Bad Boy – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Bad Boy – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:14:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Bad Boy – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 Rock Me (Bodyguard Bad Boys #1) Read Online Carly Phillips http://www.wownovels.com/rock-me-bodyguard-bad-boys-1-read-online-carly-phillips Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:14:00 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/rock-me-bodyguard-bad-boys-1-read-online-carly-phillips Genre: Alpha Male, Bad Boy, Erotic, Insta-Love Authors: Carly Phillips Series: Bodyguard Bad Boys Series by Carly Phillips
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Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)

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Bodyguard Bad Boys… Sexy, hot, and oh-so-protective!

I’m a pop star on the verge of everything I’ve ever dreamed of—until a threat puts me in danger and brings Ben Hollander back into my life.
My reluctant bodyguard. My protector. And the man from my past I’ve never forgotten.
Ben has one rule: never mix business with pleasure.
Too bad the chemistry between us is impossible to ignore.
With danger forcing us together, old feelings turn into something hotter, deeper, and far more complicated. Ben is determined to keep me safe without risking his heart, but some lines are meant to be crossed.
And once the threat is gone, I’ll face an even bigger choice.
The fame I’ve worked so hard to achieve…
Or a second chance at love with the man I never stopped wanting.

Perfect for readers who love protective bodyguards, pop-star heroines, second chances, forced proximity, sizzling chemistry, and heroes who fall hard.

*This title has been re-edited into first person point of view, but the story is the same as the original

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Ben

There are benefits to working for Alpha Security, I think, as I throw the dart at the board in the company game room, nailing the bull’s-eye on the first try.

“Score,” I mutter, smirking at Jared Wilson, the colleague and friend I am playing with.

“Son of a bitch,” the other man says. “At this rate, I’m going to be broke.”

I shrug. The guy should know better than to wager with me. I am a crack shot at shooting range practice we attend together on occasional weekends.

“I don’t know why you bother playing him,” Ava Talbott, the female bodyguard in our group, says. “He kicks your ass every time.”

“Because I’ve been practicing.” Jared picked up a dart, took aim, and hit right outside the coveted inner circle, groaning at his near miss.

Ava snickers. “Obviously not enough.” She snags a fry off his plate and walks away. Jared doesn’t tear his gaze away from her ass as she leaves, heading for the table laden with food.

“Enough games. Time to meet up.” The booming voice of our boss, Dan Wilson, echoes through the game room in the offices of Alpha Security.

We make our way to the conference room where Dan discusses cases and hands out assignments. We are missing the other members of the staff, Tate Shaw and Austin Rhodes, who are out on assignment.

We file into the room where Dan has already taken up lead position at the head of the table. When not working, our boss is a big believer in blowing off steam during off hours, hence the game room with the pool table, dart board, and during lunch, an endless supply of eats. Located in the Whitestone area of the Bronx, there is no better bodyguard agency to work for in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

“Okay, kids, time for new assignments,” Dan says.

I do my best to hold back a laugh. Dan considers all of his employees his children of sorts, although Jared is the only legitimate child of Dan’s in the room. Still, he practically raised Ava from the time she was a lost teen whose mother was more interested in drugs than in her only kid. Dan stepped into the role of parent, and though Jared and Ava have coexisted in the same house, the friction between them now isn’t that of siblings.

There is sexual tension there, pure and simple. Except it isn’t, because neither is willing to acknowledge it. At least so far.

“Sit,” Dan directs, pointing to the chairs around the table.

We do as we are told, glancing up at the man who brought us into his business and pays us well. Standing before us wearing a pair of black slacks and a white button-down shirt, he is every inch the professional face of the security and bodyguard firm.

Dan begins speaking immediately, giving us an update on where each team member is or will be headed. “A lot of our assignments are status quo. Tate’s in L.A., and the assignment was extended. Austin’s tied up with the governor who’s had threats leveled against him.”

“What do you have for us?” Ava asks.

“Slow down, little girl,” he says, using the affectionate endearment that always causes her to cringe—because she is a grown woman now. “I need you to meet with a new client. A mother who’s worried her ex will come after her kid. She wants a female so her daughter isn’t completely freaked out.” He tosses a file Ava’s way. All the preliminary information she needs will be included.

“Consider it done.” Ava tucks her hair behind her ear and begins to peruse the papers.

“Jared, you’ve been requested by a repeat client.” He hands the folder to his son. “And that leaves Ben.”

I roll my shoulders, leaning my elbow on the table. “Let me have it, boss.”

