Mafia – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

Mafia – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Wed, 20 May 2026 17:50:40 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png Mafia – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 Bound by Lies (Fatal Alliances #1) Read Online Lylah James http://www.wownovels.com/bound-read-online-lies-fatal-alliances-1-read-online-lylah-james Wed, 20 May 2026 17:50:40 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/bound-read-online-lies-fatal-alliances-1-read-online-lylah-james Genre: Alpha Male, Crime, Dark, Mafia Authors: Lylah James Series: Fatal Alliances Series by Lylah James
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Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105679 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 528(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)

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From Amazon bestselling author Lylah James comes a new dark, arranged-marriage romance about a mafia princess and the cruel man who did everything to ruin her in an effort to make her…his.

For the longest time, I had been a pawn between two empires built on blood.
I had been promised to Matteo, who was supposed to be my future.

But it was his brother who ruined me.

Adrian Salvatore—reckless, merciless, carved from sin and evil. The brother no one dared to control. The one who looked at me like I was always meant to be…his.

He stole my first kiss beneath the moonlight, right there at my engagement party.
And he never stopped.
Not when I begged.
Not when I threatened.

Until one night…

One mistake. One unforgivable moment that shattered everything I was raised to protect. My modesty, my virtue, my family’s honor.

Somehow I found myself bound to Adrian in ways I never wanted.

But he didn’t believe in love.
Everything he had ever done was driven by vengeance.

Adrian wasn’t going to protect me.
Instead, he had promised to break me.

Somewhere between the hate and fear became a reckless obsession.
And with that obsession came more destruction.
We were both damned, but only one of us would survive the monster we’d become.

BOUND BY LIES is book one in the dark and twisted FATAL ALLIANCES series. Please read the trigger warnings

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

PROLOGUE

Men have always controlled my life.

First my father.

Then my brother.

And soon my husband.

Every aspect of my existence was carefully orchestrated by them. What I wore, what I ate, where I went to school, and who my friends were.

I was the perfect and poised daughter of Caterina Morelli. The obedient daughter of Santino Morelli. The silent sister of Damon Morelli.

I was incapable of denying them. I never had the choice to say “no.”

They said walk; I walked. They said smile; I smiled. They said jump; I jumped. Even if it was jumping to my own ultimate, pitiful demise.

I merely lived in the shadows of the Morelli family. Usually, the forgotten one. The girl no one saw, so I lingered in the silence — my voice unheard and my heart woeful, until my dreams turned into decaying fragments.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and I saw haunted eyes staring back at me. A stranger, a cruel disguise. A decorated facade.

My mother died today. A fatal car accident that seemed too perfectly orchestrated. My father’s enemies were smart, and they were coming for our family with every intention to eradicate our whole lineage.

I should have felt something: heartbroken or devastated, but there was an emptiness gnawing at my soul.

“Serafina.”

The sound of my name in his gritty voice jostled me out of my thoughts. Damon appeared in the mirror’s reflection, towering over me. “You were taking too long,” he said, as if to explain why he was in the ladies’ washroom. Not that anyone would ever dare to stop him.

Damon Morelli always did what he wanted.

He touched the large bow on the side of my hat, fixing it so that it was no longer lopsided. “You have to present yourself better,” Damon admonished. “Mother has taught you better than this. You are to be sophisticated and refined, Serafina.”

I was being berated for a lopsided bow at my mother’s funeral.

Of course, there was no other choice than to be perfect.

“Yes,” I uttered quietly.

“This is your first public appearance in more than three years. Do not disappoint Father.” His hand slid down to my arm, wrapping his fingers around my bicep.

I nodded.

I knew the rules and consequences.

“Matteo is here and he’ll be seeing you for the first time. You are to impress him.”

I nodded again.

“Do you understand, Serafina?” He squeezed my bicep, not hard enough to leave a bruise but enough to make me inwardly flinch. Though, I showed no reaction to my brother.

Docile. Gentle. Compliant.

“Yes, I understand.”

Damon turned me around so I was facing him. I met his eyes through the black net veil attached to my expensive mourning hat.

My brother stared at me for a long second before he let go. When we walked out of the washroom, he offered me his arm, and I dutifully took it.

We would appear as one unit.

Brother and sister.

Two grieving siblings.

We walked into the church where dozens of faces from the New York Famiglie stared back at us. I kept my chin low, avoiding their deceptive eyes.

Gooseflesh peppered my skin and my lower spine tingled.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Damon and I took our places beside our father; I on his left and my brother on his right. The priest began his sermon after my father nodded in acknowledgment.

“We gather today with heavy hearts, in faith and in sorrow…”

His voice faded.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

My skin tingled again the way it did when I first walked into the church. Not because I knew the Famiglie were looking at me.

No—

Because I felt the warmth of his gaze before I could even see him.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A part of me wanted to turn around, to look for him. To meet his gaze with my own.

But I didn’t move.

I was Serafina Morelli.

Obedient. Graceful. Faithful.

The seconds ticked by, and I felt him. Watching me. Learning me. Tempting me.

There was something devious about this game of his.

He thought he was in control.

But he was wrong.

This was my story—

CHAPTER ONE

Serafina

My earliest recollection of a funeral was my grandfather's. I knew of him, that was all. He was practically a stranger to me. We never had a bond, but he loved my brother dearly. I always wondered why our grandfather never gave me any chocolate or hugs, as he would to Damon. Then, I grew older… I realized it was simply because I was a girl.

My worth was nothing in his eyes.

He wanted another grandson, a spare to the heir… but instead I was a liability. A hindrance to our lineage.

I was too young to remember much of his death. Being only knee high I was lost in the shuffle of the day, no one cared to check on me or see how I was doing. I had merely faded in the background.

But not today.

No, this time… I was more than just a shadow. I had a dozen sets of eyes on me.

