startstories2726
Everyone knew the Joneses and the Bartons were family long before they shared the same last names.
Their mothers had grown up together. Their grandparents had built a friendship that lasted generations. Freya Jones and Malachi Barton were raised side by side, spending every birthday, holiday, and summer together until friendship quietly became something neither of them could live without.
But the Barton name came with blood.
Malachi was born into one of Los Angeles' most feared crime families, led by his father, Loren Barton. While everyone else feared Loren, Freya only knew the man who helped raise her when her own father was too busy building a business empire across Los Angeles and London.
When Mike Jones discovers Malachi is destined to inherit the family business, he refuses to let his youngest daughter be dragged into that world. Overnight, Freya is taken back to London, her phone gone, every connection to Malachi cut off.
She leaves without a goodbye.
Without knowing she's carrying his child.
Three years later, Mike's company brings the Jones family back to Los Angeles. Freya returns with a secret no one knows exists-three-year-old Estella Marie, the daughter Malachi never knew he had.
The boy who once swore he'd protect Freya has become the ruthless man everyone expected him to be. Cold. Feared. Untouchable.
Until one unexpected reunion changes everything.
Because no matter how dangerous the world around them becomes, Freya Jones has always been Malachi Barton's only weakness.