Heather

Lauren Locklear. She has no idea that I would do anything for her. She doesn’t understand the mountains I would climb just to keep her safe. That’s okay though, I’ll make sure she does. She thinks she’s weak, and given the lack of love and support from those closest to her, I can understand why. That changes now, I will make her see the strong woman I see when I look at her. I’ve pined for her in secret, wanting nothing more than to show her what she could have. But with my past still haunting me, I knew it would be best to stay back.

In a town where all that matters is loyalty to your gang, I've been labeled a traitor. A death sentence. I ran away from the North Shore the day I knew I wasn't safe there anymore. I left behind the people I thought were my family: My crew, the Kings. More importantly, I turned my back on the two men who once meant everything to me. The hardest thing I've ever done. I might have known Elliot and Ethan since we were children, but I betrayed the brothers in more ways than one. Now they want me dead.

I'm a hunter, destroying the evil that roams these streets. That's always been my focus. Then, I saw her. My newest obsession. My deadliest sin. One look into her eyes, and I knew we were the same. Hungry for blood. For revenge. Hiding behind our secrets. She has her demons, and I have mine. Our scars run so deep, no one knows how much we bleed except the two of us.

I grew up with the Buchanan twins. Wreaking havoc. Playing hockey. Causing chaos. Almost all of my memories involve Archer and Maverick. Then I started dating one of them. Archer Buchanan is perfect. He’s sweet. Attentive. Passionate. He’s everything a girl could ask for in a boyfriend. And I love him so much. The problem is…I love his twin brother even more.

I wasn’t supposed to be on that roof on Valentine’s Day. Neither was Kellan Marchetti, the school’s designated freak. We met on the verge of ending our lives. Somehow, the tattered strings of our tragedies tangled and tightened into an unlikely bond. We decided not to take the plunge and agreed to check on each other every Valentine’s Day until school ended. Same time. One roof. Two restless souls. We kept our promise for three years.

My mother trained me to be numb. To keep my volatile emotions carefully locked away. But when my drug-addicted stepfather decides to clear his debt by offering my sister to the Ruthless Mafia Men that run our city, I have no choice but to react. Keeping her safe is the only thing I've ever been good at. And, unlike her, I've already been scarred by the cruelties of our world. So I did the only thing I could do, the only thing that would ensure that they'd never go looking for her. I offered myself to big bad wolves instead.

You’ll judge me. Hate me, and tell me I’m wrong. Refuse to see how my darkness is what she needs. While I don’t particularly care about your feelings in the matter, and while I pursue her - despite the wedding bells that rang for another - only I can see how she is drowning beneath mediocrity. He had his chance to make her happy. He failed. He didn't see how she was dying inside, because he couldn't know her. Not like I know her. I am her stalker. Her protector. And the only man that can bring her back to life.

I had no idea Fionn Quinn was an enforcer for the Irish Mob. Not when he saved me from my ex, and certainly not when we had our night together. I never gave him my name, and didn't know his either. We come from different worlds. I'd have nothing to offer a wealthy man like that. So I ran. Hoping he never finds me.

Eriu Quinn is off-limits. Too young. Too innocent. And far too forbidden. Her father is the head of the Irish Mob. And I'm just her bodyguard tasked to keep her safe. She's my job, but she's also a maddening temptation. One I need to stay away from. But I underestimate that feisty little spitfire. She creeps under my skin. Pushes all of my buttons. Until I unravel...

She bats her eyelashes and pretends she's innocent, but I know the truth. The blood in her veins is made of mud, and I will purify it. Kaye Pennington is the daughter of the woman who ruined my life. Now, I will ruin hers. It's not fair; nothing in life ever is.