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Curvy Nanny for the Mafia Daddy – Curvy Nannies for Single Dads Read Online Piper Sullivan http://www.wownovels.com/curvy-nanny-for-the-mafia-daddy-curvy-nannies-for-single-dads-read-online-piper-sullivan Wed, 20 May 2026 17:50:30 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/curvy-nanny-for-the-mafia-daddy-curvy-nannies-for-single-dads-read-online-piper-sullivan Genre: Alpha Male, Erotic, Mafia Authors: Piper Sullivan Advertisement

Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55262 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >59

I never thought I’d see her again.Serenity Majors. The only woman I ever loved.
The one I had to walk away from to protect.
Now, with my son’s life on the line and my empire crumbling, she’s the only person I trust to keep him safe.
But bringing her back into my world means dragging her into the darkness I’ve spent years trying to shield her from.
She hates me. She should.
But when she looks at my son with those fierce, tender eyes, I remember why I fell for her in the first place.
I’ll destroy every enemy just to keep them out of harm’s way.
But the real battle isn’t against the threats closing in, it’s the fear in her eyes when she looks at me.
How do I prove I’m not the same man who left her behind?

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

Chapter 1

Serenity

“Yeah, I mean, you’re pretty hot for an older chick.” That’s what this man—who is only four years older than me, thank you very much—said to me over a mediocre bottle of Bordeaux he ordered with the same confidence he probably used to choose his entirely too-strong cologne.

I stared at him, silent, letting the words hang in the air like a bad smell while I wondered whether Toni had finally snapped. Maybe this was her revenge for all the times I gave her the most difficult parents because she could handle them.

This was what happened when your employees found love: they started touting the benefits of being in love while those of us not in love—namely, me—got shoved onto dating apps, into blind setups, and onto bar stools where you met men like Samuel.

Samuel was forty-five, an investment banker from Houston with a full head of hair—mostly—and straight white teeth that practically glowed in the low golden light of the wine bar. He clearly believed both made him an irresistible catch. Sure, he was wealthy with a stable career, but he lacked polish, and he wasn’t nearly as interesting as he thought. In fact, the condensation sliding down my glass was a more interesting conversationalist.

“You’re older than me,” I reminded him, taking a sip of the Bordeaux and resisting the urge to grimace. It was an abysmal vintage, which made it perfect for this date.

He waved his hand dismissively. “Yeah, but men age like fine wine and women, well… you know.”

I tilted my head, a small smile curving my lips. “No. I don’t know. Please, enlighten me.”

His smile faltered. “Come on, you know what I mean.”

“I really don’t. But I’m dying to hear the rest of this sentence. Go on.”

A flicker of discomfort crossed his face, the first uncertainty he’d shown all night.

I leaned forward, resting my chin in my hand and watching him squirm. Part of me enjoyed it. The other part wondered, briefly and traitorously, if this was why I was over forty and still alone. Too mouthy. Too direct. Hard to please, successful, and I didn’t take shit from men, especially when I was supposed to smile while they insulted me.

“You’d have more luck out here if you were easier,” he muttered into his glass.

I barked out a laugh. “Why should I make things easier for you, Samuel? You just insulted me. And now what? I should pat you on the head like a good boy for it?”

His cheeks went blotchy red. He pushed back from the table so abruptly his chair screeched along the polished floor. “I don’t have to put up with this. Not from you.”

“Of course you don’t,” I said, keeping my voice calm, almost bored. “I’m sure there’s a daycare letting out where you’ll find a girl at your maturity level. Run along.”

He sputtered and, failing to come up with a cutting comeback, stalked out.

The waitress approached a moment later, her smile twitching but trying really hard not to. “Bad date?”

“Almost as bad as this Bordeaux. Bring me a glass of something red, Italian, and full-bodied, please. Hold the regret.”

She laughed, taking the bottle with her and returning with a gorgeous glass of Barolo, which almost made Samuel’s presence worth it.

Almost.

I sipped it slowly, savoring the flavors as they exploded on my tongue. Nothing beat a good glass of wine, especially after a trying interaction with a man who thought he was God’s gift to womankind. “Damn good wine,” I said to myself when it was finished, paying the bill and heading out into the warm night air.

Another bad date behind me meant I had a few hours left to head back to the office and finish some work I’d left incomplete to go on a date I didn’t even want to be on.

It was just another confirmation that romance wasn’t in the cards for me. I wasn’t even upset about it anymore, not the way I’d been once I’d gotten over my first and last heartbreak in my twenties. Or in my thirties when I thought there was still hope.

I’d given up on love and poured all of my considerable time and energy into Elite Nanny Service, growing my business to the point that I had a waiting list, a big fat bank account that allowed me designer shoes, and a wardrobe a twenty-year-old me never dreamed possible. The trade-off, in my opinion, was well worth it. Louboutins don’t leave you hanging.

I stepped inside the building that housed my baby. It was dark except for the soft glow from the hall sconces and the ambient lavender scent that drifted from the diffusers Toni refused to stop refilling. I sent her a text.

Me: No more lavender.

Instead of responding, Toni’s face appeared on my screen, and I answered with a laugh. “No more lavender. Seriously. It’s making me sick.” My heels clicked on the pale oak floors. The space was exactly what I’d wanted when I opened the Houston branch: sleek and modern, but not cold. No one, not even the ultra-wealthy, wanted to walk into a sterile environment to hire someone they had to trust with their children. Warm lighting, plush chairs, watercolor prints, and a gallery wall of candid photos featuring nannies holding babies, toddlers painting, and teenagers grinning beside the women who helped raise them. It was a space where families felt welcome.

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Unforgivable – A Mafia Romance Standalone Read Online Blue Saffire http://www.wownovels.com/unforgivable-a-mafia-romance-standalone-read-online-blue-saffire Wed, 20 May 2026 17:50:12 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/unforgivable-a-mafia-romance-standalone-read-online-blue-saffire Genre: Alpha Male, Insta-Love, Mafia Authors: Blue Saffire Advertisement

Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 96808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >101

***Trigger warning: Scenes of Attempted SA
This is a Standalone.

Oni Raven
I have a gift and a curse. However, I’m about to use my gift on the wrong family. One bad decision will lead to another which will lead to him … Don Gallo’s nephew, aka trouble for life.
Trouble I fall in love with and would do anything for. Because of Rico Gallo, I become someone else. When I meet Rico everything changes.

