I'm set in my ways. I run my business the I way have always done, without outside influence or input. I don't usually care about the consequences of my actions, that is ... until I met her. She is fierce, sassy, and a mother who protects her children like a lioness protecting her cubs. I have never wanted children until I see what an amazing mother she is. I'm a teacher with two teenage children, a divorcee who is independent and headstrong. I don't scare easily, but when he walks in, his presence alone sends shivers down my spine. I am not scared of the physical pain he might inflict, or the fact that he's a mafia boss. What scares me most is the way he makes my heart beat faster and my knees become jellied whenever he looks at me.

I was quietly minding my own business, keeping a low profile. They murdered my family, and brainwashed my brother to become a runner for the Mercado family as debt that my father owned. I was only four years old when that happened, therefore there was nothing I could do about it. It seems that my very existence has posed a threat to their clan, and even though I am not involved in the business, they fear me. They should. Because now that they have tried to take her from me, they have disturbed the sleeping beast.