Smoke

Hughes Farm was the largest racing-horse establishment in the South. The family that owned it was known to be wealthy, powerful, arrogant, and terrifying. My first encounter with them didn’t prepare me for all that was to come. I don’t think anything truly could have. Growing up with only my father and brother hadn’t been easy, but we’d had each other. Losing them was the hardest thing I’d ever faced. It had made the times we went without food, electricity, or even shelter seem insignificant in comparison.

Loving a man known for his wealth, arrogance, and power had been a mistake. My head had known he was dangerous, but my heart hadn’t cared. When the lies began to unravel and the truth slapped me in the face, running was the only thing I knew to do. I didn’t belong in this world. His world. But you don’t run from The Family. Not when they claim you as their own. Trusting anyone is a mistake. Friendship is only as deep as the Boss allows it to be. You are never hidden. They will always find you.

Two places I never thought I'd be: a church and my little brother's funeral. I was the one who was supposed to die first. Not Hayes. He hadn't chosen my path. I took lives but Hayes had wanted to save souls. Yet here I was drinking from a flask, around people that hated me, unable to take my eyes off the fiancé he'd left behind.

Twisted, unhinged, insane—all words used to describe Gage Presley by those closest to him. A pretty boy with a face that misleads you. He’s one of the deadliest members of The Family. Five years ago, his possessiveness and insane jealousy over a girl unleashed his crazy and in the wake of his retaliation, he was given the choice: prison or the United States Marines.

Being the second son of a mafia boss has its perks. The money and power without the pressure of running the damn thing one day. Trev Hughes was everyone’s favorite playboy. He possessed the Hughes sex appeal without the intimidating presence. The last time a gorgeous blonde walked into his life he never stood a chance. She had belonged to his older brother from the very beginning. However, when he uses one of his best pickup lines on a girl he notices across the room at a gala, tricks her into a kiss, and loses her before midnight he’s determined to find his Cinderella.

Wealth, power, and privilege have always been a part of Levi Shephard’s life. However, it comes at a price. The darkness that surrounds being born into a family of organized crime has always kept him at a distance when it came to relationships. He only hooked up with women who understood the game and played along. Born with a heart defect, Aspen Chance has been sheltered and raised by her religious grandmother. When her grandmother passes away, Aspen is left with no family - except her older sister who her grandmother had believed was headed straight for Hell.

The mafia south of the Mason Dixon line is ruled by possessive, controlling, dangerous, alphas. Except for one. Saxon Houston has grown up the best friend of the mafia boss’s youngest son. He knew one day he’d have to play a role in the life his father and grandfather are a part of. However, he much preferred dealing with raising and training the thoroughbred race horses side of the family business.

From the moment she fell out of the tree in his backyard, ruining his eighth birthday party, Genesis Stoll had been Kye Levine’s best friend. The one person he knew would be there no matter what. She was his escape, his sunshine when the darkness in his world got too deep. When he had her to run to, he knew no matter how twisted his life got, she would remind him who he was. He would never lose himself. She wouldn’t let him. Genesis had loved Kye most of their life; in a way, she knew Kye didn’t reciprocate.

A world of racing horses, wealth, power, and organized crime was what Garrett Hughes had been born to lead. He thrived as the boss of the southern mafia. Women had come and gone in his life, but he had never needed any of them. Once he was given his heirs, he no longer cared about marriage. He had one family, The Family. He didn’t need anything more. The gorgeous cocktail waitress at his private club is everything he despises. She gets by in life by her beauty, not striving for more. Just like his ex-wives.

She had been his sole obsession. He would have done anything to have her and he did. She had been a light in his darkness. She had made him want to be more, better, different. Nothing mattered more than her. Until she betrayed him and in a moment of revenge he slept with her stepsister. That one drunken mistake lost him his soul. Oakley Watson had learned at a young age to protect her heart. Not to trust anyone with it. But when Wilder Jones walked into her life, she didn’t just give it to him—she left it at his feet.