Rico Gallo
She piqued my interest from the start. The little thief has been stealing from me from day one. Now she owns my heart and soul. I will start a war because of her. The question is will I make it out on the other side with my life, sanity, and the girl?
In this mafia romance will love be enough to get this alpha male and his boss chick through their corrupt world. Or will this BWWM couple find that an interracial romance can’t withstand the rules of the mob, their enemies, and the betrayal of everyone around them

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

True love is never forgotten. However, betrayal changes everything.

―BLUE SAFFIRE

PREFACE

Let It Burn

Rico

“Fuck,” I mutter as shots fire, alerting everyone to our presence. I had hoped we could at least get off the grounds before we or the fire were noticed. We’ve only made it to the back door we need to exit through.

I rush out the doorway and dart by the pool to find cover behind the thick Roman pillars in the backyard. My cousins Eduardo and Aldo are hot on my heels. Eduardo brings up the rear as he covers us. Then the two take the lead and rush up ahead as they continue to return fire.

Pop Pop Pop.

I duck behind the wall with Oni in my arms as shots continue to ring out in our direction. Two bullets hit the pillar above our heads and debris falls down around us. I look down at her gorgeous brown face as she lies unconscious, and murderous rage fills me.

“What have they done to you, baby?”

I’m going to get her out of here. I need to get her to safety. I can’t lose her now, not again.

Not after all I’ve done. All of this is for her; everything I’ve done has been for her. I glance up as my cousin Eduardo calls my name.

He was the last out of the house they had Oni held hostage in. These fuckers thought they could take what belongs to me—over my dead fucking body.

Anyone who dares to touch what belongs to Federico Gallo Jr. learns their lesson. I’m the last motherfucker you want to fuck with. I don’t have the conscience to think twice.

Especially when it comes to this woman in my arms. I’m insane for Oni, always have been. Ruthless is who I was before her. Utter destruction is who I am now.

“I have you covered. Let’s go,” Eduardo yells over the gunfire.

Quickly, I glance behind me and see the mansion burning down. Baring my teeth, I work my jaw. For what they’ve done, I hope those fuckers burn with it.

I’m just getting started when it comes to my wrath. When the dust settles, everyone will understand the message I plan to send. They will all pay.

“Hold on, baby. I’m going to get you home,” I mutter as I turn back to Oni and kiss her temple.

More shots sound, causing me to look up. Eduardo jerks back as he takes a hit to the shoulder. I grind my teeth as his brother Aldo appears, guns blazing. My other cousin catches the guy in the head who shot Eduardo.

“I’ve got you. Come on,” Aldo growls.

I reposition Oni in my arms and make my move. I make it to Aldo, who’s helping a bleeding Eduardo as I’m hit in the leg. I stumble forward but tighten my hold on Oni.

“Fuck, man. You’re hit,” Aldo says as he turns to me.

Way to state the obvious. I want to growl the words at him, but I know he’s just worried about me and Oni. My cousins are putting their lives on the line for the woman I love. I could never repay them for that.

“I’m fine. Get him in the car. We need to be on the move. We’re running out of time,” I bite out.

He grunts and helps Eduardo into the front passenger seat, then opens the back door for me as I let off a few shots of my own. “I’ll drive. Get in,” he commands. I take out two more guys before turning my focus back to getting into the vehicle.

A bullet whizzes by my head and shatters the window of the open back door. I wave Aldo off as he tries to move to help me. He starts to round the vehicle to follow my orders.

I go to climb into the back seat of the SUV with Oni in my embrace. Suddenly, I fall forward and begin to lose focus as I’m hit again. I’ve managed to cradle my body around hers.

“Son of a bitch,” Aldo bellows.

I can hear him moving around to get me in the vehicle and close the door behind me. My back burns something awful. However, I grind my teeth against the pain and try to focus on Oni.

I groan as I push up off her and look her body over. She’s covered in blood, but I think it’s all mine. She’s still unconscious.

If the motherfucker who did this isn’t already dead, I’m going to treat his ass to an acid embalming while he’s still breathing. Those responsible will pay. I already have a list.

Pain rocks through me and I have to fall back into the seat. No matter how hard I try, I’m losing consciousness.

Shit, this can’t be happening. I have her back. I’m almost at the top. One more play and there’s nothing else in my way.

How can I, Rico Gallo, lose now? I’ve fought too hard to have her. We’ve been through too much.

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Her Chains Her Choice (Last to Fall #1) Read Online J.A. Huss http://www.wownovels.com/her-chains-her-choice-last-to-fall-1-read-online-j-a-huss Wed, 13 May 2026 18:46:54 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/her-chains-her-choice-last-to-fall-1-read-online-j-a-huss Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Insta-Love, Mafia Authors: J.A. Huss Series: Last to Fall Series by J.A. Huss
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Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >95

Some cages are chosen, and some monsters are worth the chains.

Emmaleen

Twenty-one days until homelessness, nineteen demerits, and one chance at $31,750.

I am laser focused on my goal of getting the hell out of Riverview, PA—and Giovanni Bavga, mob boss, secret poet, in possession of a Lambo and the world’s most amazing green eyes—is my first-class ticket. All I have to do is everything he tells me for the next seven days.

My chains, my choice... until choosing him became the only freedom worth having.

Giovanni

Power isn’t something you take—it something given.

The demerit system was supposed to control Emmaleen Rourke but apparently, Little Miss Take didn’t get the memo. Now I'm the one losing control. Men like me don't fall first. We don't fall at all. In the circles I run in, caring about someone is the most dangerous mistake a man can make.

My game, my rules... until breaking them for her became the only win that mattered.

The Last to Fall series is an intense deep dive into the psyche of possession, obsession, and what one man will do to keep the woman he loves alive. Because some cages are chosen, and some monsters are worth the chains

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

1

Surrender is the purest form of power.

People imagine power as something seized—taken by force, stolen through fear, won through blood. But the truest power requires none of that. It doesn’t chase. It doesn’t beg. It doesn’t raise its voice.

Power waits. It invites. It stands perfectly still while the world rearranges itself to please it.

The weak mistake silence for mercy, composure for restraint. They never understand that patience is the sharpest blade—and that compliance offered freely cuts deeper than any command.

