Appearances are everything in my family. We are the Strongs. Fame is our birthright. Music flows through our veins in a continuous harmony. Flaws are unacceptable.
When my parents got a good look at the freak they’d created, I was hidden away, my existence wiped out.
Until they discovered my secret.
Now I had something they wanted.
Taking it from me didn’t faze them. They believed they were entitled.
I was just a boy, unable to fight back.
So I did the only thing I could.
I vanished.
That was nine years ago.
Now they are back, and they want something from me again.
They send the sexy and oh-so-tempting Mia Bennett to persuade me, and I’m helpless to resist her.
Mia seems innocent in my family feud, but is she really?
I can’t be sure.
All I know is she makes me feel alive again. She gives me the courage to just be me. She’s the new inspiration behind my music, my heart’s own melody.
But something dark and twisted lurks close to home, and leaves me questioning who is friend and who is foe.
Now I am forced to make a decision that could well break me.
How far am I willing to go for the woman I love?
***The books in this series contain strong language and adult situations. Recommended for readers ages 18 and up***
Until she shakes things up. Willow Anthony. I didn’t even know she existed until her voice floated through the trees, singing a melody that captivated me. I had to meet her.
Willow’s not what I expected. She’s shy. Sweet. Innocent. A challenge. I crave her as much as I long to be the king of the entire Russian bratva. I want her to sing for me, and me alone. I want to make music with her in a very carnal way.
She has no place in my world. But now it’s too late.
I have to choose: Willow or the brotherhood.
To save her, I must become what I swore never to be.
How can I protect her and not betray my family?
I can’t.
The music will stop.
And I will lose it all.
—–
I have three simple rules. Put family and the bratva first. Show no weakness. Never bend.
Then Siena Russo explodes into my life, knocking me off my feet. And I forget all my rules. Siena is witty and kind with an inner strength befitting a Mafia queen. My dream girl in the flesh.
It is all smooth going but for one giant hurdle. She is the wife of my archenemy, Salvatore Romano. Prince of the Italian Mafia.
Siena is in a fix, but if I help her, I will violate the Mafia truce. Crossing the ruthless Romanos means certain death.
Sal wronged me once, and I was forced to let it go. To protect my family and keep the peace.
Now is my chance to get even. Save Siena and steal Sal’s wife. Revenge is sweet but complicated. How do I choose between love and family?
She thrives in the limelight. He lives in the shadows. When the darkness finds her, he is her only hope.----
I'm the only thing standing between her and danger.
---
Beast.
That’s what they call me.
I can’t blame them.
My face half-eaten by a dog, the hideous scars make people gasp and turn away.
Except for her.
Annika Popov. A sheltered Bratva princess who has never seen me.
I’d like to keep it that way.
A glorified thug and interrogator, I work for her family. Doing despicable things. Luckily, my ugly face does most of my work.
Annika is off-limits. The boss’s daughter. She doesn’t know I watch her secretly. Or that I weave fantasies around her. I know I can never act on them.
When Annika’s life is threatened, her father gives me an unexpected task: take her to the lake house and protect her at all costs.
I take my job very seriously.
I am her elusive protector, staying in the shadows.
Until her curiosity brings her closer.
Suddenly, Annika sees the Beast.
But I’m no threat to her.
She has no idea what is hunting her.
Or that the true beast is closing in.
And I’m all that stands between her and danger.
----
Meet the Popovs. They're loyal. They're family. They're real. Oh, and they're also Mafia.
Books in this series:
FREAK (Ezekiel's story)
SNITCH (Sacha's story)
THUG (Lev's story)
THIEF (Dominik's story)
BEAST (Adrik's story) - coming October 25, 2022
PUNK (Efrem's story) - coming March 28, 2023
***This is a slow burn, friends-to-lovers, mafia romantic suspense with a scarred hero, a sweet heroine, and a twisted stalker who is determined to steal the girl. It contains strong language, adult situations, some heartbreaking moments, and lots of steam. Recommended for readers age 18 and up.***
A hopeless romantic. A jaded disbeliever. A lie that could tear them apart.
----
Flirt.
Ladies’ man.
Starry-eyed.
My cousins call me all that and more.
But what I am is a romantic. I believe in true love.