“You might not be so eager when you hear what it is, but keep in mind, we are out of options. Everyone’s on another assignment.” Dan eyes me with a healthy dose of an apology in his gaze followed by his tough-shit look.

The hair on the back of my neck stands on end. “What’s going on?”

“A little show-and-tell is in order for this assignment,” Dan says, gesturing to the screen behind him. He pulls out his computer and taps a few keys.

Up pops a photograph of Jade Glow, one of the world’s most popular contemporary recording artists in the world. “Jade Glow needs an opening act for her fall tour and couldn’t decide between two up-and-coming singers. Her solution? To give both women a chance to build their star power while she waits, watches audience reaction, and makes a decision.”

Dan chooses his words carefully. He always does. Which is why the words star power stand out like a beacon to me. Four years ago, I was a security guard on the set of the hit television show of the same name, where I met, fucked, and then proceeded to be fucked over by one of the show’s up-and-coming stars.

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Tempt Me (Bodyguard Bad Boys #2) Read Online Carly Phillips http://www.wownovels.com/tempt-me-bodyguard-bad-boys-2-read-online-carly-phillips Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:13:57 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/tempt-me-bodyguard-bad-boys-2-read-online-carly-phillips Genre: Alpha Male, Bad Boy, Erotic, Insta-Love Authors: Carly Phillips Series: Bodyguard Bad Boys Series by Carly Phillips
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Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >57

The single dad and the nanny…

After my ex’s betrayal, I’ve sworn off women and relationships.
My daughter is all that matters.
Then I hire Mia Atwood as her live-in nanny.
She’s beautiful, caring, and far too tempting for a man determined to keep his hands to himself. I tell myself she’s off-limits. That she works for me. That getting involved with her would complicate everything.
But living under the same roof makes ignoring the attraction between us impossible.
And when Mia’s past comes back to threaten her, keeping my distance is no longer an option.
She needs someone she can trust.
Someone who will stand between her and the danger closing in.
I intend to be that man.
But somewhere between protecting Mia and giving in to the desire we’ve both been fighting, everything changes.
Because I’m not just falling into bed with my daughter’s nanny.
I’m falling for her.
And this time, I’m willing to risk everything for the woman who tempts me beyond reason.

Perfect for readers who love single dads, live-in nannies, forced proximity, forbidden attraction, protective heroes, sizzling chemistry, and heroes who fall hard.

*This title has been re-edited into first person point of view, but the story is the same as the original

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Mia

The afternoon sun shines through the windows in the warm, cozy kitchen. I hold Bailey Rhodes’ little fingertips in one hand and carefully paint the six-year-old’s nails, trying my best to keep the color off the child’s skin.

“So tomorrow you start first grade. Are you ready?” I ask my small charge.

Bailey looks up at me with her father’s big brown eyes. “I’m ’cited. Lisa’s in my class but Callie isn’t.” She pouts as she reminds herself of that fact. “And Lisa said Josh Rockman is with us.” She wrinkles her small nose. “Eew. He’s gross so I hope he isn’t sitting near me, but his last name starts with an R, too. So maybe he is. He used to be at the table across from me in Ms. Diamond’s class,” the little chatterbox says.

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “I’m sure Josh isn’t gross, Bailey.”

“He’s a boy,” Bailey says, drawing out the word with a negative tone, as if that fact explains everything.

I wave my hand over the polish, hoping to help it dry before Bailey is off to play and smudges my work. “All finished, but can you sit for a few minutes so it dries?”

“Yeah.” Bailey holds up her hands and grins, a nearly toothless smile because she lost her front teeth and they’ve only just begun to grow in. So. Cute. “Can I watch TV?” she asks.

“I have to get dinner ready, so I’ll put it on in the family room.” I gesture to the room across from the kitchen with a completely open view of the sofa and television from where I will prepare the evening meal.

“Wait. I’ll put some oil on your nails to help them set.” I apply the oil, then lead Bailey to the sofa in the family room. “How about you keep your hands right here?” I place them palm-down on Bailey’s thighs, turn on her favorite show, and hope it keeps her occupied while the polish dries.

For the last three months, I’ve been a live-in nanny for Bailey, hired by the child’s single father, Austin Rhodes. He lives in Connecticut, wanting his daughter to grow up in the suburbs, in a house with neighbors and a backyard in which to play. There is no Mrs. Rhodes in the picture. My employer didn’t explain except to say he has sole custody… and I haven’t asked questions.