The offering, not the taking, is where power lives. Every bowed head, every averted gaze, is a confession of who holds dominion.

In the end, power isn’t proven in conquest, but in what is willingly given.

And the moment they offer themselves without knowing why—that’s the moment you own everything.

The theory holds.

The world has never failed to prove it.

I hand the valet my keys. His eyes widen as they should—the Aventador isn’t transportation; it’s a statement of intent. He’s maybe twenty-three, maybe twenty-four. The cheap polyester uniform doesn’t fit his shoulders.

“Keep it close,” I tell him, then go still until he meets my eyes.

It takes three seconds. He swallows hard. “Yes, sir.” He clutches the fob like it might detonate, then looks at the car like it might bite.

It should intimidate him. That’s the point.

I turn away, adjusting a cufflink, and look up at the Riverview Hotel. It stands like a mausoleum to better times—ornate molding crumbling at the edges, roofline not quite plumb, flaking paint on the balconies overlooking the river, ironwork curled like lace gone to rust. Once it hosted senators and starlets; now it clings to dignity with the stubbornness of the dying.

Preservation Society. Ironic.

The security guard at the door straightens as I approach. Badge crooked. Rental-company uniform, not hotel staff. Temporary hire. He feigns formality, but his eyes dart to the exits in case I become a problem.

The ballroom reveals itself like a map. Four exits: main entrance, service door by the stage, kitchen access to my right, and—most would miss it—a fire door disguised behind decorative paneling. Two guards posted opposite each other. No visible weapons, but a bulge under one jacket suggests otherwise. Amateur.

Champagne sweats in buckets of melting ice. Dom Pérignon 2008—decent vintage, wrong temperature. They’ve been waiting too long, trying to appear prepared. They weren’t.

The room falls quiet as I enter. Conversations die mid-sentence. Silence spreads like infection. Sixty-seven people, and not one knows what to do with their hands. The men look at their shoes. The women touch their jewelry—a universal tell for insecurity disguised as grace.

Mayor Harmon approaches, flanked by two councilmen—budget and zoning, both forgettable.

“Mr. Bavga!”

Harmon’s handshake is clammy, grip compensating with pressure. I apply twenty percent more and hold three seconds longer. His smile twitches.

“We’re so pleased you could join us tonight,” he says, voice loud for the audience. “Your family’s contributions to the restoration project have been invaluable.”

He has no idea what he’s talking about. The “project” exists only in press releases. The real investment remains invisible.

I say nothing. Silence is always the first test.

“The councilmen and I were just discussing the next phase of development,” he tries. A lie. They were discussing me. Which means they’ve already failed.

A waiter appears at precisely the right moment—young, efficient, aware of tension. He offers a single flute of champagne. Baccarat crystal. Not hotel standard. Borrowed for the event.

I take it, slip a fifty into his palm without looking down. Competence deserves recognition. I trace the rim with my thumb—a habit from childhood. I won’t drink; I never drink in public. But illusion has its uses.

He nods once and vanishes. The only person here who understands his role.

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >95

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Wicked Sanctuary (The McCarthy Family Legacy #2) Read Online Jane Henry http://www.wownovels.com/wicked-sanctuary-the-mccarthy-family-legacy-2-read-online-jane-henry Wed, 13 May 2026 18:46:23 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/wicked-sanctuary-the-mccarthy-family-legacy-2-read-online-jane-henry Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, BDSM, Dark, Erotic, Mafia Authors: Jane Henry Series: The McCarthy Family Legacy Series by Jane Henry
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Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >109

I’ve been watching her for six years.
Bianca White is sunshine and innocence.
I’m the monster they whisper about in the dark.
And she hates me, for good reason.
I told myself I’d stay away. That I’d keep my distance and just make sure she was safe. But on the night of her college graduation, I have no choice.
So I take her.
I cage my little bird in the woods where no one can touch her. Where no one can take her from me.
Yet she doesn’t take it easy. She fights me and begs to go back to the man who will kill her.
She’ll learn, though, that some cages are gilded for a reason, and that anyone who wants to harm her will have to come through me first.
Bianca didn’t know it, but she was always mine. Now everyone else will too.

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

Chapter One

Six Years Earlier…

Ashland

I love the taste of blood in my mouth during a fight. Proof I’m alive, that I’m winning. It tastes like victory.

I spit it on the floor of the ring, and red splatters across gray. The echo of cheering is like distant thunder, the smell of sweat and Guinness flooding my senses. The abandoned warehouse is officially a gym, but the underground knows that beneath the official exterior is where the real action takes place. This is where men like me come to fight, and I fucking love it.

Lawless. Violent. Cathartic.

My ribs ache where the Cork bastard caught me early, a hit I'll feel tomorrow. But when he comes in with a right hook, confident, thinking he's got me figured out, I duck. I drive my fist into his kidney. Once. Twice. Three times in rapid succession, each hit precise and targeted. I feel something give under my knuckles.

And I love this. God help me, I love this.

He grunts and tries to pivot away, but I'm too fast for him. He swings wild, desperate now, and clips my jaw. Blood floods my mouth, the familiar metallic taste sweet and satisfying. My opponent’s desperation is my first taste of victory.

Beautiful.

He grins, breathing hard, and his guard drops.

“Come on, then,” I say, my voice rough. I tap my jaw where he hit me. “That's all you’ve got?”

He charges.

I sidestep and drive my elbow into the base of his skull. Not hard enough to do permanent damage—I'm not trying to kill the fucker—but hard enough.

He staggers, and his knees buckle.

I'm on him before he can recover. Left jab to the temple, right cross to the cheekbone. I feel the satisfying crack under my knuckles. Another shot to his fucked-up ribs, and this time, something cracks.

“Finish him, Ash!” Tiernan shouts from somewhere behind me, and it's all the encouragement I need.

I drive my knee into his stomach. The air leaves his lungs in a sick whoosh.

He drops face-first on the canvas. The ref's beside him instantly, checking him, and I step back. My chest heaves. My hands throb. There's blood on my knuckles, and I can't tell if it's his or mine.

