a mafia family intervention.” Knox glared at his phone,
thumbing through a document. “Why not just kill you?”
“I’m too valuable to Vinn.” I didn’t mistake it for familial affection. “If I
die, he loses sixty percent of his revenue.”
Knox made an indistinct sound as he typed notes. “We can say you were
under duress, but they’ll expect charges to be filed. That means a police
report.”
Against the boss of the Family?
My stomach tightened. “Out of the question.”
“Yeah, he probably figured you wouldn’t do that.” Knox licked his thumb,
swiping through the stack of papers. “She gets a hundred grand per incident
of you cheating on her. I’ve heard of crazy prenups, but this is wild.”
“I’m glad my misery is entertaining you.” I rose from the chair, buttoning
my jacket.
He extended his leg, blocking my exit. “Tony, hold on. I can get this thrown
out. We can argue that you had reduced mental capacity. You relapsed on
your sobriety. You have a history of substance abuse. It fits. I’m not worried
about that part. It’s what comes after. Your cousin.”
I rubbed my face. “Vinn is the least of my concerns.”
“Tony, your guards report straight to Vinn.” Knox’s voice dropped as he
leaned forward. “Put this aside. It’s not worth the trouble.”
“I’ll hire private security.”
“That’ll be hard. You’re the son of a notorious mob boss. They’ll think you
want them for illegal activity.”
I did, which made my estrangement to Vinn so inconvenient. Still, there
were other options.
“What about street gangs?”
“I wouldn’t. They’re flocking to Legion now that they’re patching in other
clubs.”
That was news to me.
“Since when?”
“They’re allowing rival MCs the chance to defect to their side, no questions
asked. It’s a limited-time offer that expires in the summer.”
“Well, maybe I should get my hands dirty.”
“Tony, that’s a bad idea.”
I didn’t care. I wasn’t giving up.
They stole everything from me. Ruined me.
I had no intention of honoring a cease-fire. My cousin had overstepped in a
big way, and I would punish him. First, I needed to wrangle in the new
wife.
I opened the tablet and found her relaxing in the living room. I traced her
silhouette. She swiped through the phone I’d given her. She grinned,
pressing the cell to her ear.
That smile held secrets.
I’d find them out.
OceanofPDF.com
 SIX

EVIE

I’m grateful my husband gives me plenty of space.

T ony disappeared for weeks .

Good riddance.
After he dumped me in a spacious penthouse downtown and gave me the
rundown of his rules , which I wouldn’t follow, Tony had vanished. He
must’ve owned another property because the front door never opened
except for Christian, sometimes accompanied by a younger man.
I couldn’t complain about my new living situation. Tony’s digs in Beacon
Hill beat the hell out of my mobile home. A private elevator took me
straight into an old-world penthouse with two floors, a deck with a pool and
garden, and four bedrooms. I soaked in his clawfoot tub overlooking
cobblestone streets, sat on the rooftop until my teeth chattered with cold,
and admired the brick and black leather that dominated the décor.
My gratitude for it all grew every day.
My love for its owner did not .
Tony ignored me. He didn’t call. He refused to text. He acted like our
goddamn wedding had never happened. I had questions about the house, but
God forbid he answer the phone.
I rolled over, head pounding from my caffeine withdrawal. I slipped from
the king-sized bed, blinking from the late afternoon light. Tendrils of heat
wrapped my limbs, and then a pair of male voices drifting under the door
chased it away.
“—hooked up with this girl last night. She had the biggest tits I’d ever seen.
They were like basketballs. Not hot. I closed my eyes and powered through
it.”
“Keep your voice down, for fuck’s sake,” Christian growled. “She’s
asleep.”
Christian must’ve shown up with his partner in crime, Rafael, who liked
running his mouth. The younger bodyguard’s harsh tones blasted through
the penthouse as I pulled on an A-line dress and kicked my feet through
ballerina flats. Christian responded to something, which made Rafael burst
through Christian’s soft murmur.
“No, she wasn’t! I met her at the fucking gas station.”
Christian let out a low whistle, laughing.
“It’s not where I usually pick up women, but she got in a fight with her
boyfriend. He dumped her there, so I brought her to my apartment.”
“And then what?”
“Well, she wanted to pay me back.” The stockier Rafael leaned against the
counter, grimacing. “She kept insisting. I think she was a sweetbutt.”
Christian clicked his tongue. “I thought you knew better than to dip your
stick in biker trash.”
“When’s the last time you turned down a blowjob?”
“Yesterday, before I left your mother’s.”
I grew hot along my collar as Rafael laughed. I strolled into view, enjoying
the spasms of panic across their faces.
I smiled. “Morning, boys.”
“Good morning,” said Christian without missing a beat, followed by Rafael
a second later. They exchanged worried glances. A tense silence filled the
window-facing kitchen.
I reached for the mugs, annoyed at the empty shelves. He couldn’t have
coffee lying around. It was part of Tony’s strict no-drugs policy, which was
probably a form of torture for the sadistic prick.
I banged herbal tea on the black marble and shoved the kettle onto the
stove.
“Mrs. Costa, is everything okay?”
“Mrs. Costa?” I murmured, fiddling with the burners. “Don’t you mean
biker trash?”
Christian paled. “Shit.”
Shit was right.
I forced a smile. “Take me to the clubhouse, and I’ll consider it ancient
history.”
Rafael grimaced.
“What?” I asked when they didn’t move. “You have something better to
do?”
“We can’t do that,” he mumbled. “Tony wouldn’t like it.”
Air streamed through the kettle. I turned off the burner, my temper close to
its breaking point.
“Then I’ll tell him how disrespectful his guards were to me.”
“Evie, I know I fucked up, but I’d appreciate it if you kept this quiet.”
Christian’s plea fell on deaf ears.
I met his gaze, unsmiling. “The clubhouse. Now.”
“How about a nice latte?”
“I am not a toy,” I shouted, my patience snapping. “I am his wife. If I say
I’m going to the clubhouse, that’s where I’m headed. I don’t need your
permission. Or —” I poured the hot water, missing the mug. “Tony will find
out what you said, and cut off your heads.”
I was totally bluffing. Tony probably didn’t give a damn. He had no interest
in me. He’d treated me like a cheap hooker on our wedding night, and he
seemed to hate me on principle, so fuck him .
Screw his rules.

I STROLLED outside my dad’s mobile home, which sat beside rows of

neglected lawns and identical houses. The clubhouse loomed ahead, a brick
building that used to be a school. It faced the street, surrounded by the
fencing where prospects stood watch. Over the years, the MC had
purchased homes to expand the community into a giant neighborhood.
A thunder of bikes trembled the ground, and then chrome zoomed past the
gate. Rock music pulsed from someone’s portable speaker. As I walked,
people raised their hands in greeting. My lips pulled into a lackluster smile.
Ghost’s patchover party was tonight, which meant the members would get
shitfaced and fuck club girls. They lounged on plastic chairs, sipping beer,
sitting far from the women I considered my own, the old ladies, wives, and
mothers. Dad swung his leg over his Harley and headed to the drinks. He
was a stern man, big, black-bearded, and fearless. A worn leather cut
wrapped his barrel chest. Outlaw tattoos snarled over his arms and splashed
on his neck.
A knot formed in my throat.
Was he drunk?
Hard to tell with the rosacea tinting his cheeks like a sunburn. His heavy
arm draped my shoulder. “Hey, baby girl. How’ve you been?”
“Well enough.”
“Costa treating you all right?”
I shrugged. “He’s not bad.”
He patted my back and turned toward the grilled hot dogs.
“Dad, it’s been weeks. I need the jewelry and the title to the property. I have
to start with renovations. I’m way behind.”
“Your stuff is in safety deposit boxes.”
“I want them in my bank account, not yours.”
Dad’s icy glare stabbed my heart. He wasn’t eager to give up his leverage. I
forced down a frustrated scream begging for release.
“Something has come up. I need you to get close to Costa,” he murmured,
lowering his voice. “Gain his trust. Evie, this is really important. I have to
know if I can depend on you.”
“Why?”
His arm weighed on my shoulders. He offered me a thin smile that filled me
with dread.
“Club business.”
“If I had a nickel for every time you used that as an excuse.”
“You don’t need the details, Evie. Just focus on your marriage with Costa.
The more distracted he is with you, the better.”
“Dad, what are you planning? If you’re going against them the second you
make an alliance, why did I marry him?”
“Relax, honey. I want him busy, not dead.”
Heat flushed my face as he poured a shot down his throat. “I married the
man, and now you want me to narc on him?”
“Didn’t say that.”
“Dad, he’s my husband.”
Dad deflected that with a warm hand cupping my cheek. “You always want
to do the right thing. How did I raise such a good girl?”
My insides squirmed as he balled me into his chest. “Well, that was
probably more of Mom’s doing.”
He soured, pulling away from me.
Mom was a jeweler, and so had been her mother. She’d taught me how to
use everything in a jeweler’s studio. I’d spent my childhood smithing while
other kids played outside. I’d been adding to her collection when she’d
disappeared, forcing me to sell most of it to pay the mortgage.
Two years gone.
She’d packed up and vanished without an explanation. One minute she was
mixing alloys with gold. The next she’d took off in the middle of the night.
I had no idea where she’d went. She’d fled like she’d always wanted, and I
was stupid for thinking she’d bring me along. There had been nothing but
the punch to the gut from empty coat hangers swaying in her closet.
She’d been my best friend.
She’d abandoned me.
It was why I couldn’t sever ties with the club. Maybe she’d return, and we’d
be a family again. I’d show her my latest work. Once our jewelry was a
nationwide brand, she’d find me and apologize for disappearing.
“Dad, he doesn’t want me coming here anymore. He says you’re a danger
to me.” My words cracked with desperation. “What if Mom shows up, and
I’m not here? She has no idea I’m married.”
“Evie, she had every opportunity to pick up the goddamn phone. She didn’t.
You’re out of your mind if you think she’ll waltz back into your life. What
do I keep telling you? Life’s not all rainbows and sunshine.” He cupped my
cheeks as pain welled in my throat. “She fucked us over, baby. All we have
is each other.”
I used to be grateful he’d stuck around.
Now I wasn’t so sure.
My attention swiveled to Ghost, who strolled in the courtyard like a
peacock eager to show off his new feathers. His chestnut mane brushed his
tanned shoulders. The leather cut stretched over his bare chest. Two girls
attached to him as though summoned by magic. Grinning, he felt up a
redhead with big, fake boobs. He crushed his mouth into hers. Another girl
wrestled the beer from his hand and grabbed his cock through his jeans.
My composure must’ve been as fragile as my thoughts because Dad
dragged me into his arms. “Evie, go home.”
“Why the hell should I?”
“A patchover party isn’t the place for a married woman.” His grip returned,
the bite in my arm deepening. “This is for the brothers and Ghost. Not for
you. Go to your husband and stay there.”
I stalked away from him, rebellion raging in my heart. As I headed into the
brick building, my head pounded. I stomped past the ebony booths and the
bar glistening with the glass bottles. Then I turned into the dorms echoing
with female moans and harsher, male grunts.
Gritting my teeth, I strode into my jeweler’s studio. It was the only reason I
came here. My storefront needed renovations before I installed my
equipment. I couldn’t fit it into Tony’s penthouse.
I dressed in an apron before I sat on the watchmaker’s bench. I pulled on
my welding goggles and a dust mask, then turned on the ventilation hood.
Metal winked from the shelf. I grabbed the wedding band I’d made for
Tony, long before I realized he’d eat me alive, and dropped it into the
crucible. I grabbed my blowtorch, blasting the fucker. A yellow flame
haloed the circle, dissolving the jewelry into liquid. Gold poured out the
spout, and the wheel turned, spinning the liquid into the mold. When it
stopped, I seized the flask with tongs and quenched it.
Bubbles hissed as I submerged the flask. The water clouded, and then I
broke apart the wax, revealing the clasp. I fished it out and dumped it into
the magnetic bowl, which spun and spun.
I’d been refurbishing a busted Cartier watch for weeks—stripped
everything but the leather, which needed treatment but was otherwise in
excellent condition. I’d removed the hands and replaced them with blue
stainless steel. All I had to do was fit the sapphire cabochon into the knob,
and then I’d have a twenty-four-thousand-dollar product. Plenty of money
to pay off my loans.
I dried the freshly cast gold and placed it on my bench. I took off the
goggles and dust mask, and then I flipped off the ventilation.
My senses tingled with awareness.
“You’re hard to get alone.”
I glared at my unwelcome visitor. “That’s because I don’t want to see you.”
Ghost stood at the door, arms folded. His mussed hair stuck up in all
directions. For a man who’d just had sex, he looked sour. Most guys knew
to stay away from me, but Ghost didn’t share the same instincts for life
preservation. Months ago, he’d shoved his tongue down my throat while on
guard duty.
I’d slapped him.
Since then, he’d been after me. I’d let him chase me because it was nice to
be pursued. I just wanted to be good enough for someone. Apparently, that
wasn’t Ghost. He’d never asked my father permission to date me.
Ghost’s smooth lips tugged into a mocking grin.
“Still mad at me?”
I slid the blowtorch off the watchmaker’s bench and fingered the trigger.
“Come any closer, and you’ll find out how much.”
Ghost’s brow rose. His tall figure turned, heading toward me.
“You know your jealousy is a turn-on, right?” Ghost stopped an inch away,
dropping his voice. “How wet are you for me, baby?”
“Drier than Death Valley.”
“Savage .”
I wasn’t kidding. Nothing about him appealed to me, not even the leather
stretched over his muscled chest.
“I can do worse.”
“Lay it on me, babe.”
“You smell like cheap perfume and sex. You’re gross.”
He wrestled the blowtorch from me and jabbed it under my jaw. “What’d
you call me?”
“You want another adjective? Disgusting.”
“I’ll burn your fucking mouth off.”
I rolled my eyes.
Ghost was on the mild end of the violence spectrum. Guys like him needed
to posture. He was probably annoyed I hadn’t begged for his cock. My nails
bit into my fists as he pressed the nozzle into my throat.
I struggled against his vise grip. “Get off.”
His palm glided to my waist and slipped down my ass.
“I said, quit!”
I shoved him.
He relented, smirking. He tossed the blowtorch on my desk, sneering as his
gaze fell on my tools. “Costa make you give up this shit?”
“Nope.”
“Well, it’s only a matter of time. That guy wants a house mouse, not a
businesswoman.”
I grabbed the Cartier watch and the sheets of metal, shoving them in my
bag. “Are you speaking for yourself?”
Ghost winked at me.
I had no idea what Tony wanted, but Ghost was probably right. Men never
took my work seriously. My father disparaged my silly “hobby,” never
mind that fine jewelry was a multibillion-dollar industry and with the
materials, I could easily rake in a six-figure income. I’d floated the idea of
supporting us more than once. Dad freaked out at the mere suggestion. His
ego couldn’t handle me providing for us, and he wouldn’t know an honest
way of living if it bit him in the ass. He’d shot it down.
Ghost shadowed my footsteps as we wandered out through the gate. Tony’s
men lingered around the Lexus, their arguing carrying up the road. At my
approach, Christian smoothed his flyaway salt and pepper hair.
“This is where I stop.” Ghost hooked my arm, tugging me to a halt. “Can’t
be too careful these days. That guinea’s olive oil–slicked hands are all over
Chelsea.”
I ripped his hand off me. “You scared of him?”
“Give me a half hour—no —fifteen minutes alone in a room. I’ll have him
screaming like a bitch. By the way,” he purred, dropping the animosity.
“Did he take your virginity, or was he too small to get the job done? Rumor
has it he left you on your wedding night.”
How did he know that?
My eyes widened before I waved him off.
“I guess he’s not man enough for you.”
“If anything, he’s too much man.”
“Standing by your husband, huh? I get it.” Ghost pounded my shoulder, his
gaze lidded with admiration. “I know you’ll give this marriage everything
you got. I’m just not convinced Costa will.”
My stomach churned.
“Evie, over here!” Christian beckoned me, his face stricken.
I stormed toward him as he jogged to meet me. Christian ushered me in the
armored car, his expression grim.
“What’s the matter?”
“Tony found out.” Christian swung into the driver’s seat, blowing out a
tense breath. “I’m fucking dead. We shouldn’t have come.”
My mouth thinned. “I’ll call him and explain.”
“No need. You’re meeting Tony for dinner right now.”
OceanofPDF.com
 SEVEN

EVIE

I’m grateful that my husband keeps our marriage fresh.

D inner was at a sex club .

Black and gold dominated the dungeon-like atmosphere. Sanctum’s 1920s
prohibition vibe reminded me of the snootier bars in the city where you
needed a password to enter, with several glaring differences: Girls draped
the leather couches in rhinestone-encrusted pantyhose. Nipple tassels
dangled like ornaments. Women pleasured men on their knees, on the
furniture, in rooms that echoed with high-pitched sighs, everywhere .
After all his bashing of biker culture.
Tony certainly had no problem with the models in pasties, or he wouldn’t
have dragged me here. Tony stood from the table in a fluid motion. He’d
slipped into a navy blazer and slacks with a patterned shirt. The dim
lighting hid the details, but his debonair looks hadn’t been my imagination.
I hadn’t seen him in weeks, but shock nudged my ribs at his breathtaking
beauty.
He strolled toward me, somehow more gorgeous than my memories. He’d
barely tamed his hair, and a cowlick curled near his temple. His shaven
beard showcased the perfect anatomy given to him by his supermodel
mother. Deep amber flickered in his dark eyes, the passion in them making
me lightheaded.
“Evie,” he grumbled.
He drew me in a gentle embrace until one breath stopped us from kissing.
Then his lips caught mine in a perfunctory kiss, a show for the bodyguard
behind me.
I fell for it anyway.
He swept his arm around my back, cupping my head. His lips touched
mine, soft and searching, the electricity just as strong as I remembered. The
air seemed to catch fire, and I couldn’t breathe, stunned by this feather-light
assault.
He pulled away before I found my feet on solid ground. He could’ve been
in an elevator for all the emotion he showed, but I needed an ice bath. He
gazed at me coolly, his attention narrowing on my bare thighs, my cutoffs,
and the Harley-Davidson T-shirt.
“The dress code was upscale, but I slipped into something comfortable,” I
quipped, all saccharine poison. “Hope you don’t mind.”
“Why wouldn’t I want my wife’s ass to hang out for everyone to see?” His
graveled edge barely drowned out the violent thudding of my heart. “You
look like a club girl.”
“Yeah? You look like an olive oil salesman.”
“I could sell the shit out of some olive oil.”
He hooked my waist and led me away from Christian.
“What are we doing here?”
“Celebrating,” he growled, flashing me a bland smile. “It’s our one-month
anniversary.”
A cloud settled over Tony’s features, and dread pitted my stomach.
“I’m not in the mood for whatever sadism you have planned.”
When we reached the table, he ripped back the chair. He pushed me down,
glowering at me like I’d maxed out his credit cards on lingerie.
“What is wrong with you?”
“I’m stuck with you.” He sank into the seat beside mine. “My hands are so
tied they might as well be in cuffs. So my new purpose in life…is you. My
wife .”
He sounded thrilled.
Did he think I wanted him around me?
A pretty waitress in a black blouse and slacks bounced toward us. “Are we
ready to order, or do we still need a few minutes?”
“The bruschetta,” he barked.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Costa, but that’s no longer on the menu.”
Tony shot her a withering look until she caved, trotting off to do his
bidding. Shortly after, six pieces of toasted bread slid in front of Tony. He
dug into the appetizer. He offered me some, but I shook my head.
“How can you eat the food at a sex club?”
“It’s not bad.” He motioned at the bruschetta. “That’s easily a five out of
ten.”
“You’re overselling it.”
“People don’t come here for the food.”
“Why do you?”
“The prenup includes mandated dates, so I chose this place. I like the
scenery.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin, shrugging. “I didn’t think
you’d mind, given your background.”
Asshole . “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Haven’t you seen worse?”
“We’re not a bunch of savages,” I growled, forcing my tone to remain even.
“Savage is a good word for bikers. They’re marauding, stupid, STD-
swapping beasts.”
His ignorance stunned me.
“You should hear what we say about you.”
“We? Who is that ?” Darkness layered his sarcasm as he gripped his butter
knife. “Oh. You’re referring to the club you no longer have any ties to?”
We’d arrived, finally.
“So I went home. Big deal.”
“I was very clear. Stay away from them. That chain-linked cage is off-
limits. Forever.”
My hand quivered with the need to slap him, hard.
“Fuck off, Tony.”
He shot across the table and seized my wrist, rattling the silverware. “If you
want to rebel, put some posters on the wall. Wear all the low-cut shorts you
like. Do not go to the clubhouse. Are you rolling your eyes at me?”
I rolled them again.
“Evie .”
“I can’t help it. You’re being paranoid and unreasonable.”
“Paranoid,” he repeated hollowly. “And unreasonable.”
My hands clenched. “Why do you have such a huge chip on your
shoulder?”
Tony stilled, scowling at the tablecloth. His grip dropped from my arm, but
he didn’t retreat.
“It’s more like a scar.”
I sucked in air when his thousand-yard stare scoured me.
He ripped open his collar. Then he balled my fist in his and forced me into
the hot tent of his clothing. He slipped my middle finger down the back of
his neck beneath his hair line. A bumpy texture pressed into my skin. It was
a mean-looking cut, long and jagged, and it raised a lump in my throat.
I snatched my hand back. “Who did that to you?”
Tony slowly retied his shirt. “One of your biker buddies.”
“What’s his name?”
His lips twisted in a cynical smile. “It doesn’t matter. He’s dead.”
My stomach turned. “You killed him?”
“I wish I’d had the pleasure. Unfortunately, I was tied up with something
else.”
An uncomfortable silence stretched between us. Tony blinked, and the
haunted look dissipated. He pushed back his chair and stood, offering his
hand.
I took it. “Where are we going?”
“To talk somewhere private.”
I followed him, my mind in tumult as he gently pulled me through rooms
with scantily clad couples. We reached a dim hallway echoing with soft
murmurs and harsh grunts. He grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing
cocktail waitress.
Tony opened a glass door with no frame and nudged me inside.
My heart fluttered as I entered a bedroom illuminated by red lights.
“What the hell is this?”
I stared at the bondage toys affixed to the brick wall. I trembled as I took in
the bed and Tony’s jacket, sliding down his muscled arms. He dropped the
drink on an end table, taking an eternity to answer me.
“You know what beds are for, I’m assuming.”
“Here? ” A shiver ran up my leg. “At a sex club?”
Kinky, but not the end of the world.
Movement behind him caught my eye, and I glanced at the door.
Two men stood outside.
“Holy fuck ,” I shouted, grabbing Tony. “Someone’s there.”
I thought he’d yell, or at the very least, bang on the glass. Instead he turned
around, smirking.
“They’re watching us.”
My mouth gaped.
“What?” I blurted, a thread of hysteria in my voice. “No. I’ve never done it
before. How am I supposed to—why do we need an audience?”
His eyes were like chips of stone. It was hard to tell what he felt, if
anything. “You disobeyed me.”
“So you dial it up to eleven thousand ?” The pulsing knot in my throat
suddenly burst. “You didn’t even warn me.”
“I don’t do half measures.”
This was too much. It was tough to take off my clothes for one stranger.
The humiliation at doing it for God knows how many tore at me.
“Are you sharing me with them?”
His eyebrows jumped. He looked like he’d never heard such a ridiculous
question. “I’m not like your people, Evie. I don’t share pussy.”
A sheer black fright swept through me as he slowly approached.
Did I fear him…or my desires?
“Stop .”
He did, but an eager darkness blended with his smoldering look. “You’re
not going anywhere.”
A spasm of alarm erupted inside me as his words sank in, siphoning the
blood from my face. The victim of his glare, I clenched my jaw. He
provoked me in a way the men at home never had. He’d lured me up here.
I’d known better than to follow, and yet I had.
Curious. Terrified. Heated.
I was supposed to trust him with my body, but he’d blindsided me with this
. Apprehension knotted my throat.
What would he do afterward? Was he lying about sharing me?
I didn’t want to be touched by anyone except him.
And the thought ruined me.
My calm shattered.
I lunged, ripping a crop from the wall. I held it like a baseball bat. My heart
raced as he stepped forward.
“Don’t!”
Tony stared at me, eyebrow raised. “You making a move, or is this
posturing?”
I swung.
Tony avoided the blow and ripped the toy from my fingers. My fist sank in
his ribs, and the impact crushed my knuckles. He seized my hand in his
giant palm. His touch burst everything within me. Rage. Frustration. Desire.
How much damage could he do with those hands?
How much pleasure could he give?
I wouldn’t find out the answer to either curiosity. I searched for another
weapon, but nothing was in reach.
His smile shot fire down my spine. “That’s the spirit. Make me work for it.”
The bastard had no idea what he did to me or what I could do to him.
I launched at him with a roundhouse kick, the thud of my foot connecting
with his abdomen like rocks on concrete. He caught my ankle, the bite of
his grip deepening. I yanked my leg, but he wouldn’t let go. I hit back, my
fists swinging. The first one struck his jaw with a satisfying crack.
He hissed, and the game was over.
I grappled against him as we fell to the floor, but he had at least fifty pounds
of lean muscle and years of brutality. His strength was unmatched, and I
was nothing beneath his monstrous hands. His thighs pinned my knees,
bringing him uncomfortably close. A grin carved into his face as I aimed for
his kidneys. He shoved my arms over my head. “Careful, honey. I like the
struggle.”
And so did I.
Darkness replaced his smoldering look, and my memory flickered with
compelling images from our wedding night. A flood of unexpected warmth
heated me.
Nobody had ever dominated me.
I’d always hated how rough members were with their old ladies, Crash in
particular. I swore I’d never get involved with them. Then my husband, who
I despised, tossed me like a burlap sack, and I soaked through my panties.
The hypocrisy made me burn.
Heat burrowed deep into my body.
My hips twisted, and I fought myself. The instinct was there—the desire .
He held me in the perfect position to bump my hips and wrap my legs
around his waist.
It’d be so natural, too. The wife offering herself to her feral animal of a
husband.
Too bad I didn’t have faith in traditional values.
I spat hair from my mouth. “Go to hell.”
“I’m already there, and you’re right with me.” His weight dug into my
limbs, cutting off circulation. “Giving up?”
“Why are you doing this? You know it’s wrong!”
The dead-eyed stare told me he didn’t care. “Are you religious, Evie?”
The question threw me.
I stilled beneath him.
“I am,” he answered. “I believe in God and the devil. I know I’m headed
straight for hell. Despite that, I can’t stop doing the things that condemn
me.”
“You’ll pay for this. I can’t wait for my dad to show up. He’ll eat you alive.
He’ll use your bones as a toothpick!”
“Sure he will, babe.”
Tony seized me and wrenched, forcing me onto the bed. I struggled,
slammed into the mattress. I bristled as he pinned my arms.
So much for my fight. A shiver of pure excitement tore through my
resistances. I tensed, but it was too late.
He saw it. He felt it.
And the same shudder of desire rolled through him.
My inflamed voice erupted to the ceiling. “First you humiliate me on our
wedding night, and now you do this? You’re a fucking animal.”
“No better than a rutting dog.” He leaned in, his rough whisper brushing my
ear. “But that’s what you want, isn’t it? Don’t worry. I can keep a secret. I’ll
never tell a soul how badly you wanted to get fucked.”
I scrambled to push together my wild thoughts.
Then he fisted my collar and gave it a violent jerk, ripping it halfway down
to split the Harley-Davidson logo in half. The white fibers broke with his
brute force, falling to the floor in wide pieces.
He yanked me off the bed and shoved aside my mangled shirt. His mouth
widened with a predatory smile, making my thighs clench on nothing. Then
a warm shock touched my leg and glided up, cupping my ass.
He squeezed.
I bit my lip to stifle a gasp.
Shaking, I unfastened the button at my waist. There was no point in
resisting. I was getting fucked one way or another, and I didn’t hate his
hands on me. He knew it. So did I.
I removed his hand and kicked off the shorts. Glaring at him, I ripped off
my panties.
He made a deep, appreciative sound. “Jesus, your body. It shouldn’t be
allowed for one woman to be so fuckable.”
The edge in his gravel tingled me with warmth. I stared at the remains of
the shirt, intimidated by Tony and what he wanted from me.
Tony’s stare heated my skin as he undid his belt. He gripped the leather like
a dead snake, wrapping it around his fist with alarming swiftness.
“Have you ever given head?”
I swallowed tightly. “No .”
“How did you get this far without sucking cock?”
“When your father runs off men with a shotgun, your opportunities dwindle
to the bold cashier at the Stop and Save or the fifty-year-old meth addict.”
Or the prospect with a death wish .
“I see.”
He unzipped his fly.
My lips parted, but no sound escaped. I was taken aback by his long, well-
muscled legs. A pair of black briefs strained over his perfect cock. It pushed
against the cotton as though fighting for release.
He tossed the belt, and then his hand slipped to my neck, which he held
loosely.
“Now. Kneel .”
He pushed.
My weakened knees buckled, and I sank to the floor. I glanced at the door.
A mistake, because more men crowded the door. My heart thundered, but I
consoled myself with the facts. Nothing we did within the bounds of
marriage was wrong.
It still felt depraved, like I was succumbing to his darkness.
Tony had positioned me in front of the ravenous men. They had a way of
watching that was unfamiliar to me. I was used to the weight of lustful
gazes, but not this cold curiosity.
“Open. I want you on display.”
Tony tapped my thighs, forcing me to widen them. Smiles flickered on the
faces outside. Their gazes prowled up and down my body, stopping between
my legs.
Oh God. I needed to hide.
My throat bobbed. “They can see me.”
“It’s a sex club, Evie.”
“I don’t want this,” I burst, my cheeks heating from the lie. “The agreement
was to get me pregnant, not humiliate me in sex clubs.”
Tony walked in front me.
“Do you feel humiliated?”
I felt a lot of things—turned on, scared, heated.
Ashamed .
“Why are you doing this in front of them?”
“I don’t spare them a single glance, Evie.” His legs partially hid me from
view as he approached. “I’m more interested in your reaction.”
“Shock? Disgust?”
“All of them.”
Slowly, Tony pulled down his briefs. They did not want to budge. Inches of
tanned waist dipped to a trimmed Adonis belt, where his cock jutted
proudly. Huge. Cut. Perfect. My fingers curved around the dense column. I
gave it an experimental jerk and a bead of moisture pebbled on the massive
crown.
This is so wrong .
“You like seeing me so hard for you?” His voice was crisp, and sensual. It
sucked out the shame and pumped in heat. “I already know the answer, but I
want to hear you admit it.”
I bit my cheek.
Of course he did.
“Still defying me,” he tutted. “Open.”
Tony’s thumb traced my mouth after I obeyed. A solid surface pressed into
my lips—glass. Buttery wine flowed into my mouth.
“Try not to swallow it.”
He put the glass aside and fisted his cock.
The bulbous head stroked my cheek. He was silk stretched over steel,
teasing my lips open. His thumb hooked my mouth, opening me to
accommodate him. Then he rolled over my tongue. He slid inside, filling
me with a hardness I barely breathed around. As he eased himself all the
way, the champagne fizzed around him.
I sputtered.
I’d never done this before. He was larger and harder than I expected, and it
felt awkward. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I enjoyed the
warmth gliding over my tongue.
He uttered a soft sigh as he buried himself, and a thrill touched my pussy as
though he’d fucked me there. He cupped my cheek and stroked me. His
fingertips left trails of fire, and the agony lingered like one of his steamy
kisses. Tony’s half-lidded gaze smoldered as his hips chased his pleasure.
He groaned loudly.
I took him deeper, running along his length. I glided back and forth, flicking
his tip. I felt him jerk upward, hitting the roof of my mouth. I liked this. The
heady taste of him swirled around me, his length easier and easier to take. It
was hot as fuck. His hand made a fist in my hair. Then his hips chased my
movements. He began a slow but torturous rhythm.
I couldn’t hold him and the drink. Bubbles frothed from my mouth. Alcohol
spilled on the floor, but Tony seemed to relish the sight. A wicked smile
staggered across his face as I struggled to close my mouth on him. I choked.
Tony didn’t let up on his ruthless strokes. He made deliciously raw, male
sounds. Deep, keening grunts.
“Evie,” he groaned.
I clamped over him and sucked hard, juices running over my chin. His
fingers curled into my hair before he yanked, forcing me to take him to the
root. His cock hit the back of my throat.
I gagged.
“Fuck, Evie.” He pulled out, leaving his tip buried. “Christ, I just want to
make you mine all night.”
I suckled the head, lashing at him, desperate for more of his moans. He
rewarded me with another groan. My legs widened as I watched him
succumb, his glare melting to a lust-fueled craze.
“Have you had enough?”
I took a break, gasping. “Fuck me until I pass out.”
“You should rethink those words.”
“Don’t have it in you?” I taunted, well aware I was playing with fire. “Or
are you afraid you won’t last?”
He grabbed the flute. He made me drink. It was barely a swallow, and then
he fucked my mouth, shoving it all out. The alcohol burned. I was a
dripping mess, clinging to him. His brutal thrusts stabbed my throat. He
retreated to let me breathe, and then the relentless possession began anew.
Tony cradled my face. His eyes fluttered as he fought against my gag reflex.
He inched back and forth, so deep inside, I couldn’t get air. He drilled me
with practiced movements until I took the lead. His thumbs stroked my
cheek as I sucked and licked the giant head. He uttered small grunts that I
loved.
“Suck harder,” he rasped.
I tried the best I could, knowing his climax was coming when a moan
rumbled from his chest. He jerked me toward him. Liquid heat shot into my
mouth, somehow also spraying my lips, my neck, and nestling into my
cleavage.
His grip on my hair went slack.
His raking gaze danced over me. He gritted his teeth as spasms ripped
through his thighs. He wavered on his feet. Staring at me, he wiped sweat
from his brow.
Watching him try to pull it together made me hot all over.
Did he like it?
His heartbeat hammered me through his cock. He dragged me upright,
breathing hard. His scowl softened when his attention drifted to the cum on
my breasts. His knuckle rolled it up the slope before catching everything on
my lips, and then he pushed it into my mouth.
He stepped closer, pinning me with a salacious stare. He cradled my jaw,
running his thumb over my lips.
Sparks showered my cheek.
His breath misted my lips before closing the distance to lick them. Then he
fused his mouth with mine. He forced his tongue inside, pushing my head to
ease his invasion. The kiss sang through my veins. Wet heat mingled with
mine, licking, drawing my lip into his for him to suck, weakening my knees
so that I clung to him to stay upright.
I crushed into him, the space between my legs burning. We stumbled onto
the bed, my back hitting the mattress.
I squirmed, fighting the shiver of wanting as he kissed the shell of my ear.
His lips grazed my cheek, kissing under my jaw. It was delicious. A five-
story fire stroked my body as he dipped between my breasts. My wild pulse
beat into his fingers as he pressed his lips into each globe, shoving my bra
aside.
I laced my fingers with the hand flattening my stomach. I squeezed hard as
the slick warmth blazed down my leg, where Tony spread me wide as
though—
Warm air touched my pussy.
“Oh my God, Tony.”
Then he used his mouth in a way I’d only been told about by other women.
Tony’s lips and tongue teased the tight bundle of nerves between my legs.
He flicked and suckled and tortured, the ecstasy of his hot, amazing lips like
flashes of lightning.
A jolt hit my pussy when he kissed me. Then a wet heat delved into me. He
yanked my hips so I couldn’t squirm. I grabbed his forearm in a halfhearted
attempt to stop him, going slack. Tony sucked me in. He closed his eyes and
licked, the unbridled joy giving me one immutable thought:
Tony Costa was put on earth to ruthlessly fuck women.
Fighting this insanely sexual man was useless. It only gave more torturous
friction against his perfect mouth. I tore at the sheets since I couldn’t grab
him. Ripples, waves, and then a tsunami of pleasure loomed just over the
horizon. A spasm ripped up my thighs, and a cry burst from my lips.
“Please .”
He made a sympathetic sound. He circled my clit with my wetness, teasing,
pinching. “Please what ?”
“Please make me come.”
He slammed his fingers inside me, rewarding me with sweet, aching relief.
Ecstasy blasted through my cells, and I arched into his touch. I breathed
hard into the comforter as the wave crashed into my abdomen and
ricocheted up, befuddling my senses. I collapsed, gripping his arm. I was
barely conscious when he leaned into the bed.
He shifted his leg over mine, his cock lying on my thigh. It still throbbed as
though he hadn’t emptied his balls. His hand curled around my belly, blood
rushing to the spots he touched.
Tony patted me. Then he lifted me upright, and I limped to my clothes. He
wordlessly handed me a Sanctum T-shirt to replace the one he’d ruined. We
dressed silently. Words seemed inadequate for what had just happened.
His arm snaked my waist as we left the room, colliding with the group of
voyeurs. They bantered with him. Blood pounded in my ears, drowning out
their bawdy laughter.
My breathing still hadn’t caught up with my rapid pulse. Once we got in the
car, I expected him to pull my head toward the bulge straining his slacks.
Tony remained on his side, thumbing his cell, ignoring the sexual tension
choking the air.
Even the proudest men caved to desire.
A sneaking suspicion dampened the glow from my orgasm. “Did you like
it?”
“Decent first effort,” he admitted an eternity later, reading his phone.
“What’s not to like about a wife in her natural position?”
“And where’s that?”
“On her knees and covered in my cum.”
He might’ve shoved me to the floor, but I’d jumped at the chance to give
him pleasure, hadn’t I? I’d done it willingly, and it made his insult more
grating.
“And what’s the husband’s role?” I shot back, incensed. “Acting like a
bullying shit? Taunting the girl who rocked his world ten minutes ago? How
many women can get you off like I did?”
A muscle flicked in his jaw. “A shocking amount.”
“Bullshit . You’d be married by now.”
That seemed to strike a nerve.
“Shut up, Evie.”
The car stopped on a cobblestone road, but I didn’t get out.
“You’re not comfortable around me, are you?” I gaped at Tony as his
knuckles whitened. “That’s why you avoid me. You lose control around me,
and that’s scary. Because you had a bad experience. Maybe you ignored a
safe word. Took things too far—”
“You need a reality check. I was forced into this marriage, and my world
does not revolve around you.” Tony leaned over me and opened the door.
“Out.”
The dismissal stung more than I’d expected. A stupid part of me assumed
he’d make up for his behavior. Even more mortifying, I’d hoped he’d chase
me.
“I should’ve known a monster like you only responds to blood or cum.”
Color flushed his face, but his eyes were dead. The light in them had
extinguished. The fire fueling his banter—that was gone, too.
Disturbing .
“Hide your eyes, darling. I can see your heart through them.” Tony lifted his
head, smirking. “You will never win me over.”
I stepped onto the pavement and slammed the door.
My eyes welled as Tony disappeared behind the fogged glass, and then his
car took off. The angry, red gleam of his taillights burned into the bleak
night.
My throat tightened, but I shelved the hurt to deal with another day.
I would outmaneuver Tony.
OceanofPDF.com
 EIGHT

TONY

1 ¼ oz gin
1 ¼ oz Campari
1 ¼ oz sweet vermouth
Garnish: orange twist

My biggest enemy was me .

The bitter irony was that I’d spent decades shooting up, snorting, and
injecting my stupid problems away. Now that they were finally gone, I’d
give anything to have them back. I’d trade this life to be that junkie again.
At least he was harmless.
I knew how to turn his life around.
The man I was now?
Hopeless .
Sobriety had forced me to reckon with the worst monster in my life—the
man in the mirror.
After the fight with Evie, I went to the graveyard and stewed over my
father’s cold body. Once the chill turned my fingers into icicles, I returned
to my apartment in Dorchester, a dump I’d bought on impulse before my
marriage. I’d barely furnished it besides a sofa from a thrift store and the
mattress that sat only on its box springs. I rarely slept, anyway. I’d rather
watch Jeopardy reruns than succumb to my nightmare-fueled sleep.
I tossed my keys. They missed the counter and clattered to the linoleum. I
strolled past them into the sparse living room papered with printed out
articles, mugshots, old newspaper clippings. In the kitchen, the utter
stillness cinched my throat like a belt. A jolt zipped down my spine.
My senses tingled with awareness.
I yanked open the fridge. “Stop skulking and come out, you fucking creep.”
A man-shaped shadow melted away from the wall, firelight flickering over
his fair skin. Cainan had the preppy WASP look down pat. His uniform was
a dark blue blazer over a dress shirt and gray slacks, his paleness magnified
by the blackness of his tiger-slanted gaze. A wave of slicked auburn curls
rolled over his head. He looked like he’d just left Sunday service, but he
was probably bright-eyed from ruining someone’s life.
If I was a monster, Cainan was the devil incarnate. He was an even bigger
disaster than I. Of course, he had no idea, the poor fuck.
I had good reason to loathe him.
But he’d saved my life in exchange for a hefty price.
Cainan bellied up to the solid black counter as I drank seltzer like it was
alcohol. Sometimes I poured club soda over ice just to have something that
wasn’t flat and boring. The illusion unlocked a sliver of dopamine,
rewarding me for a behavior that had ruined most of my twenties.
His eyes lingered on my water before his mouth twitched into a smooth
smile. Cainan always gave the impression that he could read my mind.
I sipped my bland drink. “Why the hell are you in my apartment?”
“We agreed on full transparency.”
Yes, we did, along with a list of other things I’d been forced to accept.
Cainan was chairman of The Dark Circle. He was the arms dealer who
helped supply Boston’s gangs with guns, and his influence spiderwebbed
the globe. He could kill me seven different ways in an hour, but he couldn’t
play chess with Boston’s street gangs. I was supposed to be the bridge
between them and our interests.
Unfortunately, I’d failed.
Cainan sneered at his surroundings, feigning interest in a chipped mug. His
boat shoes smacked the linoleum as he followed me, a persistent,
aggravating shadow.
“Where were you last night?”
“Getting laid. You want the details?”
He cocked his head. “Was it a good time?”
“Very.”
“Then why so angry?”
Cainan was a bloodhound for vulnerability, but I wouldn’t spill. Evie was
none of his business. I didn’t care if it cost me. Every instinct screamed to
keep her away from him.
I cleared my throat. “Upset I skipped you on the wedding invitations? My
bad.”
“Yeah, I’m upset . I leave town for a few months, and my protégé is in bed
with the enemy.”
“My cousin made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” I shrugged, wiping a
crumb from the counter. “Vinn got sick of me interfering with the Family.
He kidnapped me. Held me at gunpoint. Mock execution.”
Cainan’s expression stilled and grew serious.
“So that’s how he’s playing it.”
“I warned you he wouldn’t take it well. Vinn’s waited his whole life to be
the boss. He wasn’t going to roll over and let me control things.”
“You could have subdued him,” he glowered, auburn eyes flashing. “Or
killed him and inherited the Family.”
“That’s your answer for everything.”
“We wouldn’t be having this conversation! You wouldn’t be married to a
biker.”
“She’s not associated with them anymore. I’ve made sure of that.”
“It doesn’t matter. Without your cousin’s support, we’re stalled. We need
boots on the ground. Soldiers ,” he barked, pacing my living room. “Where
will we get them?”
“Rage Machine.”
“Now they’re in Legion’s pocket, thanks to the president’s new policy of
patching in other gangs.”
“Not yet.” I leaned over the counter, grabbing a notepad with a list of
names. “I’ll start targeting anyone who defects to Legion.”
“There’s a giant hole in your master plan. Your wife .”
My insides prickled. “My wife is none of your business.”
“You’re compromised.”
“No, I’m not. They gave me a soft, pliable virgin. She won’t be loyal to
them much longer.” I thumped my glass onto the counter. “Cainan, I’m
handling this.”
Cainan stepped forward, his glare drilling into me. He said nothing for a
long while.
“Have it your way, T.” His grave tone grew agitated as he dragged a wool
coat over his shoulders. “But what about your cousin? What if he finds out
you’re not honoring the alliance?”
“He’ll try to kill me.”
I tipped the tumbler, clinking the ice.
Cainan buttoned his jacket, his insolent stare raking my body. “I have no
idea why you don’t get rid of him.”
A man like him wouldn’t understand.
His overbearing presence slipped away, heading out.
I waved him off as he opened the door.
“Oh, and T?”
I glanced at him. “Yeah?”
“I have no problem with you making that girl your new toy, but the moment
you catch feelings is the moment you catch a bullet.”
With that, he left, slamming the door.
My throat burned.
OceanofPDF.com
 NINE

TONY

1 ¼ oz Jägermeister
6 oz Red Bull

I needed my wife under control.

I thought I’d put the fear of God in Evie, but five days after taking her
mouth, I woke to a notification that she’d charged twenty thousand dollars
to my credit card. Evie’s toddler tantrum bullshit tested my patience.
What was wrong with her?
Hadn’t I scared the shit out of her? Dragging her to Sanctum was supposed
to straighten her out, but she’d brushed it off like rain rolling off her
shoulders. What the hell had happened in that godforsaken clubhouse to
make her impervious to men like me?
It wasn’t enough that I allowed her free room and board. She sucked down
my oxygen, ate my food, now she blew through my cash, my father’s
legacy, with light-fingered contempt.
Damn her.
I wouldn’t stand for this.
The money meant nothing—it was the principle that mattered. I was not her
personal ATM.
I dialed her bodyguard.
“Christian,” I roared into the phone. “What is going on?”
“Hey, T! Funny, we were just talking about you. I asked if she’d been to
Vinny’s yet. She said she’d rather sit on an uncovered gas station toilet seat
than hang around Goliath.” He broke off, laughing hard. “I guess that’s
what they call him at the MC.”
Goliath was apt.
“Never mind that. Where the hell is Evie, and why are you letting her max
out her credit card?”
Christian’s heavy sigh brushed my ear. “Let her do what she wants . Your
words, boss.”
Did I say that?
Fuck .
I searched for my car keys. “Where are you?”
“At the store. You know, overseeing renovations. She wanted me to watch
the contractors. Make sure they’re doing a good job, but I’m clueless about
that shit. You?”
Renovations?
My mind reeled as he prattled on.
“I’m impressed with your wife. She’s got a lot of ambition for a young girl.
When I was her age, I waited tables and chopped up table-side steak tartare
at your dad’s place. Remember the Black Cat?”
“Focus. Tell me where you are .”
“We’re at Newbury Street.”
I hung up, seething.
Newbury Street was a high-end outdoor mall in Boston. She’d dragged
Christian there to go on a shopping spree. I’d done worse at her age, but it
still boiled my blood.
I spotted Christian leaning against the column of a storefront I’d never
noticed before. The grizzled mafioso threw his lit cigarette on the ground as
I double-parked my Lexus.
I unrolled the window. “Where is she?”
A grin jumped across his wrinkled face, and he rapped his knuckles against
the wall. I glanced up the tall glass windows and gaped at the serif letters
etched into the building.
What in the actual fuck?

