They already killed him, so I know they won’t hesitate to do the same to me. With nowhere to run or hide, I buy a one-way ticket to Milan to audition for Barsetti Lingerie in the hope I can start a new life.

My father has chosen me to succeed him in the family business. But if I want the job, it comes with stipulations. And one of those stipulations is to never mix business with pleasure. AKA, don't sleep with anyone on the job. My father leads by example, and not once have I ever seen him get involved with anyone, not even his beautiful assistant. That was an easy rule to follow...until Axel.

Diana Steel has it all—a luxurious Denver penthouse, a limitless trust fund, and the job of her dreams at one of the city’s top architecture firms. Housing brooding Dragon Locke isn’t a priority, but when her sister asks, Diana relents. Dragon knows what it means to fight for survival. Abandoned at eight and raised in the system, he’s been hardened by life’s brutal lessons. Addiction nearly destroyed him, and after a disastrous fall during his band’s European tour, he’s clawing his way back. Fresh out of rehab, he’s determined to rebuild on his own terms.

Faking an engagement to my secret high school crush was not on my to-do list when I landed for a short visit home. But when Amanda Anderson announces that she’s my fiancée, I take a leap and play along with the farce. Why? Because the Capulets and Montagues have nothing on the Andersons and Silvers of Tinsel, Michigan. In the name of bringing peace to our Christmas-themed hometown and ourselves, we’ll play the part of Romeo and Juliet.

Holt Sebastian is royalty in our world. As CEO of the Sebastian News Corp, he’s the man with all the power. The man who decides if I’ll always just be a local television anchor or if I’ll be the rising star of my own show.

They already killed him, so I know they won’t hesitate to do the same to me. With nowhere to run or hide, I buy a one-way ticket to Milan to audition for Barsetti Lingerie in the hope I can start a new life.

I tell Crow everything I know about the hit on his son. It’s a brief conversation, and I don’t waste my time trying to convince him of the facts. Whether he believes me or not, I couldn’t care less. I fulfilled my obligation to Vanessa. But once I realize Crow and Cane are outnumbered and they’re all going to die in this hit, I have to get involved. I have to risk my life because I know how devastated my baby will be if she loses the men she loves most.

Bosco Roth is the kind of man my father will never approve of, so I need an expiration date. He may be the man of my dreams, someone I could see as my husband and the father of my children, but the relationship with my family will never be the same and no man is worth that—not even Bosco. As the days pass, I dread the end before it even arrives. I can’t sleep without him beside me. Even if he’s out all night, I stay on the couch so I can hear his arrival the second he walks in the door. He’s on my mind and in my heart—always.

Griffin and my father are finally getting along, and Griffin has decided to retire from the hitman business. We talked about our future, and I told him there’s no future for us without children, and thankfully he agreed. But that perfect life is shattered when strange men pull up to the gallery. I don’t have time to make more than one phone call, so I decide to call Griffin instead of the cops. He can’t get to me in time, but he promises that he’ll find me soon enough.

I gave Crow Barsetti a piece of my mind—and I had no regrets. Now he’s the one trying to earn my approval, but it’ll never work. He put me through hell and back, almost made me lose Vanessa for good, so I don’t have to like him. Tolerate him, yes. But not like him. I try to make an effort for Vanessa, but it just blows up in my face. Sitting across from Crow at the dinner table, in the very chair where he handcuffed me and pointed a gun at my face…made me blow a fuse. All I want is Vanessa, and now that I have her, I have no obligation to her family.

Bosco promised to give me everything I want to make me stay. Marriage. Four kids. A villa in Tuscany. But he won’t give up the one thing that matters most—his job. As long as he’s involved in the underworld, my unborn children will never be safe. When I finally have the strength to leave, disaster strikes. I cross a man I should have avoided, and now he’s intent on keeping me for himself. He’s got serial killer written all over him. But I know Bosco is always watching—together or apart.

All I have is 20 bucks in my pocket and the clothes on my back. Knuckles threatened to torture me if I ran. He's counting down the days until he'll claim me. But I'm not going to wait around. I'm running like hell to Milan. The greatest lingerie designer in the world is looking for new talent for Barsetti Lingerie. I'm not exactly model material, but maybe I can get a job doing something and get paid under the table. But when I meet the infamous Conway Barsetti, he has other plans for me. Did I just run away from one monster into the arms of another?

My father has chosen me to succeed him in the family business. But if I want the job, it comes with stipulations. And one of those stipulations is to never mix business with pleasure. AKA, don't sleep with anyone on the job. My father leads by example, and not once have I ever seen him get involved with anyone, not even his beautiful assistant. That was an easy rule to follow...until Axel.

I owe him a debt. A big one. The payment can't be settled with money or favors. He only wants one thing. Me. Every action gets a reward. A button. Once I fill his jar with 365 buttons, he'll let me go. He'll let me walk away. But I have to earn every single one. By submitting to the darkest, cruelest, and most beautiful man I've ever known.

They say you can never go back… ‘Course, I never wanted to return. It took me years to age out. Once I made it, I took off and never turned around. Trust me, there were only three reasons I managed to survive there as long as I did and they abandoned me as soon as they were able. I’d like to say I didn’t blame them, but that would be a lie. I had zero desire to return. Yet here I was, on the road to Northland chasing a story cause my editor told me kids were disappearing… again.