I have enough in my own work background he hasn’t pushed hard about when hiring me. My last job wasn’t a cakewalk. My employer was into shady dealings, and I heard too much, learned things I had to report to the authorities and testify about at trial.

Austin only cared that I stepped up and did the right thing in the courts, and he had no problem hiring me. He didn’t care about the details. Of course, I’m not stupid. He is a bodyguard with access to all sorts of information, so he probably found out the particulars on his own. As for the elusive one-time Mrs. Rhodes, Bailey never mentions her mom, either, but when it comes to Austin, I can’t help but wonder why any woman would let him go.

Not going there, I remind myself before my thoughts can drift to the man who keeps himself in shape courtesy of a downstairs gym and who has well-defined muscles and sexy tattoos. He also possesses a chiseled face with a strong chin and full lips, jet-black hair, longer on top, and a constant, sexy scruff of a beard. And before I let myself linger on him any longer—I am only human, after all—I push my wayward thoughts away.

He has no place in my mind. During my work as a nanny, I’ve come into contact with men who thought I was available for extracurricular activities as well as child care, something that both offends and upsets me. These men were married, for one thing, and I never want to be that cliché, the nanny who has an affair with her wealthy employer. Even if, in this case, he is single. Thank goodness Austin isn’t one of those men. He always treats me with distant kindness and respect.

“Mia, I messed a nail,” Bailey calls out, interrupting my thoughts long before I even start prepping dinner.

I shake my head and laugh. “Come on over and I’ll fix it.”

Before Bailey can make her way back to the kitchen, the state-of-the-art alarm system beeps, alerting me to the fact that Austin—he insists I call him by his first name or else he’ll think I’m talking about his father—is home.

He walks in through the garage side door as he does every evening he doesn’t have an assignment that keeps him out odd hours.

“Daddy!” Bailey squeals and runs to her father, who scoops her up before she can barrel into him.

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Protect Me (Bodyguard Bad Boys #2) Read Online Carly Phillips http://www.wownovels.com/protect-me-bodyguard-bad-boys-2-read-online-carly-phillips Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:13:55 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/protect-me-bodyguard-bad-boys-2-read-online-carly-phillips Genre: Alpha Male, Bad Boy, Erotic, Insta-Love Authors: Carly Phillips Series: Bodyguard Bad Boys Series by Carly Phillips
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Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >34

I’ve spent my entire adult life in a lab chasing breakthroughs instead of adventures. Saving lives is what I do. Having one? That’s never been my strong suit.
Then my lab is broken into and it’s clear someone will stop at nothing to steal the pharmaceutical formula I’ve spent years creating.
With nowhere else to turn, I run to the only man I trust to keep me alive.
Shane Landon.
My brother’s best friend. My first heartbreak. The gorgeous, infuriating bodyguard I never truly got over.
Finding him naked in his outdoor shower is embarrassing enough.
Realizing he still looks at me like I’m the only woman in the world is even worse.
Now Shane is determined to keep me close as we race to my reclusive mentor—the one person who holds the final piece of the formula someone is willing to kill for.
The closer we get, the more dangerous the hunt becomes.
And the harder it is to ignore the sparks between us.
Shane has always put the job first. Protecting me is just another assignment… until it’s not.
Because somewhere between running for our lives and sharing one impossible temptation after another, the line between duty and desire disappears.
If we survive the people hunting us, we might finally get the second chance we’ve spent years denying ourselves

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Talia

I mentally run through my to-do list, pleased with the outcome. Laundry folded and waiting to be put away. Dishwasher unloaded. All other household tasks complete with the afternoon to spare. I rarely take more than one day off a week from my job at Newton Laboratories, so chores tend to pile up.

Not that I have anything else to do. Work comes first, and it usually leaves little time for anything… or anyone else. I’m not complaining. I happily live and breathe my research.

I carry the full laundry basket into the bedroom, placing it on the bed just as my cell phone rings. My assistant’s name flashes on the screen, and I answer his call.

“Hi, Chris.”

Christopher Eldridge is the best assistant I’ve ever had. He works the same long hours I do without complaint and is as dedicated to our current research as I am. Although my reasons are more personal.

“Chris?” I say again when he remains silent, only the sound of breathing on the other end.

“I’m at the lab, and something’s wrong,” he says in a hushed whisper that isn’t at all like his normal moderate tone.

I narrow my gaze. “What is it? What’s going on?”

“Someone else is here, and everything is—” Dead silence follows.

“Chris?” I ask again, but the call obviously was cut off.