When I meet Miranda Patton my heart sings. I know she’s my destiny. The yin to my yang.
But the sexy goddess is divorced, jaded, and ten years my senior.
She doesn’t believe in love anymore. And I am just a punk to her.
I lie about who I am and my Bratva family.
Age is just a number for me, but she’s leery.
How can I convince her that I can be her man? And that I will never break her heart?
Just when I am about to reveal the truth, my lie comes back to bite me.
And puts her life at risk.
How do I save her from a madman when she despises me now?
I have only myself to blame.
Now my lie could cost me the only woman I have ever loved.
Meet the Popovs. They're loyal. They're family. They're real. Oh, and they're also Mafia.
Books in this series:
FREAK (Ezekiel's story)
SNITCH (Sacha's story)
THUG (Lev's story)
THIEF (Dominik's story)
BEAST (Adrik's story) - coming October 25, 2022
PUNK (Efrem's story) - coming March 28, 2023
***This is an age gap (older woman/younger man) mafia romantic suspense. It contains a charming mafia man, a jaded music producer, and a crazed villain with his own agenda. Due to strong language, adult situations, and steamy scenes, this book is recommended for readers age 18 and up.***
It was ten-thirty at night. The store closed at eleven. I needed to hurry. There might be a slim chance someone had found my wallet and turned it in to someone at the store. It was also possible I’d dropped it somewhere and it still lay where it had fallen. If I hurried back to Albertsons, I might actually get lucky and find it before someone picked it up.
The paparazzi should be long gone by now.
Snatching up my purse, I tossed my phone inside and headed for the garage. I’d never lost my wallet before. I wouldn’t feel better until I had it back in my possession.
Snagging a hoodie from the coat rack by the back door, I slipped it over my head. Moments later, I was in my Audi R8 and pulling out of the garage. I’d fallen in car lust the moment I’d seen the sleek and sexy convertible at the car dealership last year. Melanie called it a “dickmobile” and I loved the description with its intended pun. The sports car had cost me over a hundred and fifty grand. It was one of my few splurges. Mostly, I was careful with my money, investing over half of it for the future. I was smart enough to know I wouldn’t be on top forever. Everyone’s career had its ups and downs. Considering where I’d come from, I wasn’t about to be too confident. Today I might have it all, but tomorrow I might have squat.
I took nothing for granted.
Ten minutes later, I reached the store. 10:45 p.m. I still had fifteen minutes until closing.
The parking lot was nearly empty now. Only a few cars remaining. A sleek black Escalade. A beat-up blue Honda. A nondescript gray sedan.
Assuming the owner of the Escalade was wealthy, probably a celebrity and unlikely to care if he or she spotted another celebrity, I parked next to it. Plus, I felt safer parking near another expensive car. People with nice cars were less likely to ding your vehicle with their doors.
Pulling the hoodie up over my head to hide my face and stuffing a pepper spray in the pocket for my safety—one could never be too cautious—I exited the car and hurried toward the south entrance where Gus had picked us up earlier. If I couldn’t find my wallet on the ground, then I would go inside and ask the store clerk if someone had turned it in.
I’d only taken about eight or nine steps across the parking lot when I sensed a movement behind me.
My skin prickling, I whirled around.
A man dressed all in black slipped out of the back of the Escalade and rushed around to the driver’s side of my Audi, his face hidden beneath a black balaclava.
My mouth dropped open.
Are you kidding me?
Frozen with shock and cursing my dumb luck and the decision to park near the SUV, I could only stare as my car bleeped, the lights flashing as it unlocked, and the man slipped behind the wheel. Of my car. How the hell did he unlock it?
What I did next was probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But I wasn’t about to lose my precious Audi in addition to my wallet.
Pulling the pepper spray from the pocket of my hoodie, I raced back to my car just as the engine fired up.
Oh, no, you don’t, asshole!
Yanking the passenger’s side door open, I leaped into the vehicle just as it started to move forward.
The man jerked toward me in surprise.
I aimed the pepper spray at his face.
And pressed the trigger.
Leslie lives with her husband and daughter on a quiet country acreage in Idaho. She is currently working on The Honest Liar, the second book in THE PACT, and anticipates an early May 2020 release.
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I liked the excerpt.
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