His crew screams for him to get up, but he won't, not after what I did to his ribs. Wouldn't be wise, would it?

“Time.” The ref's voice echoes through the warehouse, and the crowd erupts.

I don't hear them when I'm playing, don't hear them when I'm fighting, but I do after I win a damn fight.

“McCarthy! McCarthy! McCarthy!”

The McCarthy family's name is one of their favorite cheers, and I fucking love it. I love being part of something bigger, knowing I stand in solidarity with my brother and cousins.

Today, I don't move or raise my arms, don't celebrate. I just stand there, knuckles split and bleeding, waiting for the roar to fade. It doesn't, really.

I've found that violence just sits in my chest like a living thing, coiling tighter and tighter until the next fight. I've come to welcome it.

“Ash.” Tiernan's voice cuts through the roar of the crowd. “Get out of the damn ring, lad, will you?”

I turn and find him at the ropes. Tiernan's been in my corner since before I was tall enough to throw a proper punch. My mother's brother, near enough my age to feel like a brother himself. He has a family of his own now, but he's always been my mentor.

“Y'alright, lad?” he asks as I duck through the ropes. He tries to dab blood off my face with a rolled-up rag, but I swat his hand away and reach for the bottle of water—swig it, swish it in my mouth, and spit out blood. He reaches for my hands instead and starts unwinding the tape.

“Aye. Grand.”

“That wasn't grand, Ash,” he says, giving me the look of pride mixed with worry I've come to recognize. “That was fuckin' brutal.” He leans closer, and I can see the gray mixed with ginger in his hair, the lines around his eyes, and the way his brow creases. I remember when I thought he was invincible—the day I saw him in this ring and decided it would be me one day. Tiernan’s a legend here in Ballyhock.

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Callous Love (New York Underworld #5) Read Online Charmaine Pauls http://www.wownovels.com/callous-love-new-york-underworld-5-read-online-charmaine-pauls Wed, 13 May 2026 18:46:19 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/callous-love-new-york-underworld-5-read-online-charmaine-pauls Genre: Alpha Male, Chick Lit, Dark, Mafia Authors: Charmaine Pauls Series: New York Underworld Series by Charmaine Pauls
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Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 127249 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >132

He can never know about the life we created in a bed of lies, because the man I called my lover is the monster who killed my parents, and I’m next on the list.

From USA Today bestselling author Charmaine Pauls comes an intense and steamy emotional dark mafia romance with tropes including secret baby, second chance, forbidden love, forced marriage, betrayal, revenge and redemption, possessive alpha male, touch her and die, and a strong female lead.

I know what it’s like to be used. Dante ruined me for the sake of his revenge. He destroyed me for his selfish gain without thinking twice.

What he doesn’t know is that we created something pure and innocent in that bed of lies. We made a new life, one I have to hide from him at all costs, because the man I called my lover is the cold-hearted monster who killed my parents, and I’m next on the list. He left me with no choice but to run.

For five long years, I’ve been hiding, barely surviving, always outsmarting the men who hunt me while Dante’s ghost stalks my shadows and haunts my thoughts. And now that he’s caught a whiff of my scent, he’s like a bloodhound on my trail.

He’s out to finish what he started. I’m the last obstacle standing between him and the fortune he stole from my family. But this isn’t a fairy tale, and I’m not that girl anymore. I decide how my story ends.

Callous Love is the second book in the Callous Duet and concludes Tatiana and Dante's story. Callous Desire must be read first. The duet is part of the dark mafia romance New York Underworld series (Books 4 & 5). You don't have to read the other books in the series to follow this duet

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

Chapter

One

Tatiana, age nineteen

* * *

“You’ll marry

Joni Stein. I don’t want to hear another word about it. The contract is signed, so it’s as good as cast in stone.”

My father’s dismissive wave as he indicates my time is up makes me shrivel inside. He’s already returned his attention to his laptop, my presence in his study ignored or forgotten.

Angry tears stream down my cheeks. I’m shaking with the injustice of my father’s decision and my helplessness to change that fate.

All my life, I’ve been a good, obedient daughter, always doing what I’m told and what’s expected of me. I’ve been a cum laude student with straight As in all my subjects. I sit through tedious dinners and parties I have no interest in attending without complaining, wearing the dresses my parents deem appropriate. I say please and thank you. My parents’ friends tell them how lucky they are to have had it so easy with me during my adolescent years. But if I were hoping that my exemplary behavior and hard work would make my father proud or win his approval, I was mistaken.

He looks up from his screen, irritation written all over his face. “You’re still here.”

“Father, please.” My voice cracks. “Mr. Stein is fifty years old.”

And he’s fat and ugly, not to mention vulgar. He always looks down the front of my dress or pinches my backside when my mom isn’t looking. But I don’t say that.

“Exactly.” My father stabs a few keys on his keyboard. “That’s why he has no time to waste in producing an heir.”

“But he’s married,” I exclaim.

“His wife is dying. It’s only a matter of time.” My father hits enter a couple of times and squints behind his glasses. “Just as well, seeing that the useless wretch is barren.”

“But…” I swallow through my tears. “That’s improper.”

“We agreed to wait until your twenty-first birthday. The old hag should kick the bucket by next year if not sooner, and then he’ll mourn the customary year. Nothing about that is improper. It’s all done by the book.”

“Please, Father, I beg you.”

He slams a hand on the desk, rattling his teacup and the plate with his afternoon kolaczki cookies. “Begging is beneath you. You’re a Teszner. We do not beg.”

The violence makes me jump. “I just meant⁠—”

“That’s enough,” he barks out. “You’ll do your duty for this family like the rest of us. Now get out of my sight.”

Blinded by my tears, I stumble from the study.

“And close the door behind you,” my father calls after me. “I’ve had enough disruptions for one day.”

Suppressing the urge to slam the door, which will only earn me a punishment, I do as my father commands.

My mother waits on the other side. “Oh, Tiana.” Her soft blue eyes are brimming with tears. “I’m so sorry.”

It takes every ounce of willpower I possess not to melt down. “Did you know?”

Averting her eyes, she nods. “For a couple of months or so. I did my best to change his mind, but he wouldn’t listen.”

