Love can be ruthless, especially when you're a Hawke. You have to be ruthless to be a Hawke. Our empire in New Orleans has only grown over the years. And protecting it falls on my shoulders. Whether it's in the courtroom or in the streets, I do whatever it takes to get the job done. We've already suffered and lost enough. I won't let anything threaten my family or what we've built.

My fiancé is screaming at me in public. I'm used to it. My role here is to look pretty on his arm and to play nice so he doesn't hurt my sick daughter. What I'm not used to is the man who comes to my rescue. Adrik Tasarov is a tall glass of gorgeous. He's got a jawline that could cut glass and eyes that could melt steel. Best of all: my fiancé is absolutely terrified of him. So when Adrik asks me to dance, I say yes. When he asks me to do a little more than that, I say it again. Then comes the make-or-break moment. Adrik offers me a fake marriage to get me out of my real one.

He’s the devil himself: Damon Copeland (he practically carries a pitchfork), fiery-hot, a torturously sexy body, and a killer smile (if he ever smiled). He’s also the top dog at my father’s company and my brother’s best friend. Oh, and someone I accidentally slept with. In my defense, that was before I knew who he was and before he hired me. Now, my one-night stand has turned into my boss. What’s worse, he’s Mr. Bosshole Superior: brutish, broody, and impatient. He’s also 6’4". And I’m pretty sure he hates me. But it’s not as if I planned any of this.

Eleven years ago, I met him. A year later, I was betrothed to him. Now he’s come to claim me, slaughtering anyone standing in his way. My husband-to-be is a monster from a family as ruthless and powerful as mine, a man who deals in violence and destruction...a man terrifyingly like my father. For more than a decade, he’s stalked me, shadowing my life. I fear him. I hate him. Worst of all, I want him. My name is Alina Molotova, and Alexei Leonov is a fate I can’t escape.

Get married. Have a child. These are the only two rules to get my inheritance. Neither of which I want. My billionaire life doesn’t play well with either idea. But no one asked me. My father’s company is up for grabs, and whichever of my brothers makes it to the finish line first wins. In no time, I’ve found the perfect woman to play my fake fiancée, while I figure things out. Beautiful. Smart. Strong. Everything I crave in a relationship and more. But there’s a problem. She’s got a past I can’t ignore.