EVIE

“We’ve been here all day.” Christian patted his wool coat and grabbed his
phone. “Working. Well, she’s working . I’m overseeing things. You married
such a nice girl, T. She bought everyone lunch.”
My stomach hardened. “You had lunch with my wife?”
“Me and the contractors.” Christian’s grin flashed, wide and infectious.
“She ordered Halal Guys and beer. Never had it before. Pretty good.”
The image of all those men around a table, breaking bread with my woman,
sat in my gut like poison. The idea of Christian and Evie, cozy in a corner,
digging into aluminum plates, laughing, set my blood to a low boil. I didn’t
care that it was crappy fast food. I hadn’t so much as shared an olive with
my wife.
My throat burned.
“T, don’t get upset,” Christian said bracingly. “Everybody had one drink.
That’s it.”
“You know better.”
“T, it’s Halal Guys. Not a fucking picnic at the Common.” Christian
frowned, his gaze dipping to the golden band he still wore. “You know I’d
never let anything happen to her.”
Evie had charmed the fuck out of him.
Unacceptable .
I shoved my keys into his chest. “Park my car and meet back here.”
My shoulder bumped the handle-less glass door, swinging it into a gutted
store. The walls had been stripped, and a tarp lay on the floor. A chemical
stench stung my nostrils as I stepped over power tools, hanging plastic
billowing with the stream of outdoor air as I headed into a workshop.
Big windows poured light into the square room. I couldn’t name half the
things in the vast space. Several wooden benches ran along the wall, filled
with instruments, pots, and other devices I’d never seen before.
A ventilation hood hummed over Evie, who sat at a bench, bending over a
concrete slab. A leather apron wrapped her body. She fiddled with
something, peering at a small object through safety goggles.
What was she doing ?
She replaced a tool on the shelf and picked up another, a dentist-like
instrument connected to a hose. She held it to the tweezers. A blue flame
passed through it.
The brightness pierced my eyes.
I threw up an arm, shielding my eyes.
Evie raised her welder’s mask and whirled around. Her brown curls were
windblown, tucked into a messy braid. Her bowed lips fell open.
The memory of her champagne-and-cum-soaked tits grabbed my cock. So
fucking hot. Hardly any of it had made it down her throat, but it’d been
worth it just to mark her curves. She must’ve made men at the clubhouse
insane . Part of the reason I didn’t want her within five miles of that place.
So many filthy things I could do to her. God, it’d taken everything inside
me not to fuck her full of cum. The virgin-with-the-body-built-for-sin
fantasy was at the top of my list.
It’d been weeks since I’d touched her.
She removed her helmet, frowning. “What are you doing here?”
“You first.”
“I’m working.”
“On what, bankrupting me?” I stalked to her side, fingering the crockpot on
the bench. “What is that?”
She took my wrist. “Don’t touch. It’s a pickling solution.”
Heat from her gentle grip traveled up my arm.
“Pickling? ”
“An acid bath for removing oxidation and residue left after soldering.” She
moved my arm away from the bench and clapped me on the back. “You
know, for my plastic beads .”
My lips tugged into a smirk at the memory of my careless words at the
wedding. Evie was clearly on a different level than lanyards and beaded
bracelets, but her asshole father had hinted otherwise.
Which was why I’d poked at her.
“Why didn’t you set me straight?”
“Newsflash. You’re an unfeeling monster.” Evie stowed her tools and
pushed my abdomen to move me out of the way, rippling warmth to my
groin. “None of this would be a surprise if you’d bothered to get to know
me.”
“What exactly are you?”
“A goldsmith,” she murmured. “I appraise gems, refurbish watches, and
cast rings and necklaces.”
I stared. “Show me.”
Evie turned her head, sweeping her hair aside.
I closed the distance between us and brushed the stray strands. Softly, my
breath fanned her face. I traced her ear, and she inhaled slightly. My heart
pounded as I fingered her earring.
Three pearlescent spikes stuck out from a golden loop. I twisted it in all
directions, the stones shifting from cream to green and blue. It was a playful
design. Simple but pretty.
“What’s it made of?”
“Fourteen karat gold with three opals.”
A faint glow of pride warmed my chest. “Where did you learn this?”
Evie gazed at me as though judging whether my interest was genuine.
“Mom taught me, and her mother taught her. She started when I was little,
setting stones and things like that.”
I dropped her earring and thumbed her neck.
“Tell me more.”
Her heartbeat throbbed against my finger. “I design rings, cast metal into
molds, and I buy old stuff to fix up. I began with jewelry people donated. I
melted them down. Then I’d add alloy and make them into belt buckles,
rings, whatever.”
Fucking cool .
I was silent for a while, processing.
Impressive as hell.
No wonder Christian fawned over her.
“Go ahead. Get it over with.” Evie threw back her head, her nostrils flaring.
“Tell me it’s stupid and a waste of time. Insult me like you’re dying to do.”
I grasped her chin, and her startled gaze crashed into mine. “I kind of love
that you’re secretly a badass who works with fire. Show me more.”
Shaking, she swiped open her cell, flicking through a gallery of stunning
images. I made her enlarge them. I gaped at a man’s antique watch,
studying the bright stone making the knob, the blue hands, the flawless
leather.
Beautiful craftsmanship.
It was something I would’ve worn.
“I refurbished it,” she explained, flicking through photos. “Here’s a before
and after picture.”
I couldn’t believe this. A war raged inside me. My mind refused to combine
images of the woman in the leather apron with the biker girl I’d married.
She’d blown me away.
“This is a seventy-thousand-dollar watch.”
Pink patches burned on her cheeks. “I’m glad you think so, but I’ll probably
sell it for twenty-four thousand. You know, to cover my end of the bills.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I’m trying not to dip into your savings. I want to make my way in the
world without leaning on my rich husband.”
“You live in my house. You eat my food. You just charged twenty grand on
my credit card, hon.” I cupped her burning face and stroked her frown.
“What part of you is independent?”
“The one that’s going to slap you.”
I grinned, removing my hand. “So I’m not allowed to buy your jewelry?”
She shook her head, and my chest prickled with heat.
I wanted that watch.
“I’m not an idiot, Tony.” She shoved the phone back in her pocket, sighing.
“This is temporary.”
“I’m in no rush to set you free. Especially now that I know you’ll be a hit at
cocktail parties. Have you any idea what the average mob wife is like?” I
slid off the bench, strolling to another workstation with a giant drill. “High-
maintenance, stupid, and useless for everything except fucking and
breeding.”
“Yes, I’m sure that’s why you were unmarried for so long. Because they’re
boring.”
She had a point.
I’d never married because I was constantly in a drug-induced psychosis. I
had too much noise in my head. Drugs were the only thing that made it
stop. Frankly, it was a miracle I didn’t stumble into a Vegas chapel with a
showgirl.
I pushed a switch, and the drill screamed to life.
Tutting, Evie shut it off. “My workshop isn’t a playground. That’ll rip off
your thumb if you’re not careful.”
I was itching to poke around. “I still can’t believe this. I thought you’d
dropped twenty grand on a diamond.”
“I mean, not yet. Though diamonds are always my bestsellers.” Evie
frowned at her ring, grimacing at the stone. “But they’re my least favorite
gemstone.”
“In my defense, most women aren’t jewelry designers.”
“I made you a ring. I had it ready weeks in advance. I wanted to size it, but
you never showed up to the meetings. You were an ass at the wedding, so I
torched it and used the gold for something else.”
My jaw hardened.
Her gaze flicked at me. “You’re supposed to apologize now.”
“Nobody ever said sorry for making me what I am.”
“A rude jerk with no self-awareness?” She’d turned away from me,
flaunting her perfect ass. “A sadistic, murdering, jaded rich boy with too
much free time?”
“I’m not a boy. I’m a man. You should know that from when we were last
together.”
I snagged her by the loops in her jeans and tugged her into my arms. She let
out a gasp as her back hit my body. I fisted her hair and wrenched hard.
She yelped, her heartbeat hammering my palm. Crimson climbed up her
neck as I traced her breast.
“What is with you?” she growled. “You don’t talk to me for days. Then you
show up here, yapping about credit limits when you make a fortune every
hour, and next thing I know you’re copping a feel.”
Yapping . She even made flapping motions with her hand to mimic a mouth.
I had to admire the sheer gall. “I have the right to be concerned about my
wife’s money laundering scheme.”
Evie paled, saying nothing.
“Sorry, are you not laundering diamonds for Jett?”
Evie looked at me, her eyes large and liquid, two pools of misery.
Grim satisfaction seared my chest.
I was right, but I hated her tears and I loathed her father for forcing her into
this position. No wonder he’d downplayed her business as a “hobby.”
“I’m not a criminal.”
“Of course not, sweetheart.” I kissed her temple, and she shuddered.
“You’re a real artist when you’re not helping Daddy with his illicit deals.”
A blush ran like a shadow across her cheeks.
“What, no clever comeback?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fine. I’ll comb through your financial records. Your tax returns. They’ll
tell me everything.”
Her arm spasmed.
I let her go and headed for her office.
“Tony, hold on.”
She seized my wrist, and blood rushed to the spot where she touched me.
An unwelcome flush heated my cock as she fit her hand in mine. She
squeezed, dragging my attention to her beseeching gaze.
“You’re right, okay? Dad calls in favors, and I do my best to help him. Trust
me, I’ve wanted to break free for years. It’s hard when your father is all you
have left.”
That sank in like jagged claws.
Too familiar.
“I’ll set you up with a business credit card. If you want to buy precious
gems, equipment, whatever, that’s great. Have at it.” I held up a threatening
finger. “But he is not in your life anymore.”
Her glare burned through me, but I refused to bend. She needed to stop
visiting her outlaw family.
“Evie, I expect you to test boundaries and act out. I’ll be watching for it.
Just know that I’ve seen it all, and I’ll be there every time to catch you. And
then I’ll put you in your place. You won’t like that, but I will.”
OceanofPDF.com
 TEN

EVIE

I’m grateful my husband respects my boundaries.

W hy should I let him win?

I went to the clubhouse twice after snapping my credit card in half. Once,
for my cousin. Jennesy turned twenty-four, so I zipped there on Wednesday
for her birthday party. Then I went again two days later, just to prove that I
wouldn’t be controlled. I stayed until Christian told me we had to go or
Tony would kill us both, which was what brought me to Sanctum.
My cutoffs did not go over well with the hostess, who glared at them a full
five seconds before the guard mentioned my name, after which she became
ridiculously accommodating.
Christian made a sound of disgust. “Cazzo .”
“What does that one mean?” I harassed him when he spoke Italian,
determined to pick up the language.
“Cazzo ?” Christian’s hand flew in his hair. “Dick, shit, damn, fuck. It can
be a lot of things, depending on the situation.”
“Cats-oh,” I tried it out. “I should practice before I see Tony.”
Christian’s face went up in flames as a woman in pasties waved at him.
“The girls here are so young.”
Since we’d gotten to Sanctum, he’d done nothing but cringe.
“You don’t like this place, huh?”
“No. I’m a traditional guy.”
“You wouldn’t last a week in a clubhouse.” I laughed, imagining the gangly
mafioso at a patchover party. “Actually, I know a girl who likes tall, modest
guys like you.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
“You’d be right up her alley.”
I grabbed my phone, scrolling to a picture of Jennesy and me at a dive bar. I
thrust it under his nose. He bent to look at it, clasping his hands around
mine gently.
“She’s hot.”
“Want her number?”
He sucked in his lip as though tempted, and then shook his head. “Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“My wife passed away six months ago. Cancer. Too soon.”
My heart ached as I took his arm. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
“It’s not something I talk about, but I guess you bring it out in me.” His
disinterested gaze passed over the women in the club, and he sighed
heavily. “I have to get out there someday.”
“Jennesy will probably still be single,” I said, opening my phone in an
attempt to cheer him up. “I already texted her your photo.”
“Did you really?”
“Yeah, check it out.”
He leaned in, squinting at the screen. “Ah, I see her reply. What do the
eggplants and the drops mean?”
“What do you think ?”
Christian burst out laughing, the full-hearted sound dipping me in a warm
bath. His mirth died as a possessive arm snaked my waist, pinning me to a
rock-hard body. It swelled with a huge breath.
“Are you done talking my wife’s ear off?”
A smile still hung on Christian’s face as he melted away.
I glanced at my pissed off husband, who glared in Christian’s direction. His
ferocious eyes flitted between me and my bodyguard.
“He likes you too much.”
“If you’re holding out on winning a popularity contest against me, you
might as well cash in your chips.”
“The cute act works on simple-minded fools like Christian, but not on me .”
Tony moved in front of me, a panther that demanded my full attention. His
stare trapped me in a battle of wills that we fought without moving.
“You’ve been busy this week.”
I would not be intimidated.
“Yeah, it was fun. Best two days I’ve had in a long time.”
Tony stiffened, his features thickening with rage.
I palmed his cheek and smoothed his angry brow with my thumb. “I already
ripped up your credit card, hubby. What else can you do to me?”
He grabbed my waist and jerked me toward him. I gasped as he bound my
wrists in one hand and pinned them behind my back. Pain sliced up my
arm.
“Plenty ,” he purred, his breath scorching my lips. “Rip off your clothes.
Fuck your mouth until you pass out. Make your ass permanently red.”
I tried to kill the whimper as he brushed his lips over mine, licking them
open. He pushed his tongue inside, swallowing my protests. I squirmed,
fighting him, until he shoved me against a wall, his thick erection grinding
into my thigh.
Oh my God .
His demanding mouth nipped at my neck. I could’ve shouted, but nothing
escaped but his name.
“Tony .”
I could’ve fought harder. Kicked his legs, struck the hardness pressing into
my hip, bitten his maddeningly sinful pout. Mixed feelings surged through
me as our lips crashed. He was too big, too strong. My resistance weakened.
His dominating presence had crushed it as I yielded to his powerful body.
As his tongue flicked mine, an unexpected surge teased my pussy.
Why does he do this to me?
A small smile teased across his handsome face.
He had me.
He knew I ached for him. I writhed as he fucked my mouth with his tongue,
closing his lips to suck and doing it again. The same movement he made
with his head between my thighs. My shoulders relaxed, and I went limp.
His taste drugged me. His manly scent filled my lungs. He ravaged my
mouth, heat circling my nipples with every delectable stroke. My pussy
smoldered, and it was all I could do not to spread my legs and beg him to
fuck me.
“You can’t hide what I do to you,” he taunted, ripping away from me. “Evie
Costa.”
I trembled as he nudged me toward a table, my balance off-kilter as he
strode forward purposefully.
“What are we doing here?”
“My cousin wanted to see us. We’ll have a quick chat, and then I will sort
you out. I want you to think about your behavior while I’m entertaining
Vinn Costa.”
My lips tingled.
What would he do if I threw the apology in his face?
Tony dragged me to a booth. The boss of the Family sat there with his very
shell-shocked wife, who gaped at the surroundings. Tony’s heavy arm
draped my shoulders, the solid weight of it comforting. Knowing how much
he hated intimacy, I nuzzled his neck and hooked my hand over his thigh.
Tony cleared his throat and waved over a waitress. “A glass of the Dog
Point Cab, and a gin and tonic for her.”
The waiter disappeared to do his bidding. Moments later, a glass slid into
my fingers. My nose wrinkled as I inhaled the sharp scent of my G&T, but I
tried it anyway. Heat bloomed everywhere, though I wasn’t sure if it was
the alcohol or the anxiety from sitting next to him.
I looked at Tony, who swirled a glass filled with purple liquid. “Should I be
worried about you?”
Darkness laced his tone. “I can control myself, Evie. Most of the time.”
Gooseflesh prickled across my arms as a vivid flashback to our wedding
night burned in my head.
“Nice to see you two together,” said the Costa boss, his glare like a bolt of
lightning. “You are getting along?”
“Absolutely .” Tony turned his head and planted a wet kiss on my cheek.
“Can’t get enough of this woman.”
My gut clenched.
A tinge of sarcasm layered Tony’s words. Judging by Vinn’s growing voice,
he hadn’t missed it.
“Our entire alliance hinges on you behaving yourself.”
Tony’s pitch-black presence dwarfed the table, consuming everybody. He
grabbed his wine glass. He swiveled its contents, sniffed, and sipped a small
amount. His eyes lit in rapture. “That’s good. Vinny, would you like some?”
“It’s Vinn, and no .”
Tony drank more. He closed his eyes as though wrestling with the urge to
have more.
A chilled silence smothered the table. Vinn’s glacial stare followed Tony’s
movements. He reacted to Tony like a dog who’d scented a rival male in a
fighting ring. Tony’s oblivious drinking seemed to be a direct provocation.
Gunpowder choked the air. They were on the verge of blowing it up and
beating the shit out of each other.
I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering who would win. I sized up the
larger Vinn, but what my husband lacked in pounds he made up for in
cruelty. His eyes were alive with it.
“I’ll never forget the day Dad brought Vinny to my house,” blurted Tony.
“He’d just murdered his father.”
Liana rapidly turned bright red.
“Vinny was fourteen,” he continued, his mouth tight and grim. “Crazy fuck
stabbed his father seven times. Then he calls my dad for help. So my father
goes over there. Cleans up the body while Mom makes Vinny a bed in the
guest room.”
A subzero chill swept my belly.
What was he doing ?
I seized his knee.
Tony sipped more wine, exchanging an unfathomable look with Vinn. His
dark eyebrow rose in amused contempt.
“I begged Dad to let him stay longer. Always wanted a little brother, but
Dad wouldn’t have it. He thought Vinny was a total psycho,” Tony mused,
ignoring my hard pinches on his thigh. “But when I looked at Vinny, I saw a
boy wearing my hand-me-downs. I still see that.”
Please shut up .
Shut up .
A harrowing silence gripped the air, which Vinn didn’t break with a denial.
I took in his whitened lips and the vein throbbing in his forehead. Vinn shot
upright, upsetting his glass. It spilled, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“You’re a waste of oxygen.”
“Careful, Vinny. You used to be the loser, in and out of rehab.” Tony’s
bewitching smile flickered in Liana’s direction. “Didn’t you know that?”
“She knows everything about me, you piece of shit. What about her?”
A muscle jumped in Tony’s jaw. “I’m sure Evie has Googled me.”
“Not everything’s online. Like where you were a year ago, and what you
did.” Vinn wrenched his jacket over his shoulders, tugging Liana from the
booth. “Maybe you don’t want her to know that about you. I wouldn’t.”
Wow .
The effect that had on Tony was alarming.
“Shut up.” His dead-eyed gaze speared Vinn. “And get out . Or I’ll jam this
butter knife in your eye socket.”
I grabbed Tony. “Tony, please stop.”
Tony swung toward me, his eyebrows raised. His attention danced over my
face.
I gritted my teeth. “Stop.”
He brushed aside my trembling fingers and balled them in his hand. Then
he kissed my knuckles, and the pit of my stomach churned. He was such a
chameleon. He could be magnetic, cruel when it suited his fancy, generous,
charming, wicked, psychotic .
Which was the real Tony?
Liana linked hands with Vinn, muttering something about the baby. It
seemed to be the magic word. Vinn let her steer him away from the table,
and they left without a backward glance.
Tony watched him go, seething. He drank.
“I think you’ve had your fill.”
I wrestled the glass from him and swigged, choking when an overly sweet,
thin liquid welled in my mouth. It lacked the earthiness of wine and the
sting of alcohol.
“Grape juice?” I whispered, bewildered. “What the hell?”
“I told you. I don’t drink.”
“So you did that just to piss him off?”
“If I wanted to do that, I’d sign up his email for hardcore gay porn. No, I
want to mess with his head. It drives him crazy when I break my sobriety
because it reminds him of his weakness.” He swiveled his head, shrugging.
“Nobody is without flaws, Evie. I find them. I exploit them.”
Well that’s dark .
“Do you enjoy being cruel?”
“Sure, when somebody annoys me enough.”
“So you’re a bully with a death wish.”
“Not quite, darling. I just needed him to leave.” He turned to fully face me,
pinning me with a hot glare. “I can’t have him around while I fuck the
insolence out of you.”
A shudder ran up my leg as he slid from the booth. He stood, tall and angry.
His eyes flashed, reminding me that I wasn’t leaving without getting
owned, used, and fucked within an inch of my life. The air charged with his
volatile energy.
“What makes you think I’ll let you touch me?”
“One, you want me. Two, you’re contractually obligated to fuck me.” His
finger slid under my jaw. “Three, I’m not giving you a choice.”
OceanofPDF.com
 ELEVEN

EVIE

I’m grateful he hasn’t fucked me.

And that he doesn’t know how much I want him.

S hadows loved my husband .

They made his eyes more dazzling, his cheeks hollowed, his lips more
carved into the boyish pout. Tony would be breathtaking in a seedy hotel
under a single light bulb, but the dark seemed to like him.
My lunatic husband smiled as he took my wrist and marched me through
Sanctum. So many naked girls stopped us, all of them gorgeous. Tony shot
them down, but it bothered me that he was on a first-name basis with every
hooker in sight.
“If another girl asks us for a threesome, I’m going to hurl on your shoes.” I
grabbed his arm and wrenched when a female voice called out his name.
“Have you fucked everyone in this place? ”
“That was before us.”
His chastising tone burned my chest as he led me into a curious room with
glass walls. A wingback chair sat in the middle like a throne, next to a cross
and medieval-looking setups. Men in suits swarmed outside.
They would watch us.
A dark thrill rippled through my body at the malicious delight surrounding
me. Tony paid them no mind as he grabbed a leather collar off an end table.
His hands buried in my hair as he wrapped my neck with leather, sliding the
strap through a metal clasp.
He kissed right under the collar. Heat blasted where his lips touched me,
and then he slapped my thigh. The impact smarted.
My muscle twitched.
“I’ve taught a lot of girls like you, Evie. Headstrong. Independent. Feisty.”
His stubble grazed my cheek as he stroked a sinful path up my abdomen.
“But none of them were my wife.”
He kissed the dent under my ear.
I shuddered.
“You can’t treat your wife like that, I told myself. So I kept my distance. I
assumed I was doing you a favor, but you need more hands-on…” he trailed
off, teasing my breast, “training .”
He swatted me.
A fierce sting hit me through the shirt, biting the nipple that he’d teased into
an aching point. I gasped, stunned when the pain melted into my skin like a
sunburn.
“You’re the rabid dog that needs a muzzle!”
“And you’re a disobedient wife who’s getting a shorter leash.”
He clipped something to the ring dangling from the collar.
A fucking leash.
The strip looped Tony’s hand. I followed it to the tightened jaw and eyes
smoldering with disapproval.
Wait till you let me go .
“Thought you might appreciate this.” He lifted it, showing me the
rhinestone-encrusted handle. “Since you’re all about aesthetics.”
“Sure. I’m just surprised you picked that. Leather and sterling silver is
very…biker of you.”
He forced a smile.
Then he yanked.
I stumbled backward, knocking into his chest. His arm banded my waist. A
rock-hard column dug into my ass.
“As always, I enjoy your defiance,” he whispered roughly. “You have no
idea what it does to me, Evie.”
He slid his hand down my taut stomach, removing my cutoffs with a
brusque jerk. They fell down my shivering thighs, chased by my panties.
Tony eased them over my hips, my throat closing. Then he dragged the tank
top over my head, and cold stung my skin. I buried the impulse to cover
myself as he undid my bra clasp. My breasts tumbled free as he bared me to
the men outside.
Heat stole into my face as they crowded at the glass like flies blotting out
light. Eager faces swam in front of me, their smiles stretched into the same
horizontal blur.
My mind was a crazy mixture of hope and fear.
Would he fuck me here?
Would I enjoy it?
Tony grabbed my chin. My head thumped his chest, forcing my attention to
his tiger-slanted gaze.
“Eyes on me, Evie.”
I should’ve been terrified of the threat behind the glass, but it was easy to
get lost in the way he looked at me.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.” Tony’s gentle murmur filled me with fire as he
freed my hair from the collar. “All I want to do is break you, make you beg,
and chain you so that all you can do is pleasure me.”
His shirt kissed my back, and it heated me in indecent places. Then the hand
wrapping my throat moved downward, splayed over my chest. His touch
lightened as he followed my curves. Sparks showered my skin as he teased
my nipple with the gentlest brush.
A bolt of pleasure shot between my thighs.
They clenched hard.
A wicked grin carved dimples into his cheek. “I like it when you blush for
me.”
“I’m not blushing. The room is too warm.”
I was full of shit, and the sadistic curve of his mouth suggested he was fully
aware. He lightly grasped my nipple, and I breathed raggedly. He shrugged
out of his jacket.
It fell to the floor.
Then his arm looped my waist. Far more intimate without the extra fabric.
His heat melted through the thin layer of cotton, joining mine. I blocked out
tantalizing images conjured by his perfect touch.
Clothes or not, I would blush harder in a few minutes. A fact Tony seemed
to revel in as he skimmed my shoulders, the nape of my neck, traveling
over the body he hadn’t touched in too long. He cupped my breasts, thumbs
stroking until my nipples hardened into points. He tugged and pinched as I
held my breath, and then he broke.
A soft groan escaped his lips.
“These tits.” Tony stepped away, the loss of his warmth caving in my
stomach. “Your tight pussy. Your tiny waist. Hips . I can’t look at you
without my cock aching. It’s making it difficult for me to do what I need to
do to you.”
“Which is?”
“Punish you.”
His hand slid up my thigh.
He pressed down lightly, rubbing my wetness from side to side. He slowly
dipped inside.
I gasped, parting my legs.
Lightning seared my clit as he kneaded me in front of everyone. Nothing
hid us from view. I was exposed to the hungry eyes beyond the glass.
My stomach tightened. “What about them?”
“They’ll watch. Nothing more.”
“This is fucking crazy,” I said in a rush of words, my cheeks burning. “We
shouldn’t be doing this. The prenup.”
“You keep bringing up that stupid piece of paper.” His wicked grin kept
growing as he wiped his hand on my thighs. “Maybe you’re so hot for me
that it’s clouded your judgment. You’re supposed to fuck me weekly.”
“And you’re on the hook to knock me up.”
“So?”
“So, you can’t cherry-pick which rules to follow.” Heat burrowed deep into
my body. “If you tell the judge I didn’t hold up my end, I’ll let Vinn Costa
know you never fucked me. Then you’ll lose everything.”
Tony’s laughter shook through me. “Blackmailing me is a dumb strategy. It
puts you in one position—on your back.”
“I’m on my back anyway.”
“Not yet,” he taunted.
I opened my mouth to protest, and then he massaged my pussy. He teased
the opening. His tender touch explored my folds. He caressed, working me
into a river of arousal. I looked down at the brawny arm wrapping my
curves. I gripped his wrist to throw him off, but all I did was squeeze him.
The soft bristle of hair, the muscle filling my grasp, the veins running into
his hands felt so good. It was all of him I could hold. Suddenly, it wasn’t
enough. My back arched. I uttered indistinct sounds. He buried his face in
my throat and breathed a kiss.
Then his finger impaled me.
Discomfort shot into me as my walls grasped him. He didn’t slam them
home like I craved. Instead he fucked me with slow pulses, sucking on my
neck like I was honey. Shudders ran up my leg as he nudged my clit. The
pressure inside rotated and shoved. It was too much—too amazing.
My thighs squeezed him.
“Tony, I’m going—”
He slid from me, and the ache for him screamed.
No, no, no .
He whirled me around. He sucked on his wet finger, and then his nose
flared.
“You taste like heaven, Evie. And your lips are perfectly made for my cock.
I get so hard when your innocent eyes plead me. I spend half my days
watching you, the other fantasizing about putting you in your place—
kneeling and your mouth open .”
A thrill tingled my spine.
The cameras weren’t a state secret. I figured he was checking in on me, but
the thought of those intense eyes taking notes on me made my heart thump
wildly.
“Kneeling? Afraid I’ll run?”
“You’re my property. I’ll do what I like with you.”
Fuck, that’s hot .
“Property of Tony Costa,” I mused, heart pounding. “Just like the club.”
That did it.
Tony buried a hand in my hair and slammed his lips into mine. He plastered
me to the see-through wall surrounded by men. Our tongues danced. He
trapped mine between his teeth and sucked me like I was nectar. His hand
sailed up my thigh and held my ass. His savage kiss crushed me into the
glass, and it stirred a crazed longing inside me.
I tangled my fingers in his locks and dragged him to my mouth. I kissed
him over and over, grinding on his leg shamelessly. His tongue forced my
lips to part. I palmed his pecs and caressed him, hands rising to his neck,
cupping his face.
“I want you.”
Tony broke off, whispering. “Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Say it louder.”
“I want you, Tony.”
The deep thunder of his appreciation radiated through me, tingling between
my legs. He teased over my mound, finding my wet pussy, gliding up and
down the slick folds.
“Please.”
He chuckled, detaching from me.
A tug yanked me away. Tony held the leash, dragging me to the chair. I
followed, burning. I bent when he attached my tether to a hook on the floor.
All I could do was sit naked, knees splayed.
He leaned forward. “Get on all fours. Stick that beautiful ass out.”
He pressed my head, forcing me into a bow. My elbows struck the marble
already pinching my flesh. I shuddered, imagining Tony’s full weight
bearing down on me, rubbing my joints into the marble.
Tony sat in the leather chair, its frame adding black wings to Tony’s
silhouette. He stretched out like a leopard. An impressive erection strained
against his slacks, but he didn’t touch me. His arrogant smile teased heat
into my cheeks.
“Not sure how I like you more.” His face glowed as he scooped my hanging
breasts. “On your knees or like this .”
“Tony .”
“I love it when you beg, but I’m not done with you.” He shushed me and
caressed my back. “I’m spanking you twenty times. You will count them,
and thank me.”
“Thank you for hitting me?”
“Yes.” He playfully groped my ass. “Lose count, and I’ll start over.”
He couldn’t be serious.
“What for?”
“Visiting the clubhouse. Twice .”
His arm whirled, and my skin bloomed with pain. It was shockingly painful.
A gasp forced from my clenched lips.
“O-one.”
He pinched my aching flesh. “Thank you, sir .”
I panted, nodding. “Thanks.”
These weren’t love taps. I would have bruises. I winced as the bite sank in
my thighs.
“Don’t say thanks in that ungrateful tone,” he chastised, smacking my flank.
“Say it properly.”
“Thank you, you crazy bastard.”
He hit me again, hard enough that I yelped.
I jumped forward, trembling. Pain burst across my raw flesh. He landed
another blow, knocking the insult from my mouth.
“O-one,” I gasped. “Thank you.”
“Thank you, sir .”
“Thank you.”
“Evie, I need to hear the fucking word.” His cheek pressed against mine as
he fisted my hair. “Say it.”
I shut my mouth.
Tony needed to dominate me, but I wasn’t ready to give him that. What
piece of my independence would he take next? Holding onto my power was
essential because submitting to Tony spelled disaster.
So did resisting him.
I wanted him to bend, but he had a steel of spine. He demanded my
obedience, but I defied him. We were two forces of nature, butting heads,
ill-matched.
“Sorry, Tony. You’ll have to do worse to make me call you sir.”
I heard the smile in his voice.
“Very well.”
He moved behind me and kneeled. The sound of his zipper sliced the air. He
grunted, and then heat touched my pussy. His arm wrapped my waist as a
broad pressure glided between my folds.
Oh my God .
My throat tightened.
“Tony! You can’t.”
The head of his cock nudged forward, threatening its invasion into the tight
hole.
“Say it.”
I gritted my teeth. “I won’t!”
“I’ll take your cunt right now.”
I bit my lip against the ripple of arousal.
Tony groped my ass, kneading the sore skin. He swatted me. The crack it
made bloomed warmth everywhere. The fierce smack no longer felt
punishing, especially with him holding me still, cock poised to thrust.
God, I wanted it.
I could feel him spreading me open. My craving for him ignored common
sense. I was tempted to poke him. Just to see how deep his darkness ran.
Would he do it? When he shoved inside me, would I groan with pleasure, or
scream in pain?
“Jesus Christ, Evie,” he said hoarsely. “Fucking say it.”
I won’t .
I almost screamed it, but then I glimpsed myself in the glass. Hands and
knees on the floor. Naked. About to be fucked with a dozen men watching.
Just like the club girls in the MC.
My pulse raced as I parsed it out.
I enjoyed this.
I’d imagined being taken roughly, but it never made my heart pound, my
legs widen, my tongue pool with saliva. An instinct urged me to chase his
cock. A wave of shock slammed into my head. All he had to do was push,
and then he’d find out how badly I needed this.
I couldn’t.
“Hold on, Tony.”
“I don’t have a pause button, sweetheart. You know what you have to say.”
“O-one. T-thank you,” I gasped. “Sir.”
He stroked my burning flesh. “Good girl.”
I bristled.
Then a sharp blow knocked the defiance out of me. The burn spread over
my cheeks as I counted and thanked him. My body was raw, desperately
wanting.
If he wanted to fuck me, I wouldn’t resist.
“Twenty,” I burst, blinking away tears. “Thank you, sir.”
“On your back, Evie.”
I obeyed.
Tony hovered over me like an angry god. He grabbed my underwear from
the floor. Then he shoved them in my mouth, pushing the ball behind my
teeth. I choked on the invading sensation. Then he smiled and kissed my
cheek.
Tony kneeled, fisting his cock. My tongue watered with an absurd urge to
pull it into my mouth, to satisfy him the way he’d pleasured me, but the
movement of his hand moving up and down his cock was hot as hell.
I was mesmerized by him. Enthralled by his touch. He’d done something to
release me from the worry clogging my brain. He jerked himself with soft,
sensual movements. My skin flushed everywhere he touched. He bent over,
his mouth fitted to my neck. His hand returned between my thighs.
I clenched on his diving fingers. My wetness echoed obscenely as I battled
the roaring fire inside me. I made pitiful noises as he worked methodically,
curling his fingers to the tight bundle of nerves.
Don’t come .
I needed to come. The spiral of ecstasy became a whirlwind. Then I
clenched hard, screaming into my panties. I couldn’t control my frenzied
yelling. I craved his hands, his mouth, his naked skin pressed to mine.
Tony ripped the panties from my mouth. Lust flared in his eyes as he caged
me in his arms.
I rose to meet him, and we crashed into each other. I pulled his hair. His
mouth descended on mine as passion flooded my veins. He was devouring
and harsh. Like he sought every last drop of resistance and couldn’t live
without kissing me.
It was possession.
I’d surrendered completely. My body shook with liquid fire, and an orgasm
gripped me. I cried into his shoulder, soaring in the clouds.
Then he came undone.
Tony released his breath in a groan, and wet heat shot across my breasts.
His body seized. Then it fell into an undulating motion. His shoulders
rolled, the tension melting from his brows, his clenched jaw, softening his
eyes. Another wave seemed to hit him, and he scooped the seed into his
palm. His semen coated the fingers he shoved inside me.
“There,” he said raggedly. “I’m no longer lax in my duties as a husband.”
It triggered another orgasm that made me clutch his arm as he fucked me
with his cum. My head touched the floor as I panted from two orgasms
seconds apart.
Holy hell.
He loosened the collar and picked me up. I was dead weight, useless for
walking. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with him.
Tony lifted me on his lap, his expression still fiery.
Good lord, the man could hold a grudge.
“Thank me for teaching you a lesson.”
“Thank you.”
His nostrils flared. “Come again?”
“Thank you, sir .”
For some reason, that didn’t satisfy him. Tony’s hostility returned in a flash.
“Are you?” he challenged. “Are you grateful for anything I’ve done?”
My cheeks warmed. “Of course I am.”
Holy shit .
He hadn’t meant for me to enjoy this. The spanking, the exhibition, any of
it. The glow from my orgasm popped like a dirty soap bubble, and heat
wrapped my throat. He was so screwed up.
“I watch you, Evie. I know your habits and your routine. You spend a lot of
time sketching.” His raking gaze halted over my mouth, and then he pulled
a book from his pocket. “And you write in this every morning.”
He waved it at me.
My gratitude journal.
That’s private, you dick .
He’d waited for the perfect moment to humiliate me. He sneered as though
expecting me to have a meltdown. When I didn’t, he flipped it open and
held it to his nose.
“I’m grateful for fresh fruit. I’m grateful my husband never speaks to me.
I’m grateful for Egyptian cotton sheets.” He paused, cringing. “Evie, I’m
starting to feel sorry for you.”
He was incapable of happiness, even with his vast wealth. It would’ve been
easy to throw that at him, but something had scarred him deeply, and it
wasn’t his silver-spooned upbringing.
I was sick of not knowing.
“Don’t pity me. I’m happy to have all those things.”
“There’s nothing about happiness in here.” He sounded perplexed and a
little annoyed. “It’s stuff. A fire could take it all away tomorrow.”
“Or you could be ripped from it all and be forced to live somewhere
horrible. Where you won’t know if you’ll survive or who to trust or where
to go for help.”
Tony flinched. His dark eyes shone with tortured dullness. He glanced at me
and the book, disoriented. Then he cleared his throat and scanned the pages.
“You mention me an awful lot.” His brows raised. “I’m grateful my
husband is talented with his tongue. I’m grateful my husband keeps our
marriage fresh.”
“I have to make something good of this situation.”
“You have plenty to be thankful for,” he snapped. “Other than my things.
You should be grateful for me . I’m your white knight. I’m saving you from
a shitty life. But you know that already. Don’t you? I’m grateful for my
husband’s money. I’m grateful I have a house, a comfortable bed, and a
husband with a giant cock who gives me everything I fucking need.”
My pulse pounded in my throat. “I didn’t write that.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you?”
A beat of tense silence stretched between us.
I scrambled to piece together my wild thoughts. “Why would I? I don’t
know anything about you or what you’ve saved me from.”
“Because you are completely wrapped up in all this pointless navel-gazing.”
He tossed the journal on the floor. “How can you be so selfish?”
His rudeness glided over my head.
“How can you be in such denial and not realize that’s exactly what you
need?”
Tony’s searing gaze flicked away, and back again. “You’re turning a blind
eye to what’s happening in your backyard. Honestly, I don’t know how you
live with yourself.”
That struck me like a slap to my face.
What are you talking about?
“I thought I could save you,” he continued, his eyes alight with passion.
“You were the youngest. You had the most to lose, but it turns out you’re
just like the rest of them!”
That shot my heart with adrenaline.
“Save me from what?”
“You know what’s insane?” he thundered, blowing past my question.
“Everything I’ve done to you is horrible, but you find the good in it. Why?”
“I-I have to. It’s how I survive.”
He gave me a pained look. “You’ve had a fucked up life, Evie. I feel sorry
for you.”
My cheeks burned so fiercely it hurt.
That’s it. I can’t talk to this man anymore .
I moved from his lap, but Tony held my arms. “Growing up there must’ve
been hell.”
I blinked, confused.
I’d had a decent twenty-two years. A mother who loved me. A father who
strolled into school and threatened the principal when I told him one of the
boys bullied me. No, my childhood was not perfect, but I doubted Tony’s
was either.
Startled, I met his soft gaze. “I didn’t want for anything in the MC. That’s
probably hard for you to accept, but it’s the truth.”
“Only because you don’t know any better.”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I burst, tired of his crap. “Is this
because I grew up poor?”
“No, Evie.”
“Then what is it? What makes us so terrible ?” I watched him, waiting for
him to spit it out. “The MC does nothing worse than the mob. Your family
is involved in the same shit—loansharking, drugs, construction scams.
You’re a goddamned hypocrite for judging us.”
“You have no idea what’s going on.” He glanced at the journal and rubbed
his temples. “If you’re always looking at the sun, you’ll never see the
shadows.”
OceanofPDF.com
 TWELVE

EVIE

I’m grateful my husband makes life interesting.

T ony had a 747’s worth of baggage.

