He slowly turned to me with the meanest look I've ever seen on his beautiful face. His long legs allowed him to take three short steps towards me until we were face to face. He leaned down to reach my height and then pushed me against the wall. "I don't do relationships," he said very coldly. My heart dropped but my pride fell before my heart could reach my stomach. He resumed packing my bag. "Why not?" I asked with an attitude to appear unbothered but I really am. "Because, they're-" his sentence was cut off by gunshots. "Fuck!" He yelled then grabbed me and threw me on the floor behind the bed. _________________________ Life was never easy for Grace whether it was growing up in her country or moving to New York for a better life. But life never turns out the way you think it will. She'll soon find out whether or not, if one of the most dangerous man in the city, will be able to give her what the last man couldn't. Alessandro Columbo. That's all you have to say and men will twitch out of fear. The last name alone will get you to places you could never imagine. But that last name alone, can get you killed in a heartbeat. One of the most dangerous men in New York City, can't fall in love. Right?

A billion-dollar clone, bought and raised as an extremely dangerous weapon, strikes out against those who manufacture and harvest clones for spare parts. ***** Duplicates are used for one thing: spare parts. Kept in Emulation Facilities, brain-dead and hooked to machines, duplicates never open their eyes. As a transplant nurse, Evette Ashford knows this better than anyone -- until a living, breathing duplicate shatters her life. Merely knowing he exists drags Evette into a deep, dark world of manipulation, danger, and control. Evette knows he just wants to find himself, but the corporation that created him are furious he's broken their control. So Evette must decide who to trust: the monster who forced her into this chaos or the monster who created him. [[IC Universe People's Choice]] [[1st Place, Writers' Olympics Dystopian Award]] [[1st Place, Oscar Sci-fi Award]] Content and/or Trigger Warning: This story is rated PG-13 for violence, language, and sexual content. This story will become free on January 31st!