She tries to hug me, but I dodge her embrace and rush across the foyer.

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Possessive Enemy (Kings of Mafia #8) Read Online Michelle Heard http://www.wownovels.com/possessive-enemy-kings-of-mafia-8-read-online-michelle-heard Wed, 13 May 2026 18:46:17 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/possessive-enemy-kings-of-mafia-8-read-online-michelle-heard Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Mafia Authors: Michelle Heard Series: Kings of Mafia Series by Michelle Heard
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Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 85834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 429(@200wpm)___ 343(@250wpm)___ 286(@300wpm)

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From USA Today & Wall Street Journal bestselling author Michelle Heard comes a new STANDALONE, full-length MAFIA ROMANCE novel.
My father orders me to seduce a man most people are too afraid to even look at.
Georgi Torrisi.
Head of the Torrisi family and a Cosa Nostra Capo.
A brutal and powerful man who rules his world with violence and absolute control.

And I’m supposed to make him want me.

Turns out my father thinks he can use Georgi to get to Atanas Petkov, our family’s sworn enemy. If Atanas continues to grow in power with Georgi’s help, it will mean the end of my father’s reign of terror, and I’m the bait meant to make one of the most dangerous men in New York lower his guard.

Do I have a choice?
No.

Hours later, Georgi Torrisi is chained in my father’s basement while the man I helped betray is beaten and tortured.
My already messed-up life takes a turn for the worse because I didn’t expect the guilt.
I didn’t expect the way his eyes still burn when he looks at me.

And I definitely didn’t expect myself to unlock the chains and set him free.

The moment Georgi walks out of that basement, he turns into a violent monster that’s out for revenge. Once the hallways of my family home are painted red, he takes my daughter and me with him.

There’s no running.
No hiding.

And now all I can do is pray I survive being at the mercy of the man I betrayed.
STANDALONE: A Mafia Romance full-length novel

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

Songlist

Spotify

Holding Out For A Hero – Nothing But Thieves

Stronger – Thunderstorm Artis

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me – Denmark + Winter

Oats In The Water – Ben Howard

Such Great Heights – MILCK

Bring You Back – Gold Brother, LIIV

Here We Come – NOCTURN, Lexxi Saal

Knocking On Heaven’s Door - RAIGN

With Arms Wide Open – Tommee Profitt, Nicole Serrano

Love The Hell Out Of You – Lewis Capaldi

Family Tree

GEORGI TORRISI

↓

Family Business: Cosa Nostra

Father: Renzo Torrisi (Hunted By A Shadow)

Mother: Skylar Torrisi (Hunted By A Shadow)

Sister: Raya Torrisi

Best Friends: Augusto Vitale (Craving Revenge) & Adriano Rizzo (Vicious Devil)

Godfather: Franco Vitale (Craving Danger)

NINA PAVLOVA

↓

Family Business: Bulgarian Criminal Organization

Daughter: Simona Pavlova - Simi

Father: Boris Pavlov

Mother: Deceased

For clarity, Pavlov is the masculine form of the surname, and Pavlova is the feminine form in Bulgarian.

Chapter 1

Nina

Georgi Torrisi; 35. Nina Pavlova; 27.

Bracing myself for whatever fresh hell my father has decided to unleash today, I push the heavy door open and step inside the office.

Boris Pavlov never calls for me unless he needs something, and it usually means I’ll be forced to suffer through whatever horrid scheme he has planned.

God help me.

The office smells the same as always. Expensive leather, cigar smoke, and whiskey. Scents that seem permanently soaked into the dark wood panels and thick carpets.

Scents that make my stomach churn with dread.

Lifting my eyes, they lock on the man who’s nothing more than my jailer. Hatred and unspeakable pain are the only things I’ve ever received from him.

Dark memories, filled with indescribable trauma, shudder through my broken mind.

Slowly, my gaze goes to the spot where my mother bled out on my eighteenth birthday. We were both called into his office, and when he ordered me to sleep with Anton Belinski so he could secure a deal with him, Mom fought back.

Boris beat her to death right in front of me for daring to oppose him. Up until that moment, I thought being abused by him was the worst fate I could suffer.

I was wrong.

Mom died, and I was locked in a bedroom. That same night, Anton raped me for the first time. My virginity was stolen violently, and since then, I’ve been the payment for every deal Boris has signed with Anton.

The past nine years of hell tighten the noose around my neck a little more as I keep quiet while watching Boris as he sits behind the enormous desk that dominates the room.

His attention is fixed on documents spread out in front of him as if I am no more than a servant entering the room rather than his daughter.

I’ve never been his daughter. The only person who loved me is dead. I don’t even know what happened to her body.

Simi’s face flashes through my mind. Her soft, pink cheeks and dark eyes make her the spitting image of me.

Even though Anton is her father, he has ignored her existence because she’s not a boy.

My daughter’s future fills me with an ungodly fear. I’ve spent countless hours trying to come up with a plan to escape, but everytime I’ve tried, we’ve been dragged back. Boris separated us after my last failed attempt. As punishment, I was locked in the basement for a week while a recording of Simi crying was played on repeat.

It fractured my mind, and I haven’t been the same since.

My daughter is the only reason I’m still alive. Without her, I would’ve slit my own throat years ago.

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The Ruler (Roman Republic #1) Read Online Penelope Sky http://www.wownovels.com/the-ruler-roman-republic-1-read-online-penelope-sky Wed, 13 May 2026 18:46:13 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/the-ruler-roman-republic-1-read-online-penelope-sky Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Mafia, Suspense Authors: Penelope Sky Series: Roman Republic Series by Penelope Sky
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Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80715 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 404(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >86

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Sky, an unforgettable golden retriever mafia romance set in modern-day Italy, bursting with violence, dripping with blood, and crackling with desire.

We spent weeks planning this trip to Sicily together. And I was damn sure going to enjoy it, even if my lying, cheating boyfriend just abandoned me.

I push aside self-pity to venture out and take photographs. Later, I lock eyes with a stranger at a bar. This tattooed god, Constantine, is way out of my league, but to my surprise, he’s all in—every inch. And up in his hotel suite, he claims me for his own. Over and over again.