While we were apart, I combed the internet. Tabloids painted Tony as a rich
boy with a lavish upbringing. His late father was a mafia don, but his
mother was a high-society snob, an Italian supermodel who’d posed for
Vogue . He had everything going for him—an Ivy League education, trust
funds, real estate properties, a trail of brokenhearted women, and all the
money he could ever want.
He could’ve been anything.
He chose to be a thug.
Why?
It bewildered me. Nothing in my search pointed to a specific reason, except
the year-long hunt for Tony Costa. He’d gone missing, but apparently, he’d
been at a rehabilitation center in Switzerland. Photos showed him leaving
the facility.
Did something happen to him there?
Dwelling on my husband’s strange behavior wouldn’t finish my jewelry
collection, but I couldn’t bring myself to ignore his suffering. I did,
however, rip out all the cameras. If he wanted to know how I was doing,
he’d have to talk to me. It was the only way we’d get anywhere.
So I went on with my life. I ignored the persistent throb in my chest and
visited the club whenever the mood struck me.
Dad and I sped through the gate on his bike. Sunshine coated the property
in golden warmth. The forget-me-not blue sky reminded me that beauty was
everywhere. I waved at Hugh, a young prospect, smiling as he shouted a
greeting. People relaxed on lawn chairs, drinking beer. Charcoal and savory
scents saturated the air. Probably Patrick. The fifty-year-old grill master
never spared an occasion to barbecue. Every summer, he took part in
contests that filled his living room with ribbons and trophies.
I slid off the Harley as Dad stopped. He kept the engine running, one foot
braced on the ground.
“I’ll be back later. Won’t be long.” Dad zipped up his leather cut. “There’s
potato salad in the fridge. Take it to Pat. He’ll trade you for a couple ribs.”
“All right.”
He zoomed off, the bike kicking up a plume of dust.
Emptiness gnawed at my stomach, but my jagged thoughts sawed through
my appetite. I couldn’t swallow the lump in my throat, let alone food, so I
wandered toward Jennesy’s.
Jennesy wasn’t rich, but she got by. The club stocked her fridge and chipped
in for diapers when her baby daddy died. A moldering playhouse stood on a
patch of overgrown grass. I passed it and knocked on her door.
My leggy cousin swung open the door, baby hitched on her hip. Jennesy’s
apple-like cheeks bloomed with two bright patches of fuchsia. White and
pink waves brushed her tanned, muscular shoulders. Army-camo patterned
leggings stuck to her thick thighs.
Benjamin clung to her tank top. Blond strands spilled over a sweet face. He
shared her nose and her expressive eyes.
“Evie! What a surprise.” She tickled the fifteen-month-old’s cheek. “Lookit,
Benji. It’s Auntie Evie.”
Ben smiled, his grin split by the cutest gap in his front teeth. “Hot, hot,
hot.”
I laughed.
“That’s his new favorite word.” Jennesy gave him a wry smile as she waved
me inside. “I came back from class one day and he was saying it. My dad’s
fault. I guess that’s the price you pay for free babysitting. Here, take him.”
Jennesy pushed Ben into my arms. He gaped at me, his finger prodding my
cheek. The weight of him felt nice. I kissed the top of his head, following
Jennesy as she chatted up a storm, bemoaning the state of her house.
“What do you want to drink?”
“Whatever is fine.”
She fished out Budweisers and used the bottle opener on the wall. The cap
pinged to the floor as the beer hissed. Foam sprayed everywhere. She
mopped her dripping shirt as Ben shrieked with pleasure.
“Happens all the time.” Jennesy caught Ben’s eye, grinning. “Can you say
uh-oh? Uh-oh?”
“Ah…oh.”
“Good boy!”
Ben’s face broke with a ridiculous grin.
I placed him in the high chair as Jennesy grabbed her beer and drank. She
closed her eyes and swallowed.
I held up my palm. “High five?”
Ben stuck out his hand, and I bumped mine against his. I clapped, and Ben
did the same. My heart thawed and squeezed.
“I still can’t believe something this sweet came from Crash.” Jennesy
retrieved a jar of applesauce from the fridge and scooped the golden sludge,
waving a spoonful at Ben. “Mmn. Num-nums.”
They’d had a brief fling that Crash ended dramatically by kidnapping his
old flame and getting murdered by her husband. It’d been quite the relief
for everyone involved, especially Jennesy.
It made me wonder what Tony would do if I got pregnant. He’d probably
shove me into another penthouse, throw credit cards at me, and forget I
exist.
Depressing .
“So, what did Costa do?”
I silenced my phone. “What makes you think anything’s wrong?”
“Come on, girl.” Jennesy wiped Ben’s sauce-covered cheeks and addressed
me with a businesslike tone. “You show up here, unannounced, looking raw,
glancing at your phone every two seconds.”
“He doesn’t even know I’m here.”
“He’ll be pissed,” she warned, eyes flashing. “Better text him, or you’ll be
in for a beating.”
“He’s not violent,” I blurted, unnerved by her suggestion. “He’s a snarky
asshole, but he lets me do what I want. He raised my credit limit to fifty
grand.”
“No kidding? Wow .” Jennesy’s expression flickered from caution to
outright disbelief to delight. She bumped her drink into mine. “He’s
wrapped around your thumb, babe.”
“I cut the card in half.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because fuck his money. He only offered it so I’d stop coming here.”
“And yet here you are.” Jennesy sat back, lips curled into a mischievous
slant. “Something tells me that if push came to shove, you’d come out on
top.”
“You don’t know how stubborn he is.”
“And you’re not?”
True .
Jennesy put down her beer and coaxed Ben into eating more applesauce.
“What’s his problem with the club?”
“No idea.”
“Did you ask your dad?”
“Yeah, but he wouldn’t tell me much. Club business .” I stood up, sighing.
“Why is it such a big fucking mystery?”
“Speaking of mysterious Italian men, what about Christian?”
“It’s too soon since his wife passed.” I grimaced, placing the empty bottle in
the sink. “Sorry. He got a kick out of your messages, though. He blushed
when I told him what the eggplants meant.”
Jennesy sighed. “Bless his heart.”
“I’m going to take a walk. Get some fresh air.” I smoothed baby Ben’s
wayward curls before I headed for the door. “Text me when you’re free. I
need to keep Tony on his toes.”
“Of course!”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“Anytime.”
She waved at me, and Ben copied her. The sweet image of mother and son
stayed with me, another nagging wound that pulsed with every step. I
looked at Jennesy’s mobile home, at the siding that was falling off.
Would I be better off here?
According to Tony, stuff didn’t make someone happier, and he was right.
Ever since I was blessed with a credit card with sky-high limits, my worries
had evolved from paying bills to my unfulfilling marriage. I wanted to fix
it.
So I strode to the brick clubhouse.
Music throbbed from the windows. I pushed my hip into the doors, and they
flew open.
Empty bottles littered the bar and floor. A shirtless man bent over a pool
table, nuzzling a pair of big fake tits. His back muscles rippled as he plowed
into a squirming brunette with koi fish tattoos wrapping her stomach. A
blonde stood beside him, hand on his shoulder. He straightened, fisted her
hair, and smashed his mouth into hers.
Ghost .
He angled his hips and pounded. The club girl’s shouts echoed to the
ceiling.
I gritted my teeth and approached the half-naked Ghost, whose tattooed
hands played with her breasts. I ignored the girls. They didn’t rank next to
the president’s daughter, and they knew it.
“Ghost.” I tapped him. “Let’s talk.”
His sweat-streaked neck craned toward me. Bewilderment widened his
salacious gaze, which dove down my neckline. “What about, sweetheart?”
“My husband.”
Irritation flickered across his brow as he resumed thrusting.
“I have something to ask about Costa.”
“Are you trying to kill my boner?”
Yes. Isn’t that obvious?
I crossed my arms. “I didn’t realize keeping it up was that hard.”
“You want to see hard?”
He pulled out, and I glanced down. His laughter was low and throaty. A
second later, he was at it like I wasn’t standing there.
Such a pig . “Ghost, I just need a few minutes!”
“So do I.”
“You fuck club sluts all day long. Put it away and talk to me.”
“You’re welcome to watch,” he said, punctuating every syllable with a
thrust. “I find it hot—”
“Tony Costa ,” I shot out, and he grunted. “He’s taller than you, olive-
skinned, curly chest hair that goes to his cock, which is nice and thick, and
circumcised, by the way.”
Ghost squeezed his eyes shut, as though warding off that mental image.
“Goddamn you. This better be good.” He stepped away, tucking himself
into his jeans. Then he slapped the girl’s breasts. “Don’t move.”
Ghost pushed me into the hallway. His jaw clicked as he opened a door and
pointed inside.
I strolled into his room, nose wrinkling. It reeked of sex and unwashed
male.
Ghost closed the door behind us. He sprawled on his messy bed. He spread
his legs wide and swiped a pack of cigarettes off the nightstand.
I shook my head when he offered me one.
“Who the hell do you think you are, interrupting me mid-fuck?” Ghost
flicked his thumb on the lighter, igniting the cigarette. “I might’ve led you
on, but there’s no need to act like a jealous bitch.”
“This isn’t about you.”
“What. Do. You. Want? ”
Ghost took a drag, blinking. His raking gaze centered on my chest as I
pulled a chair and sat beside him.
“I need to ask you about my husband.”
He made a noise of disgust.
I grabbed his wrist. “Ghost, please. Dad won’t say a word and none of the
girls know what happened to Tony. He’s raw about it, and refuses to tell me
anything.”
Ghost tipped his head, blowing the smoke to the ceiling. He chuckled. The
sound raised my hackles.
“What’s so funny?”
“You had to be there,” he said, winking. “Sadly, I wasn’t a member at the
time, but everybody knows.”
“Tell me.”
His boyish smirk widened. “What will you give me?”
Heat stole into my face.
“Nothing.”
“Well, then you get nothing. It’s club business. You want me to break the
rules? Drop to your knees and put that mouth to work.”
I curled my lip. “I’ll tell Dad you kissed me.”
“That was months ago.”
“Still. He wouldn’t like it.”
Ghost slowly stood, sucking on his cigarette. Smoke blew from his full
pout. His body pushed me against the wall, all six feet of him trapping me.
The finger holding the cigarette traced my lips. “You’re pissed I didn’t ask
you to be my old lady. After one stupid kiss. Wasn’t even worth it.” He
leaned in. His putrid whisper brushed my nose. “You really want to know?”
I nodded.
Ghost detached from me and dug into his pants for his cell. He shoved the
phone into my hands.
“Watch this. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Needles prickled along my spine.
“What is it?”
His head hung over my shoulder. “Watch.”
I pressed the play button, and the screen blazed with a chilling image.
A man sat on a basement floor. Harsh lighting bleached his wasted
physique, throwing the cuts and bruises that marked him in crude gashes. A
chain attached to a steel collar wrapped his throat. A thick beard covered his
cheeks and jaw and his hollowed eyes were dead, but I recognized my
husband. He didn’t have the powerful body he did now. They’d starved him.
The sharp angles were softer, less defined.
Still, I found him beautiful.
My heart wrenched and tore in half.
What did they do to you?
I was about to find out.
A sick foreboding gripped my insides as three bikers surrounded Tony, one
of them holding a leash. A Rottweiler lunged at Tony, who kept his cheek
turned. Its jaws snapped, spraying the air with flecks of spit, but the blond
biker pulled him back. The view panned, and the blond man who’d hurt
Jennesy and so many other women winked at the camera.
Holy shit—Crash .
Tony’s lips moved.
“What’s that?” Crash mocked, his attention drawn toward Tony. “Are you
praying ?”
They burst with laughter, the sound gut-punching.
Crash’s lip curled into a sneer. “You are so pathetic .”
His leather boot slammed into Tony’s side.
The chains rattled as Tony let out a gasping groan. He coughed, rolling
over.
“My old lady can take a beating better than you.”
“Tell me— tell me what you want,” Tony rasped. “My father will give you
anything. Please .”
“I want you to die.”
That was enough to rouse Tony, who groped to a sitting position. “I have no
idea who you are! My family —”
“Fuck them,” Crash roared, his shouts joining the dog’s relentless noise. “I
offered you to them. Your cousins couldn’t care less. They’re refusing to
pay the ransom.”
Devastation flickered across Tony’s wasted features before they hardened.
“I don’t believe you.”
“You calling me a liar?”
“Yeah, among other things.” Tony’s desperate gaze scanned the room.
“Anybody who calls themself Trash is a loser. It is Trash, right?”
“Crash .”
“That’s what I said. Trash.”
“No. It’s Crash.”
“Must be the ringing in my head from all the beatings,” he muttered,
shrugging. “Consider changing it. Trash suits you.”
Oh my God, Tony .
I covered my face and peeked through my fingers.
Crash shouted at the dog. “Fassen .”
Its crazed barking bounced off the cement walls, loud, horrendous. He
loosed the leash. The animal lunged. Frenzied growling mingled with the
nauseating sound of tearing flesh.
Tony’s agonized screaming stabbed my stomach.
My thumb hit the pause button but the noises wouldn’t stop. I hurled it from
me. The phone smashed, prompting a howl of outrage from Ghost.
“You stupid bitch!” Ghost picked it off the ground, furious. “You’re getting
me a new one.”
Acid burned in my throat. Bitter and vile. I pictured that dog ripping into
Tony’s arm and wanted to purge everything in my gut.
They’d tortured him.
No wonder he hated us.
I wrung my hands as though I could shake off Tony huddled in the dark.
How long had he been there? Why? God knows what else they’d done to
him. My teeth clenched. Horrific sounds played from his cell.
Ghost’s lip curled as images flickered through his cracked screen. “Haven’t
watched this in a while. He’s such a pussy.”
The callousness swept through me like wildfire.
“How can you find that funny?”
His chuckling broke into full-hearted laughter as he continued to watch.
“He is so pathetic . I’d make them kill me before they did that to me.”
My heart rate shot to the stratosphere.
I stalked toward him. “Talk about my old man like that again, you piece of
shit!”
He sneered. “Costa is a limp-dicked crybaby.”
My fist slammed into his jaw.
Ghost staggered, hand on his chin. His features contorted, and then—
WHAM!
Pain shattered my eye socket. The impact knocked me into a dresser.
“Have you had enough, you dumb bitch?” he shouted, holding up his hand.
“Or do you need another one?”
I clung to his furniture, dazed. Warmth trickled down my cheek. I wiped,
and my fingers shined with red.
My head pounded, but I grimaced through the ache. I straightened as Ghost
took a drag from his cigarette. I imagined putting it out in his forehead.
A pulse beat in my throat, threatening to burst. I wanted to fuck him up. I
was soaked in kerosene. Primed to blow up. All I needed was the tiniest
spark.
“I’ll kill you.”
He smiled and winked. “I look forward to the foreplay.”
That did it.
OceanofPDF.com
 THIRTEEN

TONY

2 oz vodka
1 oz Kahlúa
splash of heavy cream

We finally made a move against Legion.

We’d acted on Knox’s intelligence and hired Rage Machine to break into a
warehouse in Chelsea, which would supposedly cripple their drug supply
network, but the small pyramid of cocaine taunted me. Street value was a
measly twenty grand, at best.
I stood on a rooftop. Cainan had his back against the cityscape, arms
crossed. He pushed a dark curl from his forehead. His pale skin gleamed
bone-white. He stood tall, unwavering. A ghost of a smile touched his lips
when I approached.
I hurled the duffel bag at Cainan’s feet. “This is what I’m risking my life
for?”
The devil never got his hands dirty. He couldn’t be seen disrupting Legion’s
affairs. I’d always respected that. We needed someone on the inside, but
more and more I wondered if I was just his attack dog.
Fetch. Retrieve. Kill .
Cainan raised his head, meeting my gaze without flinching. “You agreed to
do everything in your power to bring them down. This is what that looks
like.”
“We’ve been at this for years, Cainan. I would’ve thought after all this
effort we would’ve made some progress!”
Cainan stepped away from the edge, his voice softening. “Legion is a
conglomerate. Did you think it’d be easy? That they’d fall overnight? They
have chapters all over the country and around the world. It is working but it
will be slow. I told you that in the beginning.”
“All I ever do is waste my fucking time for you.”
He smirked, boiling my blood. “Tony, what would you’ve done otherwise?
Where would you be, if it weren’t for me?”
Back in that prison .
I was breathless with fury.
I held up a finger in warning. “Careful.”
“I don’t have to be anything. That’s the difference between you and me.”
“There’s a lot separating us, you sick fuck.”
“If I’m sick, what does that make you?” A thin chill hung to his words,
raking my skin. “Maybe you need a reminder of what you did on the island.
The choices you made.”
“Yes, I did terrible things. And I’ll have to live with them forever.”
“Tony, I’m not trying to goad you.” His smile told a different story. He was
a sadist, through and through. “I respect you. I don’t like most people, but I
like you. That’s why I invited you into the Circle.”
“I only care about destroying Legion.”
“We’re going to get them. We will. But you need to trust the process. And
for God’s sake, drop the self-torture already. You take this too seriously.
You did what you had to. That’s all any man can do.”
Surviving wasn’t enough.
Not anymore.
A chime echoed from my pocket. Thank God, a distraction. I grabbed my
phone, stepping away from Cainan.
I answered it. “Yeah?”
Christian rasped through the speaker. “Evie’s at the club.”

GOD WAS TESTING ME.

He gave me a biker wife to teach me something . Patience. Humility. Grace.
Was I supposed to find any of that in this internment camp?
Rows of dilapidated mobile homes filled the east side of the MC’s property.
Children played behind the huge brick building. A basketball thumped the
pavement. A grill sizzled nearby. Families ate on picnic tables under the
setting sun. A group of kids streaked past us, one of them halting in his
tracks. Harley-Davidson logos plastered his small chest. A brown mark
smudged his freckled nose.
His widened gaze took in my suit. “Who are you?”
I knelt beside him. “Tony. What’s your name?”
“Um—Lincoln.”
He held out his hand and I shook it, eerily reminded of the street kids in
Dorchester. I scanned his body for bruises, finding none. “Do you know
Evie? She’s my wife.”
“She’s your wife ?”
“Yes. I need to bring her home.” I smiled as the boy stuck his hands in his
sandy-blond hair. “Any idea where she is?”
“The clubhouse.” The child shifted from foot to foot. “It’s the big red
building.”
“Thanks, Lincoln. I appreciate it.” I grabbed my wallet and slipped out a
ten, tucking it in his palm. “Here you go, kid. Buy yourself some candy.”
“Wow. Thanks!”
I patted his head. Too bad I didn’t have something better to give him.
I followed Christian to the brick clubhouse, which pounded with a muffled
rock beat. Staring at the black doors roiled my stomach but Christian
seemed at ease.
The doors opened into a bar and game room. It was a dive. Stale beer and
cigarette smoke choked the air, so not my scene. Club sluts mingled about
in tube tops and cutoffs. They shot Christian and me incredulous looks. No
doubt we looked ridiculous in slacks, overdressed to the nth degree.
A bottle rolled under my feet, and I kicked it aside.
“This place is a sty.”
Christian grunted. “I don’t know why you let her come here.”
“I’ve tried everything to discourage it short of chaining her to the
goddamned penthouse, but I’m nobody’s jailer.”
Christian scanned the row of arcades. His attention fell on a woman in
leggings. She cradled a blond boy who wrapped his chubby fingers on a
joystick. Christian’s tanned face broke with a laugh.
“Jennesy?”
The pink-haired girl whirled around. “Christian! Ohmigod . What are you
doing here?”
“Picking up Evie.” He leaned in, waving at her baby. “Who’s this?”
“My son, Benjamin.”
“I’m Christian. Nice to meet you, buddy.” Christian tickled his cheek, and
the baby grinned. “Are you teaching him how to play Asteroids?”
“Hah—no. He just likes the music and lights.” Jennesy’s grin widened at
Christian, who seemed taken with her. “Geez, you’re tall. What are you,
six-four?”
“Six-two.”
She beamed at him. “I bet you have girls climbing you all day long.”
“Yeah, sure. I’m constantly beating them back.”
“So modest. I love it.”
I could’ve gagged.
I grabbed Christian’s arm. “Get her number, and let’s go .”
“You must be Costa.” Jennesy’s unimpressed tone matched the disdain in
her eyes. “Evie’s not happy with you.”
Shocking . “Where is she?”
“Somewhere.”
“I don’t have time for this. Tell me where my wife is.”
Christian’s elbow jabbed my stomach as I stepped forward. He shot me a
venomous look. Fantastic . My backup was white-knighting a chick he’d
talked to for three seconds.
“How about this?” Christian suggested warmly. “Point us in her direction,
and I’ll take you and Benjamin out for dinner.”
Jennesy perked up. “When?”
“Whenever you want.”
“Tomorrow . But I’ll get a sitter for Ben.”
“Deal.” Christian offered his hand, and the baby grasped his pinkie. “See
you, little guy.”
They exchanged numbers, and then Jennesy gestured down the hall. “She’s
in Ghost’s room. The sixth door on the left.”
That name punctured my chest.
She went to him ?
Why ? What did that fucking kid have that I didn’t?
Regret pulsed through me in sickening waves, reminding me that my
actions had consequences. When I pushed her away, she ran straight into the
arms of a man who gave her more—the biker boy.
I stormed the hallway, groping for my gun before realizing it wasn’t there.
Muffled raised voices echoed from inside. The hairs on my neck stood. I
kicked the door in.
The kid from my wedding grappled with my wife. Tears stained Evie’s
cheek as she screamed something incoherent. Red smeared Evie’s chin like
a blazing flag.
Blood .
My body throbbed.
I ripped him off her and pounced on Ghost. He barely got his hands up. I
seized his neck, shoving his head into the wall, smashing through plaster. I
dug into his soft flesh, squeezing. Lights popped in my head as though I
were strangled. I clocked him in the jaw and sent him flying. Crimson
sprayed from his nose. I bashed in his ear, his shit-eating grin. Every part of
him I could reach. I stomped on his fingers. I introduced his head to the
table and the floor.
Screaming. Someone yelled. A nagging sensation registered in my
knuckles. Shockwaves rippled up my arm, and then the world exploded into
bright red. My hands were slippery and hot.
The boy rolled on his back, leather cut splayed open. He was shattered. It
was like I’d taken a meat tenderizer to him. He made gurgling sounds.
I kicked him between his legs.
“Tony, let him go!” Christian shouted, grabbing me. “You’ll get us killed!”
I hurled Christian off me, and then Evie took my wrists. The image of her
battered face stabbed somewhere deep. I was angry—I was scared. My
vision clouded with incomplete scenes. Evie alone with this man. Him
beating her into submission. Raping her.
The agony cleaved into my skull.
I closed my eyes and jerked on my hair, distracting myself from the pain.
The memories. I yanked as tears stung my eyes. Tears I didn’t want to cry. I
didn’t want to feel.
Fuck it all.
All I wanted was to save her.
White Russian. A milky drink materialized. Two ounces vodka. One ounce
Kahlua. A splash of heavy cream—
I couldn’t stop seeing it. Ice gripped my throat.
“Tony.”
Evie’s tearful voice snapped me out of it. I met her gaze. She peered at me
cautiously but said nothing. She didn’t ask what was wrong. She didn’t
have to.
She probably already knew.
Evie gave me a bear hug that squeezed air from my lungs. I clung to her
like a drowning man on a raft. Panic faded to overwhelming relief, and then
her mouth brushed my cheek. Lips softer than feathers pressed into mine.
Our mouths met in a clash of heat. It burned into my chest. She tasted clean.
Intoxicating. Like a glass of top-shelf vodka straight from the freezer,
smooth and deeply satisfying. She drew me closer and crushed my mouth,
her kisses drugging me with every soft stroke. Evie’s hands caressed my
back, gliding over my scars to hook onto my shoulders.
This felt different.
She held me like a wife who’d missed her husband after too many months
apart. Her lips slammed into mine, the wave of passion knocking me
backward. My mouth covered hers hungrily. She slipped her tongue inside,
sending spirals of ecstasy through me. She was an OxyContin high, the
pleasure swift and delirious.
Too much.
Not enough.
I wanted more. Needed more. My greed demanded all of her, everything
from her chocolate-colored hair to her toes. I ached to fuck her ruthlessly,
ravish her, kiss her, be inside her, hold her. My heart thrashed as I shoved
her against the wall.
Evie pushed me, hard enough so that I stopped. We gripped each other,
breathing like we finished a marathon. She looked at me, and the storm in
my head quieted.
“Let’s go home.”
OceanofPDF.com
 FOURTEEN

EVIE

I’m grateful for my husband.

I hadn ’ t written it down yet.

Thanking the man responsible for the ache in my chest felt too strange.
Once we got home, Tony pulled me into the bathroom to assess the damage.
He’d hissed epithets as he pressed an ice pack into my cheek and dabbed
antiseptic on my wounds. After a long, cold shower I put on pajamas and
headed to bed. My head pounded as moonlight sliced across Tony.
My stomach dropped.
He was in my bed.
Technically, it was his , but I was possessive over this place. He sat under
the covers, shirtless. His glowing skin forced me to imagine him naked.
Few women could picture the perfectly sculpted body under his clothes.
The idea of sleeping next to him throttled my heart rate.
I slipped under the sheets, and Tony scooped me in his embrace. His arms
were like a warm tide, pulling me to safety. I collided with him as he
splayed me over his lap, his heat burning through my clothing. I lifted a
hand to his sorrowful face, tracing his cheekbone. I stroked his stubbled
skin, marveling at his harsh beauty, his unrelenting stare, and the current
that zipped into my arm. I wanted to wipe his sadness away.
“Are you okay?”
He didn’t smile, but his stony expression softened. “I should be asking you
that. Evie, how the fuck did this happen?”
I sucked in my lip. “It’s my fault.”
“Don’t make excuses for him.”
“I’m not, but…I hit him first. I punched him,” I blurted in a rush of words.
“Then he smacked me and I went after him.”
“You…went after him?” he echoed hollowly. “After he hit you?”
“He said something rude.”
His head knocked the headboard. “Evie .”
“You had to be there. Believe me, he deserved it.”
“Of course he deserved it. That’s not the fucking point. You could be in the
hospital with a concussion. Or worse.”
“I-I know. It was reckless.” Beyond reckless. Stupid in the extreme. “I
wasn’t thinking straight.”
“You are so lucky I showed up when I did.”
Luckily, Tony seemed to let it go. He scooped my hand in his and brushed
his lips over my aching knuckles. “These hands are too valuable to waste.”
I smiled.
His hot gaze flickered to me. “How can you be in a good mood? Or is this
from gratitude again? I’m grateful he didn’t split my skull open. I’m
grateful my obscenely attractive husband saved my ass.”
“It’s nice to see you worried about me. For once.”
“For once.” He laughed bitterly. “I pass out to the light of my phone
watching you. Or I did, until you took out the cameras. Now I don’t sleep
until I’m sure you’re in the penthouse. The windows in your workshop give
me a heart attack because they’re not bulletproof, and I worry whenever
you’re at the clubhouse because I don’t trust the men there.”
“You mean that? Or are you afraid someone will scratch your Porsche?”
A muscle flicked in his jaw. “If you were a car, darling, I would’ve already
traded you in. Expensive and I don’t get to ride you.”
“How can such a beautiful man have so much ugliness inside him?”
He raised a brow. “That’s quite the neg. Are you a pick-up artist?”
“I’d slap you but there’s been enough of that today.” I grinned, but Tony
gave me a forbidding look. “Are you mad at me?”
“A little.” His arms circled my hip, and he kissed the top of my head. “It’s
hard to stay pissed at you, though. Something about black eyes on my
woman kills all my rage for her.”
“Lucky me.”
“You are.”
A hint of a growl throbbed from his lips. He turned, the force of his glare
and the threat of his half-naked body filling me with steam. He wanted to
punish me. I could feel the urge in the hand gripping my waist.
“You think I’m a reckless asshole, don’t you? You think I went too far?”
“No. I’m just glad I’m not the only hothead.”
He made a noise of assent.
“I had it coming. Just say it.”
“That’s too cruel, even for me.” He paused for a moment, his mouth
thinning, and then it burst out of him. “Why do you keep going there? Are
you visiting your ex?”
“He’s not my ex. ”
“Then why were you in his room?”
“Because I wanted a private conversation.” My chest swelled with nerves as
we approached the topic I’d been dying to bring up. “We’re married, but
you tell me nothing about yourself. It frustrates me, Tony. I don’t know
what we’re doing or where we stand as a couple. You ignore me most of the
time and when you don’t, we’re either fighting or fucking. I thought I could
fix things between us by learning more about you. Nobody would tell me
why you hate the club, so I asked Ghost.”
He blew a ragged sigh. “You couldn’t call me?”
“So you could say it’s none of my business?” I struggled to find words, my
voice thick with tears. “Look, I don’t blame you for keeping it to yourself. I
understand now. Ghost showed me something. There’s a video…of you
and-and a few bikers. In a basement.”
The fist squeezing my heart clenched. An eternity seemed to pass before
Tony finally spoke.
“They abducted me. They tortured me. The end.”
“Stop that . Stop deciding what I can and can’t handle. I grew up
surrounded by a bunch of jaded criminals. Nothing can scare me away.”
“It’s a long story.”
“I’m not busy.”
Again, he stayed silent for a full minute. His hands resumed their stroking
of my back.
“It was a Sunday,” he forced out. “I stepped outside for a jog with Comet,
my husky. An Escalade rolled up to the curb. The doors opened. Men in
leather cuts spilled out and grabbed me. They shot my dog. Threw me into
the car.”
How horrible .
I pictured a dog dying on the sidewalk, Tony pushed into the van, my
insides clenching with every disturbing image.
“They brought me to Crash’s house. You’ve heard of him?”
I stiffened. “He’s dead.”
“Unfortunately.”
“You’d rather him alive?”
“I’d have liked to be the one to kill the bastard, but I can’t complain about
how he went.”
My throat bobbed. “So…he took you captive. Then what?”
“Beat me. Starved me. Shoved me in a crawlspace.”
He listed them as though he recited items from a shopping list.
It blew my mind.
“Why you ?”
“I asked myself that a lot. I didn’t understand. At first, I thought Dad had
overstepped with the club. I figured they’d rough me up to send a message
to my father, and release me. As weeks passed, I realized he had no
intention of letting me go.” Tony’s grip bit into my waist as he spoke.
“Crash had a vendetta against my cousin Michael, and I was easy pickings.
The drug-addicted son of the mafia don.”
“I’m so sorry, Tony.”
He said nothing.
I was bursting with questions, but I couldn’t overwhelm him. “What
happened next? Your family found you?”
“No.”
“Did your dad pay him off or were you able to escape?”
“No to both.”
I frowned, searching his blank face. “Then…how did you get out?”
“I didn’t.”
That swept through me with a biting chill. A bleak silence settled between
us. Tony’s hard-eyed glare seemed to look through me, at some distant
target in his past. Did he mean metaphorically? Before I asked more, a bell
chimed.
Fuck .
I glowered at the wall. “Who the hell’s that?”
Tony pushed me aside and leaped off the bed. He grabbed a robe.
“Evie, I want you to stay here.”
“Why—what’s going on?”
The relentless chiming became a banging that echoed through the
apartment.
He knotted the robe to his waist and blazed out of the room. The door
opened and then slammed shut, reverberating through the walls.
“What are you doing here?” Tony’s gritty tone blasted inside, and an even
darker voice answered him.
“We need to talk.”
Dad!
My throat closed. I ripped the sheets back and scrambled for pants, but
couldn’t find any. I seized a men’s shirt from the walk-in closet, running out
after I’d buttoned it.
Dad stood in the living room in full biker regalia, glowering at my husband.
I rushed to greet him but stopped at the disgust curling his lip. His beetle-
like eyes stripped me up and down.
“Dad, is this about Ghost? It’s my fault. I hit him first. Tony doesn’t deserve
to be—” I broke off, thrown by Dad’s accusatory stare. “What?”
Tony’s arm hooked my waist. His grim features rippled with sunshine. He
offered me a sudden, arresting smile.
“Sweetheart, you missed a few buttons.”
His teasing burned my cheeks before I noticed the breeze tickling my skin. I
fastened the missing holes in a hurry, my fingers slipping.
“Shoot. Sorry.”
“No apology necessary.” Tony rubbed my hip, my insides jangling. “You
wear the shit out of my shirts.”
Really, Tony ? In front of my dad?
I clenched my mouth tighter.
“Costa .”
Tony blinked, as though he’d forgotten about my dad’s presence. “Evie,
give us some privacy.”
When I didn’t move, Tony raised his voice.
“Back to bed, Evie. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Tony kissed my head. Once in the bedroom, I closed the door, but turned
the handle and peeked through the crack.
“What do you want, Jett?” Tony pushed himself on the oak desk, the robe
spilling across his bare chest. “Can’t you see I have my hands full with your
daughter?”
My stomach churned.
Tony better be careful. My dad made it his life’s mission to scare off any
man who batted eyes in my direction, including Crash.
“You fucked up big time,” Dad hissed, squaring off against him. “You put
Ghost in the hospital.”
“He’s lucky that’s all I did to him.”
“That kid is connected the Mongols! Now I have to explain to his father
why his son is in the ICU with a broken trachea.”
“Poor baby. Say your piece and get the fuck out.”
“What’s wrong with you? He’s a member of my club!”
I’d never seen Dad lose control over his voice. He sounded hoarse. Tony
was the opposite, his rich tones filling the office.
“Well, maybe you should keep a tighter leash on him. Seems to me like you
should be more upset about him smacking around your girl, but you people
don’t give a shit about your own flesh and blood.”
“Where I’m from, deals are honored. Not spat on at the first opportunity!”
Flecks of spit flew through the air from his shouting. “Your cousin wants
peace, but you want to mess up what’s mine!”
“I guess we’re in the same position. I’ve been through Evie’s tax records,
and boy. Even my grandma can hide assets. Are you stupid or just bad at
being a criminal?”
“What does that have to do with you? ”
“Everything,” he snarled. “Don’t come into my house, uninvited, and lie to
my face. You’re laundering diamonds through my wife’s business. I’m on
the board of five different charities. I’m fucked if the IRS decided to take a
closer look.”
“No idea what you mean. Evie’s taxes are her problem.”
“Don’t play dumb. I want nothing to do with your business . Neither does
Evie.”
What were they talking about?
“And I know about the jewelry you stole from her.” Tony’s voice dipped
into a quiet, trembling snarl. “You will give them back. Every last ring. Or
I’ll put more bikers in the hospital. Lord knows, there’s enough in this city
to keep me busy for a while.”
I gasped.
He’s crazy.
“Are you threatening this alliance over my daughter and a few pieces of
gold?”
“Evie is my wife.”
“She started this mess with Ghost. She admitted it!”
“I don’t care if she tap-danced on his mother’s grave. Nobody touches my
wife. I have the right to kill anyone who does. In fact, every time one of you
upsets her, I’ll go after you, your businesses, your members. She’s mine.
Get that through your fucking head. I decide what to do with her, where she
sleeps, what she eats, and how I will fuck her.”
I ground my teeth together.
I appreciated him backing me up, but he didn’t have to throw our sex life in
my dad’s face.
“Vinn will kill you!” Dad stepped toward an unflinching Tony. “I’ll take
Evie away!”
I swallowed an outburst.
How dare they treat me like an object? I had thoughts. Feelings. Dreams .
None of which Dad seemed to acknowledge, considering he’d sold me to
Tony.
“She does not belong to you anymore.”
“If I ask, she’ll come back to me!”
Tony chuckled nastily. “Even if she misses your cage in Chelsea, I am never
letting her go.”
The door burst open.
Dad flew from the office. His angry footsteps stomped to the front door,
chased by Tony’s condescending “bye.” I huddled on the bed as Tony
reentered the room. His feet strolled into my vision until he stopped, the
robe hanging inches from me. He faced me with a somber expression.
“How much of that did you hear?”
“All of it.”
He threaded fingers through my hair. “Don’t worry about it.”
I pushed his hand aside. I was more than a little pissed with him, but that
was nothing new. “You can’t talk about me like I’m a piece of meat.
Especially to my father.”
Tony raked his dark locks, the sleeves riding up his muscled forearms.
“It’s just an act, Evie.”
I don’t care . “If you ever want in my pants, you’ll stop being an arrogant
prick.”
“You sure you don’t enjoy my arrogant prick?”
This fucking man .
My contempt for him didn’t prevent his ruggedly handsome face from
sending a flicker of heat through my chest. My gaze wandered over his
wicked mouth, to the soul-deep eyes that flared with amber. He was so
beautiful, so cruel and cunning, his body so strong.
I weakened around him.
I was curious about him.
Every moment with Tony unpeeled a darker layer, and I was desperate to
uncover them all. He’d risked his life for me. He supported my business.
Threatened my father to defend me. He’d done more for me than my own
family, which was a bitter pill to swallow.
What was going on with him?
Tony swept past me to the kitchen, piling frozen peas on his purpled
knuckles. A flicker of the insane adrenaline rush from earlier twinged my
chest.
I approached him like an animal in the wild, not wanting to give him a
reason to bolt, but Tony wasn’t in a hurry to leave. I reached inside his robe,
palms gliding over his chest hair. I pressed down, over the broad panes of
muscle. His eyes glazed over in a fog, but he didn’t pull away. His steady
heartbeat bumped my skin.
“Did you mean what you said to my father?”
He raised his head, unblinking. “No half measures.”
“You’ll get yourself killed for a wife you don’t even want.”
“You’re mine.” He abandoned the ice to grasp my hand. A chill engulfed
my swollen knuckles. “I’ll always protect what’s mine.”
A dark thrill rippled across my body at those untamed words.
I’d stopped craving the man.
I wanted the monster.
OceanofPDF.com
 FIFTEEN

TONY

2 oz blended scotch
1/4 oz amaretto

H ow can I get rid of this feeling ?

That was how my addiction started.
Smoke a joint, and the discomfort disappears. I didn’t take the easy way out
anymore. I was committed to experiencing everything . The restrictions I
placed on myself staved back the cravings. When someone cracked open a
bottle of my favorite prosecco, I imposed an iron will on myself. I would
not bend. I would never be that guy again. It was hard.
Fuck, I struggled. Some days were harder than others.
Today, my thoughts warred against me. They urged me to buy things I
didn’t need for the agony clawing my chest.
Outside a 7-Eleven, a man wearing a hoodie pushed off the wall. His eyes
lit up in vague recognition. He waved.
I floored the gas.
The Godfather . My mind seized on the amber drink. Two ounces blended
scotch or bourbon . One-fourth ounce amaretto. Poured over ice .
I took random turns, diving into unfamiliar neighborhoods until what
haunted me flashed past my window.

EVIE

Jesus Christ .
How did I get here?
No, really. How?
I laughed as I parked the car. My heart pounded as I pictured her inside the
shop, toiling on another piece of jewelry. I felt alive.
Addicted .
Evie was the first spark of life since the night it’d been stolen from me. She
was like those early months of taking heroin, when happiness sat in my
lungs for hours, and I could find beauty in a still frame of a crowded bus
stuck in rush hour traffic.
A tall man in a windbreaker strolled out of my wife’s store. Christian’s
laser-like gaze scanned the road until it found me like a bull’s-eye. He
walked across the street, hood drawn up under the smattering of rain. A
bemused grin touched his lips as he leaned on my car and tapped the glass.
I unrolled the window.
He peeked in, shouting over the storm. “You could walk in there instead of
acting like a cliché in an eighties romantic comedy.”
“Fuck you.”
“You’re like the guy who stalks the girl he’s interested in.” Christian
chuckled as he reached for a cigarette, cupping his hands around the lighter.
“Except this is extra weird because you’re married to her. You have
problems, T.”
I gave him a black look. “You’re watching another man’s wife. We’ve all
got issues.”
“Yeah, but this is on a new level.”
“You talk too much.”
“You ignore your wife.” His expression turned pitying as he blew smoke
from the corner of his mouth. “Anthony, go to her. What are you doing
outside?”
“Being around Evie is like doing heroin ‘only on the weekends.’”
“Right . There’s a word for that.”
Christian’s knowing smile stirred my chest.
I knew what he was getting at. She provoked dangerous impulses inside me.
They had put a man in the hospital with a breathing tube. Zero regrets, but I
hated losing control. I had a bad feeling that she could make me do
anything .
Hell, I’d already let so many things slide. I could’ve chained her to my
penthouse and forced her to stop defying me. Despite my worst instincts, I
just couldn’t do that to her.
Christian tapped the hood. “Tony, you’re obsessed with Evie for a reason.
You’re obviously in love with her.”
Ice twisted through my heart.
“I don’t love her.”
“Don’t you?”
“I’m bending the biker girl to my will.”
“You give her more freedom than I would.”
“I’m her husband. I know what’s best for her. Not you.” It had nothing to do
with catching feelings, and Christian needed to back off. “Watch Lifetime if
you need more relationship drama, and stay out of my business.”
“I’d love to, but I’m around her all day,” he grunted, taking another drag
from the cigarette. “Guess who she wants to talk about?”
Me?
My mouth slackened.
“When is Tony’s birthday ? Where is he ? Why does he ignore me ?”
Christian piped up in falsetto, his mirth gut punching me. “There’s only so
much I can say.”
I cringed.
“Look, T…you’re going to do whatever you want. I don’t expect you to
listen to me, but you should go in there. You should’ve seen her smile when
she got your flowers. She wants you. She misses you. Take her out. Spend
time with her before it’s too late.”
I had to stop listening to Christian.
“I’m keeping a distance.”
“Fine ,” he sighed, roughly. “So you won’t have a problem if I have dinner
with her?”
What the fuck?
I shot him a poisonous glare.
Christian stepped back, hands raised. “She asked if I wanted Thai food.
Seemed pretty sad when I told her no.”
I was out of the car and shoving the bastard aside before he’d finished his
sentence. Then I made a beeline for the store, my teeth clenched. I almost
ripped the door off its hinges, earning a side-eye from the security guard.
I headed into the workshop I hadn’t seen in weeks. She’d added shelving
for her products. Her useless father had finally come through with the
jewelry.
Evie sat at the spinning wheel, polishing a gleaming object. A messy braid
coiled her neck. She switched off the machine and faced me, glowing.
“I got your flowers. They’re beautiful.” Evie bounced off the bench and slid
her arms in my jacket, tightening around me. She squeezed hard, realigning
the heat in my chest. “Thanks.”
My hands splayed over her shoulders. Her warmth braced me for the first
time in ten days. God, I’d needed this. The nagging, annoying ache that’d
bothered me since I left her finally shut the hell up.
I’d missed her.
I’d checked on her from afar. The camera she’d never found gave me
snapshots of my wife, and I made a point of sending her something every
day—flowers, meals, coffee. I needed her to be all right but I’d ignored my
needs for too long.
Holding her soothed me. It loosed the tension knotting my muscles.
She pulled away, beaming. “So what brings you here?”
It took a moment to remember why I’d stormed in here.
“Did you really ask Christian out for dinner?”
Evie snorted. Her smile slowly fell. “Are you being serious?”
“He said you wanted to get Thai with him. I told you I’m not okay with
that.”
“Jesus, Tony. He’s pulling your leg. I’ve had Thai once. Food poisoning. I
puked for twelve hours straight. To this day, I can’t stand coconut.”
Wait, he lied?
I frowned, shaking my head. It made sense when I pictured the bastard’s
smug grin. I wouldn’t visit her, so he made up a cock-and-bull story to light
a fire under my ass. I’d seized the bait like an idiot.
“What is your favorite food, then?”
“Don’t have one. I’ve always been obsessed with Japanese cuisine but it’s
so hard to convince bikers to eat anything that isn’t fried or barbecued.” She
returned to the bench and grabbed a microfiber cloth. “It’s like forcing you
to put ketchup on pasta.”
“I did that as a kid to piss off my mom.” I sat next to Evie as she buffed out
a ring, smirking. “What are you making?”
She shrugged. “Nothing special.”
“Can I see?”
Evie dropped the gold band onto my palm. It was plain, except for the
claws that cradled an empty socket.
“I’m setting it with a gray sapphire. I’ll sell it for two grand.”
“You need to jack up your prices.”
“I’ve studied the market, Tony. I know how much that gem is worth.”
“Yeah, but you’re not a jewel peddler. You’re building a brand.” I held it
close, studying the tiny, pointed nails on the hand. “The price tag is for the
design, not the materials, and everything you make is fucking cool.”
I gave it to her.
Evie’s cheeks bloomed like a sunset on snow. “Have you ever bought
someone jewelry?”
“Another woman, you mean?” I smiled, catching on to her. “I’d pick up
something whenever I was done with a girl. To soften the blow. Always the
same heart-shaped necklace with diamonds.”
She looked pained. “Oh, Tony .”
“What? Isn’t that better than ghosting?”
“Heart-shaped jewelry is an insult. That definitely wouldn’t work on me.”
“If I wanted you hurting for me, I’d get you a pretty rock. An emerald. A
yellow diamond.” I slipped it from my jacket. “Maybe…an opal.”
My palm opened around dark, jagged glass, the surface sparkling with
swaths of green, red, orange, and blue. Evie ripped it from my hands and let
out a strangled gasp.
“When did you get this? ”
I shrugged.
Evie dashed to the bench. Shaking, she fitting the scope to her eye and
peered at the gem.
“This is the largest uncut black opal I’ve ever seen. Do you have any idea…
do you have any freaking clue how much this is worth?”
“It’s expensive? I’ve used it as a paperweight for years.”
“Funny guy,” she choked, not sounding amused. “Where did you get it?”
“I bought it a long time ago. It was a stupid, impulsive thing.” I did it while
high, but we’ll leave that out of the story . “It’s collected dust in a safe ever
since. I figured you’d like it.”
I didn’t give a damn about rocks. What made them valuable to me was that
she loved them.
Evie fisted the gemstone. “What do you want in return?”
“Make something beautiful with it.”
Doubt flickered in her gaze. “What else?”
“Make sure you tag me on social media.”
“Stop kidding around. This is worth millions.”
“When have I not been generous with you?”
Evie seemed to cycle through a myriad of emotions—indignation, shock,
awe, denial . “You thought this would be the easiest way into my pants?”
I clenched my mouth tighter.
This was my fault. I was an asshole who only showed up to get off, so she
assumed I was here to collect.
“That’s right. I’m here to get my dick greased and it’s been a month since I
fulfilled my obligation to you.”
Evie took a step forward, her voice rising. “You mean humiliating me in
front of strangers?”
“Filling you with my cum.”
Intensity flared through her stare. Evie’s lips pressed together in a wavering
smile. She hesitated, shaking her head, and then her fingers flew down her
blouse, unbuttoning. Her cleavage flashed through, blinding me with
arousal.
My cock swelled.
“What are you doing?”
Evie gave me a quizzical look, the white light from the giant windows
framing her innocence with a beauty that stuck in my chest. She peeled the
plaid shirt from her smooth shoulders. My thoughts stalled when it fell off
her slim body.
My heartbeat pulsed wildly.
She reached behind, struggling with the bra clasp. I strode closer and undid
it. My palms moistened as they stroked her naked back. Stunned, I held her
as she fumbled with her belt. I wasn’t here for that but when she offered
herself so freely…how could I resist?
My lips parted. The words Evie, don’t froze in my lungs.
I didn’t want her to stop.
But I had to. “Evie, I—”
“Fuck me,” she said, making my mouth water. “But don’t expect me to ever
love you.”
“I don’t care about love.”
“I know.”
The lie crumbled like ashes, the desolation in her voice stinging me with
regret. I almost told her the truth—that I admired her above everyone and I
had no intention of divorcing her.
Then she unzipped her pants.
My hands were on her ass, helping her push the jeans down before I
stopped myself. Drunk on her scent, the softness of her skin, I stepped back.
“Evie, you don’t—we don’t have to do this.”
She either ignored me or flat out wasn’t listening. She shimmied from her
panties, revealing her freshly shaved pussy and the rest of her gorgeous
body.
My dick throbbed so hard it hurt, and the frustration rushed to my jaw. I
wasn’t blind to my attraction to her. Giving her a million-dollar rock was
the sort of desperation I’d mocked in other men, but it was a gift. I expected
nothing. I just wanted her to shine as brilliantly as the gems she obsessed
over.
Evie glared as ferociously as she could while naked. “Get it over with so we
can go back to ignoring each other.”
My throat tightened.
I ignored her?
I spent hours poring over the cameras before she’d disabled most of them. I
visited the apartment when she was gone. Touched her things. Bought her
more sketch pads when she ran low. I sent her pastries from my favorite
bakery.
“Evie, for the last time,” I forced myself to meet her eyes and took her face,
my thundering pulse drowning out my voice, “I’m not fucking you here.”
Yet, confronted with her nakedness, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
She was the single most fuckable woman I’d ever seen with those teardrop
breasts. Her tanned skin extended all the way to her nipples. With that dark
hair, she could’ve been a girl from Sicily. She wasn’t Italian, but the fact
she resembled the girls denied to me my whole life hardened my cock into
steel.
My dad wanted me to date princesses. Debutantes. Blonde, high-
maintenance trophy wives bred into high society, the polar opposite of my
unrefined wife who drank Budweiser, wore cut-offs, and worked gold into
masterpieces. She was better than all of them combined. She impressed me.
She challenged me. She feared nothing.
Evie’s stare drilled me. I’d never known a woman whose glare could make
me feel like a chump. “Do what you came here to do, and then take your
fucking rock when you leave.”
Now you hate it?
She confused the shit out of me, but I was too aware of her nakedness and
the taste of her honeyed cunt. Evie pulled away, wearing that damnable
smirk. I buried a hand in her hair and slammed my lips into hers. I plastered
her curvy body to the wall, swallowing her gasp.
“You’re taking the opal.”
“I don’t want it.”
Like hell . “For Christ’s sake. It’s not a bribe. I knew you’d like it. I wanted
you to have it.”
“Why?”
“You love everything about jewelry.” My hands fell from her face, and I
backed off so that her enticing scent no longer assaulted my senses. “What,
the girl with the hard-on for gratitude has none for her husband?”
Evie flinched, her steel mask flickering. Then she crossed her arms over her
breasts.
Unbelievable .
What did this woman want from me?
I let her get away with murder. I paid her bills. I kept her safe. I sacrificed
my sanity to make her happy.
None of it worked.
Why wasn’t she falling to her knees and thanking me? I’m grateful he’ll
never love me. I’m grateful he gives me plenty of space. I’m grateful he
doesn’t hit me.
Heaviness centered on my chest.
Perhaps I’d always be a monster to her—a man she’d been forced to marry
who only cared about getting his dick wet.
Evie’s touch wandered down my abdomen and across my belt. She made
quick work of it, tossing it aside. She filled my belly with fire as she
unbuttoned my slacks.
She grabbed my erection.
My breathing hitched. I thickened in her gentle grip. I caught her by the hair
and kissed her. We exchanged sloppy, hot kisses, our energy frenzied. I
turned her around and shoved her over the desk. Stood between her legs. I
fisted my cock, my heartbeat throbbing beneath my fingers.
I could pull out.
I wanted to slap myself. I was going on thirty-eight but apparently, my cock
still had the logic of a teenage boy.
You will get her knocked up.
With child.
Pregnant .
Fuck, but it felt so good. A jolt zapped into me as my cock touched her
silken entrance. I slid my shaft along her folds. My head nudged her. I
retreated then dipped into the molten heat, barely enough to call it inside.
I almost seized her hips.
Stop, you moron .
Not like this .
I pulled away. I pictured things that’d kill my boner. None of them worked.
My cock stabbed the air, glistening with the tease of pussy.
“Evie . Turn around, baby.”
She did, her cheeks flushed.
The sight of her natural, plump tits and her hips opening wide stole my
breath. It took an effort to kneel, and then I grasped her panties. Slowly, I
moved them up her legs. Her velvety skin tempted me something fierce,
and I could not stop touching. My gaze snapped up, colliding with her
pussy.
Well, damn .
A taste wouldn’t hurt.
My throat tightened as I leaned forward. I wedged my thumbs on either side
of her cunt. Then I pulled her lips apart. Wet and wanting. So fucking hot. I
kissed where she blushed.
Evie whimpered, the delicious sound tightening my balls.
Encouraged, I flicked my tongue into her wetness. Her body stiffened at
first, but gradually she loosened and spread her thighs wider, allowing me
deeper. As I fought against her tight pussy, my slacks bulged with my
erection. The thought of plunging my cock inside her tingled my balls.
“I didn’t come here to do this, but you’re making me eat my goddamn
words.” I laughed at my stupid joke and kissed her swollen clit. “I can
barely think straight. Everything is a roar in my head, except this one loud
voice that’s ordering me to fuck you. That doesn’t make me a bastard, Evie.
Especially when you rip off your clothes and taunt me with your perfect
body.”
My tongue delved into her, and I lapped up her sweet arousal. Her grip
tightened on my hair. She stilled and seemed to hold her breath. The sounds
of my eager mouth filled the air.
Evie let out a raspy moan that twitched my cock.
“Ohmigod .”
“That’s it. Lose yourself. Ride my face until you come.”
Evie’s breathing grew ragged. A whine burst from her lips when I stuck in
my tongue as far as it’d go. Her arousal slipped down my tongue, and I
drank every drop, yanking apart her clenched thighs. Evie seemed to lose
her strength. She held on to the wooden counter, eyes shut.
“F—fuck. You feel so amazing. I—” Evie trailed off, her fingers diving into
my hair. “No…no, I’m supposed to be mad at you.”
“Then be mad, baby.”
She moaned. “Fuck you.”
I cracked my palm over her ass. “What’s that?”
She dug into my scalp. “I—I said, fuck you .”
I lifted her by her ass cheeks, her stomach pressed to my face. I kissed the
velvety-soft skin as I laid her over the table scattered with sketches,
displaying her to glass windows. I parted her legs and pushed my head
between them, my tongue stroking her pussy before stabbing inside. I licked
and sucked her clit, ramming into her tight bud. Evie writhed and utter sexy,
female high-pitched groans.
Her hips rocked as I ate her out. Her thighs tightened on my face. She
sighed, abandoning herself to pleasure as she gave rush hour traffic quite
the show. Her hips chased my tongue, her pebbled nipples gliding under my
hands. I swirled and flicked her clit, stopping her from climaxing to nip her
thigh when she was close.
Five minutes later, I decided she could come. I closed my mouth on her and
sucked.
A spasm rippled through her leg. She burst with a cry. She clenched around
my face as her orgasm ripped through her and dug her heel in my head.
Once she slumped over, chest heaving, I helped her off the table. I knelt and
grabbed her panties and jeans, yanking them over her hips. Then I dressed.
I’d have to jump into a freezing shower the second I got home.
“Let’s get going.”
“Where?”
“Home, and then out to dinner.”
“Not Sanctum.”
“No. Somewhere nice.” I grasped her chin, and her grin curved into my
fingers. “Would you like that?”
Her eyes gleamed. She seemed halfway between tears and joy. Maybe Evie
wasn’t crazy for listing every amenity—even hot water—in that journal.
How would she react to the really good shit?
Evie nodded.
“I’ll wait for you outside.”
Later, I hooked Evie’s arm and we walked into the rain-free night. Christian
grinned like he swallowed a flight of canaries. He gave me a thumbs-up.
I flipped him off.
Evie’s smile made me feel like I’d scaled Mt. Everest. “It’s hard to know
when to stop fighting you.”
“Never.”
“Seems like a long time.”
“The moment you stop is when you lose—your life, your innocence,
everything.”
“It’s mine to lose,” she countered as we strolled to my car. “And that’s not
what scares you.”
I opened the door. “I don’t let myself get scared.”
“Then why do you fight me so hard?” She stood still, her soft eyes melting.
“What do you think might happen if I win?”
“Impossible.”
“You better hope so…because I don’t think you’re ready to face what you
might gain if I win.”
“And what’s that?”
“A life. A family.” Her eyebrow arched. “Forgiveness?”
“Nothing that I deserve.”
Her hand touched mine gently, a soft flicker of hope in a cold night. “But
it’s the only reason I keep fighting.”
OceanofPDF.com
 SIXTEEN

EVIE

I’m grateful my husband can wield chopsticks.