That is odd, I think, nerves prickling along my skin. It isn’t unusual for Chris or me to go into work on a Sunday, but his low, raspy voice and the panicked tone, along with the insistence that something is wrong, aren’t normal at all.

I wish I wasn’t so paranoid, but I come by it naturally. My mentor, Dr. Jonah Goodwin, was suspicious to the extreme, and he hammered into me the need to take precautions with every experiment and piece of work I am involved in. Especially now that I’ve had success at last. It is that sense of caution and unease that has me hitting redial and calling Chris back.

Twice.

But voicemail picks up immediately each time.

I hang up and tap the phone on the edge of the rubber basket, more than a little concerned. Is something wrong with our work? Could it be a problem with the last of the experiments we worked on before finalizing the formula? Possible, but he also said someone is there… nothing makes sense.

I bite down on my lower lip and decide to head over to the office and see what is going on for myself. Leaving my laundry on the bed, I grab my bag off the counter, pick up my keys and entry card, and climb into my car.

I live in an apartment close to the lab in the Arts District in downtown Dallas, and on a Sunday, I make it to the building, also downtown, in no time. The parking lot is nearly deserted, which I expect on the last day of the weekend. I see Chris’s Prius in his usual spot, but there is no sign of my assistant.

I pull my car to an empty location near the door and rush inside, expecting to find the security guard at his usual post, but his seat is empty. Damnit. I wanted him to accompany me to the lab, in case something really is wrong, as Chris said.

I glance around, but other than the tall potted plants lining the glass entryway, I am alone. Which can be explained by a possible bathroom break for the guard…if I ignore the tingling inside me that began with Chris’s panicked, dropped call.

I have to see for myself. I swipe the card that lets me past the metal barriers and head into the elevators that take me to the fourth floor, where my lab is located. The doors open to a quiet, empty floor. This is never a busy hallway during the week, so the silence doesn’t alarm me on the weekend.

I round the corner and reach my workshop. I glance through the window and am struck dumb by the sight. My computers on the countertops are gone. Experiment tables with microscopes and other equipment for my research, missing. Stark white walls and clean countertops gleam through the glass, mocking me.

My heart begins to pound hard in my chest, and I debate what to do. Chris is nowhere to be found, and suddenly going inside the lab doesn’t seem smart, so I back away from the door, just as the elevator around the corner dings.

A man’s voice sounds from around the corner. “I know she’s here. Maybe I can trap her in the lab.”

Shit. I have to get out of here. I start down the hall, in the opposite direction from the elevators, checking over my shoulder as I make my way to the stairwell. I push open the door just as the man’s voice sounds again.

“No, I don’t see her yet.”

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Two Wrongs – A Dark Romance Read Online Sam Mariano http://www.wownovels.com/two-wrongs-a-dark-romance-read-online-sam-mariano Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:12:13 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/two-wrongs-a-dark-romance-read-online-sam-mariano Genre: Alpha Male, Bad Boy, Contemporary, Dark, Taboo Authors: Sam Mariano Advertisement

Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 147545 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 590(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >152

It was supposed to be the end of my story…
Tim Walters ruined my life last summer, and after a year spent battling his wealthy, corrupt family for justice I never got, I was beyond broken—I was shattered. I’d lost hope that things would ever get better for me, but I couldn’t stop watching his life go on like nothing had even happened.
After a lifetime spent doing the right thing, it was crushing to realize that the bad guy wins if more people like him.
I was already dangling at the end of my rope, so I made the only decision I could live with.
I would give our story the ending it truly deserved.
What I didn’t account for was Tim’s twin brother.
Tor Walters decided it wasn’t time for my story to end. It simply needed a rewrite—and lucky for me, Tor has a gift for manipulating reality to better suit his artistic vision.
He takes over my life, but he does it so well, I’m mostly okay with it.
Until I realize Tor may not be who I think he is—who anybody thinks he is.
I thought I knew the Walters family, but I had no idea the depths of their depravity. I thought I vanquished the monster, but a little too late, I realize maybe there were two.
And the one who saved me?
He has no intention of letting me go

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PLAYLIST

Cry – Faith Hill

Bellyache – Billie Eilish

She Used to Be Mine – Sara Bareilles

Hand Me Down – Matchbox Twenty

My Tears Ricochet – Taylor Swift

This Is Me Trying – Taylor Swift

Tightrope – Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman)

For Her – Jeremy Jordan (The Great Gatsby musical)

Father Figure – Taylor Swift

From Eden – Hozier

Someone You Loved – Lewis Capaldi

Think Twice – Eve 6

Coming Home Part II – Skylar Grey

We Go Down Together – Dove Cameron (with Khalid)

Tightrope – Sara Bareilles (The Greatest Showman Reimagined)

CHAPTER 1

CASSIE

I always wondered if monsters were born or made.

