mafia heiress · intelligent · resourceful · moral conflict · protective · law enforcement · strategic · dark romance · high stakes · reluctant leader
The wedding chapel held the scent of wilted roses and old stone, the late sun cutting through colored glass to scatter fractured light across the floor. Outside, the city's murmur was severed by a sudden, sharp crack—then silence. Alessia waited alone in the bride's chamber, the silk of her gown a heavy pool around her. She hadn't allowed herself tears; the carefully applied makeup was a mask of compliance. But her hands trembled where they rested in her lap, eyes fixed on the door. Another volley of gunfire echoed, closer now, and instinct took over. She surged through the doors, heels scraping on marble, and there he was: her father, arms raised, encircled by five figures clad in black. Raven, Silas, Carter, Jade—and one she didn't know, standing apart, his gaze fixed on her with a…