W as this a date ?

It felt like one, with the dimmed lighting, the place settings, and the jitters
turning my stomach.
Tony took me to a Michelin-star Japanese restaurant in the Leather District.
I’d been dying to go to ever since Christian showed me photos of the food.
We relaxed in a gracious room with a long counter topped with satiny
wood. Behind the sushi bar, golden lights illuminated a warm brick wall.
Small tables filled the other side.
Everything was perfect, especially Tony, ridiculously sexy in a white shirt
and pair of slate dress pants that hugged his dense frame. His tousled black
hair caressed his forehead with a casual grace that should’ve been made
illegal.
Slivers of meat sat on balls of rice. They didn’t serve utensils, and I
couldn’t be the only person who was hopeless with chopsticks.
My chopsticks scissored. Bits of rice and fish flew across the table, slapping
the floor. Mortified, I covered my mouth.
“Oh my God. I’m awful.”
“Yeah, they ought to lock you up. Throwing four-dollar sashimi on the
ground is criminal.”
“You’re making me feel bad!”
Tony’s smile teased warmth in my cheeks. He put another piece on my
plate. “Try again.”
I did, mauling the sushi. “How do people eat with these?”
“The same way you use a fork. It’s not hard.”
“Says you. The only chopsticks I’ve ever used are the crappy wooden ones
from takeout, and we always threw them out.”
Using his, he seized a single grain of rice and ate it.
I laughed. “Showoff.”
“I have to. I don’t have enough redeeming qualities.” He grasped my wrist,
stopping me from mangling the sushi any further. “Here. Let me do it.”
“You’re feeding me?”
“No other choice.” He plucked the ball of rice and held it to my lips.
“Open.”
Tingling swept up the back of my neck at the intimate gesture. I imagined
him doing this at our wedding. The hope that’d crashed and died on that
night rekindled into a low, burning flame. I schooled my thoughts, forcing
myself to stay calm.
It doesn’t mean anything .
“Open up,” he prompted.
Feeling foolish, I obeyed.
Tony pushed the roll into my mouth, grinning. “Look at that, I’m feeding
you. I guess we can get along.”
I closed my lips around slightly vinegary rice, biting into the red meat.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t fishy. Salt rolled over my tongue, mingling with a
buttery flavor.
Tony picked up another piece.
“You can’t do this for the whole plate.”
“I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”
“Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“This doesn’t even rank in my top one hundred most shameful things I’ve
ever done. If you’d known me a few years ago, you’d understand why. Do
you like wasabi?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s Japanese horseradish.” He poked at a greenish lump beside the sushi.
“Very potent. I’m not a huge fan. I think it overpowers the fish.”
“Don’t you want it to?”
“If your fish smells bad, you should run in the opposite direction. In
general, all you need is a kiss of soy sauce.” He dabbed the white meat with
silvery scales in the dark liquid. “This is yellowtail.”
He fed it to me.
I chewed, finding it milder than the tuna. Delicious . Savory and clean. The
meat fell apart, dissolving just as easily as the rice. I grabbed another with
my fingers and popped it in my mouth. I got too excited and sauce dripped
down my lip.
Tony leaned forward. His full mouth pressed into mine. Then he flicked his
tongue across my lip, catching that wayward drop. We exchanged kisses
over the table like two kids at prom. The hardness of his kiss, his complete
lack of self-awareness, the utter abandonment of giving a fuck left me
burning.
I could’ve jumped him right there.
I closed my eyes, relishing in the flavors of savory decadence and Tony’s
sweet mouth. “This is the best damned restaurant I’ve ever been to.”
He made a deeply satisfied sound.
“Yeah, I’m enjoying myself, too.”
My eyes flew open to Tony’s gentle smile as more sashimi prodded my lips.
I ate, trying to conceal my shock. The fact he was totally into this stunned
me. I assumed a man like him wouldn’t be caught dead hand-feeding his
wife.
“I can eat on my own, you know.”
“And yet, you keep opening wide for me.” Tony quickly shoved a ball of
rice in his mouth. “Makes a man wonder what else you’ll do in a crowded
restaurant.”
“Don’t push it.”
He scooted his chair back and patted his leg.
He wanted me on his lap?
I gaped at him. “Are you crazy?”
“Are you that scared of PDA?”
“No, but…this is a nice place. They’ll kick us out if I sit on you.”
I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation with Tony Costa, scourge
of the Boston underworld.
“Only if we do naughty things, and I don’t plan on it.” Tony gave me a half-
cocked smirk I didn’t entirely trust. “Come on. Indulge me.”
Fine. Jesus .
My neck and face went up in flames as I stood. Tony grabbed my waist
before I changed my mind and pulled me down. My ass hit his muscled
thighs with a satisfying thump.
“What’s your second best?” he demanded.
I blinked. “My what?”
“Your second favorite restaurant.”
“Oh. Um, my cousin and I went to P.F. Chang’s a couple times.”
Tony’s gaze twinkled with laughter. “There’s better out there.”
No kidding .
“I’ve always known that. I used to have this awful feeling in my chest. I
knew I was being cheated with all the grocery store prepared crap, but I
dealt with it. I was grateful.”
“We cope in different ways.” He grasped a ceramic carafe and poured hot
liquid into a cup. “I recite cocktail recipes in my head. The repetition helps
snap me out of it.”
“Isn’t that counterintuitive with your addiction?”
“Maybe, but it works.” He shrugged, nudging the cup toward me. “Try this.
You might like it.”
Heat tingled my cheeks as I sipped the warm spirits. I scrunched my nose.
“It’s…okay. Kind of like vodka.”
Vague amusement lit up his face as I pushed it aside.
“It’s sake. I guess it’s not for everyone.”
“Is it difficult for you to resist alcohol?”
“Sometimes. But I’ve learned the hard way that me and booze don’t mix.”
Tony’s arms circled my waist and tightened. His attention flicked to the
door, the windows, like a big cat scouting for prey.
“You seem on edge.”
Tony swiped his glass and downed his seltzer. “I don’t go out much.”
Since my club kidnapped and tortured you .
Nausea twisted my stomach. “Because of what they did to you?”
“Because I get nothing out of it. I’ve been to every restaurant, club, or bar
you can think of. I’ve partied enough to last five lifetimes. I’m done with it
all.” He casually stroked my thigh, the contact white-hot, and kissed my
neck. “Don’t worry. Wining and dining my wife doesn’t count.”
Good .
I sipped the sake even though I wasn’t wild about the flavor, just to settle
my nerves. Sitting on Tony’s lap, being held, and his deep voice booming
through my back had overloaded my system. I wracked my brains for a
subject to talk about.
“Did your dad expect you to succeed him as boss?”
He snorted. “He didn’t want me involved in the mafia, period.”
Really? That surprised me, considering he was the only son of the late Nico
Costa.
“Even my father forces me to launder diamonds.”
“Not mine. He wanted more from me.”
“Like what?”
“So many things. I had to be perfect. I had to be the best . He filled me with
so much hot air that I was so empty. I still am.” He released a sigh that
sucked in my body. “I wasn’t always like this, Evie. My dad tried so hard. I
went to dance classes, elocution lessons, luncheons with high society, riding
lessons. He saw me as an Italian Jay Gatsby, a refined, white-collar
criminal, a gentleman . He was hell bent on me marrying a princess.”
“You didn’t want a princess, I take it?”
“God no.”
I pictured an adolescent Tony pouting in riding breeches and smiled.
“I could see you rebelling.”
“Yeah, I went overboard with that. Couldn’t help it, though. Every second
of my day was scheduled. By the time I got into an Ivy League, I was burnt
out. Tired . I needed an escape, so I started smoking weed. You can guess
how well that went.”
Tony kissed the back of my neck, as though he sensed my sinking heart.
“I never liked myself, Evie,” he said after a moment of silence. “I was an
entitled bastard, a drug-addicted mess, a selfish jackass who screwed
everybody over. Now I’m sober. I pay my bills. I behave myself at social
functions. My family thinks I’m reformed, but they have no fucking idea…
how ruined I am. I’m worse. I’m just trying to not be condemned to the
hottest circle of hell.” He squeezed my palm, the fervor in his glare
growing. “I won’t let the MC do that to you, too.”
Alarm rippled down my spine.
Tony and I finished the meal without saying another word. He paid for
dinner, and I slid off his lap, grateful to be free from his intoxicating
warmth. Tony looped his arm around my waist and gently escorted me to
the car.
The secret, whatever it was, weighed the air. I didn’t want to break the
silence with changing the subject. I hoped he’d confide in me once we got
inside the penthouse. He still hadn’t told me the whole story. It ate at me as
we took the elevator together, but Tony seemed happier than I’d ever seen
him.
He caught my eye and smiled. “Want an espresso?”
“Sorry, what?”
“Coffee. Italians drink espressos after dinner.”
“Doesn’t that keep you up all night?”
“Not if you make it right. There’s not as much caffeine in an espresso as
drip coffee.” The elevator doors opened into the penthouse. We stepped out,
his palm at the small of my back.
My face tingled with heat.
“I mean, sure. I’d love that, but I thought it was a trigger for you.”
“Nah. I’ll be fine.”
Tony rifled through the cupboards and wrestled a giant, stainless steel
machine out, his biceps bulging as he heaved it over the counter.
“Geez, that thing makes coffee? It looks like a spaceship.”
He grinned as he grabbed a microfiber towel and polished its surface. Then
he seized a bag of beans and grinder from the shelf I couldn’t reach.
I gasped, scandalized. “You had it up there the entire time ?”
“Yeah. Couldn’t get rid of it.”
I swelled like a bullfrog. “Mangiare un cazzeruole! ”
Translation: Eat dick .
I’d been waiting all day to use it on him, but Google Translate must’ve
fucked me over. Surprise flickered across Tony’s olive-skinned face.
“Sorry, what?”
Crap .
I butchered it. Was my accent that bad?
“Mangiare una cazzarola! ” I growled, as Tony began to smirk.
“Cazzarola! Shit. I’m not saying it right, am I?”
A wide grin shattered his grim expression. Then he broke into full-hearted
laughter. It was marvelous, transformative. He was like a completely
different person, decades younger.
“Eat a casserole?” he choked out. “What the fuck . What are you trying to
say?”
Heat stole into my cheeks. “Eat a dick?”
“That’s not how you say it,” he snorted, recovering slightly. “Like not even
close. Dick is cazzo , not casseroula .”
“Mangia un cazzo ?”
“No. God, no. That’s still not—” His voice boomed to the ceiling as he lost
it. “Jesus. Stop before you kill me.”
His levity shivered through my body, the sound so joyful and light I
couldn’t help but join him. He bit his lip, grinning hard. His eyes sparkled.
There was a depth to his smile that had been missing for way too long.
I had to hear him laugh again.
“Well, I thought I was telling you off! Christian told me what cazzo meant,
so I thought figuring it out on my own would be easy.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I prefer talented and witty.”
He scooped me into his arms and kissed my head. “You want to learn
Italian? Why?”
“I don’t know.” My heart hammered foolishly. “It’s kind of beautiful, but
mostly I just can’t stand not understanding what Christian says when he’s
on the phone. He tells me things sometimes.”
“My dad would’ve liked you.”
Tony brushed hair from my cheek. I tried to ignore the strange aching in my
limbs, struck dumb by his words.
“Look at me,” he commanded.
I swallowed my anxiety and obeyed. It wasn’t easy. Tony was the sort of
man who could hold someone’s gaze without flinching or looking away.
“Screw Christian. I’ll teach you Italian.”
My face flushed under his stare. “How do you say ‘fuck off’?”
“Vaffanculo .”
“Vaffagool.”
“Close enough.” His gorgeous smile reappeared, and a knot rose in my
throat. “And if you hate someone and want to tell them off real fucking
good, you say this: Resta con me per sempre .”
“I sense a lie.”
His devilish smirk widened.
“How did you learn Italian?”
“My parents spoke it at home. I learned English outside and took language
classes every Sunday until I was seventeen. That and Bible study.” He
rolled his eyes hard. “I hated it so much.”
“I can’t imagine a less Godly person.”
He made an amused sound. “You and me both, babe.”
I couldn’t believe all the things he’d told me tonight. Rare was the man who
talked about his flaws so openly. His raw honesty made me want to give
something back, but Tony’s soft voice yanked me out of my jumbled
thoughts.
“It does something to me. Right here.” He tapped his chest. “When you
look at me with those innocent eyes and speak in broken Italian.”
The pit of my stomach churned. Then he kissed my cheek, heat flaring
across my skin. Somehow, this chaste peck was more intense than anything
he’d done at Sanctum. The sparkling conversation and raging sexual tension
had fired me up and the night could only end one way—in the bedroom. He
still hadn’t taken my virginity.
Now was the perfect time.
Tony rubbed my back and returned to the machine. He packed it with coffee
grinds and flipped a switch.
“Why is the cup so tiny?”
“That’s how it’s served.”
“Huh. Can you do a cappuccino instead?”
“Sure.” As the dark liquid poured from the spout, he grabbed a carton from
the fridge. He steamed the milk, slowly adding it into the cup. He pushed
the drink into my hands.
I smiled at the floating heart pattern in my mug. I fought an impulse to take
a photo, to guard the proof that Tony could be sweet when he wanted to be.
“Thank you.” I sipped, my toes curling with pleasure. “Oh, that’s amazing.”
“My mother would disown me if I couldn’t make decent coffee.” His
pocket rang as he sat beside me on the living room couch. He pulled out his
phone. His smile flattened to a grim line as he pocketed his cell. “Listen, I
had a great time but I have to go.”
“Did I say something?”
Boy, I was hurt.
“No, hon.” His cup clinked against the dish as he set it down, and then he
scooped my face in his hands. “There’s nothing to get upset over. It’s just
work. You believe me, don’t you?”
I guess.
His forehead touched mine. He kissed my temple, cheek, and mouth, so soft
he was barely there.
I followed him to the door like a cloud, dancing in the air. I held onto that
feeling like a shining soap bubble rising toward a nail-covered ceiling.
OceanofPDF.com
 SEVENTEEN

EVIE

I’m grateful that my husband hates family gatherings.

I stood in a suburban backyard packed with members of Tony’s family.

They seemed like warm, well-meaning people, fooled by Tony’s put-
together charade of a freshly pressed shirt, teased waves, and sardonic
smile.
A beautiful, statuesque woman in a flowing orange and pink skirt picked
her way across the lawn, her ebony hair piled on her head.
My jaw dropped.
Carmela .
“Anthony, want something to drink?” her cheerful voice chimed as she
pulled him into a tight hug. “Seltzer?”
“No thanks.”
She peered at me, frowning. “Evie, would you like anything?”
“I’m good, thank you.”
I couldn’t help but notice that her lips pursed. She did not like me. Tony
forced a grin, but it dissolved as soon as Carmela’s back turned.
“You know her, don’t you?”
I nodded, flushing.
It raised goosebumps on my neck to see Carmela. Everybody knew about
Crash’s old lady, the Italian princess stolen from her mafioso fiancé. She
showed up on the back of his bike. At the time, I’d thought it incredibly
romantic. Star-crossed lovers, and all that.
My stomach twisted.
“I-I saw her sometimes. She was Crash’s old lady.” I grew hot under Tony’s
accusing glare. “I mean, he called her that, but who knows.”
“He took her against her fucking will.”
“I know. I mean, I heard he did terrible things but I never saw anything. I’m
glad she’s all right.”
Hollowness gaped from his unspeaking eyes.
Ice rolled down my spine. I wished I hadn’t brought it up. Clearly, it was a
sore subject for him. The ache in my chest pulsed angrily. A week had
passed without my husband whispering sweet nothings in my ear.
The distance bugged me.
I was lonely. I was constantly frustrated. Jennesy came over to my house
twice, but nothing made up for the fact that my husband avoided me. Was
the date an act to placate the wife? Was he never going to hold me like he
did that night?
“Tony, why are we here?”
“Sunday dinner.”
I glanced at my watch. “But it’s three-thirty.”
“It’s an all-day thing.” He sighed heavily. “A waste of my damned time.”
“Well, thanks.”
“I didn’t mean it like that, hon.” He lightly grasped my hand, and the
gesture jolted my heart. “How have you been?”
I met his gaze and shrugged.
“I know I haven’t been around. I’ve been busy. I would’ve skipped this but
Vinn is on my ass, and my mom’s coming over.” He gave me a meaningful
look. “She has a talent for reducing grown women to tears.”
“Ah. So that’s where he gets it.”
His chest expanded under his shirt. “How do you brush off everything I
do?”
“You need a crash course in what marriage in the twentieth century is like,
but I’m not losing sleep over you.”
Because I’m back in denial .
He’d filled my life with stuff, and I thought it’d make me happy, but at the
end of the day, I just wanted my husband to love me.
Tony peeked into the house. “My mother’s here.”
“I’m surprised a guy like you can’t blow off your mom.”
“Italian moms are not easily blown off.” Tony dragged me out of sight of
the windows, his tone extremely tense. “She’s waited her whole life for me
to marry, and now that I have? She expects kids. She’ll grill you.”
“So? She seemed fine at the wedding.”
“She was faking it, darling. We’ll leave as soon as we can.”
“First, do something for me.” I could practically hear his mind whirring as I
linked my arm with his. “Name five things you’re grateful for.”
“Why?”
“Just give it a try.”
Tony considered me, a storm brewing in his expression. “I’m grateful I’m
free, that I don’t have to hurt people anymore, and that I have a family that
fucks me over and forces me to marry. I’m grateful for your tight virgin
pussy. I’m thankful that you don’t know anything about what I did in the
past or you’d never get so fucking wet for me. And I’m grateful that you are
always trying to see the good in me. You’re a much better person than I’ll
ever be.”
“See? That wasn’t so hard.”
Heat clawed my skin as his hands skimmed my waist. He took my hip,
sliding under the flared shirt to stroke me. I swallowed hard, stunned by the
impact of his gentle grip. As I let him escort us inside, electricity zipped up
my elbow.
He brought us into the giant living room filled with feminine furniture.
Isabella Costa was tall and graceful. She had a wealth of dark hair, like
shining black glass, and it sat on her dainty shoulders. Her generous lips
pulled over even teeth. She broadcast a regal beauty that seemed to shine
through Tony’s eyes, mouth, and nose because he resembled her so much.
A beautiful smile hitched on Tony’s face. She offered her cheek to him, and
Tony kissed it dutifully.
“How are you, Mom?”
“Good, good. I finally get to see you.” She beamed. “My handsome man.
You look so happy.”
“Thanks, Mom. I am.”
“Why is this wrinkled?” she demanded, fingering a nonexistent crease on
his shirt. “Doesn’t your wife know how to iron?”
She does not .
“Yes, of course.” Tony flung a protective arm around me. “Would’ve seen
you sooner, but...newlywed bliss.”
Tony’s adoring gaze swept over me. Paired with his breathtaking grin, it
was quite the gut-punch.
“You okay, baby? Cold?”
I nodded, grateful for the excuse.
His warmth had shattered my balance and short-circuited my thoughts.
Wool glided over my back as he slid his jacket over me. My hands dove
into his pockets, fiddling with crumpled papers.
“Are you pregnant yet?”
Isabella’s demanding tone dragged my attention to the conversation. My
heart pounded. I clearly wasn’t her first, second, or third choice to marry
her darling son.
“We’re trying.”
“Anthony, you need to take this seriously.” A dangerous edge grew in her
voice. “I’m not getting any younger, and I’d like to meet my grandbabies.”
Wow .
Mother-in-law was swinging with both fists in the baby argument, which
seemed to thrill Tony. His reluctance to tell her off amused me.
I promised I’d behave, but the lure was too strong.
“She’s right, honey.” I plastered my hand on his chest and pouted. “We
should really see a fertility doctor. You don’t want to be in your forties
when the baby comes. Or your sixties when the kid turns twenty.”
“I agree, Anthony.”
A muscle jumped in his jaw. “I’ll get on that.”
“You will.” Isabella growled like he’d ruined the party by pissing in the
pool. “You are not ruining this girl’s chance to have children.”
“Ignore him,” I cut across Tony, grabbing her arm. “The way we’re going at
it, it won’t be a problem. You’ll have a grandkid before next Easter.”
The air echoed with Isabella’s tinkling laughter. Suddenly, her tigress
energy zeroed in on me. Mother-in-law officially scared me more than her
son.
“Anthony, may I have a moment alone with Evie?”
Here we go , said Tony’s pained expression. He faced his mother,
glowering.
“You will not upset my wife.”
“Yes, caro mio . I promise.” Her lips smoothed into an unconvincing
harmless smile. “I’ll return Evie in one piece.”
“Be nice, Mom. I like her.”
“Of course.”
He went outside, throwing me a black look.
Isabella evaluated me with an intensity that rivaled her son’s, and then she
smiled.
“Anthony should’ve married ten years ago, but he’s like his dad. Stubborn
and independent. A marriage with him won’t be easy.” She picked lint off
my dress. “You need to hold a gun to his head to get him to do anything.”
Tell me about it . “I’ve seen that side of him.”
“So you know how difficult he is.”
Psychotic, yes . “I can handle him.”
“I think so, too,” she agreed, astonishing me. “My boy has never had the
patience for high-society women. Nico set him up with debutantes.
Princesses. Soft girls. Anthony sent them home crying. He needs someone
strong who won’t put up with his nonsense.”
She stared at me pointedly.
My jaw dropped.
A pep talk from my mother-in-law seemed wrong . Wrong that it came from
her, and that I’d absorbed her encouragement like a flower desperate for
water.
“I know he’s challenging. Believe me. I spent most of his life trying to fix
him. Therapy. Rehab. Nico and I did everything. You can’t force him to do
what you want, but you can convince him.”
“How?”
“By making him fall in love with you.”
Tony?
A laugh broke through my clenched lips. “That’s not in the cards for us.”
“It is. You’ll see.”
I gave her a bleak smile. “I don’t think he likes me.”
“Honey, if he didn’t he wouldn’t work so hard to hide you from me.” She
cupped my face, her expression solemn. “And now I know why. I never
cared for the girls Anthony brought over, but I like you.”
I gaped at her, my insides frozen.
“He’s told me all about you…about your business. He showed me your
jewelry. I’m not easily impressed, Evie. You’re exactly what he needs, even
if he can’t admit that yet.”
“Wow, thank you. I’m flattered, but...” I glanced at Tony, who stood behind
the door, frowning. “I can’t get him to open up to me.”
“He’s still angry with your family. Right now, that’s stronger than any
feelings he has for you, but that will change. He’s always had a big heart.
It’s just wounded. My son is not a monster.”
The dying light in my heart flickered to life.
“Love him,” she urged me. “Accept him. And he’ll return it to you tenfold. I
promise.”
I wanted to thank her, but my eyes welled as she stroked my hair. A
memory of my mother’s warmth assaulted me, and my body trembled.
Don’t fucking cry .
She kissed my cheek. “My son will pass you my number. Call me anytime.”
“I-I will.”
She gave me a fierce hug.
I clung to her shoulders, bewildered by her aggressive kindness. When she
pulled away, my vision was glassy. I sank onto a couch and bit my tongue.
The sliding door opened and closed.
Cold wrapped my limbs. I held her words close to my chest, huddling
around them like a candle, until Tony’s presence melted it completely.
“Jesus Christ.” Tony rolled his palm over my shoulder and squeezed.
“Mom’s going for the Guinness Book World of records.”
Heaviness centered on my chest.
Tony sighed heavily, sinking into the seat beside mine. “She promised she’d
be nice.”
“She was, actually.”
“Yeah, right. What the hell did she say?”
“Don’t you wish you knew?”
Tony leaned in, his thick brows creased as he scanned my face. “You
probably shouldn’t have egged her on about kids. You can expect her to call
and text you for updates.”
“We should talk about it, Tony.” My hands fidgeted in my lap. “You haven’t
—we haven’t tried for a baby.”
Tony said nothing for a while. “Is that what you want, a baby with a man
you barely know?”
No, but once I realized my fiancé was hotter than ninety percent of the male
population, I’d fantasized about him. I pictured him throwing me over his
shoulder and tossing me on the bed. I thought he’d glimpsed me
somewhere, and had to have me.
It explained all the weird shit in the prenup, and there was something
obscenely hot about a man determined to seed me with his DNA. I assumed
he wanted a family with me. Reality had been a major disappointment.
I stole a glance at Tony, who massaged his temples. “We have to decide
what we’re doing.”
“You’re Mrs. Costa until the day you die.”
A flood of relief surged through my veins. “Well…then we really should try
for a baby. You don’t have time, and I definitely want kids.”
“Well, I don’t.”
My insides froze. “Why not?”
“Because,” he exhaled hoarsely. “I’m a drug addict who’s never had his feet
on solid ground. I have no interest in continuing my legacy. I can’t take care
of anyone.”
“You’re taking care of me.”
“That’s not the fucking same, and you know it.” He released a frustrated
sigh. “I’m not a good father figure.”
“That’s not true. You’re complicated. Snarky. Tense, at times, but mostly,
you’re just a man. A flawed man. So what? We’re all carrying some kind of
baggage.”
“Compared to the guys in the MC, I’m sure I’ll be father of the year.”
“You don’t have to mock them to make your point,” I hissed, annoyed with
him. “And you were willing to go further at Sanctum. You shoved your cum
inside me, remember? You realize I’m not on birth control, right?”
“And that makes you think I’m a sane, rational man? That I could shoulder
responsibility? I can’t even deny my instincts with you.” Tony shook his
head, wearing a grim smile. “We’re never having kids, Evie.”
“But the prenup—”
“I don’t care what a piece of paper says. I would rather lose half my net
worth than be a parent. So if you had your heart set on having them with
me, I’m sorry. It’s not happening.”
“You don’t want kids, so I can’t have them?”
“You’re welcome to find a donor at a sperm bank. I will set you up with
enough money so you and the kid are taken care of. They’ll have my last
name, but I will not be involved in their life.”
The hurt was swift and brutal. That ripped open something vulnerable I
never knew I had.
He never wanted children with me?
Was my DNA not good enough for him?
A glance at his hard mouth confirmed my suspicions. The blow crushed me.
He rejected what my body could give him just because it came from me. I
couldn’t take any more heartache. My throat closed up. I rose from the
couch, bristling.
Tony’s glare softened. “Evie, I’m—”
“You’re the last man I fucking wanted! I still said yes.” My shouting burst
to the ceiling as Tony’s offending hands gripped me. “Dad made it sound
like you picked me to be the mother of your kids. I thought it was disturbing
but sweet. Like you couldn’t get me out of your mind.”
I trembled as people faced us, but the humiliation of his family listening in
on my meltdown was second to his behavior.
“I said yes, you selfish bastard, because I assumed you were serious about
building a life with me …but you’re not interested in that. You would rather
cut off your nose to spite your face.”
Anguish flashed across Tony. His pained stare dove into me.
I’m done .
I ripped away from him and shot outside, running through the garden-side
exit. My feet hurtled over the steps and down the street. Then I ducked into
someone’s open garage and cried until my chest caved in.
I opened my phone and sent a message to Dad.
Come get me.
I can’t do this anymore.
OceanofPDF.com
 EIGHTEEN

EVIE

I’m grateful for the wind wiping my tears.

D ad asked no questions .

He rolled up on his Harley and whisked me away. Climbing onto my

father’s bike was exactly what Tony warned me against, but he didn’t get a
vote anymore.
Our marriage was a sham.
Tony would never accept me.
We shared nothing but the desire to fuck each other. I’d deluded myself the
entire time, thinking there was more. Hoping he’d come around. Pure
desperation led me to believe Tony’s acts of kindness were glimmers of
affection.
No .
He was simply a giving person who had no feelings for me. Tony did what
he could to keep me safe, happy, and fulfilled. He gave me everything I
wanted but not what I needed. I wished the things in my gratitude journal
filled the void in my chest.
Hunger pangs stabbed my stomach as Dad parked in a shabby strip mall
next to a motel. I slid my arms from his middle. My throat tightened when I
took in the shipping truck and the Legion bikers surrounding it.
Dad lugged a bag over his brawny shoulder and motioned that I should
follow along. He’d muttered about a favor as he pulled me onto his bike. He
showed up with my old scale and scope but I was so depressed that I
followed him without question.
An incessant chime echoed from my purse.
Incoming Call: T
I silenced the call. Answering him wouldn’t do any good. I’d already texted
him with the excuse that I needed space, but that probably wasn’t enough
for my overbearing husband.
As Legion bikers climbed the outdoor staircases to the second level, Dad
waved me forward.
I hung back. “We really need to talk.”
His bushy eyes narrowed. “About?”
“Tony.”
“Now’s really not the time.”
“Legion kidnapped Tony years ago. Tony said he was kept in a basement
for weeks, beaten, starved, and God knows what else. Why would they do
that to him? Did you know about this?”
Dad scanned the parking lot. He only seemed to be half-listening.
“Yes.”
“Why torture a man who wasn’t in the mafia?”
“His dad was a don. He was in jail. The Costas were weak, and Crash
wanted to kill them all. So he made a move.” His expression grew pitying
as he patted my head. “Oh, Evie. You’re like your mother. Not cut out for
this life.”
“So he deserved it. That’s what you’re saying?”
“I don’t give a rat fuck. It’s in the past.”
“It’s not in his rearview mirror. I can promise you that.” I grabbed his arm
when he twisted away. “Why did you set me up with Tony? Did you think
this marriage would go anywhere?”
He stared at me blankly. “I wanted you to keep Costa busy, and you have. If
he’s chasing you that’s less time he’s messing with my business.”
So it was about his needs.
Fury whipped up my chest. I strolled across the parking lot to the bus stop.
Dad’s heavy boots crunched concrete as he kept pace.
“Evie, I need this favor.”
Suck it . “Those tend to come with a high price tag. No thanks.”
“You ungrateful brat,” he snarled, shoving into my path. “You have a good
life. You’re out of the club, just like you wanted. You’re married to a rich
man who gives you everything . All I’m asking for is a diamond appraisal.”
“I’m not breaking the law for you.”
“You won’t have to launder them,” he grated. “I’ll tell you everything I
know about Costa.”
Temptation battled with common sense.
This was a chance to hear the whole story, rather than what I’d gleaned
from the video and whatever Tony was willing to divulge. My phone
buzzed incessantly, reminding me there would be hell to pay no matter
what.
“I shouldn’t.” My hands stiffened from cold. Too bad I ran out and left my
coat at the house. “Tony doesn’t want me involved with club business.”
“It won’t take long.”
As though that mattered.
“Ten minutes, tops.” Dad took my elbow, gently leading me to the motel.
“We’ll talk. Promise.”
My guts squirmed, and I nodded. I’d barely stuffed the phone into my purse
before Dad’s cell blew up. He fished it from his pocket.
“Yes, she’s right here.” Dad palmed the speaker. “Evie, it’s Costa.”
“Tell him I’m busy.”
“I don’t have time for this shit.” Dad handed me the cell, climbing the
staircase. “Don’t let him know where we are.”
Alarm rippled down my spine.
Dad reached the top of the stairs and headed to a room with closed curtains,
the battered red door etched with a black eleven. He looked both ways and
knocked as Gunner and Clyde stood sentry.
I lifted the phone. “Hey.”
“Finally . I’ve been looking everywhere.” Tony’s impatient gravel struck
me deep, spreading dread through my body. “Why didn’t you pick up?”
The concern sent a draft under my dying butterflies.
I swallowed the ball of hurt and adjusted my tone. “You’re lucky I’m
talking to you at all.”
“Evie, let’s do this in private.”
“No thanks. I’ve hit my quota of being insulted by my husband.” He
interrupted me with questions, but I plunged on. “Dad needs a favor. I’ll
call you later.”
“Hold on—what kind of favor?”
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. Where are you? ”
“Next to a shipping truck. God only knows what’s in there, but I’ll survive.”
Static crackled on the other end. “Evie, listen to me very carefully. You’re
not taking part in this. Give the phone back to Jett and run out of there.”
“No. I’m hanging up.”
“Don’t you dare . I’m picking you up right now. Give me the address.” After
a long moment of silence, he gave a rough sigh. “Evie. Honey . You need to
do what I’m telling you. You have no idea what you’re involved in.”
My mind blanked.
Drugs or guns. Based on the truck, probably the latter.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before.”
“I don’t want to fight. I just want you safe. Tell me where you are.” He
sounded scared, and it dampened the urge to hang up on him. “Evie, the
address! Now!”
A lump lodged in my throat. “I’m not even sure where we are.”
“Describe what’s around you.”
“A sleazy motel beside a Five Guys.”
“Okay. Stay on the line. I’m coming to get you.”
“Why bother?” I wiped my eyes, struggling to compose myself. “You hate
us. I understand why. I do, but this marriage isn’t fair for either of us.”
“You think I hate you?”
“My world doesn’t revolve around you ,” I shot, throwing his cruelty back at
him. “Your words. Remember?”
“Evie, we’d just fucking met. I had no idea what to make of you. I’m
sorry.”
“What about what you said before I left? You know me now, but I’m still
not good enough for you. I’m just a biker bitch to you. You don’t want your
DNA contaminated with mine, so you’d rather I get knocked up with a
stranger’s baby. You have done nothing but hurt my feelings.”
“Evie…Evie, you’ve got it all wrong.”
“I don’t fucking care. I’ve put in so much effort trying to understand you !
Have you done the same for me? Of course not. You think a credit card is
all I want in life. You think I’m a gold-digging whore.”
“Jesus. I never thought that!”
Not good enough . “I’ll call in a couple hours.”
“Don’t hang up!” he shouted, blasting my ear. “Evie, I’m sorry. I am. I want
you to come back. Let’s talk about this. Please, Evie. You have to leave. I’m
begging you to walk away.”
I was torn by the life I’d left and the dream Tony had demolished. The
white picket fence with a doting husband and two-point-five children
seemed forever out of reach. He didn’t want that with me, and who could
blame him? Keeping him tethered to me was selfish.
Hurt squeezed, deep inside me.
“You’re the one that needs to walk away. We’re done.”
“No, Evie —”
I hung up, and a hot tear rolled down my cheek. Better to end it now before
I got even more involved with a man who couldn’t love me.
Who didn’t want me.
Who kept secrets from me.
I breathed deeply, waiting for the wave of catharsis. Instead I battled a
fierce urge to cry. Wasn’t ending it supposed to make me feel better? Tears
blurred my vision. My chest ached. I’d fooled myself into thinking Tony
and I would work. It was only a matter of time before he tossed me aside
like my mother.
Dad clung to the metal railing as I climbed to the second story. I wiped my
eyes before I reached the last step, hanging behind Dad.
My father chatted with a man in his fifties, who wore a suit just like Tony’s.
My heart squeezed painfully. His unremarkable features would’ve made
him blend in a crowd. His smile was pleasant, almost self-effacing, but it
failed to touch his gaze.
I handed Dad’s phone back, and winced as mine rang. The vibration buzzed
into my purse like an angry insect.
“Let’s go, Evie.”
He and Creep strode inside the room.
It took an age to move. My limbs refused to budge, and the knot in my
throat swelled. I fiddled with my jeweler’s loupe, sliding the lens in and out
of the case.
Gunner nudged me into the seedy hotel room with an en suite kitchenette.
Legion guys packed the right side. An assortment of hard-eyed men and
bikers seemed to be with Creep.
Dad gestured to the coffee table piled with aluminum bricks. Legion
members counted cash as Dad motioned me toward the gems on a silk
cloth.
“Go ahead, Evie. Take your time.”
I lined up my scale, scope, tweezers, and loupe, taking them out of the bag
my father brought. I’d never felt a silence so thick with tension, broken only
by the incessant buzzing in my purse.
You’re not safe .
A biker wearing a strange patch sat in front of me, his legs spread. Jeans
wrapped his thighs. Silver teeth winked from a wide mouth, his hawklike
nose dominating his tanned face. Shaggy black hair covered his head, as
wild as a wig. His hollowed gaze drank me in like I was a treat he wanted to
suck on.
“What’s your name, sweetbutt?”
Dad looked up, glowering. “That’s my daughter, and you’ll keep your
fucking eyes off her.”
He lifted both hands in surrender, his grotesque smile stabbing my gut.
“Just making conversation.”
I dug into my purse, brushing my vibrating phone. Sweat beaded on my
forehead as I picked through diamonds. Still silence. I stabbed the call
button and shoved it deep inside. Then I turned my attention to the gems,
but the dim lighting made it impossible to analyze them.
“Dad, I need more light. I can’t see.”
“There’s a lamp in my room,” suggested Creep. “It’s next door.”
I’m not going anywhere with them .
I beseeched him silently, but Dad never spared me a glance. He motioned
toward Gunner. “Go with her.”
“Sure thing.”
I packed my things, fighting the urge to pull the hem of my leopard-print
dress down my legs.
The biker stood, six-something towering feet of formidable strength.
Gunner wasn’t tiny by any means, but next to him , he was a midget.
My heart shrank.
Creep wrapped the diamonds and crammed them into a box. I flinched
when his possessive gaze met mine. It swelled a ball in my throat. I couldn’t
breathe without it aching. I followed Gunner and Creep next door.
“Sorry for the mess.”
Creep cleared the table littered with drugs and flipped on the lamp. He slid
the gems and their silk wrapping underneath it. He sank into the couch, his
suit melting in the faded black fabric. Creep patted the cushion beside him.
“Have a seat.”
No thanks . I kneeled on the floor.
“You’ve done this before,” he commented mildly. “Many times, yeah?”
I couldn’t quite place his muddled accent.
“Maybe.”
His attention never wavered, as though I were the most valuable object in
the room. He rubbed his chin and stared.
I picked up a diamond with tweezers and held it under my loupe. I spun it in
all directions, frowning at the feather breaking the surface. My mouth
thinned as I spotted a broken culet. I moved it back and forth from the lens.
Unpolished girdle. Facets that didn’t overlap. Clouded. Worthless .
I set it aside and examined another.
Same thing.
My hands trembled as I worked through the pile, praying to find one that
wasn’t shit. Sweat beaded on my upper lip as I combed the stack of low-
quality diamonds. A weight settled over my chest.
Gunner tapped my shoulder. “Evie, are we good?”
Not even close .
I exchanged a look with Gunner. Judging by his whispered “fuck, ” he got it
loud and clear.
“I need to talk to Dad.” I bolted upright, jabbing through my purse’s
contents. Light from my cell flared through the screen. Tony was still on the
line.
Angry voices erupted through the wall. Suddenly, Dad burst in, his face
flushed.
“You’re five grand short,” he snarled at Creep, who slowly stood. “Evie,
what’s the appraisal?”
“The diamonds are crap. They’re cloudy, the cut quality is horrible, and
many of the stones aren’t eye clean.” My ears pounded as Creep’s stare
drilled into me. “So I’m going with ten—ten thousand.”
“What’s this?” Dad bellowed, charging into the biker at Creep’s side. “You
time-wasting piece of shit. I ought to blow your head off.”
“Relax, Jett. The coke I gave you makes up the difference.”
“The deal’s off!”
Creep’s crooked smile stabbed my heart. “If I were you, I’d take the hit and
move on.”
“You tried to rip me off. Fuck you. “
Dad yanked me into the other room, which was chaotic. Drugs and money
were stuffed into bags.
“Let’s go!” Dad roared, shoving his way through. “We’re done here.”
The door flew open.
My back smacked the wall as Dad flung me aside.
Bikers poured inside, shotguns pointed in our faces. They prodded Dad,
Gunner, Clyde, everyone in the room.
Outnumbered.
Outgunned .
“The hell is this?”
“A robbery.” The silver-tongued devil stood behind Dad, playing with the
cheap diamonds. “Pro tip—bring more backup.”
I opened my purse, hands shaking as I grasped my buried phone. It slipped
from my fumbling fingers and smacked the carpet.
Shit .
Creep grabbed the phone. He ended the call, cutting off Tony’s shouting.
Then he pulled a knife and slashed the phone’s casing. He fished out the
SIM card and threw it aside.
I ran for the door.
A thick arm banded my waist, pinning me to an iron chest.
“Ah-uh,” he chimed in a singsong voice. “You’re coming with me, pet.”
You’re not safe .
“Dad!”
My father lunged for me, but four of them tackled him. They stomped on
his face and shoved him against the floor, hitting him with heavy thuds that
numbed my body.
Creep dragged me next door. I yelled for Gunner, I shouted for my husband.
My breath jerked back and forth as though Creep had stabbed me, and then
he smothered my mouth with his giant hand.
“Shhh. That’s a good girl. Relax. I’m not going to hurt you. Your dad…
well, let’s just say he had it coming.”
Hollowness gaped in my stomach. Terror filled the space where there was
panic. The sounds of my dad’s beating dwindled to static. The ringing in my
head drowned it out.
I’ll never see Tony again .
OceanofPDF.com
 NINETEEN

EVIE

I’m grateful that I had a good life.

T ony warned me .

Did I listen?
Creep manhandled me onto the couch. He’d imprisoned me in his iron grip
and I was as limp as a rabbit in a wolf’s jaws, unable to fight. My pale
hands twitched with the need to punch this motherfucker.
He tutted as he rolled a palm over my shoulder, rubbing me with an
intimacy that I’d only craved from one man. My gaze traveled along his
crisp white shirt, stretched over bronzed skin to his hideously normal face.
His brown eyes burned with a perverse intensity.
Lead bottomed my stomach.
“Let go of me .”
“Shh. Be a nice girl.” My skin chilled where his unwanted touch skated up
my arm in a nauseating caress. “Do you like drugs?”
I shook my head.
He fished through a side pocket, producing a vial. “What about fentanyl?”
I clenched my mouth shut.
“I’ll give you a taste. It’ll help you relax.”
Pain shot into my teeth from my clenched jaw. I shrank from him as he
produced a knife. He dabbed something onto the blade. The knife waved in
the air as I shook with full-body tremors. The dull edge kissed my mouth.
He slid the steel between my lips.
I shoved his hand off me. The blade went flying, and I sprung from his lap.
He yanked my waist.
I slammed into the man’s bruising embrace. He cinched me to his chest,
smothering my scream. His other arm pinned my elbow, and then a fierce
pinch stabbed into my shoulder. I yelped as I glanced at a syringe
protruding from my flesh.
Oh my God .
“Shut up and listen,” he began in a low, toneless voice. “You’ve been stolen
to be used as a sex slave. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a pretty piece of
meat. I don’t give a fuck how you feel about it. You may be married, have a
kid, a boyfriend, car payments—fuck it. I don’t want to hear about it. I
make a point to never like slaves, and I sure as hell don’t like you. Your
only value to me is your body. I don’t want to hurt it, if I can help it.”
No, no, no.
Please God, no .
“Fighting is pointless. It pisses me off and it disturbs the other girls. It
upsets them when a new girl doesn’t behave. So you have two choices. I
drug you, or you act like the sweet girl I know you are.” He thumbed the
plunger, his horrible voice vibrating through my back. “What’s it going to
be?”
Oh God.
Oh God .
He slowly uncovered my mouth.
I swallowed hard, shaking so badly my teeth chattered. “Tony Costa is my
husband . He’ll torture you for this!”
“Everybody has a brother or a husband or a father-in-law who will cross the
ocean and kill me, and I’m still trucking along.”
What do I do?
He’d hurt me. The only question was—how much? What could I do to
survive? I scanned the room for an escape, but men bigger than my father
blocked the doors, and I had no hope of overpowering them.
“Tell me, pet. How old are you?”
Someone, help me.
Tony. Anyone .
His tone darkened. “I don’t like repeating myself.”
“Twenty-two.”
He made a pleased sound.
Warmth shot into my muscle, and then a flood of disorientation swung me
sideways. I sank into his embrace. My pulse rocketed with the sickening
realization that I couldn’t move.
“You said you wouldn’t!”
“I lied , pet. Better get used to that.”
No .
Panic rioted within me as I went limp, as though snapped by a marionette.
I plunged into an oblivious daze, sprawled over his lap. Such an unhindered
feeling. My body had never been so relaxed. All my senses dulled with
euphoria. My breathing slowed and my mouth gaped. My skin tingled with
a medicated calm. My eyelids were so heavy.
All I wanted to do was drift into oblivion.
“All right. I only gave you a third of the full dose because I’m going to
make so much money off you. This won’t mess you up too bad. If you’re a
good girl and do what I say, I won’t drug you for the rest of the trip.”
Trip?
He lifted me. I sagged like a doll in his arms. He strolled through the room
and into another with a bed and floor lamps. He dumped me on the
mattress, where I rolled like a bag of oats, settling onto my back.
I tried to stand.
My leg responded with a feeble jerk.
The dead-eyed monster loomed over me. He stole my wedding ring. He
pulled my dress down my arms with a detached swiftness that recalled
visits to the doctor. He dug at the clasp of my bra.
“Please,” I begged in a hysterical voice I didn’t recognize. “I don’t know
what you want from me.”
“Don’t you?”
He removed my bra. He sighed, the sound stabbing my gut. Dimly, I felt the
tugging on my dress.
Nausea pitted my stomach.
This was wrong. I had to stop it, but I couldn’t move.
“I don’t want to have sex with you.”
The weight of that crashed into my chest. The man’s smile widened, as
though my fear was more intoxicating than the idea of fucking me.
“Whoever buys you gets to destroy your cunt. I don’t sample the goods.”
His cold fingers singed my flesh as he seized my panties. He slid them off
my ankles, his appreciative groan poisoning me.
A vague terror coursed through my veins, fighting the numbness coating my
heart.
He sat back and turned on a floor lamp, the white light bleaching the bed.
He swiped his iPhone. “I’m taking some pictures of you. Then I’ll upload
them. I suspect we’ll have a lot of interest.”
What?
He arranged my body in vulgar positions as he took photos, the clicking as
degrading as his comments. He cupped my breasts and kneaded them, but I
couldn’t feel any horror. All of that was muted.
“Who are you?”
“No need for introductions. You won’t see me for long.”
“That’s right,” I growled, struggling to keep my eyes open. “Because you’re
going to die.”
He laughed, his hands gliding down my torso.
“Tell me your name. I want to know who I’m killing.”
He aimed a shot between my thighs. “I go by K.”
“Where are you bringing me?”
“A place where girls like you are sold.” K lowered his phone and cycled
through photos. “Perfect.”
“Sold? What the fuck—ow!” A sting pierced my arm. I met his gaze,
pleading. “No. I don’t want it!”
He sank the plunger.
K blurred into flesh-toned colors as his arms looped under me and dropped
me into something small, with sides. He shoved my head between my
knees. The light zippered shut. My weight shifted as we swung upright, and
then we rolled forward.
Was I in a suitcase?
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY

EVIE

I’m grateful for sweet dreams.

