Sam thought she knew where her loyalties lay until she uncovered a devastating secret: her real family was murdered by the same mafia gang that raised her. Preston, once her closest ally, now stands between her and the sinister leader of their mafia family, Xavier; a lover of diabolical games. Torn between love, loyalty, and revenge, Sam faces the ultimate test of faith when she learns that Preston has plans for their gang that could destroy everyone she's ever known and that she is more than a victim of circumstance. In the world of the mafia where loyalty is deadly and betrayal is the ultimate weapon, will she stand by her ally or trade everything for vengeance?
Pwft! Pwft! Pwft!
"Shots fired! Shots fired!" A low, urgent voice came over the comms ear piece, the familiar muffled sound of a silenced weapon could be heard over the line.
"There are men on the roof!" The low voice continued.
"Where are the shots coming from?!" Sam whispered hoarsely, ducking behind the large oak desk.
"Who got in here?" She continued urgently, doing a frog walk from the desk to the heavy oak door that was partially open and peeking around the corner.
"We don't know! Jay stopped responding a minute ago, and then Teek...get out of there now!" A deep voice replied, tone low but urgent.
"Keep them away! I've got the safe open, just need to get the diamonds!" Sam insisted forcefully.
"Forget the – ugh!" The voice was abruptly cut off.
"Mike! MIKE!!" Sam yelled, still keeping her voice low.
"Shit!" Sam turned back to the open safe staring intently from her crouched position beside the door. Her eyes darted from the safe to the window as she touched the comms earbud in her left ear.
Her pupils narrowed and she lunged toward the safe to grab the diamonds they had come for.
The moment she moved from the door, splinters of wood zipped by her face, and a few stuck into her arm.
"Ngh!" she grunted, still keeping her voice low. The shots had been fired from a muzzled pistol, missing her by inches.
"Shit!" she cursed again, under her breath, as she sped past the open safe and through the glass window directly across from the door where she had squatted just moments before.
More bullets whizzed past her as she did a half summersault bursting through the window and landing in an almost kneeling position on the rooftop.
She stood and ran swiftly across the rafters, carefully balancing herself on the sloped surface.
Jumping off the edge, she landed smoothly on the soft grass and raced for the hedges of the large compound. Running in a zig-zag motion as pieces of dirt and grass bounced around her, as the shots toward her missed their mark.
"Nigel! Are you there?" She huffed, not slowing down or stopping for a single second.
"I'm here Boss. In the car. Keep coming. I see them...keep coming! B team will cover you!" Nigel replied steadily, expertly keeping his voice low and clear.
Sam sped on to the agreed pick-up spot, where the parked van was waiting. When she saw the vehicle, she sped up, running with all her might.
She could hear the footsteps behind her, fast and determined, and...many. Too many.
Seeing Nigel's eyes as he stared at her, she ducked down on the gravel and spun toward her pursuers, pulling out her custom silver .45 caliber pistol, also silenced. She steadied her aim and immediately fired off six shots, putting down three men.
She dodged to the right, flying out of the way of shots aimed in her general direction by five gunmen, just as six men in black suits moved like liquid shadows behind the five shooters, each picking one target and slicing their throats before the shooters knew what was happening.
==========
Standing up from the brush she had thrown herself onto, she looked behind the six shadows and saw three more shadows moving swiftly after the remaining men who had been after her but had begun to retreat.
"What the hell –" Sam started to say but was cut off.
"Are you hurt?" A familiar voice asked Sam, pulling down the black mask around his nose and placing a firm hand on her upper arm where the wood from the door had stabbed her.
"Just a scratch," Sam responded testily as she looked up into the eyes of her number one person. Preston Ward.
"What are you doing here?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him as she shrugged his hand off her arm and headed to the van.
"Naij, the others?" She shot at the man in the driver's seat.
"Nothing...I think we lost them." He responded neutrally, though his jaw was clenched and his knuckles were white as he gripped the van's steering wheel.
"Shit! I'll check –" Sam replied, turning toward the now quiet mansion.
"No. Get in the van and get out of here. My team will check." Preston responded curtly, blocking Sam's path.
"This is my op, Preston." She pressed, gazing steadily at him.
