They call me a soldier of fortune, a hired gun, a man with no morals only looking to get paid—a mercenary. That’s true… mostly. From where I stand, I don’t see it as a bad thing. Getting paid to do the dirty work, to take the jobs saner people refuse is my bread and butter. I love the danger, the thrill, the warmth that attempts to spark something in my cold, black heart. Why shouldn’t I get paid for that? Does it really matter if I’m indifferent about who I step on to succeed? The job always gets done, and I never look back. The same went for Lauren Vos, an undercover FBI agent working in some of the most dangerous trafficking circles known to man. Our paths crossed on a job years ago, and somehow fate has thrown us together once again. Only this time around she isn’t interested in letting me forget. The problem for her is that I’m not the same man she thought she left for dead.

The worst thing you can ever do is make an assumption about me, despite my job resting solely on making people think I’m someone I’m not. I know that makes me crazy, narcissistic, and a little out of touch with the reality of how the world works. I’ll never argue that fact with anyone. Maybe it was the hundred-degree Texas weather. Maybe it was overstimulation from the crowds at the beach. Maybe it was one of a million other things that irritated me that day. But when Raya Reed looked me up and down, finding me lacking on some scale I’m sure no man in her life would ever live up to, I snapped. It wasn’t until she was tied up in my house that I discovered she was Senator Thomas Reed’s daughter. A normal person would let her go. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my past, but making Raya MINE will never be one of them.

I didn’t swear vengeance on the Severino Family after Ellie’s death. I was only a child after all. I didn’t swear vengeance when my father, a coward who wasn’t man enough to seek justice for her, drank himself into a divorce. Going after them would be a death sentence. I chose to live my life in the shadows, seeking revenge for others. That was until I ran into the very man that took Ellie’s life. I can still smell the smoke clinging to my skin from all the bridges I burned because of that man. Walking away was no longer an option. Killing him would be easy, but taking the woman that was promised to him seemed like a better wager. Exacting retribution through her was the gamble I made. Surviving her now seems impossible.

The job I took was personal for my boss, but my abduction quickly made it personal for me. There’s no forgiveness for the things they made me do to her. It would be easy to point fingers, but what about the part of me that liked it? Something triggered that sickness and left me needy. I made a choice to protect her when I could, but the need to hurt her again is always in the back of my mind. The crazy thing is, I see that same darkness in her eyes when she looks at me. If we survive captivity, there’s still no guarantee we’ll survive each other.

Synopsis coming soon!