W here am I?
Soft keys chimed from a piano. A harmonica played somewhere,
accompanied by a ukulele. My eyes flared open to a vast ballroom packed
with glamorous guests. Creamy linen and florals decorated the space. My
gaze followed the trail of petals to my table, where I sat in front of elegant
china, a glass of wine, and a flute of champagne. White lace wrapped my
lap.
I wore a wedding dress.
What the hell?
A man stroked my palm under the tablecloth. Tony was beside me, clean-
shaven and gorgeous in his tux, wearing a darkly seductive grin. He brought
my hand to his lips and kissed, the heat flaring across my knuckles.
“Nice of you to drop in, Mrs. Costa.”
I don’t get it .
I stared at him, bewildered. “But we’re married already.”
“Well, obviously.” He rolled his thumb over my ring, a black opal sitting on
a platinum band.
“Oh my God. I fucking love this ring.”
“I’m glad, hon.” He leaned over and kissed me behind my ear. “I can’t tell
you how intimidating it was to pick an engagement ring for a jewelry
designer.”
“It’s beautiful but…I thought it looked different. And we did this months
ago.” I gaped at the fresco on the ceiling, mouth dropping open. “Okay, this
isn’t right. Our wedding was nothing like this.”
Tony grabbed my drink. “I think you’ve had enough of this.”
He drank, making an appreciative sound. I couldn’t get over his friendly
vibe and the megawatt smile. He was older, but he sparkled with life and
energy. Then Tony’s arm slid across my lap. He hovered close until I
counted every lash hiding his slanted gaze.
“You seem happy.”
“I am. I feel like I hit the jackpot with you. Can’t wait until our
honeymoon,” he whispered in the shell of my ear. “I’ve booked five-star
hotels all over Italy. The Mediterranean. Amalfi Coast. Rome. Florence.”
“Shit, really? I’ve never been out of the States.”
“You’ll love it, Evie,” he promised, his eyes gleaming. “Everything’s better
—the coffee, the prosciutto, the wine—”
“Pizza?”
“That, too.”
My pulse raced. “Can we sightsee?”
“We can do anything. As long as you’re in my bed for most of it.”
My heart thudded once, then settled into its natural rhythm.
“I hope I’m not coming on too strong, Evie. It’s just that I feel so lucky to
have you, and I’ve been waiting for the right girl for years. I’m excited. I
can’t wait to start a family with you. I hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
I almost fanned my cheeks. “I-I don’t know what to say.”
“We can change the subject.”
“No, it’s okay. I think it’s sweet. It makes me feel special.”
“You are.” His raking gaze slid down my neckline. “Everything inside me
aches for you. I’ve fantasized about you becoming my wife and the night I
get to fuck you in this dress when you’re legally mine. I’ve dreamed about
knocking you up, what it’ll be like when your body swells with my baby. I
can’t stop thinking about it.”
I’d heard Italian men were forward, but damn . This guy gave the bikers at
home a run for their money. Heat stole across my face as he grasped my
chin.
“Do you want kids with me, Evie?”
“I-I mean we just met, but yes . I’d like that, someday.”
“Of course. I don’t want to rush you.” He kissed my cheek and smiled.
“Tell me something about you.”
I played with a strand on my collar. “My birthday is March fifteenth. I work
in jewelry design. It’s my passion. What about you?”
“I was born on Valentine’s Day, which is the worst day to have a birthday
for a man. My girlfriends always made it about them.” He pulled an ankle
over his knee. “What else? I graduated from Bourton’s with a major in
Psychology. I’m on the board of several nonprofit charities. I’m a decent
piano player and an amazing dancer.”
“Thank God one of us is.”
“You don’t know how to foxtrot?”
“No. Dancing wasn’t exactly a priority, growing up.”
Tony offered me a hand, beaming. “We should open the floor anyway.”
“I’m hopeless at dancing.”
“You just didn’t have the right partner.” Tony gave me an affectionate
squeeze, and my heart flipped. “Come.”
We stood.
I floated on his arm like a puff of dandelion as he brought me closer to the
music. This man could’ve led me anywhere, and I would’ve followed.
A current zagged through me as he nuzzled my neck.
“Try to avoid looking at your feet,” he said when I bumped into him,
laughing. “You’re doing so great, hon.”
Hon . “You’re a million times nicer than I’d imagined.”
“Only because my bride blew my every expectation out of the water. I
thought you’d hate me. Most girls don’t dream of marrying a man like me,
in these circumstances.”
I swallowed hard, revolving in his tight embrace. I was dizzy from all the
dancing. “All of this feels too good to be true.”
“That tends to happen when you find the right person.”
“Honestly, I’m not quite sure how I got here.”
“That’s okay. We have plenty of time to figure it out.” His lips pressed into
my neck, and I shivered. “The rest of our lives, in fact.”
My eyes burned. “Thank you for being…so perfect.”
“You’re easy to please, but I’ll take the compliment.” Tony pulled me close,
until I could feel his heartbeat pounding my palm. “A man is measured by
his actions. What he does and doesn’t do, not the pretty things he says to his
wife.”
“I can’t believe we’re married.”
“I know. Isn’t it wonderful?”
He was full of sunshine.
We danced through the next song as a burning question fought to escape
from my chest.
I could ask.
He wouldn’t mock me.
“Tony? Do you think we’ll fall in love?”
He pulled back slightly, a slight frown furrowing his brows. “I think that
you’re an amazing girl, and I can’t wait to get to know you.”
A warm glow flowed through me. “I feel the same way about you.”
“Then we have nothing to worry about.”
He took my cheeks and finally closed the distance between us. His mouth
covered mine hungrily, breathing life into my lungs. My chest flooded with
heat that zipped to my groin. I leaned into the passion of his kiss. I grabbed
his head, grinding my body against his. He chuckled in my lips—
Light shot into my gaze, blinding me.
Ow .
I pulled away, clinging to Tony.
He still wore the tux but the room had darkened. I couldn’t see anything
beyond us and the glowing floor.
Huh. Where are the guests?
Shadows carved grim lines on his face. “Sweetheart, you need to wake up.
You know you’re dreaming.”
My smile faltered as he stilled, no longer dancing.
“This feels like what should have happened.” I caught his worried stare, my
stomach sinking. “You’re nothing like this in real life.”
“Get out,” he said forcefully. “Wake up.”
“No, I’m staying. I like this dream.”
“You have to go.” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me, yelling. “Wake
up. You have to get up!”
“I don’t want to wake up.”
“You need to!”
He fell away from me, pulled into the darkness.
No!
Light pierced my eyes.
A hard surface dug into my back. The world tipped, and my lungs filled
with air. The light blinded me. I was naked, lying on a rough surface. My
body shivered. A man in dark blue scrubs hovered above me, flicking a
penlight.
“What happened?” I didn’t know where I was, or who this man was. “Why
am I on the floor? ”
“Look at my light,” the man in scrubs murmured. “Stay calm.”
My body felt lifeless. “I can’t move. Tony .”
He balled my hand in his, squeezing. “I’m here.”
My stomach lurched.
The voice was wrong.
A second face swam into my vision. K’s brows furrowed as he leaned in,
stroking my shoulder. “Is she going to be all right?”
“Help me!” I tried to grab at the other man, but my hand was too heavy.
“He abducted me. Please help me.”
“Yeah, she’ll be fine.” The man in the blue scrubs switched off his penlight
and tucked it in his shirt pocket. “You’re lucky you had an EpiPen.”
“Otherwise, she’s healthy?”
“Blood pressure’s good. Heart and lungs sound normal—”
The men talked over me like I didn’t exist, rattling off a list of things as I
slowly got my bearings.
K gave a wad of cash to the man. “Thanks, Doc.”
The man turned away, ripping off latex gloves. He packed a small black bag
and disappeared. A distant door closed, and K unzipped his wool jacket. He
shoved a thin cigar in his mouth.
“Close shave.” He lit the cigar and blew smoke from his nose. “By the time
I got you in the truck, you’d stopped breathing. I stuck you with an EpiPen
and hoped for the best. I thought I’d have to spend the next four hours
digging a grave, but you pulled through. Good for you.”
He gave me a thumbs-up.
There was no bigger piece of shit in the universe.
I crawled to a seated position, trembling from the cold. I seemed to be in an
upscale hotel room. He had to have a phone somewhere. My head swam as
I climbed on the sofa, which strained my biceps. I was so weak, I could
barely lift my legs.
“Are you feeling better?” He patted my head like I was a golden retriever.
Acid burned my throat.
“Don’t fucking touch me.”
“Remember that you’re a slave,” he repeated, his mild voice rising. “You
will address me as master until tomorrow.”
“What’s—what’s tomorrow?”
A bright flare sprang into his eyes.
“I’m selling you at the auction.”
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-ONE

TONY

2 lines
5 shots of tequila

“W here is she ? ”
“I don’t know,” Gunner moaned, lifting his dirty, tear-stained face. “Please,
stop.”
He hyperventilated as I hogtied him between two other bikers. Gunner had
pissed his pants after I’d dragged him into the garage with an ominous, dark
brown stain. A metallic tang hung in the air, not unlike the stench in
slaughterhouses. The smell of death drove men crazy.
After I slashed the throat of his buddy, Gunner turned on the waterworks.
Crying. Loudly . Crimson pooled on the cement as Cloud—or was it Clyde
—lay facedown in a pool of blood, drowning. Gunner’s eyes widened as the
red tide touched his lip.
Once, I’d experienced the same terror.
It was nothing compared to losing my wife.
“I hate you. All of you.” I pressed the knife into his cheek, and crimson
welled around the blade. “I’d happily spend the rest of my life kidnapping
scumbags like you, tying you up, and gutting you. I tolerated your filth to
spread over Boston, but you’re incapable of behaving like decent human
beings. And I’m tired . I’m sick of pretending you don’t disgust me! You’re
a dog-shit-covered flea! You’re going to tell me where my wife is, or I will
make you suck your dying friend’s cock!”
He whined something, and I slammed my boot into his side. Then I ripped
off his patch, threw it on the floor, and stomped it. I smashed Gunner’s nose
against the concrete, settling him right beside the corpse. He screamed,
which made the other guy tied to him scream. The garage echoed with their
crying, and I exchanged an exasperated look with Cainan.
“Can you believe this?”
“Yeah. You started off way too strong.”
Cainan looked out of place in his khakis and a crew sweater, but he was in
his element. He cocked his head.
“Some guys don’t last. You know?”
“Isn’t that the truth.” I choked Gunner’s neck, and he gasped like a landed
fish. “You might as well get used to this. You’re not leaving until my wife is
returned to me. Until then, you’ll know nothing but pain. Humiliation.
Degradation.”
Cainan’s hand weighed my shoulder. “T , he needs air.”
“I don’t give a fuck!”
I lifted the pressure anyway. Color flooded into Gunner’s face as he took
deep, shuddering breaths. Letting him breathe battled against my instincts. I
hated myself for losing my wife to these bastards. I swore I’d stamp out the
biker shit when I took her in for her own good, but all I did was grind her
spirit to dust.
Fuck me.
I had no idea where she’d gone. As soon as I’d figured out what motel, I
called Cainan. He got there faster than I did, avoiding most of the rush hour
traffic, but she wasn’t in any of rooms or the parking lot.
All we found was her smashed cell phone and several unarmed stragglers. I
offered them a ride to the club. Knocked them out. Brought them to an
abandoned auto shop that had plenty of space and no neighbors.
I didn’t have time to waste.
My chest tightened.
Evie. Hold on, honey .
The knot in my throat pulsed.
“Tell me what happened.”
Tears streaked Gunner’s cheeks. “The deal went south. They robbed us.”
“They who ? Another biker club? The Mongols?”
“This guy in a suit. Goes by K.” He squeezed his eyes shut and whimpered.
“He took your wife.”
Him .
A light-haired man with a warm smile burned in my mind. K was an
opportunist who made his living on the flesh market. I’d lost count of the
women he’d tricked, conned, drugged, and stolen so he could force them
into slavery.
Not her.
Not my wife.
This had to be a nightmare, but the stench of death reminded me that it
wasn’t. A horrific pain wrenched my heart in half. The heavy feeling in my
gut doubled. I screamed. The agony wounded me from all angles. It was too
much. The guilt, hopelessness, and grief—this was the worst torture.
It tore out my insides.
It would end me for good. There was no redemption for a man who failed
his wife . I’d tried to protect her. I’d done everything in my power to stop
this. Despite that, she was trafficked. And it was my fault because I’d
pushed her away.
It shattered me.
I kicked him onto his back and swung the knife. I don’t know how many
times I stabbed him. Only that when it was over, he was a pulpy, red mass.
My last captive bleated like a terrified sheep. I raised my hand. He would
die, too. They all deserved to perish for losing my talented, bright, beautiful
wife.
Cainan caught my wrist. His soft look muzzled my rage. “That’s enough,
Tony.”
“It’s not nearly enough.”
“This doesn’t help Evie.”
I stood on a canvas of red. Crimson splattered my arms, chest, and face. I
must’ve looked insane. I backed away, shaking. I needed to kill the last one.
“Where’s your president?”
“H-hospital. Please don’t.”
As the twenty-something-year-old got to his feet, I pulled out my sidearm.
He raised his hands.
I aimed and fired. The bullet struck him between his pleading eyes. It blew
out his skull, and then his body hit the ground.
I stared at the pile of bodies.
I’d never killed three men at once.
I disappeared into the office. Cainan joined me, his gaze sweeping the floor.
My boots had tracked biker filth inside. I was messy with my prey.
“How do I save her?”
“Easy. You buy her back.”
I ran a jerky hand through my hair. “He’ll recognize me.”
“Not necessarily. You know how K is. Coked up half the time. It’s a wonder
he’s still alive. He’ll throw a party just to celebrate stealing the girls he stole
from Jett. He’ll probably auction them all. Including your wife.”
I sank into a chair, pain building behind my chest. “You can get me inside.”
Cainan said nothing for a long moment.
I could’ve slashed his throat. “You’re doing this.”
“Since when do I take your orders?”
“Do it, or we’ll have a problem.”
He raised his chin, meeting my glare head-on. “You go in there, you’re one
of them. You can’t kill K.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“He’s untouchable. Killing a trafficker is like murdering a prince. They’ll
never stop hunting you.”
I rubbed my temples, breathing hard.
“Tony, let me do this for you. I’ll buy the girl and get out.”
“No .”
I didn’t trust him within five hundred yards of Evie.
“Then don’t fuck this up,” he snarled. “No heroics. Or you’ll both be dead.
I kept imagining my wife, whose sunny attitude toward life saw rainbows
shooting out of mountains of shit. Where was she? What was K doing to
her? My heart thrashed with a deranged fury, strangled by images of Evie
suffering.
She needed me.
We belonged together, but I’d been too stupid to see it. She wasn’t penance.
She was my redemption, and I’d acted like the drowning man, fighting off
my rescue.
If I couldn’t help her…I’d always be a monster.
This was my last chance.
I had to save her.
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-TWO

EVIE

I’m grateful that I’ve learned the depths of my strength.

N obody would save me .

Nobody knew I’d been kidnapped and sold to a man with a tiger-slanted
gaze. His white card had flashed among the sea of masked men after my
captor paraded me onto the stage in lingerie. The bass from the annoying
club music pulsed through me, masking my sluggish heartbeat.
Run .
Where would I go?
Guards with guns slung over their backs lined the walls. They covered all
the exits. Escape was impossible, and, even if it wasn’t, the cocktail of
drugs surging through my veins made action futile. I waded in a frustrating
coma of medicated calm. The mental paralysis was as thick as ice over a
frozen lake, and it wouldn’t shatter no matter how violent the water
underneath. Grasping onto a thought for more than a few seconds was too
hard.
I needed help.
I let out a mournful sound. My plea was a candle in a squall, blown out
immediately. I clutched at a waiter passing out drinks, but he shook from
my grip.
I begged for help, my voice swallowed by the EDM music. The ear-splitting
applause and fanfare threw me off-balance. I lacked the energy to scream.
The men in the masks did nothing. Not one person looked me in the eye.
Why not?
What’s happening?
“Congratulations again to the gentleman in the back!” The announcer, a
dapper man in his late seventies, ceased clapping and flipped his thumb on
the iPad. The wall behind him flashed with graphic images of a tied-up
woman. “Our next item is Chastity. Twenty-four years old. We’ll start the
bidding at ten thousand.”
I stared at my shaking palms.
This was a dark fantasy born from my very exhausted brain. This couldn’t
be allowed. Police would be here soon. I’d be saved.
I would be fine.
I wiped my forehead as a girl stumbled across the stage, so dazed with
drugs she had to be held upright. I tore my gaze from her and gaped at my
topless body. A thong I’d never seen before gripped my waist. I looked just
like her , the woman for sale. Blood siphoned from my face.
Rough fingers circled my biceps as my captor led me away from the
auction. My head swirled as I struggled to string together the events that
had brought me here. I clawed desperately through the fog as K pulled me
into an Eyes Wide Shut nightmare.
Sleek black floors dominated the penthouse, which pulsed with a nightclub-
like atmosphere. It could’ve been an LA party with the trays of appetizers
piled on gold serving plates. I scanned the catered food with a morbid
curiosity. Dungeness crab. Sturgeon caviar. Oysters on ice. Bottles sweating
beside champagne flutes.
Girls dangled everywhere, half-naked, vacant-eyed. Some wore evening
gowns. One lounged over a coffee table, her flesh bone-white under the
glaring lights. Mounds of powder sat on her breasts. Men bent over her,
snorting lines. They dipped fingers into the snow, wiped the dust between
her legs, and licked her clean. They ate off her and drank belly shots.
Warning spasms of alarm twitched my face, squeezing my eyes shut. I
opened and closed them, but the insanity remained. I’d never seen anything
like it.
Naked girls. Devoured left and right, their bodies used as furniture or
whipping posts. Everywhere I looked, women were groped, spanked, and
fucked. The strangest part of it all—it could’ve been a BDSM dungeon.
Except many of them wore nipple piercings with symbols dangling from
them, almost like tags .
They’re all slaves . I fingered my collar. Even me .
My stomach bottomed.
No. This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t accept the dull ache of
foreboding, but nauseating despair wrenched at me, and it grew with every
step.
K took in the party with detached boredom. “Your new owner is beyond
those doors. Our time together has come to an end. It has been a pleasure .”
“I don’t—I—”
“You were sold.”
The effect of those words shattered me.
Sold. I can’t be sold. How did this happen? Does my Tony know? Will I see
him again? Where am I?
Somewhere hidden from the rest of the world.
K had stuffed me in luggage and wheeled me into a truck. Up to that point,
I’d never felt like a thing, but I did then, struggling to breathe from the
zippered hole. If he saw no issue with treating me like that, he was capable
of worse.
I trembled violently.
“Why are you doing this? Can’t you see how wrong—how evil— ”
“The world is filled with two kinds of people. Wolves and sheep. You and
your father are sheep.” His hand palmed the small of my back. “Word of
advice? Keep your legs open. Years down the line, he’ll find a new toy and
set you free.”
My chest tightened.
“No, I don’t want this!”
“You’ll grow to like it.”
“I have a life! A husband!” My heart hammered as his grip transferred to
my bicep. “You need to take me back. I have to go home.”
“Home is with your master.” K gestured to a kneeling woman. “If you give
him attitude, you’ll be treated like this.”
She crawled toward a man sitting with a whip balanced over his thighs. He
yanked another girl’s head off his throbbing erection and seized the blonde,
and then he mashed their faces together. They exchanged tongue in a series
of passionless kisses. He stabbed the leather under their chin and hissed
something.
God no.
I shuddered at the thought of being forced to do that. I bit the inside of my
cheek and dug in my heels as K pushed me forward, panic sinking into me
at last. Black spots crept over my vision. My heartbeat thrashed. I was a
bird, desperate for release, fluttering wildly.
Can’t do this .
I whirled. I elbowed his abdomen and broke free. K slung me toward him.
He waved the stun gun he’d threatened me with. His thumb slid over a
button, and a violent blue arc shot from a pronged tip, scorching the air.
Fuck .
Like everybody else, a mask shielded K’s features. The only parts I made
out were his eyes. Thick lashes fanned out from pools of amber-brown,
which fixed on my forehead.
“My husband is rich. He’ll give you whatever you want.”
“I have all the money in the world.”
I shouted, grief tearing my voice. “Then why do you do this?”
He seemed to look through me, not at me. “Inside. Now.”
“Please . You don’t understand.”
K shoved the door open and jabbed my back with the cattle prod. “Walk .”
I jumped away from the metal scraping my skin, into a room with peaceful
landscape photos, two white leather chairs, and a side table. A bowl of
strawberries sat beside a bottle of champagne.
A man stood beside it, drinking. The plain black mask still hid most of him.
He had long, sturdy Viking legs. Unruly, dark wisps curled against the V of
his open collar, where his chest hair blended into his deep tan. His massive
shoulders strained the midnight-blue suit. He must’ve been at least six feet
tall, huge, and his limber movements hinted at youth. Details about him
added together, forming an incomplete picture—wild hair, a chiseled,
defined jaw, a muscular physique, a full mouth that parted when he faced
me.
His glare burned through me.
The stubborn set of his jaw tingled the back of my head. The hairs on my
arm stood on end. His aura threatened me more than K’s oily smiles
because this man had an air of authority and the appearance of one who
demanded instant obedience.
I plastered myself against the wall.
“Lot thirty-nine. Here are her medical records.” K strolled toward the man,
who didn’t acknowledge him. “She’s clean. No drugs. No STDs. No birth
control. A shiny, new toy. It wasn’t easy, making her behave without leaving
any marks.”
K stroked my neck in a sensual caress that seemed to affect the man. His
fists balled, his knuckles whitening. The power seemed to coil within him
when he approached.
K, who flicked through his cell, didn’t notice. He inclined his head toward
the man. “I just sent you the documents.”
A chime echoed from the man’s phone, and he tore his eyes from me to
cycle through them. He nodded stiffly and pocketed the cell.
“Great. That’s all in order.” K flashed a smile at the man, who still hadn’t
said a word. “Ah. I almost forgot.”
K reached into his blazer and pulled out a syringe and small vial. “You’ll
want this. Three months’ worth of birth control.”
The man snorted and made a dismissive wave.
“Not a fan of the shot?” K tucked it away and produced a packet. “Fine. I
have pills.”
The taller, broader giant’s mouth lifted with a contemptuous curl as K
offered them. His hand whirled, slapping the foil from K’s fist. It skidded
across the floor. K jumped back, scowling.
“I strongly suggest you get her on something. We don’t run a daycare for
your bastards.”
The temperature seemed to drop a thousand degrees.
The man wheeled on K.
His hand shot out. He grabbed K by the neck. Cracked his skull on the wall.
Bright red smeared the white paint. A dazed K staggered, clutching his
head. The stranger pummeled him, knocking him flat. His thick bicep
curled around K’s neck; K twisted and squirmed, but the man held on. He
tightened his grip, squeezing with a calm, lethal determination until K’s legs
stopped flailing. Then he took out a switchblade and opened K’s throat.
Oh my God .
I sucked in a breath as K’s body hit the floor. Blood pulsed from the gash as
I dashed for the door.
“Don’t .”
Tony’s voice burst from the man, stunning me. It couldn’t be. The drugs
taunted me with the voice of my husband, but he wasn’t here. K was dead
and he’d left me in the company of a new monster.
The man hesitated. He settled himself. His dimpled chin rose and fell as he
inhaled deep, steadying breaths. Then he rushed forward.
I backed away. “I don’t know who you are or what you think you’ve done,
but if you bring me home—”
“Evie. It’s me.”
His graveled tone tugged sharply at my memory, and then he cupped my
face. His big hand grazed my cheek as the other claimed my waist, pulling
me close. Vanilla musk breezed into my nose. He smelled sweet and crisp,
like the linens in the apartment I’d made my home. The images washed
over me like a warm tidal wave.
“Tony?”
My throat tightened, thick with the tears I’d shed hours ago.
The mouth trembled. Then he yanked the mask off, revealing a face
wrecked with emotion. His forehead hit mine with a soft thump.
“Evie.”
“It’s you. It’s really you.” I gaped at him, crying. “I can’t believe you’re
here. Thank God .”
I was saved .
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-THREE

EVIE

I’m grateful I’m alive.

D id I fall into another fantasy?

I floated in a haze of euphoria, weakened and confused. My owner said
little as he wrapped me in his coat and dragged me out the service exit of a
luxury hotel, where a car waited for us. We drove to an underground
parking garage and switched vehicles. My husband’s face swam in front of
me, taunting me like that bittersweet dream.
I reached out, tracing his stubbled cheek.
“Wait,” he ordered the driver, a tall man with a wave of auburn hair. “She
needs a hospital.”
A man wearing khakis and a polo kneeled. He gripped my head, his fingers
like icicles. He thumbed my eyelid and forced it open. Light burst from his
cell phone, blinding me.
I flinched. “Touch me again, you bastard!”
“I saved your life, you ingrate.”
“She’s not ungrateful,” the vision of my husband muttered. “She recognizes
a devil when she sees one.”
“Both of you are ingrates.” The light dropped away, and the man’s
wholesome features came into focus. “She’s okay. Just has to sleep this
off.”
“Cainan, I killed him.”
My heart pounded at the confession.
Cainan hardened. “I gave you a direct order.”
“You weren’t there,” Tony snarled. “The piece of shit had his hands all over
her.”
“Taking him out wasn’t part of the plan!”
“I’ll deal with the fallout.”
“You’ll deal with it? I’m the one that got you in there. I vouched for you.
Who do you think they’ll blame when they find his body?”
Tony’s soft hands fell away as he turned around, his drawl in full force.
“Maybe it’s time for you to make a sacrifice.”
“God, you are hopeless. Completely irresponsible. Reckless. A loose-
fucking-cannon. Have you any notion of what you’ve fucking done? Of the
hell that’s about to rain on our heads?”
“I’ll survive.”
“Against one goliath, fine, but not two. Your cousin will come after you. I
hope you realize that.”
“I’ll explain everything. He’ll understand.”
Cainan laughed bitterly.
Headlights swept through the parking lot.
They both startled.
Tony backed into me and Cainan’s haughty features froze as a car zoomed
past. It seemed to spook him.
“I suggest you get out of Boston, and fast. I’ll be in touch.”
Cainan fished a set of keys from his pocket and clicked. A beep sounded
nearby, and he strode into the darkness.
Tony’s face swam in front of me, concern knitting his brows. “Evie, I’m
bringing you home.”
“Is this a dream?”
“No, it’s not. I’m here. I’m real.”
I tried to make sense of their conversation, and that my husband was the
man who’d lifted that white card and bought me. How did he find me?
I slid into the passenger-side seat as Tony’s outline cleared into a solid
shape. His presence seemed so unreal, though my mind sharpened by the
second. The hour ride home was enough time to clear the drugged fog, but I
was so confused.
Who was that man?
Once we parked the car, I felt nothing but a dim buzz snaring my senses. I
strolled into the darkened penthouse. All of my things were undisturbed, a
snapshot of my normal life before it’d been violently taken away. I couldn’t
believe what’d happened to me. Part of me wanted to think it was a strange
dream, and nothing more.
Tony slammed the lock. He stood in the dark, his shoulders curling forward.
His keys dropped. So did his jacket, sliding from his loosened arms. The
warmth from his rescue suddenly left me, like a cold tide of ocean water
rolling over my feet. The sadness radiating from him stuck in my throat.
I stroked his shoulder.
Tony whirled. He crushed me in his embrace. He exhaled a ragged sigh and
pinned me to his body.
My hand found his chest, unbidden. I grasped his tie and slid my hand
down, my pulse racing as he bowed his head. His full mouth touched mine.
He was like silk and honey, so gentle my heart burst with pain. His lips
claimed me as he pushed me against the wall.
I expected him to devour me like he usually did, but he held back. He
sought every corner of my mouth, reassuring and healing. My fingers
tangled in his locks as he tugged my hair, angling me to meet his mouth.
Slowly, the kisses burned hotter. More urgent. He took my hip, brushing my
naked skin under the coat.
Tony’s attention flicked to the collar wrapping my neck.
“K put that on you?”
“Yeah.”
Wildness overtook him like a growing shadow, contorting his features,
turning his eyes black with greed. He nuzzled me, shaking. Trembling.
“It’s okay, Tony. I’m all right.”
I was. But he wasn’t.
His fiery gaze told me he was barely tethered to the ground, but I’d grown
to like the monster inside him. I ignored the warning from his stiffening
limbs and kissed his throat. I breathed him in. His scent steadied me. It set
off an ache in my chest that demanded more.
“Tony, I need you.”
“Stay away. I can’t hold back.”
A thrill of anticipation touched my spine. I sucked on his full pout and
nipped him.
He growled into my lips. “Evie .”
“The way you say my name is so beautiful.”
“Evie, this is not what you need.”
“I always need you.”
I slammed my lips into his, and in one forward motion I was in his arms. He
lifted me, and I buried my hands in his thick hair. Kissing, we stumbled into
a console table. Something rocked violently and crashed, but Tony’s lips
lashed mine hungrily. He bumped his elbow on the doorway, cursing. He
stroked me, gliding over my backside to cradle the fullest part of my ass.
Perfect. He felt perfect.
He groaned a tortured sigh.
“Evie, I’m too fucked up. I’m trying to be a gentleman but I don’t—”
I kissed him, shutting him up.
He devoured me with a demanding possession before he yanked away,
hissing. “Evie, I’m not in control. I relapsed. I couldn’t help it, and I don’t
—”
“Are you okay?”
“I don’t know. It was just one drink, but—” He made a deep, frustrated
sound as I smothered his protest. “Evie, for once, would you fucking listen
to me? I can’t . I’ll hurt you and I’ll hate myself and then—”
I tore his shirt and curled into the curve of his body. I nuzzled his neck,
seeking his warmth. I needed to forget the last twenty-four hours, and only
my husband could make it better. I stroked his rock-hard pecs and the
gorgeous wall of muscle, relishing the heat baking my skin. My fingers
skated his back, bumping into rigid flesh.
Shock wedged in my throat as I traced the unyielding tissue. Scars. Slashes
marked him in angry strokes. He was ripped up everywhere .
A shudder passed through me.
I’d never seen him completely naked. Tony had avoided taking off his shirt.
He’d kept it on at Sanctum. Hell, he’d stopped me from touching him on
our wedding night. He’d acted so strangely, refusing to fuck me even
though I’d begged him for it.
This was why.
He wasn’t ready to share this with me.
Oh, Tony .
His tormented gaze found me as I took his face. For once, he didn’t wipe it
blank.
To the world, he was Mob Prince—well-bred, elegant, beautiful, Boston’s
most eligible bachelor with a perfect body. At the club, he was the monster.
Witnessing him like this, so raw and wounded , moved me.
I wanted to take away his pain.
I leaned forward but Tony got there first. He fingered my collar and jerked
hard.
“I’m done waiting.”
“Tony—”
He slammed his lips onto mine. His tongue forcing my mouth open. Liquid
heat delved in deep, flicking, fucking my mouth like a wanton beast. He
wouldn’t let me breathe, save for a quick inhale between ravishing me
again.
As his grip tightened, I slipped further under his spell. I slumped in his
arms. I submitted to his frenzy, knowing that I wouldn’t be the same after
this. Once he pinned me down and finally fucked me.
He promised he’d hurt me.
What kind of a woman gets off on that?
He gathered me like a wolf snapping its jaws on squirming prey. He
released a low hiss. His burning palms slid down my naked back, seizing
me in a brutal, ass-grabbing pinch.
So fucking hot.
This possession was what I’d ached for.
He twisted the thong, breaking it on my skin. The black lace skimmed my
legs. I shivered as it trailed my skin, jarred from the soft touch by Tony’s
unyielding grip. He dragged me toward the bed like I was a convict headed
for execution. His legs struck the edge of the mattress. He fell, dragging me
with him.
My thighs straddled his muscled legs. Then he yanked me against his hair-
roughened chest, the contact teasing my nipples into hardness. He lifted
himself, easing his pants off to free his throbbing erection. His swollen head
glided along my pussy, pushing at the aching entrance.
The contact jolted my clit. A ray of pleasure touched me like sunlight, and
then Tony pulled me onto him. He rammed his cock inside me.
Too big. Too fast.
He was too much to take.
He was hot and thick, wedging me open. I winced as he reached the barrier
inside me, but he didn’t hesitate. He pushed against it, growling as he
ripped through it.
Oh God.
I was stretched to the limit, biting my lip to kill a scream.
Tony’s mouth crushed mine, smothering my whimper. His demanding hips
punched forward.
Deep inside, I felt myself break.
My back arched with his anchoring thrust. The full length of him was
buried. I raked his back as he retreated and the agony returned.
Pain.
Swift and brutal.
I released a choked gasp.
Tony silenced me, kissing me hard. His hands curled over my shoulders. He
dug in, forcing me to meet his upward thrusts. It was warm and very wet,
the slick pressure ramming me. Pain ricocheted in my stomach, yet I didn’t
want it to stop.
Passion radiated from Tony’s body into mine. I’d surrendered completely,
abandoned myself to sensation. It clouded my brain the way it seemed to
consume Tony, ordering me to stay still and let him drill me.
Electricity arced through me as his arm banded my waist, shoving my
breasts into his stubbled cheek. My nipple pebbled as he took it in his
mouth. Ecstasy lashed me, stroking a line from my tits to my aching pussy.
I eased into his slow but deep rhythm. When he pushed himself as far as my
body would allow, he uttered a satisfied sound. His stabbing cock almost
made me beg for mercy, but I clung to his back.
I reveled in the agony. Loved it.
The warmth spreading across my thighs was ominous. I knew what I’d see
but it failed to horrify me. I felt slashed open. Filled. Gloriously fucked.
Taken.
A second thought grabbed my throat.
A stranger would’ve done this to me. If not for Tony, my first time
would’ve been just as rough. Tears of relief stung my eyes. Only Tony
could fuck me like this. Only he had my trust and affection. Because I’d
fallen for him.
And I already loved the monster.
My heart swelled.
His feral grunts blasted my ear as he fucked me with ruthless precision. The
sharp pang faded to a dull ache as he lavished attention on my breasts. He
dipped his head, latching onto my nipple. He suckled as he drove inside me.
A shockwave of heat rippled through me. Pain disappeared to a dim
murmur as Tony lapped my nipples. He tantalized the buds, swelling them
into points. His hands slid down, squeezing before finding the swell of my
hips. He seemed to be searching for pleasure. His thumb brushed my clit.
I screamed.
The combination of tongue and cock—so hot. I was delirious with the wave
of ecstasy. His perfect mouth worked magic on my tits, gliding from breast
to breast to suck and bite. His tongue blazed my collarbone and neck before
smothering my lips.
He pressed on my clit. Sparks engulfed my pussy. My torso moved up and
down, and he paused, letting me take the lead. I grabbed his shoulders for
leverage and ground against his erection.
We both exhaled.
God, he felt good.
Tony fisted my hair. His glare pinned me as he resumed thrusting. His cock
rammed into me, the friction dragging a moan from my clenched lips.
“You’re mine.” Tony kissed me again, roughly. “I’m going to show you
what that means.”
He hovered above me, his athletic frame tensed and his expression strained.
Tony lowered himself until his chest brushed my nipples. His teeth sank
into my breasts, leaving shining marks. Not content with that, he nipped the
other globe, his bites punctuated with his savage thrusts. Tony glared at my
curves, as though resenting them for bringing out the monster. Then he
unleashed his frustration on me. He gripped my hair and wrenched. He
smashed his mouth on mine, forcing his tongue inside as he gave me the
violent fuck my cousin had warned me about.
All I could do was take his pivoting hips.
I was bound to him.
Completely submitted.
He took his pleasure, and I loved it. He marked me like prey, and I melted.
He’d taken my virginity with violence, and gratitude swelled in my throat.
He tore me with his giant cock, and I widened my legs. I let him devour me.
I would do anything he wanted. I was a willing vessel for his lust.
Tony seized my face, his eyes wild. “You’ll never leave me again.”
“Never.”
“Tell me you belong to me.”
The yearning in his voice clutched my heart.
“I do. I belong to you.”
He kissed me until tears welled in my eyes. Then his tongue lashed my lips,
flooding my thoughts with sin. He rammed me, filling me to the hilt. He bit
my ear as his fingers massaged my clit, building my climax to a lightning
storm. My orgasm ramped up as he nipped my neck, the pounding of his
slick cock the only noise in my head.
His deep grunts softened as he drove his hips forward. He thrust harder, the
pain almost blinding, and then he sighed. His back arched and a groan burst
from him. Warm jets coated my insides with ecstasy. Tony furiously
pumped, the thumb on my clit flicking hard.
A tremor worked through my body. Joy swept me in glowing clouds as I
succumbed to the need clenching my thighs. A wave of peace washed over
me as Tony lowered himself. He breathed kisses into my throat, panting. I
held him, in awe of the sensations running through me.
Physically, I felt amazing. Sore as hell but satisfied.
Immensely satisfying. I liked the sticky, hot feeling, the primal nature of it,
and that I had no desire to separate from him. Especially when he rained
sweet kisses on my cheek and temple. His tenderness invaded my soul,
healing broken patches, awakening dormant needs.
Tony’s beautiful features flickered with apprehension. He pulled away and
glanced at the mess between our legs. His raw gaze clashed with mine.
“Tony, I’m fine.” I rubbed his bicep. “Don’t be sorry for this. I’m not.”
“Evie, I am so sorry. If I weren’t such a bastard—”
“You made up for it by saving my ass.”
“You didn’t need saving until I made you run.”
“Couples fight. I never expected this would happen. And if you weren’t in
my life…I’d be raped or dead.” I cupped his face, smoothing the frown
creasing his forehead. “Thanks for being there for me. And for not giving
up.”
“Never, Evie.”
He balled me in his arms and dragged me into his chest, and I nestled in his
warmth. He kissed the top of my head and whispered into my hair.
“Evie, I’m grateful you’re okay.”
My heart clenched. “You need four more.”
“That’s the only one I care about right now.”
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-FOUR

TONY

2 fingers Glenlivet
neat

E vie ’ s hot mouth lulled me out of an exhausted sleep. Warmth wrapped my

cock as she sucked me into hardness, her tongue gliding up and down my
shaft. My balls tightened with the need for release as I lay back, sinking
into bliss.
Quite the wake-up call.
I glanced at the clock. Three a.m. “I’m surprised you’re awake. Maybe I
shouldn’t have taken it so easy on you.”
I hadn’t been remotely gentle.
Still, she’d enjoyed it, and she was at it again. She stared at me, the
challenge in her eye stroking my cock as much as her blowjob. Her tongue
swirled. Liquid heat lashed the underside, and I bit my lip to kill the sigh.
This woman was fearless. Was that given to her by her ruthless father, or
did she learn it growing up in that hell hole?
Evie’s mouth made a wet pop as she lifted her head. Eyes blazing, she
climbed onto my lap. She grabbed my face and kissed me. Long and hard.
Passionate. The sort of kiss that pulled at the center of me.
My mouth moved down her cheek, to her jawline, to the breasts crushing
my chest. I nipped her skin until I brushed her nipple. I circled it with my
tongue before closing on her, sucking.
She shuddered, fisting my hair.
“Please, Tony.”
Yes .
I was addicted to that sound. Her sighs. Her full tits budded with pink as I
gave the other nipple the same attention. I licked across her collarbone,
teasing the marks I’d made last night up her graceful neck, and smothered
her pleas.
My body was on autopilot as I settled between her legs. I pushed inside her.
Too perfect.
The warmth gripping my shaft chased away all doubt. She was too fucking
good wrapped around me. Nothing that felt this amazing could be bad.
None of this was wrong, even if I was wrong for her. When she gasped like
that, as though surprised that we fit together, it resonated in my soul—made
me hopeful.
“Tell me how you want it, Evie. I was too selfish with you last night.”
“Make love to me.”
I slowed down, our lips never parting as I fucked her. She rewarded me
with hitched breaths that throbbed ecstasy through me. I made love to her
until her breathing quickened, and she begged me with her dark eyes.
“Harder. Faster.”
I made one quick jerk that ripped a groan from her throat. She raked the
scars on my back, gliding down to grip my ass. She yanked, desperate for
more friction. I gave it to her, shoving myself as far I could go. I nuzzled
her sweat-streaked neck, tonguing her skin before sucking hard.
My hips punched forward.
She moaned. “More.”
Greedy woman .
I pulled her in a tight embrace and pounded her. Her tits smashed my chest
as she arched, letting out a strangled noise as I pumped in and out of her.
Her face screwed up, and then a soft gasp escaped her. Her orgasm made
her pussy grip my dick with convulsions, the tension knotting her body.
Two thrusts. That was all I needed before I came. The details I’d blocked
out—her sweet taste, her curves pressing into me, her surrendering breaths
—heated my thighs and cock. The fire consumed me as I filled her with
cum. A flood of joy drowned me, and I stilled, relishing the moment. I lay
on top of her, spent and breathless, using her breasts as a pillow.
She buried her fingers in my hair, stroking.
“Jesus. I feel like I’m high.”
Pleasure tingled every patch of skin, even my lips. Suddenly, I had to
reassure myself that this was real. I unstuck my face from her perfect tits
and dragged my gaze to her sleepy smile. Then I kissed her. A jolt shot into
me like a lightning strike. I was still inside her, hard as steel, and thickening
fast.
Minutes later, I came with her riding my lap and her nipple in my mouth.
We collapsed together, the buzz already fading from my ecstasy-soaked
brain.
I had things to do.
“Evie.” I rubbed her back, and her eyes flew open. “Evie, we need to talk.”
“Can’t it wait?”
I wish .
I had no desire to leave this bed. I wanted to stay, but I’d killed four men. I
couldn’t pretend it didn’t happen.
“Let’s get washed.”
I coaxed her to a seated position, but she groaned and rolled over.
I slid the sheets off our bodies and switched on the lamp. Orange light
flared across Evie’s soft curves. I helped her off the bed. Then I cupped her
ass and nudged her into the bathroom.
“Come on, baby. I’ll give you a massage. It’ll be nice.”
She grunted.
Our feet slapped the cool tile, and I flipped on the lights.
Under the harsh lighting, Evie’s facade crumbled. She turned ashen. She
crossed her arms, shivering. Tendons stood out on her neck as she stared
into the mirror.
Shit . “Evie?”
“I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Evie wiped her face, her eyes
widening at her tear-streaked palm. “All of a sudden, I feel bad. I have this
intense dread.”
“You’ll be like that for a while.”
“I will?”
Nausea pitted my stomach as I curled my arm around her. I recognized the
signs. The fear would worsen as the drugs faded from her system.
What did that bastard do to my wife?
I opened the shower door and wrenched the knob. She startled at the loud
hiss, but the tension rippling her brow melted as water pelted her body,
stroking her in tantalizing rivulets. “God, that’s amazing. He made me
shower in cold water…” She trailed off, wearing that haunted look.
“We’ll talk about it later. Okay?”
She nodded.
I soaped up her shoulders and massaged her back, my thumbs sinking into
the tight muscles that refused to loosen. I washed her breasts, sliding down
her taut abdomen to her womb.
How many times did I come inside her?
I hadn’t made that mistake in decades. A miracle, considering I used to dive
into a mountain of cocaine every weekend. Somehow, I’d always held it
together long enough to wear a condom. One night with Evie, and my brain
cells seemed to spontaneously combust.
A box of condoms sat in the nightstand. Hundreds of them. I hadn’t reached
for them. It didn’t occur to me once. I got caught in the moment.
How did that happen?
“How are you feeling?”
She squirted shampoo into her hands and lathered her hair. “I’m great. Just
sore.”
Avoiding the subject.
Honestly, I couldn’t blame her.
“I’ll get you Advil.”
“No .”
She sounded tense, if a bit on guard. My stomach hardened as I put together
incomplete images. I’d probably never know what happened in those
twenty-four hours we were apart. I wouldn’t force her to tell me, but it ate
at me to watch her suffer.
I rinsed myself and turned off the shower.
I pulled her into a fierce hug and kissed her head, hating the devastation on
her face when I disengaged. I grabbed a towel from the rack and cocooned
her in cotton. “From now on, things will be different between us.”
“Tony…you don’t need to placate me.”
“Do I strike you as a people-pleaser?” I pinched her chin, dragging her
wounded gaze to mine. “You need to understand something, Evie.
Yesterday was the worst day of my life. Losing you to a trafficker, not
knowing if you were hurt...it nearly killed me. Once I found out where you
were, I had to wait. I spent that time obsessing over what I would’ve done
differently to keep you from running off.”
“Tony . You don’t have to—”
“Let me finish. I never said I didn’t want to build a life with you. I don’t
blame you for thinking that because I’ve been such an asshole, but I haven’t
been stable in so long. Marrying a woman and starting a family...it’s like a
fantasy. It was hard for me to accept this. I resisted you. I pushed you away,
but it didn’t work because the truth is…You’re everything I’ve always
wanted.”
Tears squeezed from her shut lids. She swiped them away, choking out an
apology. Then she threw her arms around me.
I’d been such a moron.
In the beginning, I’d suspected her business was connected. That she knew
what her father was up to, but of course she didn’t. She had no idea. Like
most of the women in the club, she was trapped in the system.
Exploited .
“I have to go.” A pang needled my stomach as she clung tighter to me.
“When I’m back, I’ll cook you breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever you like. I’m
yours for the rest of the day, but I have to do this first.”
“Which is?”
“Some miscellaneous errands.”
“Tony, I’m not an idiot. What aren’t you telling me?”
Everything .
“We’ll talk later. I’m also sending over a doctor and my mom. She’ll keep
you company while I’m gone. It’s not up for fucking discussion, so don’t
bother arguing.”
Evie let out a heavy sigh.
“Why do you have to leave?”
“Because,” I said tightly, reminded of the four bodies. “I was very clear to
Jett. I did not want you involved in club business, and what did he do the
second my back was turned? I need to send a message. Crossing me will not
be tolerated.”
“What does that mean?”
I didn’t know yet.
My body heated as I pictured my retribution. I cataloged all their crimes.
Dragging her into a dangerous situation. Getting her kidnapped. Drugged.
Stripped. The theft of her ring, clothes, her dignity and safety. K might’ve
sold her to be raped, but he wasn’t the only lowlife on my list.
Ghost.
Her worthless father.
Basically, every man in her life.
I toweled myself dry and left her in the bathroom. I was itching to leave,
and her broken pleas didn’t make that easier. I strolled into the walk-in
closet.
Evie hung in the doorway, naked. Her soaking hair steadily dripped on her
chest, rolling downward, temping me to catch them all with my tongue.
“They were robbed . What happened to me isn’t the MC’s fault.”
She had to believe that, didn’t she?
“Agree to disagree.”
“I was there. You weren’t.”
I pulled on black slacks and a shirt, unlocking the gun from my safe, not
trusting myself to speak.
“This is your idea of justice? Maybe you’ll shoot me for running away!”
“I’d rather spank your ass bright red.”
“God forbid you’re nice to me for longer than five minutes. Tony, you can’t
attack the clubhouse because of one stupid mistake!”
That word infuriated me. It implied innocence. Wrong place and the wrong
time. Bullshit . Legion had made their bed. She still failed to grasp the
enormity of the situation, and I was sick of handling her with kid gloves.
“I’m not shooting up anything, all right? And I won’t be at the MC.” I
grabbed her chin and kissed her mouth roughly. “Promise.”
“K drugged me,” she said, tearing into my chest. “He ripped off my clothes.
He took pictures of me while I was helpless. Then he shoved me in a
suitcase. He made me feel like trash. Less than an animal. A thing . If you
go on a rampage, you’re making this about you.”
My vision clouded with terrible fantasies.
I couldn’t hold this in me anymore. My self-control had frayed to an
invisible thread, and it whittled with every confession.
It happened to me, too .