Over the past year, I’ve done some research on it. My social life died a quick, painful death, so I had a lot of time on my hands. I also needed to make sense of what had happened to me, how I was feeling, and how the world around me was responding. It wasn’t the sort of thing I’d ever considered before, but I guess I always believed people were mostly fair-minded. That the sinner would be judged and the victim would be supported.

That isn’t how it’s gone.

And I did everything right.

I went through the excruciating visit to the hospital when all I wanted to do was curl up alone in my room and die. I sat through all the police interviews and dealt with questions from lawyers that somehow made me feel like I was at least partially responsible for what someone had chosen to do to me.

I did everything by the book, everything you’re supposed to do, and I did not get the justice I deserved.

I’ve tried to make peace with it. My mother says I’m too angry. She made me sit down with the pastor at our church, and he advised me to try to forgive—not for his good, but for my own. He said forgiveness would set me free.

But even if he’s right, what about him? Why does he get to be free with me?

I’ve tried everything to cope with the hand life has dealt me. A counselor recommended journaling, so I started journaling, but it wasn’t long before the notebook devolved into brutal fantasies of revenge. I stopped journaling and started doing a little creative writing—imagining over and over again how I would kill him if I could.

The people around me didn’t get it. He’d (allegedly) stolen sex, and (if I was telling the truth) that was bad, sure, but it’s not like he murdered someone.

He did, though. That’s what they don’t understand. They blame me for the way I’ve changed, but he is the one who changed me.

He did kill me that night.

He killed the girl I was for the first seventeen years of my life. She’s gone now, destroyed, and for the past year, I’ve been becoming someone else.

Someone angry.

Someone hurt.

Someone who no longer believes in karma, or that anyone else will protect her.

Someone who loves and who will defend herself, even if it’s the last thing she does.

I still have some of my old impulses, though.

When I walk into the kitchen tonight, I don’t turn on a light. Frank just got home a little bit ago, and I don’t hear the shower running, so he’s probably trying to fall asleep. I don’t want the light to disturb him.

I open the pantry. I know Mom bought the snack cakes I like, and since there’s a chance these are my last moments, I decide to indulge.

I’m crestfallen when I tilt the box and see the last plastic-wrapped cake fall into my hand. Ordinarily, I’d never eat the last of anything in case someone else wanted it, but I’m going to make an exception tonight.

Tomorrow, I’ll either be dead or in jail, so I think I’m going to take the last snack cake.

On impulse, I open the junk drawer and grab a pen and a sheet of paper. I hadn’t planned to, but maybe I should leave a note.

I grip the pen, letting it hover over the paper as I try to decide what to say.

“I’m sorry,” I finally write. On the line underneath it, I add, “I tried.”

It feels insufficient, but I don’t try to fix it. I’ve felt like a worthless failure for months now, so what’s one more lousy note?

I’ll be free soon, anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter.

I slip out of the front door and make my way to my car parked in the driveway. I knew I’d be leaving after Frank got home tonight, so I parked farther over than I usually do.

My gaze catches on my own reflection in the window. The girl looking back at me is pale and drawn, the light extinguished from her brown eyes. I hardly recognize her anymore.

It’s been that way for a long time, though.

I think about my pages and pages of writings during the drive to the lake house. Despite the clear bloodlust on those pages, I haven’t felt any glee or true viciousness while writing the scenes. It’s more like catharsis. Like I can finally breathe again in the final moment of the scene, when I’m looking down at his body.

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The Butcher (Love Like A Loaded Gun #2) Read Online Jenika Snow http://www.wownovels.com/the-butcher-love-like-a-loaded-gun-2-read-online-jenika-snow Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:50:43 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/the-butcher-love-like-a-loaded-gun-2-read-online-jenika-snow Genre: Alpha Male, Bad Boy, Dark, Mafia Authors: Jenika Snow Series: Love Like A Loaded Gun Series by Jenika Snow
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Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45635 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 183(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >49

Alexei Drakovich was born to be a weapon. The Russian Bratva king’s spare son turned executioner. The underworld calls him The Butcher, and he earns the name in blood.

To prevent a mafia war, Alexei is forced into an arranged marriage with Lucia Rossi, the sheltered princess of their Italian rivals. He’s lethal. She’s beautiful. Together, they’re the kind of power couple the underworld crowns.