"It's 'Team Leader', Alpha One. Get in the van and leave. That's an order." Preston replied sternly, placing a hand on his waist, holding Sam's gaze.
Sam's back straightened as she stared at Preston, jaw clenched.
"I failed the mission." She stated flatly, still facing him.
"Yes. We know. Leave. Now." He replied staring her in the eyes. He turned to Nigel, the only surviving member of her four-man team, "Nigel, report to base. Don't stop for anything or anyone. Even if one of your guys contact you. Understand?"
"Yes, Sir." Nigel responded tightly, his grip tightening even more on the steering wheel.
Preston turned back to Sam who had not moved from where she was standing, still staring at him. He aspirated, "Go Sam. The Boss will be waiting to hear about this."
Sam shifted her weight on her feet at this, moving her eyes away from Preston.
Xavier...
I failed the mission...
I failed...
She mused as her gaze moved from Preston to the horizon.
The sun is rising, she pondered.
"Yes. And you should be on your way." Preston remarked in a low, more placating tone.
Her head snapped back to Preston and she nodded at him, realizing that she must have spoken out loud.
"Let's go Naij," she murmured as she jumped into the front passenger seat.
Nigel nodded and sped off as soon as Sam slammed the door shut.
==========
Sam's lips were pressed tightly and her brow was furrowed as she stared at the road ahead.
She placed her hand in her pocket and squeezed the strip of paper she had torn off a document in the safe.
Samantha Vulpe Bucinschi. Heir. Aged five – deceased.
What the hell?
What does this mean?
She pondered as she squeezed the paper tighter.
Fate! Chance! A terrible accident changes the course of Karen's life. Thrown into the world of enigmatic billionaire Taylor, she must now find her way out of the cage presented to her by the Grey family. Unable and unwilling to trust, Karen and Taylor must learn to work together to defeat their demons. What unfolds is a battle of wills as passion and duty collide. Will they find redemption or stay trapped in the shadows created by their pasts?
Karen Preston, an ambitious gallery owner who doesn't believe in love or making sacrifices for nothing, has her life turned upside down thanks to an accident caused by the reckless driving of Taylor Grey, a billionaire socialite. Born into an average, middle-class family, Karen has struggled all her life to rise above her station and make a name for herself. She is a driven, independent woman who loathes to depend or rely on anyone. Now unable to work and with pending debts to investors and artists, Karen finds herself in a compromising position – lose all she has worked for or seek help from the one person who cannot refuse, the person who jeopardized her future – Taylor Grey. Under the insistence of his controlling father, Marshal Grey, Taylor must help Karen but Marshal Grey has specific demands of his own: to keep the details of the accident out of the public eye, Karen and Taylor are to live together in a remote estate owned by the Grey family until Karen is fully healed. Neither Karen nor Taylor wants this arrangement. Karen resents Taylor's presence and rejects his every attempt to help, while Taylor, guilt-ridden and angry, feels equally trapped by his father's demands. Can the independent Karen stay locked down and can the carefree Taylor restrain himself from breaking his father's commands? What will happen when these two very different people make their stand? Will these imposed restraints break them, or set them free?
Marcia and Jullian were inseparable in college; they were like two halves of one whole. Everyone thought they were a forever couple. On the day of their graduation, Jullian vanished without a trace, and Marcia's world came crashing down. Five years later, after rebuilding her life abroad, Marcia is back home, fully focused on her new company, the new love of her life. Just as things are falling into place, Jullian suddenly reappears, still as captivating as ever. His reason for coming back? To "help" Marcia and to "correct" his past mistakes. Jullian has a proposal – one that feels more like a challenge – sell your company to me and let me take care of you the way I should have years ago. What follows is a battle of wills. Will Marcia hold on to the independence she fought so hard to achieve, or will Jullian's return and his offer of security be too much to resist? It's a showdown between the woman who craves freedom and the one who once let her go.
