Erin Angermeier

Trauma nurse Aly Cappellucci doesn’t need any more kinks. She likes the one she’s landed on just fine. To her, nothing could top the masked men she follows online. Unless one of those men was shirtless, heavily tattooed, and waiting for her in her bedroom. She dreams about being hunted by one in particular, of him chasing her down and doing deliciously dark things to her willing body. She never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become her new reality.

Months ago, I was homeless and broken, and in search of a dangerous man. I found the devil’s prototype in a flawless navy suit. Clay Butcher. A man twice my age who kills brutally, takes territorially, and hides his emotions deep within layers of smooth control. He is my father’s enemy and the don of the Cosa Nostra. Evil. Beautiful. Ruthless. But he’s not the villain of my story.

A little deer walks into the wolf’s den. I want answers. I know nothing of love, family, or stability, having been raised in the foster system and spat out at eighteen, pregnant, and with no memory of how that came to be. I try to find my estranged father, a man rumoured to be in the Mafia, hopeful he will use his influence to discover what really happened the night someone took my innocence. But I don’t find my father. I walk straight into the den of his associate, the Don of the Cosa Nostra.

I caught the attention of a monster. I didn’t ask for it. Didn’t even see it coming. But the moment I do, it’s too late. Killian Carson is a predator wrapped in sophisticated charm. He’s cold-blooded, manipulative, and savage. The worst part is that no one sees his devil side. I do. And that will cost me everything. I run, but the thing about monsters? They always chase.

Leaving behind my happy, carefree London existence, I found myself across the pond at the exclusive Highgate Preparatory Academy—an institution catering to the privileged offspring of the affluent and influential in the United States—for my senior year. There, fate led me to the arms of the Black Knights of Highgate Prep. Loki, Jax, Kai, and Ash—four mesmerizing, damaged, and captivating young men. Each possesses a wealth as vast as Midas, yet their scars run deep, seemingly irreparable.

I was to wed a Lord of my parents’ choosing. Wealth can’t buy you everything, or I would have had freedom years ago. Instead, my strict parents made sure I lived a dull life in a mansion resembling a prison. But on my wedding day, I was handed over to another man—an even more ruthless Lord that my family hated. Tyson Riley Crawford only wanted me for his revenge. I’m nothing more than a debt to be paid. I didn’t have a say in the matter. So when I said my vows before the congregation, I knew I’d break them. Consequences be damned.

When I was born, my life was set on a path of destruction, greed, enemies, and certain death. None of that mattered until them: Ryder, Gage, Dex, Holden, and Leo. They are my life, my loves, and in the blink of an eye, they were ripped away from me. At twenty-two, I rose to power as the first female Boss of the Italian Mafia, and at twenty-five, I almost died because of it. I didn't take the threat of a deranged stalker seriously, and it could cost me and Zane, a former love, our lives and sanity.

Ryder, Garrett, Kenzo, and Diesel - The Vipers. Their deals are as sordid as their business, and their reputation is enough to bring a grown man to his knees, forcing him to beg for mercy. They are not people you mess with, yet my dad did. The old man ran up a debt with them and then sold me to cover his losses. Yes, sold me. They own me now. I’m theirs in every sense of the word. But I’ve never been meek and compliant.

The Manipulator. I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me. I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh. But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave. He's always there, watching and waiting. And I can never look away. Not when I want him to come closer. The Shadow. I didn't mean to fall in love. But now that I have, I can't stay away. I'm mesmerized by her smile, by her eyes, and the way she moves. I'll keep watching and waiting. Until I can make her mine. And once she is, I'll never let her go.

I chose the hottest club in town, Rapture, to find my prey. Little did I know the person I hooked was the head of the Irish Mafia, who became haunted by the memory of our night. When I drunkenly return to Rapture with a broken heart, I find myself being drawn into the dark underground world of the Irish Mafia and the four men that rule it. As my normal, perfectly managed life slowly unravels, these men help me to reconnect with the woman I once was, and she wasn't always innocent. Will I be able to rebuild a life I truly desire, or is it all just an illusion?