I FOUND her father at a bar.

Typical .
My fists tightened on the steering wheel. He should’ve been razing the
streets, looking for his daughter. Using his manpower to kick down doors,
as my family had done for me.
Jett drowned himself in Budweiser.
Unbelievable .
I sat in a van surrounded by street gang kids. Young and stupid. Hungry for
action. Perfect for my purposes. I risked Vinn’s wrath by grabbing his
soldiers, but at the moment I couldn’t look at someone in leather without
the desire to kill them. It’d been only too easy to drive by the
neighborhoods and throw open a door, asking for help. They’d piled in
without a second’s thought after I gave them each a thousand dollars cash.
The vibe in the car was silent reverence. Most of them were distant
relatives, cousins of cousins, half-Italians, associates who couldn’t be made
into members. They worshipped guys like me with a direct line to the Costa
throne.
The one in the driver’s seat was their leader, a gangly twenty-year-old who
I’d seen at a few weddings. A vape pen hung from his mouth. Steam blew
from his crooked lips as he reached for a baseball bat.
“Mr. Costa. We doing this or what?”
I nodded. “I’m going in first.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll kill the bouncer and the bartender. Don’t come inside until I’ve
fired.”
“Does Vinn know about this?”
“Nah.” I smirked at the kid, whose jaw went slack. “This is dangerous, but
I’ll take full responsibility. I’ll understand if you change your mind, but I’d
appreciate the backup, and I’ll pay it forward in the future. For all of you.”
He raised his brow. “So you’ll owe me a favor?”
“Yep.”
He offered me his fist, and I knocked mine against it. Then I did the same
for everybody in the van. Someone got the door for me.
I jumped down and strolled across the street. I wouldn’t blame the kids for
taking off. Picking a fight in a biker bar was stupid, but I had no hope of
confronting Jett in the clubhouse and I needed to send a clear message.
Five young faces gaped at me as I approached the grizzled prospect.
He held out his hand. “ID.”
I opened my wallet. Cards slipped through my fingers and fluttered to the
ground.
“Shit, sorry.” I kneeled, feigning drunkenness as I groped for the plastic.
“Here we go.”
I gave it to him.
He bent as his penlight zoomed on my face.
I took out my knife, and the blade sank into his neck. He shouted, palming
the gushing wound. Wide-eyed he stumbled backward. I threw him aside
and wrenched the knife out. No blood on me. Good. I tucked the knife into
my jacket and removed my gun, heart pounding.
I bumped into the door. It swung into the dive. I headed for the counter, the
barrel hidden in my sleeve. The bartender looked up as he cleaned a mug.
I lifted my hand in a friendly wave, drawing his attention away from the
gun. I aimed and fired. The glass he held shattered. Crimson blossomed
from the hole in his chest. I squeezed the trigger, firing at the drunken
members. A man at the pool table sprinted at me. I wheeled my arm. Fired.
He crashed to his knees.
I ducked behind the counter as top-shelf liquor exploded. My feet swam in
glass and booze. I returned fire, and then the street kids burst inside, a
perfectly timed whirlwind of chaos. They shattered neon signs, smashed the
unbroken bottles, and laid waste to the popular Legion bar.
I stood, gun drawn.
I locked gazes with a dark-haired biker, fists clenched and trembling. Evie’s
almond-shaped eyes stared at me, fear flickering in them. I hesitated. For all
his faults and flaws, he was her father.
Jett reached into his holster.
I whipped my Glock across his face. The blow knocked Jett off the stool.
He sputtered, his beard running with beer and blood.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“She’s safe, not that you give a shit.” I lowered so that my lips hovered near
his ear. “The only reason your brains aren’t decorating the floor is because
of Evie. I suggest you remember that.”
“You think she’ll want to be with you? After all this?” He pushed himself
upright, grinning a crimson smile. “You’re crazy. You’re fucking mental .”
My ears pounded.
Visions of Evie storming out the door clouded my head. The idea of her
leaving rocketed my pulse and dried my mouth.
“She won’t leave me.”
“You’re sure of that?” Jett chuckled, spitting out blood. “Keep my secret
and I’ll keep yours, Costa.”
Fuck you .
Fuck you, fuck you .
I stood, my grip tightening on my Glock. “I’m not the same guy you
chained up. Consider this a warning.”
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-FIVE

EVIE

I’m grateful that roses have thorns.

W here was T ony ?

What was he doing?
Hours ticked by with nothing from him. I sat in the living room, an afghan
draping my lap. The doctor had already examined me and left. Tony’s
mother never picked up the phone, so I was alone. My only light blazed
from my phone, which I checked compulsively.
Dad: Are you okay?
Dad: Talk to me.
Me: I’m fine.
I couldn’t stand exchanging another sentence with my father. He’d let me
down so badly. I couldn’t breathe without pain stabbing my ribs. I wrapped
myself in blankets, as though the vivid images would disappear with
enough heat. My mind buzzed as I pieced together my arrival into the hotel
and the girls on stage.
I’d seen wild things at patchover parties. Public sex didn’t offend me, but it
was different with vacant-eyed women and the men with zero regard for
them.
My eyes fought to stay open but sleep was out of the question. So was
tearing my gaze from the door. He had to come back. Tony had the answers.
Minutes…hours passed as the golf ball in my throat swelled.
The elevator pinged.
I scrambled from the sofa.
The doors opened. My disheveled husband stepped inside, carrying a
takeout bag and a drink caddy. He tossed his keys and strode into the
kitchen, setting everything on the counter. Tony’s button-up was rather
wrinkled and his expression pinched, but he seemed all right.
Thank God.
My body sagged, and the fatigue slammed into me at last. I dropped onto
the tiles. Tony stooped, gripping my upper arms.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you sleep?”
“I couldn’t until you got home.”
Tony’s brows furrowed, as though he couldn’t imagine why I’d sacrifice my
health for him. “Jesus, you must be dead on your feet. Let’s get some food
in you.”
Orange light shot through the grim Boston cityscape as Tony led me into
the living room with the wall-to-wall windows. He sank onto the couch,
dragging me beside him.
“Want some?”
He offered me a pastry, but I sprawled over the cushions and put my head in
his lap. A mistake, because the position reminded me of what happened
shortly after being drugged.
I fisted his slacks and fought against the urge to cry out. He stroked my hair.
Then he broke off a piece of croissant and held it to my lips.
“Eat. You’ll feel better.”
“No.” I nuzzled his thighs and kissed him. “Only this helps.”
The hand on my hip squeezed, and he let out a tense breath. His touch set
off lightning strikes under my skin, even if he touched me with bread.
“Eat, baby.”
I obeyed, the butter exploding over my tongue.
“Is this a thing now?” I murmured, adjusting myself on his leg. “I never
imagined you’d have a feeding fetish.”
“Not my kink.”
“And yet I feel hardness under my cheek. Way to turn a sweet Hallmark
moment into a something naughty.” I turned, facing him. “What would your
mother say?”
His full mouth tugged into a bemused grin. “She’s Italian.”
“You keep throwing that out like it makes sense to anybody but you.”
“Family is important in our culture.” He said it pointedly, sending a ripple
of heat through my chest. “Mom is always in my corner, no matter what. So
if you cry to her about me, she’ll blame you for not servicing your husband.
She’ll say I have a man’s needs and you should do your duty.”
Somehow, I doubted that. “I think your mom is happier with me than with
you.”
“She did threaten to disown me, so you may be right.”
“What for?”
“Being an asshole to my wife.”
His palm cradled my cheek, the shock of him behaving this way running
through my body. The touch upset my balance even though I lay still. He
stroked me, temple to the back of my head.
“Tony, why are you doing this?”
“I like taking care of you, and there’s not much I enjoy anymore.”
He kissed my temple lightly.
The imprint of his lips and his bewitching smile warmed me, and then he
scratched his nose. Blood smeared his shirt in a long gash.
Holy shit .
I struggled upright, seizing Tony’s arm.
“Broken glass. Nothing to worry about.”
“Did you kill anyone? ”
He shrugged. “Not that I’m aware of.”
Ice twisted my stomach. “Where were you?”
“Running errands. No biggie.”
“Tony, I am not an idiot,” I burst, pushing from his lap. “Please don’t lie to
me.”
“I went to see your dad. We had a disagreement.”
“You mean fight .”
“He’s in one piece, hon. Swear to God. Call him if you don’t believe me.”
These days, Tony had more of my trust. My pulse raced. If I hadn’t married
Tony, where would I be? Who would I be forced to service after being sold
into slavery?
I glanced at Tony. “I don’t feel like talking to him.”
“I don’t blame you.”
He followed as I stormed into the bathroom, slamming cupboards and
drawers until I discovered a first-aid kit.
Then I ripped his sleeve to the elbow. As a president’s daughter in the club,
you saw a lot of injuries. Fixing them wasn’t my forte, but I preferred it to
him bleeding everywhere.
Tony sat on the closed toilet, quietly enduring it. He held out his arm when I
asked. He let me dab on antiseptics. Bandage. I had the feeling his
cooperation was directly related to my close shave.
“Thank you.”
He pressed his hot mouth into my cheek, lingering for a moment too long
which urged me to catch his tempting pout. Tony took me to bed. He peeled
the sheets and slid inside, his head hitting the pillow beside mine. He
gripped my hand, brushing the spot where my wedding band used to be.
“K stole it,” I said bitterly. “I was drugged. I couldn’t stop him.”
“I’ll replace it.”
He sounded wooden, but his tawny eyes sparked with fury.
“It won’t be the one you picked for me.” My chest tightened with the
knowledge I’d never get it back. “I planned to make some changes to the
band, but now I’ll never…why does that piss me off so much?”
He went silent for a while, his distant stare echoing his hollow voice. “This
never should’ve happened to you. I’m sorry.”
The shadows darkening his features seemed to grow, and I felt along his
stubbled jaw. His beard had thickened and sweat streaked his hair, and I
wondered when the last time he’d taken care of himself was.
Tony leaned into my palm and grabbed my hip, gently stroking. “Anything
he did…it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”
I looked up, and my heart lurched madly.
He kissed my hand.
Warmth burst across my cheeks. “I’m so sorry you’re caught in the
middle…Dad didn’t mean for me to get kidnapped. I’ve done this before
and never—safety has never been a problem.”
His eyes bored into me.
His gaze reminded me of being wrapped in his arms and fucked. Losing my
virginity had been the most intense experience of my life. My body still
ached where he’d filled me, and suddenly it pulsed with a yearning. He
channeled so much sexual energy and it was beyond me to resist.
“Your father sucks at being a criminal, Evie. He launders money through
your business but does it poorly. I don’t think you’re aware of how badly
he’s screwed you. If you ever got investigated, Evie…you can say goodbye
to all your dreams because once the world associates Evie with the shit your
dad is doing, you’ll be canceled. You’ll never be able to sell a bracelet.”
Tony pushed himself to a seated position. “He steals from you, he messes
up your financials, he makes you do appraisals with violent men. He
doesn’t bring enough backup, giving slime like K a golden opportunity to
rob him blind. So the fact that he didn’t mean it? Who the fuck cares? He
treats you like trash.”
I shook my head, tears blinding my vision.
“I know he’s bad. He does awful things, but he’s been there since I was a
baby.” I wiped my face, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. “He cried
with me when Mom walked out on us.”
I used to stare at the doorway and imagine her strolling through, wrapping
me in her lilac-scented arms. In my mind, there was a perfect explanation
for why she’d gone, but a universal truth steered me toward a less sunny
conclusion—people let me down.
Repeatedly .
Tony’s palm fell on my shoulder. “What happened to your mom?”
I shrugged. “She took off.”
“Just like that?”
“I woke up. She was gone.” I inhaled deeply and adjusted my smile. “At
least I had her for twenty years.”
Tony raked his espresso waves and stared at me. “Did anyone file a missing
persons report?”
“She’s not missing, Tony. She always talked about leaving the MC. I
thought she’d take me with her, but she was telling me what I wanted to
hear. She abandoned me. My dad didn’t but he hurts me, too. I love them
but I can’t rely on them, so I go inward for strength. Everybody has to look
after themselves. People will let you down.”
The hand caressing my back paused.
“Huh. I don’t agree with that at all.”
I blinked. “You don’t?”
Tony shook his head, resuming his restless stroking. His hold glided to my
shoulder. He pulled me until my head nestled in the crook of his neck.
“I’ll die before I let you down.”
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-SIX

EVIE

I’m grateful that my passion is my job.

F or a week , I woke up to my husband perched on a stool at the breakfast

bar. A smile would tick across his rugged face, and he’d push a latte in my
direction.
We developed a routine. We ate breakfast together. Sometimes he wanted
me on his lap as he sipped coffee and read the news. Other days, he scooped
me in his arms and took me back to bed, fucking me before he took off to
do God knows what. No matter what, Tony always delivered me lunch.
I treasured these small gestures.
Even the fact that he drew pictures in my coffee’s foam made my eyes well
with emotion. The thoughtfulness reminded me of my mom, the things
she’d done before she vanished. I never knew how much I needed this. I
cherished every moment with Tony, but at the same time it freaked me out.
How long would he stay before disappearing?
He was only here out of guilt. As soon as I healed, he’d vanish, and that’d
hurt like hell because I loved having him around. He was better than
everyone else’s husband. Nobody was as loyal or brave. I’d never known a
man so ruthlessly devoted to protecting his woman. He humbled me. He
was trying to stop me from being a victim of the MC, just as he had been. It
made me ache for his respect and admiration, which I’d never sought from
anyone .
I dreaded the moment he’d go back to wherever holdout he had before now,
so I threw myself into distractions.
I fielded my dad’s calls. I sketched. I worked on Tony’s gift when he took
showers or went for a run, and I contemplated my life, all the things I’d
done to support the club.
Knuckles rapped the doorframe.
I hid the object in my hands under a microfiber towel and straightened over
my makeshift workbench, which Tony had set up so I could finish the
pieces I’d been commissioned to do. It wasn’t safe to visit the jeweler’s
studio, so Tony cleared his desk and let me use it.
He wasn’t supposed to be here so early. The sight of my husband’s well-
built frame stretched out in the doorway filled me with steam. He’d tucked
in a thick cotton T-shirt into navy dress pants. Brown leather, matching his
loafers, cinched them tight.
“Hi, honey.”
Tony approached with a half-cocked smirk, amusement flickering in his
deep eyes. He bent and kissed my cheek, setting off fireworks beneath my
skin.
I turned my head, my lips brushing his ear. “My ass still has marks from
your hand.”
“I know,” he said, his voice warming. “You showed me during your
striptease.”
I bit my lip as Tony’s face wrinkled with a small grin. It’d been in the
morning. The memory of Tony’s cock from the night before got me so wet
that I plugged in the camera facing the bed. I texted Tony. Then I sat right in
front of it and…played with myself. After I’d finished, my phone pinged
with an emoji from Tony.
A flame.
“I figured it’d get your attention.”
“It got me through a tedious meeting. Thank God I turned off the sound.”
His low laughter tingled across my face like tiny electrical shocks. “You
make the most delicious moans when you come. I might set them as my
ringtone.”
He heard me?
I toyed with my hair, hot around my neck. “I didn’t realize the cameras
picked up sound, too.”
“They sure do.”
He pulled up a chair and sat behind me, his presence sucking the air from
the room. My pulse slammed my throat as he leaned forward, his mouth
finding the space between my neck and shoulder.
“What are you up to?”
“Working,” I whispered, finding it hard to concentrate with the lips pressing
into me. “Are you going to sit there?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“It makes me self-conscious.”
He made a discontented sound. “Why? I have no idea what I’m looking at.
It’s not like a painting. I can’t see it coming together.”
“Well, I’m not ready to show you.”
“Intriguing.”
He moved closer, his fingers encircling my wrist. The rough bite and my
position reminded me of a few nights ago. I’d unsuccessfully tried to block
those hellish hours I spent naked, tied up, and drugged.
I wheeled around in my chair, sorrow centering over my chest.
“Tony, I’ve been thinking…I know I should let it go, but I can’t stop
thinking about them. There were so many girls.” I took his hand and traced
his calluses. “What’s going to happen to them?”
“Nothing good.”
The bluntness turned my stomach. “Can’t we save them?”
“Put it from your mind, Evie.”
“How can you say that?”
“This is what I do for a living. I’ve worked for years to disrupt them and
I’ve barely dented their operations. Busting trafficking rings isn’t as simple
as calling the police. They have connections everywhere . The only reason I
found you was because I know someone who knows someone.” He shot me
a hard-eyed glare, startling me. “They’re dangerous, and there’s nothing a
twenty-two-year-old can do about it.”
“That’s not true. I could make a statement to the FBI.”
Tony’s mouth hardened. “That won’t get you anywhere. Trust me.”
His stern attitude baffled me.
“Tony, I can’t just do nothing!”
“I’m not telling you to do nothing, but I want you to set realistic goals for
yourself.”
“What does that mean?”
“Play to your strengths.” He scooped my hand in his and pressed his lips to
my knuckles. “You’re an amazing jewelry designer. Make a line of bracelets
and give a percentage of the proceeds to an anti-trafficking charity. Cut the
MC out of your life.”
How would that help anything?
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Follow your heart, Evie. It’ll never lead you wrong.”
Tony rubbed my back as the gravity of that sank in my chest.
My heart wanted me to do stupid things, like give my body to my husband
whenever he wanted. It begged me to float into his arms, hold him tight,
and never let him go. It was sick of fighting. I met his gaze. His eyes were
like black satin, beautiful and dark.
“What if it wants you?” I left my chair for his lap, winding my arms around
his neck. “I want you, raw and unfiltered. Rough sex. Romantic dates. You
holding me when I sleep.”
He smiled. “Anything else?”
“Model jewelry for me. My social media page needs content, and you have
nice hands.”
He let out an incredulous laugh. He gave them a glance, and shrugged.
“Never heard that before.”
“It was one of the first things I noticed about you.”
“Not for me.” Tony’s gaze fell to my neck and down my halter top, and his
voice dipped to a sultry caress. “I was preoccupied with your mouth and
how badly I wanted to use my cock to shut it up.”
“Too bad you didn’t. It would’ve salvaged the night.”
He laughed. “I doubt that very much.”
“Who am I to criticize how a man makes love to his wife?”
He grinned, shaking his head. “God, I wish I had a pair of your rainbow-
colored glasses.”
I mimed taking them off and setting them on his nose. “Your turn. What do
you want?”
“What do I want,” he mused, dragging his fingers through his hair. “Besides
taking out my wife and having her float on cloud nine all night, I can’t think
of anything.”
A baby.
A family.
“Tony, it’s been five months. What happens in a year, when I’m not
pregnant?”
“We stay together.”
“What if I want kids with you?”
My heart broke as his eyes shuttered. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t
have to. Doubt flickered in my mind as Tony’s phone shattered the agonized
silence. He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as he pulled away to answer. I
imagined him leaving me in the same way as my mother.
Mom hadn’t stuck around. Dad was a lying sociopath. My husband was the
only stable element in my life, and he was an unpredictable beast. He was
forced into marriage. Sticking it out for me.
For now.
How long before his promises were broken?
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-SEVEN

EVIE

I’m grateful that I am not hateful.

F ive men .

Five broken families.

Their faces splashed on the evening news as I finished my breakfast. The
three bikers who’d attended the ill-fated diamond appraisal were found
dead with horrific injuries. Days before, a shooting killed two at Olaf’s, a
Legion dive that served decent bar food.
Articles blasted Boston’s endemic gang violence, pinning the blame on
motorcycle gangs and their territorial disputes. The mayor held a press
release decrying the bloodbath, calling on Congress to pass a bill that gave
harsher sentences for repeat felons.
Months ago, I would’ve turned off the TV to mourn with everyone else, but
I was glued to the screen. This had Tony Costa written all over it. He had to
be responsible for the flood of anti-biker propaganda on social media.
“Don’t visit the club,” whispered Jennesy’s voice from the phone’s speaker.
“Seriously, Evie. You don’t want to be here. Martha’s old man is on life
support. He was shot at Olaf’s. She’ll kill you if you show up. Even my dad
and I got into it because I went on one date with Christian.”
I rubbed my head, hating that he’d put me in this position. “How was dinner
with Christian?”
“Amazing . He was so nice. Just like you said, a total gentleman. He took
me to an Italian restaurant on the waterfront. Everything was perfect. I’ve
never been spoiled like that.” She let out a heartbroken sigh that resonated
in my chest. “I’m hoping this craziness dies down so we can go out again. I
canceled our second date.”
That was my husband’s fault, too.
“Jennesy, I don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry. I feel horrible.”
“Don’t blame yourself, babe. There’s nothing you could’ve done to stop
him. Guys like Costa can’t be bargained with. He’s damaged goods.”
I opened my mouth, and then shut it. What was the point of defending my
husband? Tony’s reputation had taken a nosedive, and swearing to Jennesy
that he’d never hurt me didn’t make him an angel.
A baby’s cry broke through the speaker.
“I should get going. Ben’s getting fussy.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Give Ben a kiss for me.”
“Will do. Bye.”
A ringing sense of loss cut through me as I hung up. Visiting my cousin was
out of the question, and would be for months. She sure as hell couldn’t visit
me. They were probably retaliating against Tony right now.
Wasn’t isolating me from the club his plan?
A vein in my neck pulsed, but grief quickly swallowed my anger. My throat
tightened as I imagined five coffins sinking into the ground. The club would
never take me back. I’d always felt like an outsider, and I’d never gelled
with biker culture, but they were my only family. Tony had ripped away that
support forever. I was dependent on a man who didn’t love me.
This was proof.
Tony still thought of us as rats that needed to be exterminated.
I pictured the rage in the clubhouse, the drinking, the utter chaos that these
deaths would cause.
For hours, I was glued to the TV. My stomach roiled with nausea that’d
stuck with me all day, interrupted by a vicious craving for sweets. I was
totally off-kilter. Stress-eating. A vicious headache pounded behind my
temples. Light blared from the television, filling the rooms with a pulsing
glow. I sat in my chaise, facing the Boston skyline.
The door opened.
“Baby, I’m home.”
His singsong voice landed on my ears like a slap.
I winced, burrowing into Tony’s faux-fur afghan. I had no energy to
confront him, but a spike of adrenaline forced my spine to straighten.
A man-shaped silhouette stepped inside, his beauty marred by a pinch in his
elegant brows. He grabbed the remote and stabbed the button, shutting off
the noise.
Tony fingered balled up tissues littering the coffee table, prowling around
until he found me. One look at me all bundled up, and he seemed to get it.
“It takes a monster to kill a monster, Evie.”
“Well, you definitely are one.” Pure acid bubbled from my throat as I
fought the urge to launch at him. “What you did was evil. How could you?”
His lips curled in a contemptuous sneer. “I’ve done a lot worse, but this ?
This isn’t even in the minor leagues of fucked up.”
“You’re proud of that?”
“Absolutely.”
I stumbled from the chair, clutching my stomach as though it’d hold in the
hurt. I couldn’t believe I’d admired him. I must’ve been desperate,
searching for virtue where there wasn’t any, taken in by his charm, his
support, his generosity, his willingness to go the extra mile, but he was
deranged.
The fire in his stare dimmed.
He sighed. “Evie, you don’t understand.”
“You have a vendetta against the club. I’m your excuse to maim as many
bikers as you can. It’s disgusting, but pretty easy to figure out.”
His nostrils flared, and he tightened his fists. “I honored my part of the deal.
All they had to do was leave us the fuck alone, but Jett couldn’t handle that.
He just had to undermine me.”
“Tony, you murdered five people.”
“So what ? Have you ever heard of Darfur? Hundreds of thousands men,
women, and children slaughtered . Did you bat an eye? Did you join
Amnesty International? No. I off five piece of shit bikers, and you throw a
fit. I feel zero remorse for taking out the trash.”
“So we should kill them all, shouldn’t we ?”
“It’s a start,” he said without a hint of sarcasm. “I’ve seen how your people
live, Evie. The chain-link fences. No landscaping. Kids running around with
no supervision. Nothing to entertain them but a rusted playground. There
are prison yards with more charm. It’s fucking sad.”
I threw up my arms. “God forbid we lack the resources for Japanese maple
trees on our front lawns!”
“It’s not about the goddamned aesthetics. You grew up in a violent place
that treats women worse than animals. I’ll purge this city of every biker
scumbag if I have to, because it needs to stop.”
I faltered in the silence that engulfed us. Shock and disbelief rooted me to
the ground. Hot tears slid down my cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut,
warding off disturbing images of Tony slitting Patrick’s throat.
“There is something seriously wrong with you, Tony.”
“There’s a lot wrong with me. Has been ever since Legion kidnapped me.”
“I need to leave.”
“No, you don’t.” Tony grabbed my wrist before I stepped away. His arm
looped my waist. He clasped me to his body, his reassuring scent clashing
with his biting grip. “You’re staying here. You’ll get over this, and it’ll be
all right.”
“How? Do you think my father will take this lying down? He’ll hit you
back. Hard . Did you even consider the consequences?”
“I was too busy saving you from being raped. I had no clue where you were
or who took you. You screamed before the phone cut off. You can’t imagine
the fear. The utter fucking helplessness. There’s nothing I wouldn’t have
done to rescue you.”
“What did shooting up a biker bar have to do with that?”
“That was a message to all those degenerates.”
“My point, you aggravating man, was that it was completely unnecessary!”
“My God, Evie. What planet are you on? They let K grab you . I would’ve
given up my life to save yours, but no. They stood by and watched it
happen!”
I wavered on my feet, more uncertain than ever. “We were outnumbered.”
“I don’t care! They could’ve stared down a machine gun, and I’d still be
pissed off. They should’ve fought for you!”
“Sometimes y-you have to live to fight another day.”
“Evie. They knew what K does for a living and didn’t lift a finger to help
—” His voice broke suddenly, and he squeezed his eyes shut. “I busted my
ass to find you. I did everything in my power to get you home. Where was
Jett? In a bar. Getting his drink on.”
I flinched, the energy leaving me like air from a ruptured balloon. Doubt
hammered the glass walls surrounding my heart.
“I don’t believe you,” I said brokenly. “He wouldn’t do that. I’m his only
daughter.”
His dark eyes reflected glimmers of light that weakened my knees. He blew
a shaky breath and set his jaw.
“Evie, I’m so sorry.”
A heartbreaking silence followed Tony’s hushed words. They barely
registered to my dizzied senses. I shook my head, weighing the structure of
events against my husband, the only consistent force in my life. I was
baffled. I shook off the pain and squared my shoulders.
Tony didn’t give a damn if he hurt me.
“You’re making shit up. You want me upset so that I’ll never see him
again!”
“I don’t have to lie. I just have to tell you the truth.” Tony’s pained
expression darkened, and he rubbed his temples. “Evie, do you remember
what happened? After K took you?”
“Not—not really.”
Discomfort flitted across Tony’s brow before he melted into a multicolored
blur. I wiped away tears as Tony grasped my hand and led me to the couch.
I dropped onto the cushions, numb.
“On the phone, you mentioned a truck,” Tony murmured, glancing at his
lap. “What do you think was inside?”
“Guns or drugs.”
Seconds ticked by.
Tony sighed. “You need to confront this, Evie. What was K buying?”
I frowned. “That’s club business. Dad doesn’t tell me anything.”
“Take a wild guess.”
I blinked, my heart pounding. “I don’t know, cocaine?”
“Wrong. What else could it be?”
Memories stirred under the black fog obscuring those forty-eight hours. A
giant door opening. Bare legs.
I’d seen the cargo—rows and rows of women.
That hit me like a sledgehammer to my ribs.
Oh my God .
Tony’s touch skimmed my arm and clasped my shaking elbow.
“Girls. The MC sold him girls.”

THE IMAGES SLAMMED into my head like stills from a graphic crime
scene. A dozen girls in varying states of undress, drugged out of their
minds, crammed into tight quarters. K’s frowning face hovering above
mine. Hay littering the floor.
I stared at a computer screen, immersed in the evidence connecting human
trafficking with biker gangs. I connected the dots between Tony’s strange
obsession with my tax records. He didn’t want diamonds from slavery
linked to his name. No fucking kidding.
I was culpable.
I’d aided my father’s horrible acts. I could’ve lived with a drug possession
charge but this ? I shut the laptop and swallowed hard.
“I can’t believe my dad did this.”
Tony gave me a sad smile. “He sold you to me, didn’t he?”
My heart wrenched.
It was too much to take. My brain filled in the gaps with mounting horror.
How many deals had I unintentionally helped? A pain fractured within me,
stabbing deep like steel growing in my veins. The club girls—were they
there by choice ? Where did they go after they left? Where did the MC keep
these captured women?
How many had I condemned?
I lost it, sobbing. I fell on my hands and knees, misery cleaving my body.
Rotten feelings twisted up inside me. On some level, I’d suspected this. It
made no sense why Dad rubbed elbows with traffickers unless he did
business with them.
Tony dragged me into his embrace. I sagged into the wall of muscle. I
shoved my face into the crook of his neck, making a mess of his shirt.
My life was a lie.
All of it .
“Evie, what can I do? Please…tell me what I can do.” He stroked my hair,
the warmth from his gesture cutting me.
“I thought you were the monster. Turns out I am.”
“No, honey. You’re not.”
“I am .”
I pushed him away and staggered into the bedroom. A Harley-Davidson
tank top draped the chair. I’d put it there months ago to fuck with him. Now
my stomach turned at the cruelty of that taunt.
He must hate me.
Tony stood at the threshold, pale-faced.
I pressed my palms into my eyes, shaking. “I’m so sorry, Tony. God. I am
such an idiot. I had no idea. It’s like you said. I was wrapped up in my
problems.”
“Evie, I was angry and jealous. I regret everything I said that night. It’s not
a crime to seek happiness.” Tony’s voice tightened as he wiped my cheeks.
“You are nothing like your father. If you need any proof, look in the mirror.
The fact that you feel this pain makes all the difference.”
“I should have known!”
“And I should’ve been the CEO of a tech company. Instead I became—”
“A man who fights for others, never himself?” I caressed his bronzed cheek,
tracing his jaw line. “I wish you could see what I see.”
Softness dulled his gaze like black satin.
My swell of agony was beyond tears. I felt sick and out of control.
“Why do you want me? I’m one of them.”
“Don’t care.”
“I’m too biker to fit in at your high-society dinners. I’ll never be able to tell
between champagne and prosecco. I can’t speak Italian.”
“Evie, look at me.”
When I didn’t, he lifted my chin. Concern furrowed his brows.
“I am crazy about my biker wife. I can’t tell you why, because there are too
many things I admire about you. You’re talented, Evie. I don’t think you
hear that enough, but you are. One day, I’ll be on the sidelines while you’re
designing jewelry for celebrities, and I can’t wait for it. I like that you’re so
compassionate, even when it’s inconvenient for me, because I know you’ll
go easy on me when I screw up. I love that you want me for me. You’re
perfect. I wouldn’t change a damned thing.”
Sunshine parted the clouds, his words chasing out the gloom. Perfect and
talented . Coming from Tony, that was…huge. Not the I-love-you I needed,
but close.
I love him so much .
My heart burst with sweet pain as Tony kissed my cheek. His mouth burned
a trail down, pressing into my jaw, my chin, melting tension everywhere,
and then he found my lips.
I clutched him tighter.
He was so insanely gorgeous that I caught myself leaning forward. His
ruggedness was a vital power wetting my tongue. At first glance,
indistinguishable from outlaws, but was making this city a better place.
A lump stuck in my throat.
Groaning, he licked the curve of my smile. Then he angled his head to
deepen the kiss. My senses blazed as his soft lips caught mine with an
unbearable tenderness.
Tony .
I rose on my tiptoes, hungry for more. Every stroke dragged me from the
cliff and submerged me into a warm pool. Euphoria tingled my skin at his
closeness, never so strong. I dug into his back. I needed more assurance.
I pulled away, eyes burning. “Tony, do you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive.”
“I need you to say it.”
“Evie, I’m the opposite of a priest. I can’t offer you absolution.” Tony
pushed me toward the bed, darkening. “But I can give you a hell of a
distraction.”
The mattress hit my knees.
I sank, dizzy.
Tony climbed in after me. His body settled beside mine. We kissed, his
fingers teasing my shirt over my body.
My breasts tumbled free, and he let out an appreciative groan. He dragged
the shirt up my arms, stopping short of freeing my wrists. Then he scooped
one globe, thumb playing with the nipple while his grip tightened on my
imprisoned hands. He kissed my neck, his mouth tracing a sinful path to the
aching points demanding his attention. He lowered his head, licking. He
laved them in velvet-heat, circling, sliding, flicking, each stroke more
frenzied than the last. He suckled gently, forcing a tortured moan from my
lips.
Tony released my bound hands. He played with the sensitive skin on my
wrist before skimming my arm. Goosebumps rose where he touched me. An
eager shiver trembled my belly when he splayed his hand over my stomach,
groping his way to my hip. He glided under my pajama pants and yanked
them down.
Cool air touched my pussy before his palm cupped my mound. He teased
my clit. A tremor worked its way up my thigh. He delved inside, not quite
penetrating, but gathering my wetness. He drew away, sucking his shining
knuckles before finding the tight bundle of nerves between my legs. He
pressed my clit, rubbing in gentle circles, the electricity creating a lightning
storm.
The intense bolt of pleasure derailed my thoughts. He slid his thumb up and
down my pussy, stroking me into a frenzy, loosening my tense muscles.
Tony showed no signs of relenting. His stare drilled into me.
He sat up and unbuckled his slacks, shedding his clothes in seconds before
the tanned, sculpted god climbed over me. He flipped me over and hauled
me to my knees. His erection jabbed my backside. I bent over the bed,
submitting to the hand on my back. He grabbed my thighs with both hands
and pushed, widening my hips. I braced for his cock.
I wanted him to rut me.
I needed the pain.
His hair brushed my skin, and then heat engulfed my pussy. He swirled and
sucked, leaving no part of me neglected by his tongue. I tightened as a
quiver shot up my legs. Tony’s firm slap landed on my cheek, but I couldn’t
stop squeezing. His mouth on me dissolved all rational thought. I screamed,
eyes shut, praying for release .
“I told myself I’d act like a gentleman. You’re making that difficult.”
“A gentleman can’t fuck me the way I need. ”
Tony lazily slapped my ass. “Which is?”
“Your cum inside me .”
My cheeks burned, but Tony didn’t run away. He licked along my seam,
diving into my wetness again.
“I want it.”
He purred. “Where do you want it, baby?”
“Where your mouth is.”
“I see. Well, you’ll have to beg harder than that .”
Then he went back to it, holding me still. I couldn’t utter a word. I moaned
at being tongue-fucked by such a powerful man. He applied pressure on my
clit. Ecstasy flashed like a thunderclap, blinding and strong, and then gone
in an instant.
Because he’d left me.
I whined as he backed away, the building crescendo screaming for its
climax.
He flipped me onto my back. He lifted my leg over his trunk-like thigh and
fitted his cock to my entrance. He seized my hair, releasing a feral growl.
Then he shoved.
He sighed with relief as he anchored himself, filling me. I bit my lip as my
walls strained to accommodate him. He withdrew and rammed me with his
greedy cock again. Then he fucked me with the force I’d craved.
I whimpered from his brutal thrusts, but Tony made no sound. His forehead
touched mine, his gaze boring into me with an unspoken promise: I
belonged to him. He would protect me at whatever cost.
He jerked his erection back and forth with a mad frenzy, just like the night
he’d taken my virginity. The sight of me helpless seemed to spark the
deviant in him, the savage that took without asking and somehow fucked
the pain away. I needed this. Needed him.
I loved him so much it scared me.
Tony plastered his chest to mine, his mouth seeking my neck. Blasts of air
scorched my skin as he panted, rolling his hips. “I can’t control myself
when you look at me like that,” he whispered, his voice rumbling through
my body. “You’re so fucking pure. It gets me so hard. It makes me want to
dirty you up and come inside you, even though I know I shouldn’t.”
“I want it, Tony. I really…I need it.”
“Beg for it.”
“Please, Tony. I’ll be good. I’ll do anything.”
“Hmm. Still not convinced.”
“Give me your fucking cum!”
He stopped mid-thrust, glaring. “What was that?”
“Please give me your cum, sir.”
Tony pounded me roughly. When I screamed with my orgasm, he reached
his climax. My walls contracted around his cock as he buried himself,
holding me tight.
A warm jet blasted, in tandem with his thrusts. I glowed. Aching.
Gloriously wet. Tony collapsed. I grinned. He smiled and pulled me into his
chest, tucking my head under his chin. His hand sought mine, intertwining
with my fingers as he held it over his heart.
It was the most intimate we’ve ever been. I lay on my back, exposed,
vulnerable, but he clutched me like I was his only means of survival. His
grip made my knuckles ache but his eyes closed in lazy contentment. He
broke the kiss, sighing.
I smoothed the cowlick teasing his forehead and kissed his stubbled cheek.
He let me, lying there like a contented housecat. My heart squeezed as he
gripped me harder.
He was such a complicated man, but I was beginning to understand him. I
loved his flaws. I loved him . And I wanted him to be with me every day
because when he was, I felt cherished and beautiful. Like I could conquer
anything.
Passion rose inside me like a flame, clouding my brain, and then it burst out
of me.
“Tony, I love you.”
His eyes opened to half slits and he stared. He didn’t react. He seemed to
hold his breath. He glared at me as though waiting for me to admit it was a
joke.
“I love you.”
His body stilled, and his expression sobered.
My pulse raced. Seconds ticked by, his silence deafening. “I said I love you.
I fucking love—”
Tony slammed his mouth into mine, shutting me up. Then he flipped me
onto my stomach and forced me to my knees. He entered me with a painful
thrust, startling me. His hands ground into my hair and he ripped my head
back. My scalp stung as he traced my lips, easing his finger inside.
“Say it again,” he ordered.
“I love you.”
He introduced a second digit. “Again.”
I repeated it, the sound muffled.
He slapped my cheek, the smack tingling my nipples with arousal.
“Again.”
“I love you.”
His hand slipped around my throat. He held it loosely, pounding me until
my knees shook, and I collapsed on the bed.
I inhaled, the air trapped by his fingers. My eyelids flitted from the lack of
oxygen, the act burning my body instead of filling it with fear. I loved him.
I trusted him. Blackness teased the edge of my vision as he fucked me, and
then his hand left my mouth.
I shattered.
I floated on clouds, coming so hard my breath came in agonized gasps, and
then I cried into the sheets. Tony bit my shoulder as he climaxed. We were
two broken halves, trying to make ourselves whole, and God, it felt so
good.
He held me tight as he whispered,
“I love you, too .”
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-EIGHT

TONY

1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 cup ginger beer
Garnish: lime wedge

We all have a monster inside us.

He hates us. Conspires against us. Sabotages our relationships. Destroys our
dreams. Mine filled my head with doubt.
You can’t afford love.
You’ll die before you meet your firstborn.
That voice held me hostage. It always dragged me deeper into the well the
moment I’d almost clawed myself out. I couldn’t count how many times I’d
relapsed because why prolong the agony ? I would do it anyway. I wouldn’t
be a good father, but when she confessed her feelings after everything I’d
done to her, I wished we could have a family.
Two kids. A dog. A house away from the city on a wooded property. My
own little slice of heaven. The fantasy spun into images that tortured me for
days. I pictured taking my kid to the cabin in the White Mountains, where
my father and I had gone for hunting trips. I’d even fantasized about Evie’s
pregnancy. What it would be like to fuck her while her belly swelled.
Then reality kicked in my teeth.
Everybody in Boston wanted to kill me.
Even my cousin dodged my calls. Not a good sign. So I made my moves
faster than he could keep up with. I met with street bosses of other gangs. I
paid them to fuck up any douchebag on a bike. Knox’s media contacts
helped me deflect attention from the Family, but that did nothing for my
relationship with Vinn.
So I stalked him.
We were long overdue for a chat.
The first hot weekend packed Salisbury Beach with families. Sunshine
bleached the ribbons of kelp lying on the sand. I weaved through couples
sitting under brightly colored umbrellas, the air thick with a salted scent I
loathed. College kids played strikeball. R&B beats pounded from a speaker
wedged in the ground. People clinked beer bottles, laughed, and enjoyed
themselves, and I floated among them like a joyless ghost.
I hated the beach.
I didn’t always. I used to love sunbathing and swimming through the waves,
but that required taking off my shirt, which would lead to shocked gasps
and staring. It meant being assaulted by vivid flashbacks. Bodies in the
water. Floating hair.
I scanned beachgoers until my gaze fell on a man’s olive-skinned back.
Vinn sat on a towel, soaking in the sunlight like a bronzed statue. His wife,
Liana, lounged on a chair with their six-month-old, Christopher. Joshua,
their firstborn, wore a sun bonnet. He tipped a plastic bucket of sand over
Vinn’s shorts. An unfazed Vinn refilled it.
I marveled at this domestic side of him. I wasn’t lying when I said I still
saw him as an innocent kid—the reason I couldn’t bring myself to kill him.
“Hey, Vinny.”
I parked my ass on his towel and stretched out my legs. Then I smiled and
waved at his wife.
Vinn bristled, but Liana perked up.
“Anthony! It’s good to see you. Vinny didn’t mention you were coming.”
“That’s ’cause I didn’t tell him. I apologize for dropping in. It’s just so hard
to get ahold of Vinny these days.” I grinned at the pint-sized version of
Vinn, who offered me the shovel. “Cute kid.”
Vinn scooped up his baby and signaled his guards, two sunbathing soldiers
who’d let me approach Vinn. They stomped over, spraying me with sand.
Liana shot him a disapproving glare. “Is that necessary?”
“Yeah, Vinny. We’re supposed to be a family. I thought we could avoid an
ugly scene in front of the missus and the children. Or I could scream about
Costa business to the whole crowd. I’ve done worse.”
Vinn sighed. “I stop taking your calls, so you ambush me?”
“It’s called strategy.”
“It’ll get your head caved in.”
“Unless you want your kids’ first memory to be my corpse, I wouldn’t.”
“I’m giving you ten seconds to fuck off,” he thundered, pointing down the
beach. “I figured you’d relapse and do something stupid, but bribing my
men to shoot up a bar?”
I shrugged. “You should be more worried that they’re so easily swayed.”
He seized my shirt collar and jerked me forward. “You undermine me
again, I’ll kill you.”
I fought a juvenile urge to throw sand at him. “You made me marry her. You
said she was my responsibility. Well, guess what? She was trafficked. Those
biker assholes you want me to sing kumbaya with did that to her. You can
judge me for retaliating, but you would’ve done the same if it were your
wife.”
I yanked his hand from my throat.
His marble-like features hardened. His mouth thinned as he turned away
from Liana, whispering. “Tell me about the three bikers in Chelsea.”
“They were holding out on me. I did what I had to.” I didn’t like the way he
looked at me. “What, you’re going to lecture me?”
“Anthony, you’re with her because I wanted you distracted. I know you’re
troubled. It was a matter of time before you did something insane and got
yourself killed. I figured the girl would keep you busy until I handled
things.” Vinn ripped off his sunglasses and massaged his temples. “And
then you did it anyway.”
“What do you mean handled things ?”
Hesitation narrowed his hawklike eyes. “You’re not the only one who’s
suffered at the hands of Legion. I wanted to pay the bastards back for what
they did to us, and I needed you occupied.”
A pounding grew in my ears.
“For what ?”
“To take them down,” he said, stunning me. “The national president isn’t
happy with the Boston chapter. Jett isn’t the brightest bulb. He mismanaged
the club’s money, and he’s desperate for cash. I convinced him we’d help
with distribution. He’d been giving me unfettered access to everything until
you screwed it up.”
My vision clouded as I stared at Vinn, wondering if the bikers were savants
for naming him Goliath.
Big, dumb idiot .
“You forced me to marry some chick for an alliance you never intended on
keeping?” I leaned forward, gaping at him. “And it didn’t cross your thick
skull to tell me any of this?”
“You’re not reliable, Anthony.”
Once a junkie, always a junkie .
That raked coals over my face. “I can’t believe I married her based on your
whim.”
“I was sick of you lording your power over me. Worst case, you settle
down. If you divorce the girl, I get control of the Family’s assets. Either
way, I win.”
Vinn replaced his sunglasses, wearing a smile so smug it begged for a
punch. If his wife weren’t behind him, I would’ve socked him in his lying
mouth. Proving the fucker wrong played into his hands, as did taking the
high road.
“Or I take you to court, sue you, and rip that stupid fucking prenup into a
thousand pieces.”
“You won’t,” he deadpanned, his lips curving. “You like the girl too much.
Go home. You’ll need my security if you want to stay alive.”
“So we’re good?”
“Yeah.”
I stood and plodded through sand.
A loud crack split the peaceful ocean air.
I threw myself to the ground, jaw slamming into a rock. A man in front of
me screamed. Pockets of sand burst around me. Hysterical screams erupted
with the hail of gunfire. I scrambled upright. Bodies smacked into me as
people fled their blankets and chairs. Behind me, men in suits strolled down
the bluffs. They aimed. Fired.
Vinn’s guards—dead.
I stared, rooted to the spot. Then my hands clenched and I sprinted, drawing
their fire away from Vinn and his family. The beach offered zero cover.
Forward was my only way out.
Nausea clenched my stomach as my knees crashed into cold water. I dove
under a wave. The screaming and gunfire drowned out, I swam hard. The
bullets had no chance of harming me as long as I stayed underwater. I
poked my head above, sucking a lungful of air. I swam until I’d exhausted
myself. Then I treaded water as the sun beat on my face.
I had few options. Eventually, I’d have to return to shore. It was a golden
strip in the distance. Scattered umbrellas and beach towels littered the sand,
but everyone had gone. The shooting must’ve been reported by now. Police
had probably evacuated the area, but if these were traffickers, that wouldn’t
stop them.
If I were them I’d wait me out.
Jesus Christ. Now what?
“Bro, you need help?”
I whirled, facing a giant wall of a boat. I kicked onto my back as a group of
shocked college kids clutching beer bottles gaped at me.
“Do you have room for one more?”
A life preserver plunged into water. I grabbed the ring and floated to the
boat. A blond kid hauled me aboard, and I collapsed, heaving.
A blanket fell around my shoulders, and I patted the kid’s arm in thanks.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” someone asked.
“Check the news.”
A brunette in a white bikini tapped through her phone, gasping. “Shooter
kills two at packed beach. What kind of psycho would do that?”

