𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇- Everyone believes Nyelle Carter is just the girlfriend. The kind of woman men overlook. The kind they talk around instead of to. The kind who listens quietly while power moves past her. Isaiah Rowan has spent five years undercover, building a case that finally feels close enough to touch. A respected club owner by night, a detective by training, he knows how to read people, knows when to trust his instincts. What he doesn't expect is Nyelle. She isn't reckless. She isn't loud. And she isn't as unaware as she pretends to be. Their connection isn't planned. It isn't safe. And it isn't supposed to last. But in a world built on secrets, proximity becomes dangerous, affection becomes complicated, and silence begins to mean more than truth.

Kay never planned to fall in love. She's a bartender who minds her business, keeps her head down, and understands that some men come with silence instead of promises. Rome Brewster is one of those men. He's charming, romantic, and dangerous in a way that doesn't need explaining. He shows up. He stays late. He learns her routines without asking permission. He doesn't offer forever-just consistency, protection, and a presence that feels too rare to ignore. What starts as quiet attraction turns into something deeper. Something chosen. Something neither of them names out loud. This isn't a story about being saved. It's about loving someone as they are. About wanting without ownership. About choosing the moment even when you know it won't last forever. Some loves don't come to stay. They come to change you.

𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙍𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙖'𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢. 𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮-𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨. 𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮-𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝘼𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣. 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙨 𝙉𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜-𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝, 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙤𝙤. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚. 𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙜𝙤 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡?

Kaylani Rivera moves to Las Vegas for a fresh start. New career, new city, new life. No drama. Just peace, cooking, and staying out of trouble. But trouble finds her in the form of Jasai Carter. The man everyone respects. The man everyone fears. The man she didn't know ran half the city. When she gets hired to cook at his best friend's bachelor party, everything changes. Jasai isn't what she expected. He is loud with affection. Bold with jealousy. Dangerous with silence. And very clear about what he wants. Her. Kaylani is used to loving quietly. Jasai loves loudly. And Vegas has never seen a pair like them. He is the risk she should avoid. She is the peace he never knew he needed. But in a city built on bets, secrets, and survival, sometimes the most dangerous move is the one that feels right.

Dr. Nylah Rae Mercer took an oath to heal minds, not fall into them. She built her career inside locked wards and white halls, treating patients the world had already given up on. Distance was her armor. Control was her gift. Until she opened a file stamped with one number that changed everything. 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 doesn't scream. He doesn't beg. He doesn't act insane the way they expect him to. Kai Beton is quiet, observant, dangerous in a way no diagnosis can explain. A hood nigga with violence in his history and intelligence they keep underestimating. Everyone sees a monster. Nylah sees a man who learned how to survive cages long before this one. Their sessions become the only place he softens. The only place she feels seen. Boundaries blur. Warnings get ignored. And the deeper she goes into his mind, the more she realizes the truth no one wants to admit-Kai isn't broken. He was buried. When the institution tightens its grip and Kai's life is quietly placed on the chopping block, Nylah is forced to choose between her oath and her heart. Between safety and truth. Between the life she built and the man who feels like home. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧. 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲. Cover @trenchlordtales <3