They call him a monster.
Axel De Luca is a ruthless mafia don who takes whatever he wants-and this time, he wants a wife.
After kidnapping twenty-two-year-old Ava, he drags her to an abandoned church, puts a gun to her head, and forces her to marry...
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Fear was a language.
Most people needed words.
I preferred actions.
The old priest stood before the altar, hands trembling so violently that the Bible nearly slipped from his grasp. Sweat beaded across his forehead despite the cool evening air drifting through the stained-glass windows.
The church was silent.
Silent except for the click of my lighter.
A flame flickered to life.
I brought the cigarette to my lips, inhaling slowly before letting the smoke curl toward the vaulted ceiling.
The priest swallowed hard.
"D-do you t-take—"
He hesitated.
I sighed.
The gun fired once.
The shot echoed through the empty church as the priest crumpled to the marble floor.
Blood spread beneath his body.
Nobody screamed.
My men had seen worse.
I holstered the pistol and took another drag from my cigarette as if I'd done nothing more than swat a fly.
"Anyone else ordained?" I asked.
No one answered.
Figures.
I adjusted the cuff of my gray tailored suit before turning toward the woman beside me.
Ava.
The reason we were all here.
I'd seen her three days ago walking through a botanical garden.
She hadn't noticed me.
She'd been laughing with an elderly woman while helping a little girl reach a flower hanging just out of her grasp.
Most women noticed when they were being watched.
She hadn't.
That intrigued me.
So I learned her name.
Where she lived.
Who she knew.
What time she woke up.
What time she went to sleep.
Then I took her.
Simple.
People liked to pretend there were rules in my world.
There weren't.
If I wanted something...
It became mine.
My empire stretched across continents. Politicians owed me favors. Judges looked the other way. Entire police departments learned not to ask questions.
Men twice my age lowered their eyes when I entered a room.
Those who didn't...
Didn't get another chance.
I looked back at Ava.
She stood in front of the altar with her wrists still marked from the ropes we'd used during the drive here. Her breathing was uneven. Her eyes refused to meet mine.
Good.
Fear looked beautiful on people.
I placed the marriage certificate on the altar.
Beside it, I dropped a platinum wedding band.
"Put it on."
She didn't move.
I rested the barrel of my pistol beneath her chin.
"Then sign the papers."
Smoke escaped my lips, drifting across her face as the setting sun poured crimson light through the stained-glass windows behind us.
Outside, dozens of my soldiers surrounded the church.
