Showing results by author "Marian Black" in All Categories

Ten years ago, Ben Fudou vanished from Danny Rodriguez's life without explanation, leaving nothing but heartbreak and unanswered questions. Now Danny runs Safe Harbor, a struggling shelter for LGBTQ+ homeless youth in Chicago, pouring everything into kids the world threw away. When he spots Ben across a glittering charity gala—now a billionaire CEO—Danny wants nothing more than to escape. But Ben holds the key to saving Safe Harbor from eviction. His offer? He'll buy the building and secure the shelter's future, but only if Danny agrees to co-direct Ben's new foundation. It means ...

Five years ago, Adrian Chen buried his brother. Now he's infiltrated the Russian Bratva to kill the man responsible. Nikolai Sokolov is everything Adrian expected—dangerous, ruthless, commanding. He's also everything Adrian didn't expect—intelligent, magnetic, and impossibly beautiful. As Adrian works beside the enforcer he's meant to destroy, every lie cuts deeper than the last. Every stolen glance, every accidental touch, every moment of forced proximity breaks down the walls around his hollowed-out heart. In the violent world of the Bratva, trust is a luxury and love is a death ...

When a coffee-stained scholarship student collides with a brilliant doctoral candidate, their instant antipathy ignites more than just arguments—it awakens a four-century-old mystery. Dorian Blackwood has fought for everything—his scholarship to prestigious Thornfield University, his spot in the restoration program, his right to belong. The last thing he needs is Gabriel Rossi, with his perfect translations, Italian silk shirts, and insufferable assumption that money can buy expertise. Gabriel has spent his life hiding who he truly is behind family expectations and academic achievement....

When Luca Santori inherits his father's crime empire, he discovers more than just money and power—he inherits Dimitri Thorne, a century-old vampire bound by a blood debt to protect the Santori family. Luca wanted nothing to do with his father's violent legacy. But when rival families attack and vampire hunters close in, he has no choice but to accept Dimitri's dark protection. What starts as an unwanted obligation transforms into something neither man expected—a love that defies the boundaries between human and vampire, mortal and immortal. As Luca navigates the treacherous world of ...

When ER doctor Timothy Morrison saves a mysterious patient with impossible wounds, he never expects the man to heal within hours—or to return with coffee and conversation that makes Timothy feel alive for the first time since his sister's death. James Anderson has walked the earth for two centuries, carrying the secret of his vampiric nature and the weight of his maker's murdered dream: a synthetic blood that could free vampires from the need to hunt. When Timothy is attacked by James's enemies and left dying, James faces an impossible choice—let the man he's falling for perish, or ...

When Marco Valentino stares down the barrel of a gun at the Metropolitan Museum, he expects to die. What he doesn't expect is for his would-be assassin to lower the weapon and walk away. Adrian Kozlov has waited five years to avenge his father's murder at the hands of the Valentino family. But when the moment comes, something about Marco's defiant courage makes him hesitate. That hesitation will change everything. Soon both heirs discover they're pawns in a larger game—someone has been manipulating their families toward mutual destruction, feeding them intelligence designed to escalate ...

In the wasteland that was once civilization, survival means making impossible choices, and Wes has made more than his share. When the battle-scarred drifter arrives in New Haven, he's running from a past that won't stay buried and an enemy who won't forgive. All he wants is to disappear into the ruins of another broken city. But New Haven has its own problems, and information broker Robin needs a partner who can handle himself in a fight. What starts as a simple business arrangement becomes something deeper when they uncover a conspiracy that threatens everything the city has built. Someone...

When a brutal territorial war threatens to destroy both their families, Yakuza lieutenant Ryo Asuka and Irish mob heir Justin Thomas are forced into an arranged marriage neither wants. What begins as a cold strategic alliance between enemies is undercut by something far more dangerous—genuine attraction. Ryo has clawed his way to power through violence and cunning since his father's assassination, trusting no one and showing no weakness. Justin has been deliberately sheltered from his family's darker activities, managing their legitimate businesses while staying clean of their crimes. ...

He was assigned to protect him. He wasn't supposed to fall for him. When Julian Moretti becomes a pawn in his crime family's deadly game, he's placed under the protection of the one man everyone fears—Nikolai Raven, the cold, ruthless enforcer who's never failed an assignment. For twenty-eight days, Julian is Nikolai's prisoner in all but name. Controlled. Watched. Protected. Julian should hate him. This beautiful, lethal man who dictates his every move. Instead, he finds himself drawn to the humanity Nikolai hides beneath the perfectly tailored suits and dead-eyed stare. Through paint-...

He took my freedom. Then he gave me everything. One wrong turn down a dark alley, and I witnessed a murder. The killer—Alexei Konstantin, ruthless Bratva enforcer—took me prisoner to protect his secrets. I should hate him. Should fear him. But the man who kidnapped me isn't the monster I expected. He's damaged, dangerous, and the only person who's ever made me feel truly seen. When my abuser from the past resurfaces, Alexei risks everything to protect me. Leaves his criminal empire. Gives me the freedom to choose. And I choose him. Now we're building a life together far from the ...