I HOLED up in my office, holding my skull as though I could yank out my

muddled thoughts. Vinn texted me that he was okay, but those bastards had
taken out his security and injured innocent people. Two were in critical
condition. I’d barely escaped with my life. I couldn’t be sure who shot me,
or why.
Legion?
Traffickers?
Dimly, I listened to Evie walking through the penthouse, and the thought of
never again hearing her footsteps pitted me with nausea.
What if something happened to her?
“T, I need an answer.”
I glanced up from my hands. “On what?”
“What’s your decision?” Knox stood over the desk, waving a manila folder
at me. “I’ve drafted no-fault divorce papers because we can’t get out of this
another way. Courts don’t like lifestyle clauses. They’re hard to enforce and
unreasonable, and your prenup definitely falls under that.”
My stomach clenched.
We hadn’t discussed this in months. In the beginning, I’d planned to give
them to her on our one-year anniversary. Six months into our marriage, I
hated the sight of them. I ripped the folder from him and tore it to pieces.
Then I dumped it in the wastebasket. If I’d had a match, I would’ve burned
the fucker.
“Did I make myself clear?”
“Tony, think about what you’re doing.” Knox spoke slowly, as though I’d
suffered a concussion. “Evie isn’t pregnant, right? In six months, that’ll be a
problem. Those accounts disappear unless you take your cousin to court,
which will put the nail in your coffin.”
“I’m not divorcing Evie.”
“Abandoning your inheritance is not an option.”
“Says who?”
“Cainan . You might hate him, but he’s keeping you alive.”
I hadn’t heard from him in weeks, and it made me uneasy. “By letting them
shoot me on a public beach?”
“Cainan doesn’t have the power to sway the entire ring. They’re under the
impression that you just wanted your wife back. Emotions were running
high. You snapped and killed him. Most of them are willing to overlook his
death because K broke their rules. They’re not supposed to take married
women.”
“Because they’re property of other men, and that’s the only thing these
dipshits respect.”
“Tony, not all of them agree. You’ll have to look over your shoulder from
now on. That’s why I think we should proceed with the divorce early. You
need leverage over Vinn. Lose that, and Cainan will write you off. There
goes your protection from K’s inner circle.” His mouth pulled in a
contemptuous curl. “If you’re not willing to divorce her, get her pregnant.”
Would giving Evie one baby be so terrible?
My cousins seemed to manage. Their lives weren’t miserable. Impregnating
Evie would trap her with me. Forever. Even if we divorced, she could never
cut me out of her life completely. That had massive appeal, but after days of
self-reflection and considering it from all angles, I’d landed on no .
I’d never be a good father.
I couldn’t protect anyone. Hell, I almost died just a few hours ago.
“She wants kids with me, Knox. Like actually wants them.” I raked my hair
and downed the rest of my seltzer, wishing it were vodka. “With me. Of all
people. Doesn’t she understand how insane that is?”
“Yeah, she should get knocked up by the mailman.”
“You know what I mean, you idiot. I can’t raise a child.”
“How bad could you be?”
I couldn’t find out. “What are the chances she’ll drop this?”
“Unlikely. It’s a biological drive for women, but the good news is that she’ll
have plenty of fertile years after you’re murdered.”
Fuck you .
I’d dig in my heels until the barrel was against my forehead. I wanted this
marriage to work, but it was looking more likely that it wouldn’t.
Anguish knotted my stomach.
“Evie and I aren’t breaking up.”
Knox zipped his bomber jacket and glared. As he left out the door, the
monster’s voice boomed in my head.
You can want a happily-ever-after all you like.
It won’t happen.
OceanofPDF.com
 TWENTY-NINE

EVIE

I’m grateful that my husband is punctual.

T: I’ll be home in ten minutes.

T: You better be kneeling.
In the weeks since Tony moved in, hardly a day went by that he didn’t fuck
me senseless, and my work had suffered because he was all I wanted to do.
I’d never been in love before.
I was unprepared for the desire blossoming within me, needing him every
hour, the throttling arousal with his gentle touch, and putting his happiness
first.
I saw children in my future. I hoped someday he would change his mind. I
loved him so much that I wanted the proof of our love carried from
generation to generation, so that the man I’d grown to admire never truly
disappeared.
I knelt several feet from the entrance, wearing a silk thong and nothing else.
My body hummed as the door swung. Tony entered in slate gray pants that
hugged his athletic thighs and ass and a fitted white shirt that strained over
a muscled chest. He reamed someone out on the phone.
“Che cazzo dici? Vai a prenderlo in culo .”
He stabbed at the screen, ending the call.
I recognized dick and asshole , which spoke volumes about my progress
with learning Italian.
He shuffled through the mail, stepping around me as he continued into the
kitchen. He grabbed a glass from the dishwasher and filled it from the sink.
After he set it down, he faced me.
His greeting was a rough growl. “Did I say you could move?”
Tony’s haughty disapproval tingled my skin like feathers. I sucked in my
bottom lip as he approached. His hand skimmed my hair. Then it dipped.
His coarse touch lit me like fireworks, even though it suggested he hated
me.
He grasped my chin. “I’m not in the mood for backtalk.”
“Sorry, sir .”
“I’m pleased you followed my directions. It’d be such a shame if I had to
punish you for mouthing off.”
I grinned. “Well, then I wouldn’t be me.”
“You like being my toy, don’t you?” His sultry murmur stroked between my
legs. “You want to be tossed around, used for my pleasure, and fucked. You
know it makes me crazy. You like it when I lose control. It turns you on.”
“It does.”
Hunger gleamed in his gaze. “Are you hoping that I’ll come inside you?”
“I want to give you everything.”
“I know. I see your beautiful heart.” His fingers tangled in my hair,
caressing. “I knew you were a good girl when I saw your photo. It was
wrong…Fuck, it was so terrible of me to pick you. I thought I’d play with
you and get you out of my system, but I can’t. You’re mine.”
“I love you, too.”
“You better be sure, because I’m not letting you go.” He cradled my jaw, his
voice softening. “You’re one hell of a drug.”
A hot ache grew in my throat. I wrapped my arm around his leg and leaned
against his thigh. He brushed my hair until the sweet moment passed, and
then his grip turned fierce.
He pinned me over the coffee table.
His seductive smile seemed to penetrate me before he wedged himself in
my mouth. His head tilted back, rapturous. The sight made me ravenous for
his attention between my legs. He granted my silent wish, pushing my
thighs apart to lick me while he thrust in my mouth. When his breath hit my
pussy, I surrendered.
Later, I melted into a pool of bliss on our bed as Tony disappeared into the
bathroom. His muscular frame slid in and out of view as he washed his
face. He mopped his neck as he reentered the bedroom, the mouthwatering
image of his briefs stretched over his glutes dragging me from the sheets.
Still drunk on a post-orgasmic glow, I stumbled into his walk-in closet.
“Um—I was thinking we could go out tonight.”
Tony zipped his pants. “What did you have in mind?”
“There’s this Thai restaurant downtown that looks awesome.”
He frowned. “I thought you hated Thai.”
I shrugged. “I’ve been having cravings.”
Earlier today, I’d scrolled through a social media post. I clicked on the link,
and it brought me to the gallery of appetizing images. Suddenly, an intense
yearning for condensed milk, black tea, and coconut assaulted me.
His brows pinched as he tucked in his shirt. “I’ll get a reservation under a
fake name.”
I crossed my fingers. “It’d be nice if Christian and Jennesy came, too.”
“Are they a thing now?”
“This would be their second date. She’s actually sneaking out to see him.”
“Ah. Well, I’ll see what I can do.”
Tony’s lack of enthusiasm wilted me a little. He clearly had no interest, but
at least he was trying. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed the skin
above his unbuttoned collar. He endured it but didn’t reciprocate. Then he
disengaged from me.
“I’ll let you know soon.”
He pressed his lips into my cheek, the imprint of his mouth burning me.
Then he left me in a breeze of vanilla musk.
I returned to bed in a fog, texting Jennesy.
Me: Double date is on.
Jennesy: Yasss! Where?
Me: I was thinking Thai.
Jennesy: What? You hate Thai!
Me: I know…but I have this craving for coconut and noodles. The
other day I ate pickles and chocolate cake. Together. LoL.
Jennesy: Wow.
Jennesy: Are you pregnant??!
Shit.

I MIGHT BE PREGNANT.
The test I bought from Target shortly after that conversation sat on the
counter, taunting me. If Jennesy’s suspicions were right, it explained the
bouts of nausea followed by an insatiable appetite, my missed period, and
the strange cravings.
I paced the bathroom, sweating.
What if the result was positive?
Excitement shot through my nerves because I’d imagined this ever since
Dad’s lawyers shoved the prenup in my face. I had prepared for it before
we’d said “I do,” but now I pictured our children’s features and obsessed
about the details. Would they have his hollowed gaze? Or my hooded eyes?
No doubt, dark brown hair. Tall and wide, or more willowy, like me? Olive
skinned or pale?
I checked the test again.
A faint line joined the solid one already etched in the window.
Holy fuck, I was carrying Tony’s child.
An explosion took place in the pit of my stomach.
Isabella would be ecstatic . She’d demand to be involved, and I’d
appreciate the company. I didn’t have a mom to bombard with questions.
My heart fluttered as I pictured a whirlwind of events—ultrasounds, the
baby shower, pushing a stroller in parks, Tony and I holding our newborn,
Tony rocking her to sleep.
My enthusiasm shorted out.
Tony would be pissed. He didn’t want kids and had told me so, repeatedly.
He also said he loved me .
That didn’t mean he was willing to forgo his lifestyle to run to doctor
appointments and change diapers. He might walk out on us. My mother had
professed to love me before she vanished. In my world, people rarely stuck
around. Men made promises and broke them. Jennesy was living proof. I
liked to think Tony wouldn’t abandon his child, but how could I be sure?
He’d shot down trying for a baby, and now it was happening, six months
into our flimsy marriage.
Devastation wracked my chest.
I loved him.
I loved his baby, but would our relationship survive?

I QUIETLY LOST my marbles at dinner.

I pretended to hate the Thai iced tea, which I could no longer drink, and
avoided Jennesy’s probing gaze. She’d sent me several demanding texts
after I ghosted that conversation—Holy fuck, you’re pregnant?! I was
kidding . If we locked eyes, I’d start crying, or she would make an
overture, and I’d blurt the truth to a horrified Tony and Christian.
Keep it together .
I focused on our surroundings. Black-and-gold stenciled palm leaves flared
on the bar’s backsplash. Potted, leafy plants stood in every corner. We sat
beside a purple wall glowing with Thai letters, shadowed in darkness. A
single LED candle glowed in the middle of the rustic table, illuminating our
faces and not much else.
“Good choice, T.” Christian flipped the menu, apparently impressed. “This
looks amazing.”
Jennesy leaned into his side. She’d pulled out all the stops tonight. She’d
tamed her messy curls into waves that brushed a classy, black cocktail
dress. She kept batting her eyes at Christian, who flashed a dimple in her
direction.
Tony had said little since we arrived, his fists clenched, watching the glass
as though he expected an invasion. He tore his attention from it to peer at
me.
“You couldn’t wait to come here. Now you’re picking at your food?”
I set my fork down, trying to settle my nerves. In ninety minutes or less, I’d
tell him he was a father. I avoided Tony’s gaze and stared at my lap.
“Sorry. I guess I’m not feeling well.”
His stare drilled into me. “Do I need to hand-feed you? Because I don’t
mind giving our friends a show.”
My cheeks blazed.
He glared at me until I pushed a tiny ball of rice past my lips and chewed,
grimacing.
He gawked at me. “You okay?”
I forced my mouth to smile.
It turned out that I hated Thai. Coconut still knotted my stomach and the
nauseating smells from the kitchen didn’t help. I’d nibbled on the corner of
the spring roll served with a peanut dipping sauce, but that was all I could
stomach. I probably came off like a high-maintenance wife to everybody
but Jennesy, who at least suspected the truth.
“Planning anything for Mother’s Day?”
Alarm shot up my spine, but Christian’s question was directed at Jennesy.
“I’m sure the club is doing something. They’re always good about keeping
me involved.” Jennesy’s smile glowed with happiness, and then it flickered
out like a light. “It sucks that you can’t come home,” she said to me. “Ben
misses his auntie. Maybe one day.”
“Evie will have to walk over my corpse on her way there because I’m never
allowing her to go to the MC again.”
“T, lighten up.”
Tony swiveled his head at Christian, sneering. “Wasn’t it a few weeks ago
that you mentioned I was too lenient on Evie?”
Really?
“All right. Fine. I wouldn’t like my wife visiting the club either. No offense,
hon,” Christian added as he winced at Jennesy. “I don’t trust the MC.”
“They have no code,” interrupted Tony savagely. “Or honor. They’re
lawless beasts with no respect for themselves, their women, or their
property .”
Jennesy made a thoughtful sound. She didn’t look put off, but it’d lowered
her spirits. Then Christian took her hand and whispered in her ear. Her
googly-eyed stare returned. Jennesy grabbed his tie and tugged him closer.
Her saucy reply was lost to me, but Christian laughed heartily.
A wide grin cracked his handsome face.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I felt terrible about suggesting this date. I was a voyeur to Jennesy’s
budding romance with Christian, especially since Tony didn’t even want to
be here. He tensed when people approached. After several failed starts at
conversation, I gave up and eavesdropped on Christian.
“Four brothers. One girl,” explained Christian, digging into his Pad Thai.
“I’m the oldest. I started working at fourteen to help provide.”
“Fourteen? Wow.”
“Yeah.” His chest expanded in a gigantic sigh. “Never finished high
school.”
“I did, but I dropped out of college. And not to help out the family. I was
naughty. Got pregnant out of wedlock.”
“Where is the dad, if that’s not too private?”
“He died before Ben was born. His handle was Crash.”
The name strangled me. Fuck— I’d never told her about the circumstances
involving Crash and Tony. I grimaced at Jennesy, and she stared at me,
head-cocked, unaware she’d crossed the line.
Christian choked on his beer. Tony’s attention snapped to Jennesy as though
yanked by an invisible wire.
“Your boy’s father is Crash ?”
“Yeah. So?” Jennesy spooned her noodles as Christian shot Tony a
ferocious stare. “We had a brief fling.”
Astonishment touched Tony’s face, and then he bristled. “You hooked up
with that scumbag ?”
I sank my nails into his thigh.
Christian growled a warning.
Tony ignored us, eye-fucking Jennesy.
Her brow was high and rounded as she returned his glare. “Not that it’s any
of your business, but he seemed like a decent guy. It’s not like the club has
a lot of variety.”
“I’ll say.”
I grabbed Tony’s collar. “Enough .”
He ripped away from my touch before addressing Jennesy in a deadpan. “I
apologize. I’m still raw from being kidnapped and tortured by your baby
daddy. ’Scuse me.”
He stood, bumping into the table. Drinks wobbled in his wake. Christian
steadied his bottle, his cold eyes following Tony.
I was mortified. “Sorry, Jennesy. I should’ve warned you.”
Jennesy swallowed, nodding.
I felt bad about leaving her, but Christian had already wrapped his arm
around her. He murmured something that made her lean her head onto his
shoulder and smile.
I followed Tony to the men’s bathroom. I slipped behind him and locked the
door. Tony leaned over the sink, splashing his face. The water ran from the
faucet but he didn’t seem to notice. He stared into the mirror.
I shut off the spigot.
“The man ruined my life.” Tony gripped the edges of the sink so hard, I
worried it would break off. “He’s the reason I spent a year trapped in hell
with no hope of surviving. Or escape.”
“I thought you said the MC kept you captive for a few weeks.”
He ignored that, rubbing his arms. “It sickens me that a piece of him is still
alive.”
“Tony, that baby is the sweetest thing in the world. He’s nothing like Crash.
He’ll never be like him.”
“He’s growing up in a clubhouse, Evie.”
“Jennesy is an amazing mother. She’ll be out of the MC before long.” My
pulse hammered as I approached a subject close to my pregnancy. “Two
loving parents make all the difference.”
“You mean like we would be?”
We will .
My mouth opened, but I couldn’t tell him that in a bathroom. Tony’s faint
smile suggested he was on to me, and he sighed.
“Evie, a baby is just a baby. It can’t fix me.”
“When did I ever say you needed to be fixed?”
Tony stepped away from the sink with an electrifying look that sent a jolt
through me. He slipped his hands into my hair, undoing my curls as he
smashed his mouth to mine. Heat rushed where he kissed me. He lingered,
eyes closed as though savoring the moment. Wet heat lashed the seam of
my mouth, and I moaned.
He pulled away with a growl. “Let’s leave before I bend you over the sink.”
My heart pounded an erratic rhythm as we returned to a more cheerful
Jennesy, who might’ve been coming on too strong. She pawed at Christian’s
chest and found every excuse to touch him. He was sweet about it but kept
his hands to himself.
We got through dinner without another outburst. Tony ordered a chocolate
mousse cake for us to share. When the check came, Tony thrust his credit
card at the waiter, ignoring Christian’s wallet.
“Thanks, T.”
“No worries.” Tony patted his arm. “You’ve put in many hours watching
this one, and I know she’s a handful.”
“Hey .”
Christian winked at me. “I’ve learned a lot about jewelry.”
“But I’m no further in my Italian lessons. You should hear about the
casserole incident.”
“What, did she screw up ziti?”
“Not exactly.” Tony grinned, giving my cheek an affectionate pinch. “She
tried to insult me in Italian and failed miserably.”
Christian’s smirk fell from his face. He pushed his chair back. Hairs on my
neck rose with a tingling awareness as a man made a beeline through the
restaurant. Christian reached into his jacket, whipping out his gun.
A deafening bang rang out, cratering my eardrums. A powerful hand landed
on my spine and shoved, knocking my chin onto the ground.
“Stay down, Evie!”
I did. I flattened my palms on the tiles as the stampede of feet pounded the
floor. Gunfire cracked. Pained screams. Jennesy and I joined hands under
the table until it flew away from over our heads. Wood crashed in front of
our faces. Gunshots slammed into the booth. Dishes shattered. Gunpowder
stung my nostrils.
Then it was over.
The smoke cleared as boots hammered the ground. A thunder of
motorcycles fled as the sirens approached. A desperate gasp bottomed out
my stomach.
I scrambled out from cover.
Two men sprawled on the floor, unmoving.
Next to them, Christian.
No . “Christian?”
He lay still, gasping. Red blossomed from a hole in his chest. I stared, my
body stiffening as Tony knelt beside him, packing his wound with a
tablecloth.
Jennesy knocked me aside as she dove to him, jarring me awake. I sprinted
to them and grasped Christian’s hand as Jennesy helped Tony stanch the
bleeding. My gut clenched as blood welled around their fingers. Shaking, I
grabbed my phone and called 911. I choked on my words as crimson soaked
through the fabric in seconds.
“Christian,” Tony pleaded, his bloody hand cupping his face. “You’ll be all
right. Help is coming. Don’t die on me.”
“It’s fine. I’ll see my wife.”
“Fuck off with that shit! You’re not going anywhere but the hospital.”
The moment seemed suspended in time. With every half second, Christian
faded. His lungs rose and fell slowly. His forehead smoothed. His skin
paled. The fingers clutched in my grip slackened.
“Christian! Christian ,” shouted Tony, his scream ripping through me.
“Don’t give up. You saved my life.”
Christian’s lips twitched as he gasped for air.
“Don’t waste it.”
OceanofPDF.com
 THIRTY

TONY

2 oz bourbon
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz simple syrup
Garnish: Angostura bitters

D on ’ t waste it .
Christian’s words haunted me as I sat beside Evie in the waiting room,
removed from his inconsolable family and Vinn, whose low, calm voice
carried to our corner.
“Christian has the best doctors looking after him,” he assured a slender
woman. “He’ll get the red blanket treatment. Mrs. Bianchi, this is Alessio
Salvatore. He’s on the board of this hospital. He’s here to make sure your
son gets everything he needs.”
My old college buddy stepped forward, shaking Mrs. Bianchi’s hand. After
a few minutes, Vinn bowed out of the conversation. His scalding gaze
scanned the rows of chairs and struck me. Glowering, he headed to my side.
His forbidding glare seemed to have zero effect on Evie’s biker friend, who
shot upright, blocking Vinn’s path.
“How is he?” demanded Jennesy.
Vinn ignored her. “We need to talk.”
I nodded and stood, walking with him a short distance away.
“He’s alive. In a coma.” Vinn rubbed his stubbled jaw. “Anthony, I don’t
want that biker bitch hanging around. She has to go.”
I glanced at Jennesy, who glared at us. “There’s no harm in letting her sit
here. Christian could use the support.”
“Don’t tell me what he needs, you selfish piece of shit. It’s your fault he
won’t survive.” Vinn slammed his palm into my chest. “I hope your dinner
was worth it. Fucking junkie. This is a new low for you.”
I’d never be anything else to this asshole.
“I’m tired of repeating myself, so I’ll make myself clear. I am sober. I made
the reservation under a fake name. Our guards were at the table beside us.
They weren’t paying attention. The shooter walked right up to us!”
He shoved me again, dislodging the last of my patience.
I sank my fist under his ribs.
Vinn dropped, gasping. He was like Ozymandias, staring at me like he
could hardly believe I had it in me.
“I’m not an easy target anymore. Hit me, and I hit back.”
He shot me a look full of bile as he staggered upright. “Good. Gives me the
perfect excuse to finally get rid of you.”
“You don’t scare me, Vincent . Everybody thinks you’re a hardened
criminal but you’re just a sad, jealous little boy who hates me because I
have the one thing you can’t buy—a direct line to the throne.”
Alessio grabbed Vinn as he launched at me. “Anthony, that’s enough!”
“Not nearly enough for this judgmental prick!”
“Anthony, for fuck’s sake. Stop . He’s the boss.”
Eviscerating Vinn was effortless. He’d had a hard-on for me ever since I
could remember, because I had the good life and he had nothing. I had the
girls, the money, the expensive cars, everything the dipshit wanted.
Apparently, it didn’t matter that I shared the wealth. It must’ve killed him
that I still had veto power over his business, which was ironic because I
didn’t want to be a don.
“If Christian dies that blood is on your hands.” Vinn’s chest billowed under
Alessio’s outstretched arm. “Get that girl out of here. Or I will.”
Fine .
I hated him, but his wintry disapproval sliced me to the bone. Without
another word, he left and rejoined his captains. I ignored the hollow in my
stomach and approached the girls.
Jennesy had smudged her makeup with the same filthy tissue, and the sight
of it somehow dissolved my anger. I took out the packet of tissues I’d
bought in the pharmacy for Evie and offered it to her.
“Thanks,” she whimpered, burying her sob in Kleenex. “Is Christian—?”
“He’s in a coma. Might not make it through the night.” I grasped her
forearm and she stood, blinking rapidly. “I’m sending you home with my
associate, Rafael.”
“But I want to stay here.”
“The Family doesn’t want you here, hon. I’m sorry. It’s not up to me.”
The anguish twisting her expression told me she understood. She nodded.
“You’ll keep me updated?” she asked Evie. “And tell him I was here. That
they made me leave.”
“I will.”
They hugged.
Then I dragged her to Rafael, Christian’s best friend. The stocky young man
blinked when I shoved her into his arms.
“Get her out of here. Make sure she’s all right, and take her wherever she
wants.”
His mouth thinned as he coaxed a weeping Jennesy into leaving.
Christian was hanging onto life.
I couldn’t take it in.
I walled off the agony.
His sacrifice wouldn’t be for nothing.
I’d forgotten my purpose during the last six months, but it reemerged in
clear outlines. I had one goal—to disrupt human trafficking. I’d
accomplished jack shit because I’d been distracted by a glimmer of what-
could-have-been.
The bodies around me kept piling up, and if I didn’t do something, Evie
would be next.
I strode to my wife’s side and forbade my will to tremble. I stroked her hair.
Her beautiful face tipped toward me, tears streaking her cheeks.
Don’t waste it .
My throat tightened. “Let’s walk.”
I motioned to the private security recommended by Cainan, two former
Marines with torsos bigger than redwoods. They followed as we left the
sanitized stench of hospital rooms and strolled outside.
“I did this to him,” she whispered, crumbling. “It’s my fault. You didn’t
even want to go. I dragged us there, and now he’s in a coma .”
“Evie, honey…you’re not the one who pulled the trigger. If anything it’s my
fault. I knew it wasn’t safe but I took you anyway. I want you to have
everything, and it’s fucking with my judgment.”
“I suggested it. I’m—I’m a monster.”
“I never want to hear you call yourself a monster again. I’m the bastard. On
our first date, I shoved you to the floor and fucked your mouth. I saved you
from traffickers only to fuck you while you wore a collar they gave you.
You don’t know that I use a large amount of energy trying not to murder
every biker I come across. You don’t know how many people I’ve
blackmailed and ruined to get what I want. I have to stop myself from doing
terrible things to men who so much as look at you. Evie, you have no idea.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“Yes, I did. They’re after me and they won’t give up until I’m dead. That’s
why we have to...we can’t be together anymore.”
Hurt lay naked in her eyes.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m sending you away,” I croaked, my chest caving in. “You’ll be free of
this, just like you always wanted. I’m setting you up at a place where you’ll
be taken care of and safe .”
“I’m not leaving!”
“Evie, how do you think I’d feel if it were you in that hospital bed?”
“I don’t care,” she burst, her moods shifting so quickly I couldn’t keep
track. “I’m not going anywhere unless you’re coming, too.”
“I want to run away with you. I wish—God, Evie—I am not a man who
wishes for things, but when I’m around you…I wish I could have a normal
life. I’d leave all this to have that with you, but they’ll find me wherever I
go.” I had to see this through, no matter how badly it hurt. “You’ll start over
without me.”
My heart shrank as despair glazed her voice. “You made me fall in love
with you. Now you’re throwing me out?”
“Evie, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I hate this. Letting you go
will kill me but I’m being hunted by everyone in this city. And I have
issues…stemming from my captivity that I’ve never resolved. I can’t have
you around me when I lose control.”
She still looked at me like I hung the moon in the sky. She stroked my head,
thumb grazing my eyebrow, and I took a deep breath. She felt so good, and
the joy sparked a vain hope.
No .
I doused it with ice and backed away from her intoxicating influence.
“Evie, it’s done.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Well, I’m not giving you a choice.”
Tears glistened on her pale cheeks as she began to cry. I couldn’t handle the
sound of her lungs, desperate to catch air. A vivid memory of Christian
gasping tightened my throat.
“Why are you doing this?”
“You won’t understand unless you’ve lived through it. And I don’t want you
to.” I cupped her tear-streaked face and kissed her cheek. “I love you. I love
you so much you would be scared to hear my thoughts.”
I nodded at the men hanging in the peripherals.
“Go with them,” I ordered her, my voice hitching. “You’ll be all right.”
“Tony, this is stupid! My life is in Boston. I’m not—stop it!” She slapped
their attempts to lead her to the car. “Tony!”
“You’ll return when it’s safe.”
But I wouldn’t be around.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” she bellowed as they peeled her off the wall.
“Let me go!”
“Sorry, Evie.”
“Tony, you can’t! Please don’t do this!”
The guards restrained my wife, the sight stabbing my chest. I closed my
eyes when she screamed, unable to watch as they dragged her into the
waiting van.
When I opened my eyes, a haze of tears obscured her from view. I blinked
them away and sank on the curb, hollow and weakened. I’d ripped her out
of my life, but my heart would never stop loving her.
I’d wanted justice.
All I got was heartbreak.
They say that the best revenge is to have enough self-worth not to seek it. I
tried, but the MC tested the monster in me. I’d done too much damage.
There was no way out. I dug my own hole too deep and I wouldn’t drag the
woman I loved down with me.
Goodbye, Evie .

JETT WAS KILLING time at The Cuff.

Time to put the fucker where he belonged—behind bars. Snitching on my
enemies wasn’t my style, but my love for Evie wouldn’t let me kill him. I
couldn’t hurt her, even if she wasn’t in my life anymore.
My stomach hardened with a nauseating ache that’d gripped me ever since
the hospital. It was like withdrawing from heroin. The fix was right there.
The need to go to her burned in my veins like fire, and no matter how often
I told myself I’d get through this—I wouldn’t. I couldn’t enjoy life without
her. Hell, she was the reason I looked forward to waking up.
I cased the black building in Chinatown. In my youth, I’d visited every strip
club in Boston but steered clear of this spot because of the faded paint on
the door marking it as a one-percenter hangout.
I’d listened to countless horror stories from the girls at Sanctum. Strippers
invited who had made the mistake of accepting that invitation to this bar by
outlaws worked without pay, were drugged, gang-raped, and often beaten.
Those who stuck around were fed a steady diet of drugs and coerced into
prostitution, just like the club girls.
My phone buzzed.
I answered it, holding my breath. “Hey.”
“Is it done?”
Cainan’s voice, not Evie’s husky whisper.
My insides clenched with disappointment. “They’re on their way. Judge
Gilstrap issued the warrant five minutes ago.”
“This will be a huge blow to their morale.”
I didn’t care. “They’ll have a new president in an hour.”
“Where are you right now?”
“I’m there. Watching.”
“Tony ,” he warned. “Don’t.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“I know you. Self-destruction is your favorite defense mechanism.”
“Thanks for the pep talk, Freud.”
I hung up and got out of the car. I stood on the street. An edgy, twitchy
feeling crept over my limbs. I let it overtake me as I strode to the bouncer.
I showed him my license. His dull eyes barely flicked at it before he
stepped aside. Faint shock rippled down my spine as I stepped into the club.
Flashing lights illuminated feminine silhouettes, twirling on stage. Bikers
drooled over the strippers, ignoring me as I climbed to the office. Nobody
guarded the door.
I shoved it open.
A girl bobbed between a man’s widespread legs, giving head. Jett leaned
back on a sofa, his skin flushed. His fingers were knotted in her hair and her
face was a mess of tears and mascara.
I unholstered my Glock and pointed it at him.
Jett’s eyes slid into focus, as though wondering if I were really there and not
a mirage. Then he shoved her aside and yanked his jeans over his cock.
“Costa . You’re alive.”
“Disappointed?” I ripped off my coat and handed it to the girl crawling
toward the door. “Call yourself a cab and get out of here.”
She wrapped herself in my jacket and took off.
Jett stared. “How the hell did you get in?”
“Bouncer didn’t even recognize me. You must be scraping at the bottom of
the barrel for prospects.”
“That’s your fuckin’ fault,” he said hoarsely. “Where’s my daughter?”
“Gone.”
“Gone where ?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I growled, my arm trembling from not squeezing the
trigger. “She’s out of my life forever.”
“She’s dead?”
I remained silent, seething. I wanted him to know that he would never see
Evie again, but clearly, Jett didn’t give a flying fuck. A flicker of remorse
wrinkled his brow as he hiked up his pants.
He didn’t care .
I grappled with the urge to fire between his legs, but he’d bleed out before I
got anything useful out of him. I promised myself I wouldn’t kill him, so I
compromised. I pistol-whipped his jaw.
His bearded face twisted with agony, and he fell out of the chair. As he
flailed on the floor and cried, I stared through the blinds in the parking lot.
Six Harleys rolled up. Six leather- and denim- clad figures jumped off their
bikes, running toward the entrance.
I was numb to the danger, emotionally depleted. I had nothing left. I was
tired. So fucking tired. I just wanted it to end.
“Guess they figured out that you’re going to jail. I wonder how long it’ll
take for someone to shank you in the chow line? Oh well, not my problem.”
Jett gaped at me, his neck flushing. “You snitched on me?”
I was well aware of the code of honor against talking to the police, but I’d
stopped caring about that bullshit years ago.
I shrugged. “What can I say? Dad raised me to be an upstanding citizen.”
His lip curled. “You won’t outlive the weekend!”
“Well, you gave it your best effort, and I’m still here.”
“Evie will never forgive you!”
Would she?
I wasn’t sure. I had a hard time thinking at the moment.
“Cops will be here any minute, but first I have to clarify a few things.” I
backed away from the window and faced him. “Where is Evie’s mother?”
Jett paled. “What?”
“I know you trafficked her.”
I’d suspected it since Evie told me that story about her mother. Then I found
out a week ago. One of Knox’s genius innovations had been an algorithm
used by law enforcement to match women’s faces to images and videos
online. I hadn’t told Evie what I’d found. Evie didn’t need the guilt of her
mother’s disappearance on top of everything else.
I knelt beside him, searching for regret in those fathomless black eyes that
reminded me so much of my wife. My stomach turned. “Who did you sell
her to? Please, God, tell me it wasn’t K.”
“I never sold her. I gave her to him.”
Rage rippled through me, and I swung my arm.
My gun caught Jett’s nose, shattering it. He spasmed, clutching his face as it
streamed with blood. He rocked on the floor and moaned.
“Why ?” I bellowed, my voice breaking. “Is nothing sacred to you? How the
fuck do you do that to your child?”
“I love my daughter,” he groaned. “Vicky—she wanted to take off with my
kid!”
“You made her a slave.”
“I had to get rid of her. He promised me he wouldn’t kill her, and that I’d
never see her again.” He raised his palm as I aimed the gun at him. “Don’t.
Please .”
He’d condemned her to slavery because she dared to dream of a better life.
These fucking people. How long before Evie would’ve pissed him off and
he’d done the same to her?
“Did you arrange to have Evie trafficked?”
“Are you crazy? She’s my daughter!”
“Since when has that meant anything to you?”
Kill him .
I really wanted to, but it wouldn’t do Evie any justice. Or her poor mother.
Thinking of them shattered my rage. I holstered my gun as red and blue
lights flashed into the office.
Numb, I left, descending into the club still pulsing with rock music. Cops
swarmed the interior, tearing the place apart. Detective Cobane, a man in
his late forties with a wide jaw, nodded at me. I stood by my car as cops
rounded up everyone in a leather cut.
Evie would’ve been grateful for the lack of violence. She always brought
joy to every moment. A sick yearning assaulted me. I missed her already.
Why the hell had I sent her away? I should’ve felt good about doing the
right thing, but it made me physically ill. I couldn’t breathe without my
lungs aching.
This was a mistake.
I needed her more than ever.
“Tony .”
Cainan clasped my shoulder, peering at me. His blatant otherness stalled
me. He wore a polo and khakis, his auburn hair sparking under the dying
sun. All the cars had vanished. The cops had disappeared, and I hadn’t even
noticed.
“What are you doing here?”
“You wouldn’t answer your phone. I got worried.”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look well, T.”
I must’ve looked like shit. “I’m all right.”
“You’re not. Let me give you a lift home.”
Cainan guided me to his BMW. He opened the passenger-side door, which
struck me as strangely courteous until I slid into the seat.
And stared into a loaded barrel.
OceanofPDF.com
 THIRTY-ONE

EVIE

I’m grateful that he underestimates how stubborn I can be.

I would not leave my husband.

Tony might’ve convinced himself he was monstrous, but he had yet to prove
it to me. He didn’t even know about the baby. I could’ve said something,
but I worried he’d push me away even more. He barely let me get a word in
before he shoved me toward the guards.
Why the fuck was he doing this?
Did he think I was a shrinking violet after growing up in the MC?
I shoved clothes into a bag I had no intention of bringing. I made coffee. I
stalled, ignoring the guards’ vicious side-eye as I flopped onto the couch
and thumbed through TV reruns. Tony’s hired security planted themselves
in front of the door and wouldn’t budge. Strangely, they didn’t seem to give
a shit that I’d stopped “packing” an hour ago.
More frustrating were my unanswered texts.
Me: Look. I’m not going anywhere.
I took a picture of myself sprawled on the cushions and sent it.
Me: See? If you want me out of your life, you’ll have to come here and
do it yourself.
Me: I have something very important to tell you.
Me: I just found out I’m
A knock hammered the door.
I abandoned the unfinished text as I sprang upright. The guard stepped aside
and opened the door.
I dashed across the floor, growling with relief.
“About freaking t—”
A tall, pale-skinned man stepped into the foyer with an air of superiority
that made me want to punch him, despite his great looks. He wore a dark
blazer over charcoal pants, immaculate in a way that shouldn’t be allowed.
Not one strand strayed from his perfectly coiffed waves, which sparked like
copper fire in the light. Two black hooded eyes under a prominent eyebrow
bridge. Shadows ran along the corner of his mouth to his high cheekbones,
and they curved wildly when his full mouth tipped in a smile.
“Hello, Evie.”
His musical voice pitted my stomach with nausea. Sweat broke over my
body as he approached, close enough for me to count the freckles dotting
his wrists.
I frowned at the security guys, arms crossed. “I didn’t say you could let him
in.”
“They actually follow my orders.” He offered me a disarming smile, so light
and innocuous it raised my hackles. “My name is Cainan. I’m here to help
you.”
“I don’t want your help.”
“I think you do.”
My stomach hardened as the click of a penlight echoed in my mind,
dragging forth images of me bound, helpless, and shoved on an auction
block. “You were with Tony. That night.”
Judging by his rapidly cooling demeanor, that was extremely unwelcome.
“You would do well to forget the events of that night,” he said, his gaze
clinical. “And my part in it.”
“Then why did you come?”
“I had to see what all the fuss was about. Meet the girl that ruined
everything.”
A chill skated down my spine. “Ruined?”
“Yeah, you fucked up my plans. Ever since he met you, he’s been
distracted. Sloppy.” Cainan sighed heavily and strolled away from me. “I
don’t get it. You’re nothing special—no more than a pretty girl with a nice
rack.”
Who was this man and why was he in my house? “Go fuck yourself.”
“And not very good at banter, either.”
“Do you know where my husband is?”
“You don’t have to worry about him anymore. He’s been captured. He’s at
the MC.”
Oh my God .
I grabbed my purse and shot toward the elevator. Cainan grabbed my
shoulder and held me still.
“You’re staying here.”
“Like fuck I am!”
“It’s what Tony wants. Besides, it’s not safe for you at the MC.”
Shit. He was right.
My pulse shot to the stratosphere. “Can you help him?”
Cainan shook his head slowly, pained. “I tried. I did what I could, but…he’s
not getting out of this.”
“Then let me help him!” I shouted brokenly, trembling. “He’s my husband.
I can’t sit here and wait for him to die.”
“He wouldn’t want me to put you at risk.”
I seized his blazer and yanked, but it was like pulling on a wall. “I don’t
give a shit about what he wants! You’ll take me to him right now!”
A flicker of amusement danced in his ebony gaze before it hardened. “I’m
trying to do right by him.”
“Please, Cainan. I love him. I’ll do anything for him. Anything. Don’t rip
my family apart before it’s barely started.” I sank to my knees as the tears
burning my eyes burst free. “I’m having his baby! I can’t do this on my
own! I need him. God, I need him.”
A benign smile staggered across his face as he drank in my kneeling
position, his hand hovering over my head. He lightly brushed my hair.
“He does have a chance of surviving if you go…but you might not make it
out alive.”

SOMETHING WASN’T RIGHT.

