Running from hell isnʼt easy. Especially when someoneʼs dragging you back down into it. Belligerent, brash and always in shades of black, Freya is hardly a lady. Hidden away by her father, sheʼs lived a normal life despite being born into the dark waters of New Yorkʼs underworld. Heʼs cold, cruel and calculating, with a proclivity for destruction. Feared by even Made Men, Torren is the boss of the stateʼs most leachorous crime syndicate. Freya hates his crudity and possessiveness, but she canʼt deny the way her breath hitches at his rough touch, the deep timbre of his voice, and his dark, heated gaze. Torren hates her disobedience, her recklessness, and her chaos. To him, sheʼs only something to be tamed. And after he slips a ring on her hand, snatching away her future, she makes only one vow---to become his biggest torment.

"All you have to do is kill this man." He told me, sliding the picture of a man across the table to me. "I just have to kill him? Then you'll let my brother go?" I asked, staring at the picture before looking back up at the man. "You have my word. Kill this man and we'll give you back your brother." The man promised. I glanced down at the picture again, already feeling guilty. "What's his name?" "Stefano Colombo." The last thing Alaya Pierce thought would happen when she moved to New York to live with her brother was get involved with the Italian mafia. Unfortunately for her, her brother owed some money and, unable to pay his debt, got taken. Desperate to save her brother, Alaya made a deal with a mafia boss. She just didn't think it would put her on the radar of a mafia boss more powerful and terrifying than the first. **Updates on Wednesdays.** #1 - toughlove 9/19/2020

*SEQUEL TO "OWNED" Leaving was killing my soul as sure as a dagger can stop a beating heart. There is such sadness in leaving a place of strong love, a place where fond memories grew as fast as the clover in the grass. Even after 7 years, I knew l would savour each memory so strongly that it will almost live once more. I knew that the strands of love would keep us together even when we were far apart. I only had to reach out with my mind and there he was, waiting to shower me with the love he always did. But after such a long time, it was my time to depart, to do what I was born to do, to make the changes and the sacrifices that were necessary. Necessary for me to survive without him. Necessary for me to forget him.

[edited version of Doctor for the Mafia] Ila Archer was a doctor working at one of the best hospitals in New York. She loses her license and ability to practice due to, as punishment, taking full responsibility for the 'walking patient' incident. After a full month, Ila runs into the 'walking patient'. Knowing her situation caused by his actions, he offers a once in a lifetime opportunity. ----- "Look, you're a doctor-" He started. "Was." I corrected. "I was a doctor." "You can still be," he said, running his fingers through his dark hair. "Look, you can work for us, and I'll pay triple the amount you were earning at that lousy hospital." "Us?' I asked. Who was he? How exactly does he plan on paying me triple? He grabbed my wrist and pulled me inwards. My face inches away from his chest. With his free hand, he was gently tucking my hair behind my ear. His breath tickled my ear as he whispered two words that sent shivers down my back. "The Mafia."