He kidnapped her to destroy her. He never expected to burn the world down just to keep her safe. Stefan Pierce was driven by one thing: cold, unyielding revenge against the tyrant who stole his family. Kidnapping Valerie Santos was supposed to be easy. Break her, use her, kill her. He didn't expect a girl with fire in her veins and lethal secrets in her eyes. He didn't expect her to see straight through his terrifying exterior into the broken soul he hides from everyone else. Locked together in a world falling to pieces, every touch is a battlefield and every quiet glance is a betrayal of their pasts. Valerie was born to be his enemy, so why is losing her the only thing that frightens him? "I was supposed to break you, Valerie. So why am I the one falling apart?"