BROKEN IN HIS SHADOWS

ia's

and in two days, no home. Vincent Rossi, the driver who'd yanked me from the park, gripped the wheel with a soldier's precision, his wiry frame and cold brown eyes hinting

my voice sharp, my hazel eyes boring in

aid, his tone flat

ands clenching in my lap, my deep brown

ing him. "It's not a kidnapping, Miss Carter. If m

to hunt me down? My stomach twisted, the weight of my reality crushing, Langley's threats, the eviction notice, $2,500 in rent and medical debts from Grandpa's cancer battle. I was

shadows, the long driveway flanked by towering oaks that swallowed the world. My breath caugh

lass windows and sharp angles exuding a cold, pre

the trees. Swallowing my fear, I stepped out, the humid Florida air heavy, Vincent's hand guiding me toward the

world I was nev

fireplace casting flickering shadows a

as t

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an's

the woman who'd stormed into my orbit two nights ago, her fire and pain awakening a hunger I couldn't name. The Blackwood Empire, a mafia dynasty of unmatched power, was my birthright, but my parents' murder when I

, her hazel eyes blazing with defiance and fear. She was no victim, but a force, her vulnerability a mirror to my own hidden w

t her throat but she lifted her chin, h

n my knees, my gaze pierci

. Blackwood Software was known, but the Blackwood Empire was a shadow, its power whi

d, her voice trembling but u

masterpiece I'd yet to unravel. "Bec

es narrowing. "I don't wan

. "This isn't charity. You're drowning, no job, no ho

voice a whisper. "Ho

e document from the table, a contract, its weight heavier th

using to touch it. "What is this?" she ask

dable. "Your salvation, Miss Carter

----------------------

ia's

tract, its title stark: Marriage Contract. My eyes snapped to his,

and unyielding, his smirk a shadow o

asp? The firelight danced across his 6'4" frame, his muscular build overwhelming, his sharp jawline and piercing gaze radiating contro

ice breaking, my chest tight

promise laced with steel. "I want you, Alicia. Sign this, and your debts di

ng. "And what's the catch?" I asked, my voice sharp, fear

ts? crossing his face before the mask returned. "The catch is you

. "This is crazy. I'm not some.

e softer, almost convincing. "You're a c

bts crushing me, could this be my escape? Or was I trading one trap for another, this one gilded but no less deadly? H

his eyes never leaving mine. "Vincent will take you home. B

in. As Vincent led me out, Adrian's gaze burned into me, a king claimin