But on the night of the engagement, a hit nearly kills Alexei’s father and the evidence points to Lucia’s family. The Bratva wants her delivered for interrogation. Alexei refuses.

Anyone who touches her dies by his hand.

As both syndicates careen toward war, Lucia uncovers the truth about her father’s empire and realizes she was only ever a bargaining chip. Blood demands judgment, and together they burn the Rossi dynasty to the ground.

In the smoking aftermath, will Alexei finally take the throne with Lucia as his queen?

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

Chapter One

Alexei

The man was still breathing when I walked in but barely, each breath rattling like it might be his last.

The room carried the thick scent of bleach and blood, the kind that clung to everything. It had already been used tonight, and the dark stain beneath the chair proved that. It spread slowly across the concrete and slipped toward the drain in the center of the floor.

The traitor sat tied to the chair, wrists secured behind his back, ankles fastened to the legs, and his head hanging forward like his body had already admitted defeat and was only waiting for death.

I closed the door behind me, the sound loud in the silence, and the two men inside straightened as soon as they saw me.

“Leave,” I ordered, my tone even, my voice low.

They obeyed immediately, boots scraping against concrete as they cleared out, and when the door shut again, silence settled in.

It was thick and suffocating and exactly how I preferred it.

No noise. No interference. Just a place for me to work.

I crossed the room without rushing, each step steady enough that he heard me before he fully lifted his head. It took effort for him to move, but he managed it, one eye forcing itself open through the swelling and blood to find me as I stopped in front of him.

I let him look, let him take me in. Recognition came first, then the fear followed. Good. That made me fucking smile.

I crouched in front of him, bringing us eye to eye, and when his head started to dip again, I reached out and took hold of his jaw, forcing him to keep his gaze on mine.

My grip wasn’t bruising or crushing. It didn’t need to be. Control never was. “Still with me,” I said evenly, more a statement than a question.

His lips parted, something like a laugh trying to push through the blood coating his mouth and teeth.

“You… Drakovich?” My name sounded thin coming from him, like it didn’t belong there.

“Alexei,” I corrected, holding his gaze. “Use it while you can.”

A rough cough tore through him, blood spilling past his lips before he swallowed it down, his throat working against it.

His eye stayed locked on mine, searching, measuring, maybe looking for something he could use against me.

“Do you know what they call me?”

He coughed again, shook his head, but we both knew he did.

“Say it.”

“The… Butcher.”

His focus flickered over my face, desperate now, searching for hesitation, for something human enough to bargain with. There wasn’t anything for him to find.

“Look at me,” I said quietly when he closed his good eye. I tightened my grip just enough to keep him from disobeying me again.

When his eye opened, the fear had settled deeper, no longer something he could push aside or pretend wasn’t there. It hung between us steady and impossible to ignore.

That’s what I wanted to see.

“You’ve already been asked questions,” I continued, my voice calm, unhurried. “You’ve had opportunities to answer them.”

“I told them—” he started, but I cut him off without raising my voice, my fingers pressing just enough into his jaw to stop the words.

“No. You talked but didn’t answer.” I released him slowly and stood, turning to drag the metal table closer. The scrape echoed through the room as I adjusted it into place.

The tools laid out across it were clean and organized, each one positioned with purpose. I picked up a knife, not the largest, not meant to intimidate, just sharp, balanced, and made for this kind of work.

When I turned back to him, I let him see it, let the understanding settle in without needing to explain what was going to happen.

“My associates went easy on you,” I said idly. “I won’t be so merciful. I’m going to ask you one more time.” I stepped closer, my voice steady and even.

“And this is the last time you’ll have the option of answering with your voice.”

His breathing changed then, turning shallow and uneven, his chest rising faster as the reality of that sank in. “You don’t understand,” he rasped.

I leaned in slightly, close enough that he didn’t have to strain to hear me. “I understand perfectly,” I said. Then, without shifting my tone, I asked again, “Who ordered the hit?”

His gaze dropped for the briefest moment before snapping back to me. “They’ll kill me,” he whispered, his voice breaking under the weight of it.

I studied him for a second then leaned down, my mouth right next to his ear and whispered, “I’m going to do worse.”

That was what broke him. Not all at once or in some dramatic collapse but enough that the resistance gave way and something real pushed through.

He knew what I was capable of, that I’d make the torture last for days before finally killing him.

“Rossi,” he choked out.

“It came from Rossi…”

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