Constantine’s touch helps take away the pain, and he possesses me like I’ve never known. I fall hard. But beneath his kindness to me, to his family, to his dog, I sense danger. How could I know that to the city of Rome, he’s a brutal enforcer?

When I trust the wrong man, I discover just how dangerous Constantine can be. He may call me sweetheart, but the Roman Republic calls him Emperor—and trembles at his feet

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

Chapter 1

Aurelia

After an hour flight from Rome to Catania, and then another hour drive from the airport, we arrived in Taormina, a quintessential Italian village with cobblestone pathways that led through little alleyways to reveal seafood restaurants that had been in the same families for generations, sandwich shops with freshly made focaccia bread, and little spots with Neapolitan pizza.

Paradise.

We’d planned this trip five months ago, and it was hard to believe it was finally here. With a packed schedule of visits to the wineries, the active volcano Etna, a trip to the Greek theatre, lots of cannoli and granita, it would be a trip to remember.

And we needed it now more than ever.

For the past couple months, Enzo had been noticeably withdrawn. It started off small, like not giving me the same focus he had in the past, missing whatever I was saying because his mind was somewhere else. It progressively got worse, and he didn’t even bother to pretend to listen. Then there were other things . . .

He used to slip in behind me and join me in the shower. We never had sex in there, not when there wasn’t room and the tiles were slippery and I’d fallen once before, but it always served as awesome foreplay before we made it to the bed and dampened the sheets. But he stopped doing that, and when I joined him instead, I could see his glimpse of disappointment. He tucked it away quickly, but not fast enough for me to miss it.

Conversations over dinner had grown stale and forced. He spent more time at work or out with his friends. He used to invite me to join him and his boys, but those invitations stopped.

Whenever I asked him about it, he said he was stressed at work, that he had a falling-out with one of his friends over a stupid argument, that his vertigo had come back with a vengeance . . . always something.

I’m not stupid, so I jumped to the conclusion every woman jumps to.

That there was someone else.

I wasn’t proud of my actions, hated myself a bit for doing it, but I went through his phone and checked his messages. He’d never used a passcode, and I took that as a sign of committed transparency.

I never found anything.

I went to his work parties and knew all of his colleagues. He worked in finance, so most of them were men, and Enzo didn’t strike me as the type of man to play for the other team. His boss was a woman, but she was about seven years older than him, with a husband and two kids.

So that was a dead end.

That led to one last possibility . . . and it was by far the worst.

That he’d just stopped loving me.

That I’d watched it happen, watched the love and desire slowly fade from his heart, watched the light fade from his eyes. They used to burn bright when they looked at me, with love and attention, and now there was just nothing there.

And the fact that he didn’t acknowledge it when I asked, always had an excuse to explain his behavior, told me he didn’t want to fix it. Didn’t want to fight for this. Wanted to let our tree wither until it killed the roots and there was no going back.

He even tried to cancel the trip, said he had too many projects at work, but the hotel said our deposit was nonrefundable, so he conceded.

Maybe this trip would be a turning point for us. Maybe the sunshine and the warm beaches and the fancy dinners over candlelight would light a spark for a fire that had died in the depth of winter. Bring strength back to our broken bones and blood back to our hearts.

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The Savage (Roman Republic #2) Read Online Penelope Sky http://www.wownovels.com/the-savage-roman-republic-2-read-online-penelope-sky Wed, 13 May 2026 18:46:11 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/the-savage-roman-republic-2-read-online-penelope-sky Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Mafia, Suspense Authors: Penelope Sky Series: Roman Republic Series by Penelope Sky
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Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >82

In an electrifying return to the dark world of Roman Republic, a ruthless emperor contends with an enemy within, whose connection to his family’s past pushes him—and his heart—to new limits.
The city of Taormina calls to me—but Constantine possesses me, body and soul. Not just because of those chiseled abs and glorious tattoos my photographer’s eye can’t help but admire. Or the man’s utter devotion to his dog. But because he always stands up for me.
He saved my life once. And he’d do it again.
His ruthless brand of justice inspires terror on the streets of Rome. But in his arms, I shiver for a different reason. So when he asks me to move in after just six weeks, I’m ecstatic.
And conflicted.
I worry I’m a distraction. An obstacle to his duties as emperor. And when his nemesis, the Skull King—that merciless bastard who killed Constantine’s twin—reappears, I fear I’m right.
Whatever went down between them, Constantine loved his brother with all his heart. Now he has a choice to make: avenge his brother’s death and protect Rome…or save me again

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

Prologue I

Constantine

Bright and early in the morning, I worked in the kitchen of Rosticceria Da Cristina and prepared the dough for the pizzas and the fillings for the arancini. The pizza dough took the longest, requiring adequate time for the yeast to activate and for the dough to rise at the right temperature. I turned on the music from the sound system, cranking it up because I was the only one in there, singing along to the parts I liked because there was no one there to judge me.

Then I saw my mother through the window. She used her key to unlock the door, but when there was no resistance, she realized I’d left it open and she walked inside. “What did I tell you about locking the door, Con?” she shouted over the music.

“What do you think’s gonna happen? Someone is gonna jack our pizza?”

“Why is this so loud?” She marched to the sound system and aggressively pushed the buttons until the music abruptly ended. “Jesus Christ, it’s seven in the morning.”

I rolled my eyes and got back to work.

“Roll your eyes at me again, and I’ll smack them out of your head.”

I smirked as I rolled the dough in the flour. “Sorry, Ma.”

She gave me a gentle smack on the ass before she headed into the office. She did the books while I continued to prepare the store to open. I turned the music back on, keeping it at a reasonable level so she wouldn’t yell at me again.

A couple hours later, she joined me in the kitchen. “Everything ready to go?”

“Like always, Ma.” Working at the family business wasn’t exactly glamorous, but it’d been in our family for generations and we were all proud of it. The restaurant had become a famous tourist spot for everyone who visited Taormina. Sometimes I wondered what life would be like if I left the island and made my own way on the mainland, but I had too much to leave behind. My family was everything to me, and if I ever decided to move, my mother would be devastated. She smacked me a lot, but I knew she did it out of love.

