She was running from her past. He was building a future. Neither expected love to be part of the plan.

Stormi Knight, a 30-year-old professional runner, has always kept her heart on lockdown. Love was never in the cards, especially after growing up with a drug-addicted mother and witnessing firsthand the pain that came with trusting the wrong men. Her world revolved around one thing: protecting her younger brother, Noah. From the age of 13, Stormi was his mother, his protector, his everything. But now Noah isn't a little boy anymore, and Jo, the woman who birthed them both, has claws deeper in him than Stormi ever imagined.

A three a.m. phone call changes everything. One flight back to the chaos she thought she escaped, and Stormi's perfectly controlled life unravels.

Seth Greene, the city's youngest kingpin. He's powerful, untouchable, and focused on securing a better life for his son, S3, and his mama. Women came and went, each one proving to be just another pretty face with greedy hands. Love wasn't something Seth entertained, not after what his son's mother put him through. But when Stormi crashes into his world, everything he thought he knew changes. Two broken souls, two guarded hearts, one explosive connection neither saw coming.

Can love bloom in a world that doesn't believe in fairy tales? Or will the streets swallow their happiness before it ever has a chance to breathe?