mandy

Five years ago, my fiancé disappeared. He left me with a wedding dress I’d never wear. Left me with the kind of scars that can’t be healed. The man I built my future on vanished like a ghost. All that remained were my broken heart and a million unanswered questions.

The first letter arrived the day my husband was buried. It was postmarked from the state penitentiary, and contained a single sentence: I’ll wait forever if I have to. It was signed by Dante, a man I didn’t know.

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.

No money, no phone, and abandoned on the streets of Chicago. With my baby in my arms, I wander into a bar in a shady neighborhood and ask to use their phone. When my father turns us away and completely disowns me, the bar owner, and total hottie, offers us a place to stay...no strings attached. I’m leery at first. Hot alpha guy. Down-on-her-luck single mother. I mean, who wouldn’t be? Lucio Gallo isn’t like most men, though. He’s fiercely protective, loyal, and, did I mention he’s covered in nothing but muscle? Above all else, he’s everything I need but never knew I wanted.