I called Vinn Costa before we left, locking myself in the bathroom and
running the faucets so Cainan couldn’t hear me beg him for help. Vinn’s
callous “not my fucking problem” and the abrupt end of our phone call
shattered my hope, until Cainan’s black Audi rolled up beside a familiar,
chain-linked fence.
The club has Tony .
It was strangely deserted. The few men wearing leather cuts packed their
SUVs. People’s expressions seemed drawn and tight. I clawed at my cheeks
as I pictured the scene inside the clubhouse, trying like hell not to despair. If
anybody could talk the club out of murdering Tony, it’d be me.
Cainan stepped out like a king in the desert, frowning. His guards followed
at the rear as we stepped onto the dirt path. Steel chimes jangled from a
mobile home. A dampening chill wrapped my limbs as people stepped
outside their homes to gawk at me. Eyes fell on Cainan; nothing of his
specter-like, immaculate appearance belonged here. A chicken clucked, and
Cainan stared at Martha’s birds, their golden feathers ruffled as they
preened themselves.
“Charming,” he noted, not sounding charmed at all. “This reminds me of
post-Soviet villages in Hungary.”
I ignored him, making a beeline for the clubhouse.
People stared as I headed for the brick building. A door flew open, and a
blonde woman stepped out. Jennesy stood on her porch in rubber boots. Her
cotton-candy hair streamed as she ran toward me. “Evie! Evie, they have
him. He’s inside.”
“I know. Is he okay?”
“Nobody’s allowed in.” Jennesy yanked me into a fierce hug. “And I heard
about your dad. I’m so sorry.”
My dad?
I shoved that aside. “I need to get Tony.”
I disengaged from her and left her, concern written all over her features. I
joined Cainan, whose hand suddenly sailed up my back. It seemed like a
protective, if oddly possessive gesture. When we got to the clubhouse, I
shrank from his touch, but Cainan didn’t seem to take the hint. His fingers
bit into the back of my neck. He squeezed, hard.
“You will do everything I say,” he seethed. “You’ll obey me without
question, or you won’t come out alive.”
I’d never heard a voice darker than my husband’s, until Cainan spoke with
that awful gravel.
My flesh crawled. “The only man I obey is my old man, and you sure as
shit aren’t him.”
“Well, then. I guess hell is getting two souls tonight.”
Cainan’s fingers bit into my neck as he marched me into the clubhouse. We
strode through the bar and into the back, where a prospect peeled back a
rubber mat and revealed a trapdoor. Cold sank into my bones as we
followed the stairs to a door with a keypad. The air compressed as we
stepped through, or perhaps it just seemed that way because this wasn’t the
club I’d grown up in. This had to be an entrance to another world. This
couldn’t be where I’d celebrated a thousand birthdays.
Rock music pulsed above a dark chamber rich with the scent of blood. Male
laughter rebounded off cement whose wall sconces illuminated the space in
an eerie glow. A straight-backed man with shoulder-length hair faced a
hunched over figure. Chains dangling from the ceiling led to shackles at his
wrists. He was shirtless and beautiful, glaring like a vengeful God. He stood
dazedly, reeling from a blow. He hissed like an animal. Crazed, he hurled
himself at them but missed by several feet. Light bounced off his tanned
skin, revealing the ruined flesh, the table of tools they’d used on him.
A lump wedged in my throat.
I knew he would be hurt, but I wasn’t prepared for how it’d make me feel.
My legs trembled as Tony transformed into a beast, thrashing at his
restraints, throwing himself against the wall, spitting mad like a wildcat. He
tore at the bindings with his fingers.
Ghost gleamed from the back of a man’s leather cut. He scratched his head,
grinning. “I think we broke his fucking brain.”
Cainan marched me into the thick of the action, disgust layering his voice.
“You weren’t supposed to mark his skin.”
“Relax, man. It’s a couple scratches.”
“My buyers expect a blank canvas.”
Ghost pointed at his misaligned nose. “I had to pay him back for what he
did to my fucking face.”
I elbowed Cainan, whose grip loosened on my neck.
“Tony!”
He stiffened as I ran to him. I collided with his chest and wrapped my arms
around his neck, kissing his battered cheeks, his forehead, his mute lips. A
blast of air hit my lips with his surprised gasp. His glassy stare skipped over
me.
“Evie…Evie, why are you here?”
“I’ll get you out of here. I promise.”
“No,” he moaned, his chest hitching. “No, I don’t want you here. Evie…
You can’t be here.”
Tears choked my voice as I stroked the cowlick from his face. “I love you.”
His eyes were wild with terror, begging me to run—to save myself.
I wouldn’t.
I couldn’t.
A rough grip ripped me from Tony, whose outstretched hands stopped short
of grabbing me. He snarled, yanked back by the chains.
A mouth whispered in my ear.
“Been waiting for you, Evie.” Ghost’s ruined face broadened with a
predatory grin as his hands curled around my stomach. “So convenient of
you to show up in a skirt. Let’s see if you’re wearing panties.”
His touch splayed over my thigh.
Tony hurled himself against his restraints.
I huddled against the wall, speechless.
Ghost’s thunderous expression and the menacing presence of the other
bikers hinted they were beyond playful banter.
I had one option.
Fight .
“Stop it,” I demanded, my heart in my throat. “My dad will destroy you.”
“Your dad is in jail. Along with half the fucking club. Nobody’s coming to
the rescue.” His smile was without malice, almost apologetic. “You have a
debt to pay before I turn you into my wife—if I decide the money you’ll
inherit when Costa is dead is worth it.”
“I don’t know,” the man behind me croaked. “After Costa dipped his dick in
that?”
“Hmm. You might be right, Diesel.” Ghost’s head cocked as he peered at
me. “Let’s rip off that shirt and see what’s underneath.”
My stomach clenched tight as they closed in, my only way out blocked by
Cainan. Panic quaked through my limbs as he lifted my shirt, my fragile
control cracked by one careless movement.
I swallowed hard. “I’m already married.”
“You’ll be widowed before long, and rich as hell.”
“I’m not marrying you .”
"So you'll be our plaything?" Ghost shrugged, exchanging glances with the
other men. "Fine by me."
“Let me out, now.” My gaze jumped from man to man, searching for a
frailty, one weakness I could exploit. “You can’t do this to one of your own.
I grew up in the club!”
“I gave you a chance. You sicced Costa on me.” Ghost pressed his mouth to
my neck, his voice smoothing like butter on toast. “So now you’ll put that
sharp tongue to a sweeter use.”
I couldn’t push him off.
Ghost’s chest resisted my hands like an iron wall. My fists flew at him, and
he absorbed every blow with a raised brow, revealing nothing but a vague
amusement. He turned at the waist, flashing a get-a-load-of-this grin at the
others.
They laughed.
Sons of bitches .
I lashed out like a cornered animal, beating him until acid ate my muscles
and my fists were flayed meat. A vivid heat shot up my third knuckle to my
elbow.
I gritted my teeth as Ghost balled my hands, pinning them over my head.
His fingers were like zip ties. The utter dominance of my body gnawed at
my sanity.
I’d never felt so out of control.
Helpless .
Tony thrashed at his restraints, bellowing a wounded sound over and over.
A raw grief gripped my throat as Ghost stopped my escape with a fierce
pinch of my injured wrist. There was nothing I could do—nothing against
three adult men.
“Gentlemen,” growled Cainan in a low warning. “Until my buyers arrive
and we make the trade, the girl belongs to me. Hands off.”
What was his angle?
Would he save us?
The ceiling rattled as Tony lunged at him, once again ripped back. Ghost’s
low chuckle filled the space as he addressed the others in a playful tone.
“What do you think, guys? Should I let her go?”
The chorus of no bottomed my stomach.
“Three against one. Sorry.” He leaned in so close his breath gusted my
cheek. “You’re going to be so much fun.”
I kicked, aiming for his balls.
He blocked me with a raised leg, tutting. His fingers gouged my flesh,
shooting fire to my elbow. His brutal strength made my hands whiten, and
his eyes flashed with a warning.
I clenched my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut.
Block him out , my mind chanted. Hide .
My head filled with pictures of a sunny day at the beach, tiny grains of sand
sticking to my feet, kelp wrapping my ankles. The images doused water on
the blaze in my throat.
“My buyers are here.”
“Tell them to come on down.”
Cainan opened the door, and three men in suits descended into the room. He
shook hands with them and gestured to Tony. “There he is, just as I
promised. And the girl.”
Ghost ignored their conversation, his fingers skating the edge of my
waistband. “I’m holding back, Evie. I’ve got no idea why . Maybe I’m a
greedy fucker and I don’t want to share you, but that can’t be it. I’ve shared
women with my brothers before. Never gave a fuck.”
“L-let us go. You’ll never see us again.”
“Why would I want that?” he quipped, his nose trailing my cheek. “You
have no idea how often I fantasized about destroying your cunt. Your father
cockblocked me at every turn.”
My stomach sank even lower.
I need to get out of here .
He gripped my head and twisted so that my cheek flattened on the wall.
Then his lips touched my ear.
“I’m taking your pussy.”
A flicker of potent terror shot my heart. Fear gripped my throat, slowly
robbing me of air. I tried to inhale. My lungs wouldn’t cooperate.
Everything had retreated within the spiraling black mass inside me.
“The devil inside me wants to do it now.” Ghost pressed his lower half into
me, rolling his hardness onto my thigh. “Unless you give me a reason to
wait.”
I sputtered around the lump in my throat, not missing the suggestion in his
voice.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been laid,” he drawled. “Not much opportunity
in the hospital. I guess I can wait a little longer.”
I choked on air, my lungs seizing as I connected that hardness with the
space between my legs. Then he held a finger to my face, stroking my
cheek. I recoiled against the shiver of loathing, snapping away from his
touch. He grabbed my jaw and twisted it around, away from Tony’s mad
attempts to reach me, to the bikers and the traffickers’ eager staring.
My teeth chattered, and then a ripple of fury swam underneath my panic.
“I am not yours,” I burst in a hoarse voice. “I am not a fuck doll. I am not a
receptacle for your dick or whatever insecurity makes you attack women.
Fuck off .”
Ghost shoved me. My knees struck the ground, and he fisted my hair. He
ripped at his jeans. Down went the zipper, but I didn't see anything but the
blue of his shirt. Dimly, I heard Tony’s enraged roar.
“You're not going to bite me, are you?”
“W-what?”
He grabbed my hair and tipped my head. "You’ll take it like a good girl.
Everyone will get their turn, and then, angel, we'll share your pussy."
Just the thought of it shattered me.
I recoiled violently. “Please don’t. Please —”
“There is no bargaining when you're a club whore.” He worked his thumb
in my mouth, hooking it behind my teeth. “Unless you want to be my old
lady.”
“Why the fuck would you want that?”
“I want Costa’s money. After he’s dead, you and I are walking down the
aisle. You’ll sign everything over to me. Say yes, and this stops.” Ghost
watched me, his smile deceptively warm. “I won’t let them touch you.”
Biting him crossed my mind, but his closed fist nudged my chin, as though
reminding me. I flinched as he opened his hand and slapped me, the sting
bursting over my cheeks. I barely kept it together.
My mouth went dry as I pretended to consider his suggestion, searching for
a way out. The ceiling rattled violently with Tony’s desperation. Blood ran
down his wrists in torrents—God, I couldn’t look at him while this
happened to me.
My breath seemed to solidify in my throat, lodging like ice. I opened my
mouth, but there was no sound. My ears filled with a violent buzzing. I
turned my head as a plea wailed in my chest. I searched the other men for
doubt, finding only ravenous hunger.
“Don’t look at them . They’re hoping you say no.” His smile twitched. “So
am I.”
What should I do?
No help was coming.
Warmth trickled down my palms, blood swimming where my nails dug. I
shook my head, tears blinding my vision.
"You sure pride is the hill you want to die on?" he said as he teased his
finger in my mouth. "You don't give me the answer I want in five seconds,
and we're all taking you."
“Wait .”
“Yes or no?” Ghost slipped from my mouth, his fingers gouging my arm as
he hauled me upright. “Marry me or get fucked by everybody in this room.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “I—I can’t.”
“All right.”
His soft tone tricked me into believing I was safe, the momentary relief
scoured by a tongue on my cheek. He licked me, from my jaw to my ear,
which he bit hard.
I was like a meat he savored. Disgust pitted my stomach, mingling horribly
with a climbing dread. Acid shot up my throat. I swayed, fingers scraping
his leather cut.
Fingers .
I had weapons, too. Ten of them.
My thumbs shot into his eye sockets. I gouged them hard. He shouted,
rearing back, teeth flashing, but I gripped his skull like a barnacle, shoving
my fingers as deep as they’d go.
Someone grabbed me in a chokehold. A fat, hairy bicep squeezed my throat,
ripping me off Ghost. The room exploded with my voice as Ghost
recovered, rubbing his eyes.
“You’re not touching me ever again! I’ll blind you before I let you fuck me.
You hear me? You sick, disgusting, pervert .” My gaze bounced from
Ghost’s red-eyed menace to the dipshit beside him. “Try it again, you
fucking—”
The arm pressing on my throat cut me off.
“Thanks,” said Ghost to Diesel. He lowered his tone as he faced me. “So
you have some fight in you. Good.”
“You all right?” Diesel asked.
“I’m fucking fine, just surprised.” Ghost tossed his head, glaring at me.
“Who taught you to fight like that, you little cunt? Was it your dad?”
Being lectured on violence by this piece of shit was really rich. I wanted to
call him out on it, but the arm crushing my windpipe prevented any speech.
My lungs burned as I fought to grab him, sinking my nails into his flesh but
barely gaining air.
I gasped, clawing his arm.
Even if somebody outside heard the screaming, they’d be slow to call the
police. You didn’t rat on Legion MC and expect to live.
Ghost glanced at the door. Shrugging, he turned back to me. “There’s no
help coming. None that I can’t destroy, anyway—Diesel, ease up on her
throat. I don’t enjoy fucking cadavers.”
Air streamed into my lungs as the pressure on my windpipe disappeared. I
sucked in greedily, the world spinning back into focus as Diesel traced the
underside of my breast.
Heat flared in my cheeks. I tried to contract, a vain attempt to shield my
body from their roaming eyes, but Diesel’s iron grip prevented even the
slightest struggle.
I closed my eyes, my shame unbearable.
“I like ’em bigger,” quipped Diesel. “I wouldn’t marry a woman with no
rack.”
I imagined my face burning a vivid scarlet.
My blood pounded as Diesel’s hand slipped to my breast. He seized a
handful and squeezed, the sensation nothing like my husband’s touch. It
was so violating I had to clamp my lips shut. A rush of acid surged up my
throat.
“But the plus side is they don’t get in the way while you’re fucking,” he
said, tweezing my nipple. “I’m more interested in her pussy.”
Ghost’s condescending glare dared me to object. Then he palmed my breast,
and rolled his thumb over my nipple. He inhaled a deep breath and closed
his eyes, as though drunk on the scent of my fear.
“I call dibs on her pussy.”
“You fuckers are forgetting me,” the man by the door chimed.
“Plenty of her to go around,” Ghost soothed, his blue eyes impaling me.
“She’s got a mouth, doesn’t she? You and Poison can share while I take her
pussy. How does that sound, Evie?”
How do I escape this?
“Let’s put her on the table.”
I dug my heels in the carpet, my mind a snarling mess of fear. I leaned back
and kicked Ghost, my heel slamming into his stomach. He grabbed my foot,
apparently unfazed by the blow. He yanked hard, ripping me from Diesel
straight into his arms.
A malevolent gleam had replaced the lust shining in Ghost’s eyes.
My pulse rocketed.
“Hold her still.”
Terrified of the dark promise in that command, I cracked my head into his
skull. I tore at his face, whirling, kicking, and screaming. I wouldn’t stop
until they killed me.
“I hope you’re on the pill.” He planted a nauseating kiss under my jaw.
“Otherwise you’ll never know who gave you the baby.”
A shooting pain hit my chest, crumbling my last reserve of calm. It was like
he’d stabbed me. Then it burst out of me—“No! I’m already pregnant!”
Tony’s inhuman snarling stabbed into my head. A gunshot-like crack sliced
the air.
OceanofPDF.com
 THIRTY-TWO

TONY

30 mg Oxycodone
5 mg cocaine
1 needle
1 prayer

T he chains fell from my wrists. I seized the machete they’d taunted me

with. My throat tore with a fierce sound as I slashed at Ghost’s outstretched
arm, severing him from the elbow. I ripped Evie from him and tossed her
behind me.
I’d kill them.
All of them.
The whole fucking world.
Three bangs erupted from the exit as Cainan fired at their backs. I exploded
onto Diesel and stabbed his neck with the machete. He choked as I ripped it
free. A man grabbed my shoulder. I whirled, slashing his face. Another took
it in the gut, the one who wanted to rape my pregnant wife, until he
disappeared into a puddle of blood.
Soft sobbing filled the space as Ghost crawled over the bodies. I strolled to
him and relished the sight of him, bleeding out, terrified. Then I pointed the
knife’s edge on his back. My palm hit the butt of the blade, sinking it
through his leather cut slowly, until it struck the ground, pinning him there
like a bug.
I spat on his twitching body.
Rage still blinded me to the horrifying scene, like a red filter over my eyes.
She stood there in black and white, stark against my rage. Then the veil
lifted, and I took in the carnage, and Evie’s whitened face, and my throat
tightened.
She’s pregnant .
Warmth glowed through me, extinguished by the cool draft of Cainan’s
sarcasm. He stepped forward, clapping me on the back. “Congratulations,
Anthony. You’re a daddy.”
I grabbed his elbow, twisted it, and shoved him toward the floor, keeping
my grip on him. “Ten seconds to explain yourself or I rip off your arm,
too.”
“I saved your lives. Took out two goliaths at once.” He turned his head,
stony-faced. “Once you locked up the president, his VP, and the sergeant of
arms, I made a deal with the only biker left with any power. The road
captain. I did the same with the traffickers I haven’t been able to control. I
promised Evie to the MC, and you to the traffickers. Then I got them to
meet in the same room. Couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.”
“And if I couldn’t break free?”
I increased pressure on the bone, but Cainan didn’t react. He was as
expressionless as a reptile.
“I would’ve stopped it.”
“I didn’t see you lift a fucking finger!”
“Sometimes, you have to take a huge risk to reap an even bigger reward.
You were right. Slow and steady wasn’t working, and I saw a golden
opportunity to get rid of them. I knew you could do it, Tony. I’ve seen you
fight so many times.”
I ground into the precise spot where his arm would break.
“She’s safe, isn’t she?” Cainan roared, yanking out of my grip. “Can’t you
see the good in what we’ve accomplished? We single-handedly took down
the Legion chapter and three of the worst traffickers. You should be
thanking me on bended knee!”
He still didn’t understand.
None of that mattered next to my wife.
My fist whirled, smashing into his jaw. His head slammed into the wall
hard. He grunted, palm on the concrete.
“I never want to see you again.”
“What the hell is your problem?”
“You . I hate you. I can’t stand the sight of you. You’re a sick man. You need
to have your head X-rayed or whatever the fuck it is to find out why you are
so screwed up.”
Cainan’s lips thinned as he smoothed his hair, his flushed cheek the only
sign I’d knocked him off-kilter.
“You threatened my wife’s safety to get what you wanted. As usual, at the
expense of others.” I let out a humorless laugh at his nonplussed expression.
“There’s so much you’ll never understand.”
Cainan flashed me a hard smile. “Fine. Find your own way out.”
“Where are you going? ”
“My security can handle this riff-raff.”
He turned his back on us and climbed the stairs, leaving us alone. Boots
pounded the ceiling, their weight creaking the floorboards.
I rushed at the door, locking it.
Evie’s soft body pressed into mine, her arms wrapping my stomach. “I
chose to come here. I can’t live without you.”
“He manipulated you.”
“He got us back together.”
“Yeah. For how long?” I eyed the ceiling as the floor creaked. I had no idea
what the hell was going on, but at some point that door would open. My
gaze dipped to the carnage. The knot in my throat refused to dissolve.
“Evie, I want to tell you everything…while I still can. You were almost
killed because I haven’t told you everything. Again .”
I couldn’t force out the words, my mind ravaged by the past. I took her face
and gazed into her startled eyes.
“I was trafficked by the club. I wasn’t at a rehab center. That was a lie I sold
to the masses to hide where I’d really been, because I’m so ashamed of
what I’ve done.” It poured out of me as I stroked her cheek. “Crash sold me
to a man who brought me to…an island. It’s a place off the Caribbean
called Leda, a human trafficking hub where people fly in to party, to
network, to do all kinds of shady business deals. I was drugged, shipped
over there, and sold.”
Weakness tingled in my legs, and I let go of her to sit against the wall.
“A psychopath named Attila bought me. I lived in his villa. It was smack
dab in the middle of a jungle. Hot as hell. Humid. Naked women
everywhere, all of them trafficked. He used me as an enforcer. I protected
the girls from clients that got too rough.” I pressed my hands into my eyes
until stars exploded behind them. “I saw things, Evie.”
She sat beside me, slipping her hand around my bicep. “Did you try to
escape?”
“I couldn’t leave them. I had to help. I tried, but the overseer caught me.
Whipped my back. Then the bastard put me in cage matches where I had to
fight other men. I butchered them for their amusement. That’s how I met
Cainan. He was one of the people watching me fight.”
Her eyes glazed with tears.
“I wasn’t myself. They broke me on that island. They made me so hateful it
turned inward, killing me from the inside. Cainan saw that cruelty and knew
he could hone it. He got me out when he found out how well-connected I
was. I got to Boston. I was home for weeks, but I couldn’t move on. I was
stuck. I told nobody I was back. I didn’t want them to know because I
couldn’t tell anyone what I’d been through. Who the fuck would believe
me? Who would understand?”
Evie cupped my cheeks and kissed me. Heat blasted across my lips, almost
dissolving my urge to continue. Would this be the last time I tasted her kiss?
“I was spiraling. I needed something to do, so Cainan gave me a purpose.
He would allow me to join him in fighting human trafficking, but I needed
to pass a loyalty test.”
This next part was the worst.
I had to get it out of me.
“He told me to kill my father, so I did.” The tightness in my chest released
as it spilled out of me. “I shot my dad, who never stopped looking for me,
never gave up on me once, then I blamed it on your MC to start a war.
Hands down, the most evil thing I’d ever done. I can’t even explain why I
did it. I just—I wasn’t in my right mind and Cainan knew it.”
My voice croaked, and I lost the energy to keep going. Evie’s raspy whisper
chased my echo.
“How did you do it?”
“I blocked it out. I don’t have a memory of the actual murder. The only
thing I remember is stepping onto my dad’s lawn for the first time in over a
year, and hours later, Dad’s necklace dangling in my hands after I’d done
it.”
“The same one you’re wearing now?”
She fingered the gold chain, finding the flat oval pendant nestled in the
hollow of my neck, blazing with an image of St. Anthony.
“I keep it on as penance.”
I couldn’t believe I’d told her.
I’d never admitted this to anyone.
“I did so many things I hated on that island, and it turned me into a monster.
A violent man with no self-control. I can barely look my mother in the eye
anymore. It’s why I told you I never wanted children, because I feel so
tainted. And after what I did to Dad, I didn’t think I deserved to father my
own kids.”
But I was a father, and the burden sank into my heart like golden light,
warming me from the inside out. Relief flooded my veins. The fire inside
me banked lower. Air came more smoothly in my lungs.
I breathed .
“Now you know the man you married.”
And she’d leave me.
I braced for it as Evie’s gaze clouded with tears. Heaviness centered on my
chest as I prepared for a stinging response. Then she smiled.
“I understand you completely. And I love you even more.” Evie’s trembling
lips slowly broke into a sweet smile. “I love you. All of you. Every flaw.
Even the parts of you that you think are too dark.”
I pinned her to my chest, overwhelmed. “Are you really pregnant?”
She lightly grasped my cheek, nodding.
It struck home, finally. “You don’t know how fucking happy you’ve made
me.”
My heart hammered as she wrapped her arms around my blood-soaked
chest. She smashed her mouth into mine, gripping my hair. The pit of my
stomach churned. I growled before I caught her lips. Her soft mouth
demanded a harsher response, so I angled my head and deepened the kiss.
Spirals of joy swept through me.
I had my doubts, but fuck them. She loved me despite the graveyard of my
victims. If she didn’t leave me for them, she would never leave me. We
would make it through anything . There wasn’t enough darkness in the
world to blacken this shining moment.
The door flew open.
Vinn stepped out. His widened gaze took in the carnage and narrowed on
me.
“Jesus Christ . What happened?”
OceanofPDF.com
 THIRTY-THREE

EVIE
SIX MONTHS LATER

I’m grateful our baby is healthy.

T ony rolled onto his stomach .

He lay beside me, out cold, his nakedness on full display. Heat stole into my
face as my eyes raked over his devastating appeal. A sliver of light peeked
through the curtains, stroking his muscled shoulders, gorgeous back
dimples, and steel thighs. His wild hair stuck out in all directions, untamed,
just like the rest of him. Saturating the sheets and filling my lungs like a
pleasant steam was vanilla scent mingled with pure masculinity.
He was so close, the heat of his body burning mine. At the base of my
throat, a pulse beat and swelled. I buried my face in his neck and breathed a
kiss. My body ached in all the places he’d filled last night.
My pulse skittered at the sight of my husband’s strong, olive-skinned body.
Even in sleep, the ghost of a Viking warrior clung to him. He flipped over
with a deep sigh, his arm flopping over my waist. It flexed, anchoring over
my baby bump. Then he pulled me into his steel embrace, burrowing me
against his chest where his mouth found my shoulder in a lazy kiss.
Since the clubhouse, I never woke up without him. He’d changed so much
in those six months, embracing the role of soon-to-be father so
enthusiastically, it was hard to believe he’d once told me he never wanted
children.
Shortly after the disaster at the clubhouse, we went to Italy for a belated
honeymoon. I needed distance from the chaos. My father’s imprisonment
was the death knell on the Boston chapter. The national president shut down
the club after it was raided by Vinn’s soldiers.
We bought a house blocks away from his cousins, Vinn and Michael. The
area had good schools, an amazing park, and all the amenities I’d wanted as
a kid. My favorite part of those first weeks was breaking the news to Tony’s
mother.
The baby was getting more and more real. I caught Tony staring at the
sonogram, which he’d taken a picture of and saved on his phone. He looked
at it as though bewildered by its existence.
“Honey, wake up. I have a present for you.”
Tony made a noise, his voice husky with sleep.
“I got you something for our one-year anniversary.”
I rolled over and grabbed the box from the nightstand, pushing it into
Tony’s hands. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. A bemused grin tugged at
his full lips as he unwrapped the silver paper.
“You got me jewelry?” He popped open the felt box and gasped. “Holy shit.
I remember this.”
Tony gaped at the gleaming rose-gold watch he’d offered to buy ages ago.
He splayed it on his olive skin and closed the clasp, admiring it on his wrist.
“You can’t give this to me.”
“I’ll do whatever I want,” I murmured, kissing his naked shoulder. “Do you
like it?”
“I fucking love it. It’s awesome.” Tony leaned over and pressed his mouth
to my temple. “Thank you.”
“Check the back.”
He took it off and flipped it over, beaming. His thumb traced the words
etched on the gold.

Resta con me per sempre.

- Evie

“So you figured it out.”

I pursed my lips. “I said it to Christian while visiting him.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah. I wanted to see how he’d react. He got super quiet. Then he told me
what it really meant.” I put my hands on my hips, my mouth thinning. “Stay
with me forever .”
Tony chuckled. “Awkward.”
“Tell me about it. I had to backpedal hard and convince him that I did not
have a crush on him—with Jen in the room, so thanks for that.”
Tony’s booming laughter filled the bedroom.
Christian had made a shaky recovery and Jennesy still visited him in rehab,
and it filled my heart to watch them together. She’d been forced to leave the
club’s property when the national president put it up for sale, but Tony and I
set up a fund so that none of the women were homeless.
“I’m hiring a new teacher,” I told Tony. “You’re a saboteur.”
“Oh, come on.”
“I am. Our kid will speak broken Italian if I don’t get a handle on this.”
“It’ll be fine.” He wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. “I’ll talk to him only
in Italian. So will my mom. You can speak to him in English.”
“I want him to have Italian lessons, too.”
“No way, hon. He’s going to public school. No extra classes. No dancing.
He’ll be so much happier for it.”
“Tony .”
“I’m not budging on this.”
I released a frustrated sigh, annoyed that we couldn’t find common ground.
We couldn’t decide on a name and had different visions for our son’s future.
I wanted to give him every opportunity to excel, but Tony was adamant that
public schooling would keep him grounded.
I slid off the bed and wrapped myself in a robe, grumbling all the way to the
breakfast bar.
Tony, following close behind, balled me in a fierce hug that squeezed the
breath from my lungs.
“I have a present for you, too.”
I looked for it, but he shook his head.
“Get dressed.”
Half an hour later, we rode in an elevator of a luxury hotel. I played with
Tony’s lapels and kissed his firm mouth, which barely yielded to my touch.
He was fidgety. His eyes shifted from the door to me. If I didn’t know any
better, I’d say he was nervous.
“Is everything okay?”
He took my hand, his palm clammy. “Evie, there’s one thing I never told
you. I found out something months ago and kept it to myself.”
“What did you do?”
“Me? Nothing. It’s what your father did.”
I stared at him, bewildered. I hadn’t seen my dad in months. His lawyers
tried to contact me for his defense, but I told them to fuck off. His human
trafficking trial loomed over my head. He used me to help him, and it was
possible the investigation could zero in on me.
“Do we have to talk about this right now?”
“Yes,” he said, pulling me into the hallway. “Trust me, you want to see
what’s behind this door.”
My stomach fluttered as he stopped me in front of a room, more worried
than I’d ever seen him.
His mouth whitened as he slashed the card through the keypad. It beeped,
unlocking the door.
Then it swung inward.
Grim-faced, Tony nudged me inside. I strolled onto the carpet and gaped at
the woman on the queen-sized bed. She wore a beige cardigan over a light
purple tank top.
“Mom? ”
She sprang off the mattress and we crashed into each other’s arms. Wild
sobbing burst from her as she clung to my shoulders, wrapping me in her
lilac scent.
All the questions could wait.
I had my family back.
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 EPILOGUE
TONY

Four Years Later

H ow did I get here ?

Tightness clawed my throat as I folded my son’s side-snap bodysuit and

packed it in a suitcase. Tristan had grown out of it. So had Massimo.
Neither of my boys would ever fit in them again, and that resonated inside
me with a beautiful, awful pain. Wrapping up something that was my whole
world was hard.
Four years had gone by.
We’d spent the weekend at Vinn’s beach house after a frenzied afternoon of
celebrating his son’s third birthday, and this was our last night. Nostalgia
made me pack Tristan’s baby clothes, and now they didn’t fit on either of
my boys.
The whole gang packed the house. I barely got a minute of shut-eye without
Michael’s children thundering the stairs, but I liked the noise. I’d missed
my dad’s big family reunions.
Our fifteen-month-old, Massimo, sat on the rug, banging the wrong end of a
drumstick into the wooden toy. He was my mini-me, identical to me in
every way. He offered the stick to Tristan, who shook his head. Massimo
seized the edge of the couch and lifted himself. He headed toward me,
grinning. This kid would crawl through a bed of nails to reach me.
I set him on my lap. “Want to read a book?”
He shook his head.
“Want num-nums?”
He shook his head, pointing at someone’s beer glass.
I shoved it way out of reach. “Kid, you scare me sometimes.”
Actually, he gave me heart attacks on a regular basis. Probably because my
world would end if anything bad ever happened to him. I took his hands,
and his fists closed on my fingers as he walked forward purposely. I bent
over and let him run toward Vinn’s dog, a golden retriever with a saintlike
patience with children.
Evie took over watching Tristan as I expended Massimo’s limitless energy
on the beach. Massimo slapped my cheeks with wet sand. His face lit up in
fiendish delight when I groaned.
I wiped it off as Evie softly chided him.
“Massimo, don’t do that to Daddy.”
“Swear to God, I was not this much of a pain in the ass as a baby.”
Evie chuckled softly. “Your mom says you threw tantrums all the time.
Sometimes, you’d get so upset you’d vomit and pass out.”
“Good Lord. Is that what we’re in for?”
Evie shrugged.
I worried about the similarities constantly. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my
life as it was in the moment, but the weight of being a parent got worse as
the kids grew older. Tristan had been an easy baby. Calm as hell. Always
happy. A deceptive introduction to parenthood.
Massimo was another story.
My back ached from allowing my toddler to steer me around the beach,
toward rushing waves that meant certain death for him.
I picked him up and set him away.
Massimo sprinted back to the water.
“You can’t go in the ocean, buddy,” I growled as he let out an earsplitting
cry. “I said no . Why are you so stubborn?”
I lifted him to the sky and made airplane noises, and then I let him plunge
down. He squealed and pumped his fists as I did it again. When the sun
made the water shimmer like orange glass, we strolled back to Vinn’s beach
house.
It was packed with kids settling down for Sunday dinner. Mom and Zia
Lena ladled gravy onto plates. I squeezed past them. Massimo pointed at
Mom, beaming.
“Vuoi andare da la tua nonna? ”
He nodded.
“Ma, can you feed him for me?”
I transferred him to Mom’s lap, and she wasted no time in coaxing my son
into eating. At least he wasn’t difficult about that. I waved to my mother-in-
law, who sat beside Mom. Then I passed the table and strolled into the
kitchen, where Michael stood at the stove with his sister, Liana.
“That’s not how you do it!” he shouted, banging the pot with the tongs.
“You need to salt the water. Then you add butter after you drain the pasta.”
Liana rolled her eyes and pinched his stomach. “You don’t need more
butter, old man. Your arteries can’t take it.”
Michael’s dark scowl smoothed into delight as we locked eyes. “Anthony.
Settle a bet with me.”
“What is it?”
“You add butter to the noodles before the gravy to make it stick.”
“Your brother’s right.” I patted Liana’s shoulder, grinning. “But he always
thins out the sauce with too many vegetables, so it doesn’t fucking matter.”
Liana chuckled. “Shots fired.”
“That’s my wife’s recipe.” Michael waved the tongs at me. “Take it back,
you dick.”
“Sorry. It’s the truth.”
“Never mind,” he smoldered, shaking his head. “I’ll beat your ass later.”
“Okay. Do you want to give me the twenty grand now? Or later when I
clean you out?” I winked at him and headed out the kitchen.
We had a poker tournament running all weekend. We played every night
after the kids were in bed. The fierce competition had sparked a few heated
moments. Trash talk was encouraged. None of the wives liked it except for
mine, because I always won. It went without saying that I was the king.
I walked the halls and stumbled on Alessio making out with Mia. She
unlatched from him and hugged me. All was forgiven.
“Aren’t you going to eat with us?”
I patted her back. “In a little bit.”
I made my excuses and went outside, where dark blue blanketed the beach.
No matter what I did or how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget what I’d been
through. On nights like this, I grappled with guilt. I needed to get away
from it all.
I sat on the beach as waves touched the sand. I couldn’t relax with the water
so close to the house. I’d probably sit outside for a few hours.
“Are you all right?”
I was so absorbed in my task that the voice next to me caught me off guard.
I turned on my phone, illuminating Alessio’s face. “Better than I’ve ever
been.”
“I keep waiting for you to come back to us. You’re not like how you used to
be. You were the life of the party back in the day.”
I didn’t do that anymore. “This is as normal as I’ll ever get, besides
cleaning you all out at cards. You owe me fifty grand, by the way.”
“Mia will divorce me if we keep this shit up.”
“If you gamble away your kids’ college tuition, I’ll give you a classic, six-
for-five loan. Twenty percent a week. You can pay me every Thursday.”
“Thursdays are no good for me. What about Saturday?”
“Ah, I play golf on my yacht on Saturdays.”
We shared a laugh that echoed down the beach. When it died, Alessio made
a contemplative sound.
“Been meaning to talk to you for a while. For years, actually. You can’t
avoid me forever, Anthony.”
Too bad .
“Is this about Mia?”
He was referring to the time when I got so high I made out with his wife. I
remembered the hospital visit after he beat the shit out of me, but nothing
else.
I shook my head. “I don’t even remember it, Alessio.”
Alessio waited for me to elaborate as my stomach twisted in knots. Then he
sighed, long and hard.
“Do you think your dad would be happy, if he was here with us? Would he
be proud of us?”
Considering I killed him, I doubt it .
“You? Sure. Not me.” I crossed my arms, my gaze flicking to the shore.
“Tell you the truth, I don’t think of him.”
Alessio’s brows furrowed. “Why?”
A shadow moved in the dark, and I turned my flashlight toward the waves.
A child tottered down the beach. I got up and sprinted toward him, scooping
him before his bare feet touched the water. Alessio’s light landed on the
kid’s face. One of Vinn’s.
I returned to the house, where a frantic Vinn tore apart the house. “I’ve got
him. He was this close to the water.”
Vinn took Chris from me, looking nauseated. “Thanks. I owe you.”
“Guys, I think I’m going to skip poker night. I’m beat.”
They slapped my back and I headed into our room with the kids. Massimo
bounced in Evie’s arms, fussing. He whined as I walked in the room, his
arms outstretched toward me.
Evie laughed. “I love how he forgets I exist whenever you show up.”
“Vieni da papà .”
I scooped him in my arms, his dark eyes glistening as he groped my beard
and pinched my nose. I’d hoped he’d be like Tristan, sweet and easy to
please, but more and more I realized we were watered down versions of our
parents. Tristan was her shadow. Massimo was mine.
I hiked him on my hip. “This kid worries me. He’s my mirror.”
“What the hell did you expect, honey? You’re his dad. Of course he’s going
to be like you.”
“I hoped they’d take after you.”
“He’s just a baby, T.”
I shook my head, sighing. “What if he’s just as troubled? What if he goes to
college and comes back with a drug addiction? What if—”
“I’m not worried. I quite like who you are and what you’ve chosen to
become.”
Evie pressed her soft lips to my cheek, and I flushed like a teenage boy.
With her I was the luckiest man in the world.
I dragged Evie into my arms. The salted air from the beach had played with
her hair, teasing her chocolate waves. Gorgeous . She kissed the top of
Massimo’s head, and my chest tightened.
Her and him .
My life.
My redemption.
For too long, I’d lived in the devil’s shadow. Now I had a reason to live. To
defend. To channel my rage into something pure.
Evie tucked a wayward curl behind her ear, her soft eyes crashing into
mine. “What are you thinking about?”
“How much I love you. How I almost lost you. How I nearly ruined this.”
She shushed me with a hand on my cheek.
I used to push her away. Now I pulled her closer.
“Tony, there’s no room for the past in our new lives together.”
I stroked my son’s head and cradled her belly. “Is there room for one
more?”
“Already?”
“Time flies. I don’t want to waste another minute.”
She leaned on my shoulder, smiling. “I love you, Tony.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Saving me. Loving me. Giving me this life.”
A life that, for the first time, I planned to protect and cherish.

###
Want more Evie and Tony? Click here to find out what happens 3 months
after having Tristan, plus a sneak peek at my next book, Tyrant!

Need more mafia romance? Get Arranged now, the first in my Sinners of
Boston series!

I've inherited my sister's fiancé.

She had him first. Alessio Salvatore. Charming, gorgeous, and completely
off-limits. I watched him propose and counted myself lucky when my sister
said "yes" to the notorious gangster. I have plans for my life. None of them
involve sleeping with the enemy, even if it's to broker peace between our
families.
But when my sister mysteriously dies, my life turns upside-down. I'm now
the heir of my father's assets, and without an arranged marriage, our
families are on the brink of war.

Until my father gives Alessio an offer he can't refuse.

Me.

Mia & Alessio : Arranged

Michael & Carmela : Taken
Vinn & Liana : Faked
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 CHAPTER ONE
MIA

Everything was gone.

I’d trashed my sister’s wedding invitations, deleted our Pinterest gallery,
and emptied the kitchen of save-the-dates. Alessio & Carmela monograms
went into the garbage, along with every marriage-related detail concerning
venues, florists, and bakeries.
Mom didn’t need the reminders.
A lump lodged in my throat as I buried my sister’s beautiful future. Her
hopes and dreams joined bits of eggshell, banana peel, and leftover pasta.
My fists clenched her engagement photos, which were the hardest to
destroy. I’d spent too many hours dwelling over the what-ifs of the path
she’d never take.
It was self-inflicted torture. A wound I kept reopening.
Carmela was never coming back.
She couldn’t.
How did someone go from engaged to dead?
My sister went missing six months ago. The police had found enough of her
blood in a wooded area to investigate her disappearance as a homicide. It
was three weeks since her empty coffin was lowered into the ground,
dragging with it a piece of my soul.
I still couldn’t believe it.
The girl who’d nagged at me, taught me how to use lip liner, and seemed
indestructible with her iron-clad confidence, had left this world. She’d
never again belt out an Italian ballad or fight me over a pair of heels.
Day after day, the finality rang inside like the hollow beating of a drum.
Gone, gone, gone.
The bag of wedding memorabilia weighed down more than just my arm as I
took it outside. I descended the porch and headed into the street filled with
Cadillacs. The sickly-sweet aroma of jasmine, which surrounded the
property, clung to my skin.
It rained last night, leaving everything darker, especially the herb garden,
which burst with tomato vines and basil. I pushed the swing gate into the
side yard, where a tall mafioso leaned against the fence. As the door swung,
he snapped to attention. He’d won the Italian genetic lottery with his
linebacker body and the elegant ridges over his eyes that begged for a kiss.
A fitted gray T-shirt with a deep V-neck wrapped his muscled chest, which
was sprinkled with fine hair. A soft widow’s peak gave way to a thick,
neatly combed, black mane. It was shortened at the sides, and sideburns
swooped to a beard that covered his jaw and upper lip. Gorgeous from all
angles.
Alessio Salvatore was a drink of a man.
He was also my late sister’s fiancé.
I admired him from a distance because he terrified me up close.
I’d heard so many ugly things about Alessio. Horrible rumors. Graphic
anecdotes whispered from one spouse to another until they penetrated our
gossip circle. The Costa underboss had an instinct for brutality, and
whenever I’d felt a twinge of jealousy, I’d remember the sordid details. It
didn’t matter anyway; his gaze had always seemed to slide past me. Around
him, I was invisible.
It made it easier to try to pretend he didn’t exist. A fool’s errand,
considering the world disappeared to a distant murmur with him in the
room. Until recently, every interaction with him left me feeling helpless.
Now he looked at me like a hunter through his scope.
Please leave me alone .
Men like him didn’t answer prayers. Men like him were the reason we
needed them.
The gravel cracked as Alessio loped toward me. Before I shoved the bag
into the recycling bin, he lifted it from my hands and trashed it.
“Thanks.”
I stepped around him, but he stopped me.
“How are you?”
I shrugged, hoping he’d disappear.
His hardened eyes told me he wasn’t budging. I couldn’t escape without
touching him.
“Aren’t you going to ask how I am?”
I allowed my gaze to travel up his leather shoes to the collar of his blazer.
“You seem okay. Excuse me .”
Alessio grabbed the gate post before I moved, his white-knuckled grip
blocking my way. “We should talk.”
“About what?”
“Avoiding me won’t change what our families have planned.” A thin mist
swirled in the air as the sun hid behind clouds. Drops collected on Alessio’s
ebony waves as he leaned in, mouth set in a grim line. “This self-denial
makes it harder for everyone.”
“I’m not in denial.”
“Then look at me.”
I couldn’t.
I’d feel something, and I didn’t want to.
The rain fell, darkening spots on my T-shirt. A drop smacked my forehead. I
fingered the latch and pulled, but he refused to give.
“I just buried my sister.” Metaphorically, at least . “Leave me alone.”
“We don’t have time for this.”
Fuck him for talking about my grief like it was a head cold. “Carmela
wasn’t a pet fish.”
“Life goes on, stellina . Whether or not you want it to.”
I seized the gate and yanked. He released it, allowing us through. I returned
to the house, Alessio quick on my heels. Wiping my feet, I drifted to where
a handful of Ricci and Costa soldiers mingled.
Alessio followed me past my parents’ bedroom that stayed locked because
Mom had barricaded herself inside, and shot into my room. Alessio caught
the door on his elbow, shutting it.
The lock slid home.
A thrill rode my spine. “What are you doing? You can’t be in here.”
Dad was uncompromising about men with his daughter. One reason I never
brought them over.
Alessio acted as if he had nothing to fear. “Yes, I can.”
Crazy asshole . “My father will shit a brick, and I’d rather not deal with the
drama.”
“Sweetheart, you need to wake up.” He smoothed his wet hair and wiped
the moisture on his blazer. “Do you not realize what’s at stake? Do you
want more family members to die? They will if you don’t—”
“Shut up . Just stop.”
Agony pricked my chest as I turned from him. I couldn’t fight it much
longer. My future had rewritten itself the moment my sister’s had ended, but
accepting her death was impossible. I grabbed a photo of us from my
nightstand and stared at our happy faces. The emotional release wouldn’t
come. Tension clenched my guts. It was a hell like I’d never experienced.
“She’s gone.”
“I know.”
His touch rolled over my shoulder and squeezed, which through the damp
T-shirt felt insanely intimate. It was as though he’d caressed my skin, and
jolts zapped across my body. I leaned away, hating how his decade-older
gaze absorbed every detail in my room. He was such a predator. There was
no subtlety in how he smirked at my Aerosmith poster or the accounting
textbooks stacked on the bookshelf. Then his attention landed on the save-
the-date pinned to my corkboard, and the arrogance wiped from his face.
“Why did you keep this?”
A fist-sized lump lodged in my throat. “I’m her maid of honor. I picked the
design.”
“Carmela and I are done.”
A pang struck my heart. “Forgive me for clinging to what’s left of her.”
Nothing about Alessio was soft, but he dropped his voice so there was less
gravel. “I get that you’re in pain, but we have things to do. Together .”
“I won’t do anything with you.”
“Don’t make me be an asshole, Mia. It’s pointless. You know I could snap
your spine like a wishbone. This posturing is a waste of time.”
“Fuck off.”
His mouth thinned as I blasted a shotgun to his peace offering. Alessio
yanked the save-the-date from the pin and ripped it into quarters. Pieces of
my soul drifted to the floor. “I’ve tried being patient. I’m not a patient man,
but I’ve allowed you time. Time we don’t have.”
“Six months isn’t enough—”
“Sorry. That’s all I’ve got.”
I’d numbed my feelings since Carmela died, but his callousness hurt.
He was a prick.
“You never cared about her.”
“You know that’s not true. I liked her. I won’t pretend I loved her, but she
was a nice girl.”
He converged on me like the clouds outside. I swallowed hard when he
sank into the mattress, his body crowding mine. Harder than denying my
sister’s death was rejecting him. Every time he kissed my cheek, said hello ,
touched me, a flight of butterflies took flight, and I burned from the inside
out.
That didn’t mean I respected him.
A part of me hated him for not loving her.
Alessio’s calluses grazed my jaw as he turned me toward him, setting off a
chain of electric impulses that didn’t care about loyalty.
Our gazes clashed.
“I’m going to say three things. They won’t be easy for you to accept, but
you have to because there’s no way out of this. Number one. We are getting
married in a month.”
A hot wave of fear bulldozed my steel walls.
“Yes, Mia. You’ll be my wife.”
My stomach clenched as I imagined walking down the aisle with him. I
could barely handle his presence. How would I tolerate a marriage?
“Two. I know about David.” His voice hardened as he dropped the words
like a hammer.
I sucked in a tight breath, prepared to deny, deny, deny . “Who?”
“Sorry to tell you, but it’s common knowledge. I’m amazed Ignacio hasn’t
chopped off his head, because the bastard tells anyone who’ll listen he’s
banging the boss’s daughter.” An apologetic smile flashed across his face.
“Don’t take it personally. He doesn’t have much else to brag about.”
“We’re not a couple.”
“I don’t give a fuck. You’re not to see him anymore. If you do, I will find
out. And if he touches you while you’re wearing my ring, I’ll kill him.”
“You’re not serious.”
“I am.”
He was horrible. I would never marry him.
Alessio didn’t speak for several moments, as if he wanted to brace me.
“Three, I want kids. When we’re married, we’ll start trying.”
That nailed me with a gut-punch. My whole body went limp. The three
bombshells exploded in a massive wreck. Men like him didn’t want kids.
They tolerated them.
“You want a baby. With me.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Are you fucking crazy?”
“No, I’m practical. In a few years, maybe less, I’ll be boss. My boys—or
girls—will be the faces of my legitimate businesses when they’re in their
twenties. Plus, I need to be able to play with my children. I’m thirty-three.
Do the math. I can’t wait too long.”
Water plinked against the large windows as I stared at Alessio. He didn’t
grin, laugh, or hint that he was joking. My stomach sank. It made sense, but
there was no way in hell.
“You’re out of your damned mind. I’m not your baby machine. And I won’t
marry you .”
Alessio smiled as though my protests amused him. “Tick-tock, Mia. It’s
happening.”
“Leave!”
A polite man would’ve obeyed, but the smile carving his cheeks proved he
was anything but decent.
“Get. Out!”
Dad’s voice boomed through the wall. “Everything okay in there?”
“We’re fine.” Alessio turned toward the sound. “No need to worry.”
“Are you staying for dinner?”
“No, he’s not!” I stormed to the door and threw it open, snarling. “Dad,
make him leave!”
“It’s all right, Ignacio.” Alessio cut off the words about to fall from my
dad’s mouth. “I’ll go. I think she’s gotten the message.”
No, she hasn’t .
He said goodbye to Dad, who shook his hand. “I’ll have her ready for you
tomorrow.”
“Good.” Alessio buttoned his jacket and caught my gaze. “See you.”
Fuck you . Fuck you both .
###
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 Can I ask you for a BIG favor?

Could I trouble you for a quick review?

I would be so thankful and over the moon with joy! One positive review
can make a big difference in the success of a book. Your support means so
much to me, as an indie author.

Without it, I would not have a career. I am eternally grateful to those of you
willing to share your thoughts, and I always take your feedback seriously. I
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 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful for my author friends, Sosie and Winter, who listen to me blab
endlessly about my books. Thank you Kelley Harvey and Christine LePorte,
my fabulous editing team! Thanks to Kenzie of Nice Girl Naughty Edits
and Rafido for cover design. And lastly but definitely not least, my fans for
being patient as I delayed this book.
Anthony is the most complex character I’ve ever written, which is why this
took so long to write. His book has been brewing for over a year but when it
came time to tell his story, I didn’t know where to begin! It took a lot of
trial and error. I had so much ground to cover and had to do it delicately. I
poured my soul into this book.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed it. Thanks again for sticking all the way
through!
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 ALSO BY VANESSA WALTZ

Filthy Rich Villains

Monster

Sinners of Boston
Arranged
Taken
Faked

Contemporary Romance
The Cinderella Arrangement
The Roommate Arrangement
The Secret Arrangement
The Guarded Heart *as Blair LeBlanc

Vittorio Crime Family

High Stakes (Vittorio Crime Family #1)
Double Blind (Vittorio Crime Family #2)
End Game (Vittorio Crime Family #3)
His Witness (Vittorio Crime Family #4)

Cravotta Crime Family

Married to the Bad Boy (Cravotta Crime Family #1)
Knocked Up by the Bad Boy (Cravotta Crime Family #2)
Tied Down (Cravotta Crime Family #2.5)
Property of the Bad Boy (Cravotta Crime Family #3)
Owned by the Bad Boy (Cravotta Crime Family #4)

Bad Boy Empire

Hitman’s Bride
His Secret Baby

Romantic Comedy
 The Mechanic (Fair Oaks #1)
The Detective (Fair Oaks #2)
Jingle Balls
The D

Royal Romance
Dirty Prince

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vanessa Waltz loves to write steamy romances. She lives in the Bay Area with two crazy cats. To be
the first to know about her new releases, please join her newsletter (no spam, ever).
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For more information, follow her here:

www.vanessawaltzbooks.com
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