S.J. Tilly Knihy

There are a few things that life doesn't prepare you for. Like what to do when a super-hot guy catches you sneaking around in his basement. Or what to do when a mysterious package shows up with tickets to a hockey game because, apparently, he's a professional athlete. Or how to handle it when you get to the game and realize he's freaking famous since half of the 20,000 people in the stands are wearing his jersey.I thought I was a well-adjusted adult, reasonably prepared for life. But one date with Jackson Wilder, a viral video, and a "I didn't know she was your mom" incident, and I'm suddenly questioning everything I thought I knew.But he's fun. And great. And I think I might be falling for him. But I don't know if he's falling for me too, or if he's as much of a player off the ice as on.

Payton Running away from home at 17 wasn't easy. Let's face it though, nothing before, or in the ten years since, has ever been easy for me. And I'm doing okay. Sorta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people's way, off people's minds. So when a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home, and my life, I should be scared. Frightened. Terrified. But I must be more broken than I realized, because I'm none of those things. I'm intrigued. And I'm wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him. Nero The first time I took a man's life, I knew there'd be no going back. No normal existence in the cards for me. So instead of walking away, I climbed a mountain of bodies, and created my own destiny. By forming The Alliance. And I was fine with that. Content enough to carry on. Until I stepped through those open doors, and into her life. I should've walked away. Should've gone right back out the door I came through. But I didn't. And now her life is in danger. But that's the thing about being a bad man. I'll happily paint the streets red to protect what's mine. And Payton is mine. Whether she knows it or not.

I have a nice life - living in my hometown, owning the coffee shop I've worked at since I was 16. It's comfortable. On paper. But I'm tired of doing everything by myself. Tired of being in charge of every decision in my life. I want someone to lean on. Someone to spend time with. Sit with. Hug. And I really don't want to go to my best friend's wedding alone. So, I signed up for a dating app, and agreed to meet with the first guy that messaged me. And now here I am, at the bar. Only it's not my date that just sat down in the chair across from me. It's his dad. And holy hell, he's the definition of Silver Fox. If a Silver Fox can be thick as a house, have piercing blue eyes and tattoos from his neck down to his fingertips. He's giving me Big Bad Wolf vibes. Only instead of running, I'm blushing. And he looks like he might just want to eat me whole.

Okay, so, my bad for assuming the guy I was going on a date with wasn't married. And my bad for taking him to a friend's house for dinner, only to find out my friend is also friends with his wife. Because, in fact, he is married. And she happens to be at my friend's house because her husband was busy working. Confused? So am I. Unsurprisingly, my date's wife is super angry about finding out that her husband is a cheating asshole. Girl, I get it. Then, to make matters more convoluted, there is the man sitting next to my date's wife. A man named King, who is apparently her brother, and who lives up to his name. And since my date is a two-timing prick, I'm not going to feel bad about drooling over King, especially since I'll never see him again. Or at least I don't plan to. I plan to take an Uber to the cheater's apartment to get my car keys. I plan for it to be quick. And if I had to list a thousand possible outcomes... witnessing my date's murder, being kidnapped by his killer, and then being forced to marry the super attractive but clearly deranged crime lord, would not have been on my Bingo card. But alas, here I am.

Val Als ich neun Jahre alt war, war ich auf meiner ersten Beerdigung. Während ich noch dabei war zu akzeptieren, dass mein Vater tot ist, sah ich mich mit neuen, schrecklichen Wahrheiten konfrontiert, auf die ich nicht vorbereitet war. Als ich neunzehn Jahre alt war, war ich auf der Beerdigung meiner Mutter. Wir standen uns nicht nahe, aber durch ihren Tod war ich nun einsamer als je zuvor. Klar, ich habe einen Halbbruder, der Die Allianz leitet. Und ja, er hat mir seinen Schutz gewährt – in Form eines Leibwächters und Chauffeurs. Aber ich habe niemanden, der mich wirklich kennt. Niemanden, der mich wirklich liebt. Bis ich ihn kennenlerne. Den Mann am Flughafen. Als unser zufälliges Treffen zu etwas Heißerem, etwas Ernsthafterem wird, erlaube ich mir zu glauben, dass er vielleicht der Richtige ist. Vielleicht ist dieser Mann derjenige, der mich endlich aus meiner Einsamkeit holt. Derjenige, der mir die Familie schenkt, nach der ich mich schon immer gesehnt habe. Dom Die Mafia liegt mir im Blut. Das ist es, was ich tue. Als also ebendieses Blut vergossen wird und aus nur einer Beerdigung gleich drei werden, müssen drastischere Maßnahmen ergriffen werden. Und wenn dieser Kampf zu einem Krieg wird, werde ich mehr Männer brauchen. Mehr Macht. Ich werde Die Allianz brauchen. Und ich werde ein Mitglied dieser Allianz werden – mit allen notwendigen Mitteln.