Three months after surviving brutal captivity, Nico Rossini refuses to be the weak link in his powerful crime family. When the Russian Bratva demands a Rossini as collateral for a new alliance, Nico shocks everyone by volunteering—and by accepting the request of Alexei Volkov, the ruthless enforcer known as the Savage Prince. In Moscow, Nico finds himself thrust into a world of elegance and brutality, where beauty is a currency and weakness is fatal. Alexei is everything his reputation promises—cold, lethal, untouchable—yet behind his ice-blue eyes lies an obsession that burns ...

When Gabriel Moreau's brother disappears with a half-million-dollar debt to the mob, Gabe offers the only thing he has of value—himself. Executive chef and owner of a small French bistro, Gabe has spent three years building his dream from nothing. But when dangerous men destroy his kitchen demanding payment for his brother's gambling debts, he finds himself standing face-to-face with Lucian Rossi—the youngest mob boss in the city, who accepts Gabe's offer to work off the debt as his personal chef. Lucian rules his criminal empire with cold precision and an iron fist. He doesn't do ...

Six years ago, Vincent Rossini died in an explosion—or so his family believes. In truth, he has lived as Vito Calabrese, enforcer for the very family that destroyed his life. But when Jake Morrison, the underboss who once betrayed him to save him, reveals the truth of his father’s deadly plans, Vincent has no choice but to rise from the ashes and reclaim his name. Returning to Boston means more than facing his brothers who mourned him—it means standing beside the man who broke his heart. Jake carries six years of guilt, six years of gathering evidence against his ruthless father, and ...

Ten years ago, Kenji Nakamura fled Tokyo with a broken heart, believing the man he loved had chosen duty over their future together. Now a successful financial consultant in New York, he's forced to return when his firm accepts a mysterious client requiring urgent restructuring. That client is the Yamamoto-kai yakuza clan. His contact is Hiroshi Yamada—the man who shattered him. Hiroshi has spent a decade hiding his truth beneath expensive suits and yakuza violence. Covered in traditional tattoos that tell stories of loss and regret, he's become the weapon his clan needed him to be. But ...

Nick Castellano has spent eight years hunting the vampire who murdered his family, never knowing he's been watched—and protected—by a mysterious guardian in the shadows. That guardian is revealed to be Sebastian, a tormented vampire fledgling who was forced to participate in the Castellano family's massacre. But Sebastian isn't the only monster from Nick's past. Anthony, the ancient vampire sire who orchestrated that night of blood and flames, has returned to reclaim his beautiful, defiant creation. Centuries old and devastatingly charismatic, Anthony wields his dark magnetism like a ...

Five years ago, Chris Hayes and Matty Rossi were everything to each other—until a record deal tore them apart and turned them into the emo scene's bitterest rivals. Now Chris fronts Scarred Saint, the mainstream success story with soaring vocals and MTV rotation. Matty leads Venom & Velvet, the scene's authentic hardcore darlings. They've spent half a decade trading barbs in interviews and carefully avoiding each other's tours. But when legendary musician Stephen Paglia is diagnosed with cancer, the two are forced to reunite for a charity single. Two weeks in a Los Angeles studio to write...

Eight years ago, Francis Giordano offered his heart to his father's enforcer and got it shattered in return. Now 26, Francis has built a life outside the family's violent legacy—he's a successful gallery owner, a respected artist, and determinedly single. He's everything a mafia prince shouldn't be: gentle, gay, and uninterested in the family business. But when assassins destroy his gallery and try to end his life, there's only one man his father trusts to protect him: Joseph De Luca. The same man who rejected him. The same man who called him a "spoiled prince" and sent him running to art...

Six months on the run. One chance at freedom. A vampire who can walk in daylight. Jay Hurley is on the run from his vampire captor with nothing but a fake ID and three hundred dollars. Now he's tending bar at Nocturne, trying to rebuild a life from the shattered pieces of who he used to be. The enigmatic club owner is everything Jay's captor wasn't: patient, protective, impossibly gentle. And despite being a vampire himself, Giulio possesses a rare mutation that lets him walk in sunlight, bridging the gap between human and monster. As Jay learns to trust again, their careful friendship ...

Finding the truth was supposed to set him free. Instead, it made him a prisoner. Forensic accountant Daniel Park is brilliant at uncovering financial crimes—which is exactly why the Russian bratva wants him. When he discovers evidence that threatens their operations, crime boss Dimitri Krylova gives him a choice: use his skills to find an internal thief, or watch his family suffer the consequences. Daniel's new reality comes with a shadow he can't escape: Mikhail Sokolov, a former Spetsnaz operative assigned to ensure his cooperation. Misha is everything Daniel should fear—dangerous, ...

In a city rotting from the inside out, Christopher James operates from the shadows—a methodical vigilante tracking arms dealers and corrupt cops through a web of encrypted data and midnight surveillance. When Joey Reynolds, his former partner presumed dead for three years, resurfaces in the middle of a waterfront deal, Christopher's carefully controlled world fractures. Joey's return isn't just personal—it's operational. Together, they uncover Project Nemesis, a conspiracy that reaches from street-level dealers to the highest echelons of law enforcement. As they navigate warehouse ...