She rubbed my arm before she gave me a gentle pat. “That’s my boy.”

“Your boy has been a man a long time.”

“Yes, I’m reminded every time I stand next to you.” She glanced up at me, a foot and a half shorter than me. “So how are you? How are things with Issy?”

“Good,” I said with a smile. “We were at the beach yesterday.”

“She’s a nice girl, Con.”

“I know.”

“And nice girls don’t wait around forever . . .” She shot me a look before she started to place the trays of arancini and pizzas inside the glass-covered display case where the customers could choose what they wanted.

“I know they don’t. Which is why I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

“Wait too long and all the good ones will be taken, Con.” She clearly hadn’t heard what I said, obviously drowning in her anxiety that I wouldn’t marry and have two kids before I turned twenty-five. “They will have another man’s babies, and you’ll be sorry.”

“Ma?”

“Hmm?” She finished loading the last tray into the glass case, then shut the door. She came back to me, dusting her palms from the flour that was always sprinkled throughout the place.

“I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

She blinked once, and then her face hardened like she didn’t understand. Her hands flew to her mouth as she silenced a gasp she didn’t realize she’d made. “Con, do not mess with me right now. I’m not in the mood for one of your jokes—”

“I would never joke about that, Ma.”

“So, you’re serious?”

“Yes.”

She smacked both of her hands onto the counter, probably hard enough that it hurt, but she then threw her arms in the air and hopped up and down, moving with an enthusiasm she hadn’t shown in . . . forever. “Oh my god, my boy is getting married. I can’t believe this. I just . . . I have to talk to your aunt Chiara. She’s going to be so excited—”

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Callous Desire (New York Underworld #4) Read Online Charmaine Pauls http://www.wownovels.com/callous-desire-new-york-underworld-4-read-online-charmaine-pauls Wed, 13 May 2026 18:45:52 +0000 https://www.wownovels.com/callous-desire-new-york-underworld-4-read-online-charmaine-pauls Genre: Alpha Male, Angst, Dark, Mafia Authors: Charmaine Pauls Series: New York Underworld Series by Charmaine Pauls
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Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >111

His weapon is seduction, the battlefield between his sheets, and cruel betrayal the blade he plunges deep.

My mother raised me on knights in shining armor and happily-ever-afters. She groomed me to be the perfect mafia princess. It was only natural that I’d believe in fairy tales.

Only, I didn’t fall for the prince.
I fell in love with my father’s enemy.

I’ve never deluded myself about the man Dante is. Powerful. Cold. Ruthless. Brutal. Bad doesn’t come close to describing him. But when he held me in his arms in a rented room, he showed me that he could be good. Just for me. He always chained the monster when I was pinned beneath him, at my most vulnerable and exposed, in the most dangerous place I could be.

The darkness I glimpsed in him is embedded in his soul, coloring his heart and world black. I knew exactly what I was getting into when I lost myself to a callous man. I just couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams that his seduction was only part of a cruel strategy and that I was nothing but the pawn he used for his revenge.

Callous Desire is the first book in the Callous Duet and ends on a cliffhanger. Tatiana and Dante's story concludes in Callous Love. The duet is part of the dark mafia romance New York Underworld series (Books 4 & 5). You don't have to read the other books in the series to follow this duet

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

Chapter

One

Tatiana

* * *

Unease creeps up on me as I peer through the window at the red truck parked on the opposite side of the street. The shiny bodywork and flashy wheel caps stand out in a neighborhood where people don’t polish their cars. It’s almost as if the owner wants to attract attention, which would be a good sign for me. If someone were on my tail, that person would’ve tried to blend in with the less fancy and not-so-expensive vehicles lining the curbs and driveways.

Still, I can’t help but steal a worried glance at Noah, who’s making fighter jet noises while flying a paper plane through the lounge.

Abandoning my task of packing chipped porcelain figurines into a box, I call to the back of the house.

“Jazz?”

I’m grateful for the sheer curtains that allow me to see outside but prevent others from seeing in. I hate that I’m like this, spooked by a vehicle simply because it seems out of place and the driver has shown up around the same time for the past two days. For all I know, the neighbor is having an affair, and the truck belongs to her lover. But being suspicious has become a part of my nature.

My best friend walks through the doorway that connects to the corridor, bogged down by the weight of the box in her arms. “Please tell me it’s knock off time.” She drops the box on top of the other ten or so stacked in the middle of the floor and dusts her hands on her jeans. “I’ve had my quota of sorting through messy papers for one day.” She twists a mass of cherry-brown curls into a bun on her head and secures it with a scrunchy that she pulls off her wrist. “Has your client never heard of filing or shredding? Some invoices date back twenty years. Don’t get me started on all those moth-eaten magazines from before I was born. Who keeps magazines for fifty years? At least the study is done. I’ll need a whole lot of caffeine before we tackle the basement, and I’m talking the good Colombian stuff and not that cheap replacement you call coffee.”

Noah runs a circle around my legs. “Whooossshhhh!”

He doesn’t seem to pay us attention, but I’ve learned that kids’ brains are like little computers that can store everything that comes out of your mouth, even when they’re watching Looney Tunes with a bad, tinny sound blasting from an old, fat-belly television, so I’m careful to lower my voice. “Have you seen the red truck parked out front?”

“Yeah.” She blows a stray curl from her forehead. “Don’t sweat it. I’ve already checked it out. Those snazzy wheels belong to a guy doing a handyman job for the neighbors.”

Alarm quickens my breathing. “Did you speak to the neighbor?”

She grimaces. “Not exactly.”

Hold on. I hope she didn’t do what I think she did.

My heart speeds up. “You spoke to him?”

“I just said hi when I took out the trash.”

I press a palm on my forehead. No. No way. “You asked what he was doing here?”

She props her hands on her hips. “I may have squeezed that question in between, ‘Hello. Nice ride,’ and⁠—”

“Jazz!” I exclaim under my breath. “You’re not supposed to talk to anyone. Please tell me you didn’t give him your name.”

Noah clambers onto a box, flying his plane higher. I step closer, ready to catch him if he loses his balance.

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