For three years, I waited to become the perfect Luna for my pack, to give the Alpha an heir. Three years of lies, of being the outsider in someone else's love story. Three years of grieving the loss of my baby and plotting revenge against the man who disfigured my face and ruined my womb. I had two choices: die at the hands of my own pack or escape and survive. I chose to hide and live. The Lycan King, Fenrir Lycros-the most bloodthirsty, ruthless ruler to ever lead the werewolves with an iron fist-made me his personal maid. It was the most dangerous role I could have, where even the slightest mistake could cost me my life. But no one from my past would think to look for me here. "Always be submissive, don't speak unless spoken to, don't listen, don't see anything, don't disturb the Lycan or you will die," were the simple rules I followed. I thought I was doing well-until one day, the King made me an offer I couldn't refuse. "Do you want me to save those people? Then give yourself to me tonight. Be my woman. I desire you, and I know you feel the same. Just once, Raven, only once..." But it wasn't just once. Passion turned into something deeper, something neither of us could deny. That cold, untamable man had somehow conquered my heart as well. However, when the past returned to haunt me and the truth about my birth came to light, I faced another choice: run from the Lycan King or wait for his mercy. "I'm sorry, but this time, I won't lose my pups again-not even for you, Fenrir Lycros."
It was supposed to be a marriage of convenience, but Carrie made the mistake of falling in love with Kristopher. When the time came that she needed him the most, her husband was in the company of another woman. Enough was enough. Carrie chose to divorce Kristopher and move on with her life. Only when she left did Kristopher realize how important she was to him. In the face of his ex-wife’s countless admirers, Kristopher offered her 20 million dollars and proposed a new deal. “Let’s get married again.”
The day Lilah found out that she was pregnant, she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her remorseless fiancé and his mistress almost killed her. Lilah fled for her dear life. When she returned to her hometown five years later, she happened to save a little boy's life. The boy's father turned out to be the world's richest man. Everything changed for Lilah from that moment. The man didn't let her experience any inconvenience. When her ex-fiancé bullied her, he crushed the scumbag's family and also rented out an entire island just to give Lilah a break from all the drama. He also taught Lilah's hateful father a lesson. He crushed all her enemies before she even asked. When Lilah's vile sister threw herself at him, he showed her a marriage certificate and said, "I'm happily married and my wife is much more beautiful than you are!" Lilah was shocked. "When did we ever get married? Last I checked, I was still single." With a wicked smile, he said, "Honey, we've been married for five years. Isn't it about time we had another child together?" Lilah's jaw dropped to the floor. What the hell was he talking about?
Belinda thought after divorce, they would part ways for good - he could live his life on his own terms, while she could indulge in the rest of hers. However, fate had other plans in store. "My darling, I was wrong. Would you please come back to me?" The man, whom she once loved deeply, lowered his once proud head humbly. "I beg you to return to me." Belinda coldly pushed away the bouquet of flowers he had offered her and coolly replied, "It's too late. The bridge has been burned, and the ashes have long since scattered to the wind!"
Lindsey's fiancé was the devil's first son. Not only did he lie to her but he also slept with her stepmother, conspired to take away her family fortune, and then set her up to have sex with a total stranger. To get her lick back, Lindsey decided to find a man to disrupt her engagement party and humiliate the cheating bastard. Never did she imagine that she would bump into a strikingly handsome stranger who was all that she was currently looking for. At the engagement party, he boldly declared that she was his woman. Lindsey thought he was just a broke man who wanted to leech off her. But once they began their fake relationship, she realized that good luck kept coming her way. She thought they would part ways after the engagement party, but this man kept to her side. "We gotta stick together, Lindsey. Remember, I'm now your fiancé. " "Domenic, you're with me because of my money, aren't you?" Lindsey asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Domenic was taken aback by that accusation. How could he, the heir of the Walsh family and CEO of Vitality Group, be with her for money? He controlled more than half of the city's economy. Money wasn't a problem for him! The two got closer and closer. One day, Lindsey finally realized that Domenic was actually the stranger she had slept with months ago. Would this realization change things between them? For the better or worse?
After being kicked out of her home, Harlee learned she wasn't the biological daughter of her family. Rumors had it that her impoverished biological family favored sons and planned to profit from her return. Unexpectedly, her real father was a zillionaire, catapulting her into immense wealth and making her the most cherished member of the family. While they anticipated her disgrace, Harlee secretly held design patents worth billions. Celebrated for her brilliance, she was invited to mentor in a national astronomy group, drew interest from wealthy suitors, and caught the eye of a mysterious figure, ascending to legendary status.