Showing results for "Joe Arden" in Crime Fiction

Seven years ago, Hadleigh Castille fell into my bed and never left my heart. Then she disappeared and my hunger for vengeance was born. My body wasn’t the same after that night. She left for war, but I lived a daily life of blood and violence for the Irish Mob. Now, I’ve risen to power in my own right, but to keep my crown I must align with the enemy. When he presents his sister to me as a bride, my heart takes a tumble. The woman I knew, the siren I never got over isn’t Hadleigh Castille, Navy Lieutenant. She’s the missing Greek Princess, Ava Zervas.

Shea-Lynne O’Rourke is no innocent princess. But she is off-limits. Older. Strong-Willed. Mouthy AF. That doesn’t stop me from wanting to possess this feisty Irish Rose and make the only woman I can’t have mine. She's my last bodyguard gig before I take my place in Quinlan Empire. I'm riddled with scars and past sins, too filthy for an angel. Who surprises me with a savage taste for the forbidden.

While men made war, women were expected to keep the peace. I had loved a man before. I swore that would never happen again. So marrying for the sake of the family wasn’t the worst thing. That’s what I thought. I was a mafia princess after all, and serving as a trading item was my only role in this world ruled by men. But the man waiting for me at the altar wasn’t the one who my uncle had given me to.

I am who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. I don’t know how to be...normal. I have my reasons. I've been through hell. I've touched the flames themselves, and I've danced with the devil. Intimately. Damnation torched my soul until it was black. I am who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. I don’t know how to be...normal. I have my reasons. I've been through hell. I've touched the flames themselves, and I've danced with the devil. Intimately. Damnation torched my soul until it was black.

My name is Madelaine Moneta and I am a survivor. I fought my way up from the streets of Chicago to claim a spot at one of the top-tier criminal defense practices in the city, but when the looming shadow of the local mob threatens to engulf the firm, I make a life-altering decision. Carrying my mother’s ashes, I escape to Ireland, intent on starting anew in my mother’s homeland.

Hunter I wasn't looking for his kind of trouble. It found me anyway. Tall. Dark. Addictive. He unravels me with his ferocity. Melts me with his touch. It's impossible not to become consumed by him. Until I find out who he really is. He has a hidden agenda far beyond his craving for me. Something menacing and sinister. I need to run. From him. From the danger. But running from the hunter means I've now become the prey.

I used to live in darkness, and a comet soared through my night sky. So I made a wish. Blood is my sanction. Pain is my salvation. Fear is what I instill. Especially for my Comet. The warm barrel of a gun against my head? It won’t stop me from protecting what is mine. Even if it means spilling more blood. My love for her has been tested and I’m furious. Seconds has turned to minutes. Minutes has turned to hours. And suddenly months have gone by without a change. Trying to make Daphne remember is getting us nowhere. It’s time to accept our fate. This is the new us.

Secrets—you know my family is founded on them. Lies—my marriage hinges on one. I kept the past buried like a coward. Now, I feel the constraints of my choices like they’re a chokehold. I know that it’s time to tell my wife the truth. It’s time to deal with the consequences of my actions. Aoife deserves to be my judge, jury, and executioner. If she burns down the house with me in it, well, that’s on me and my filthy secrets….

A knife that cut too deep, a slash that still burns, failures piled high and flammable. I held my losses at bay with knives, with guns, my hands, my bike, my brothers, my iron will. But not my heart. No, my heart was the flame that would light the match, ignite the blaze. I am the enforcer - the killer when called upon, the ruthless hound on demand, the one who cleans the mess left behind. I am the protector - I can make you bleed, smash you to pieces. But she smashed all my excuses, and I shattered hers.

My hand shakes when I read the note. Everyone is here. I think. There are so many people. So many painted faces. How am I supposed to know who is missing? I knew this party was a bad idea. Now, one of my own is in trouble and as the Prez of the MC, I should know not to play a game. But we are on a timer and someone is using us as pawns. It’s up to us to save one of our own.