When going to war, there are three very simple rules one must abide by: know thy enemy, be prepared to sacrifice, and always wear good shoes. After all, revenge is a dish best served in stilettos. I've got an eye for it, and nothing's going to stand in my way. Not even Rory "The Saint" Brodrick.

I have always been a bird. Caged by one prison or another when the only thing I ever wanted was to fly away. Sold. Beaten. Starved. Drugged. Nothing scares me anymore. Until him. He makes the numbness go away. He is hazardous to me. It has nothing to do with his mafia lifestyle, and everything to do with what he offers. A gilded prison. A retreat from everything that I once knew. The reality I have no desire to return to. He thinks he's caged me, but soon I'm going to fly.

He's dark and mysterious. Quiet and lethal. An Irish mobster. Pure sin wrapped up in a beautiful package. But there's also something off about him. He doesn't feel anything. He shows no emotions. Sometimes, I question his humanity. He hasn't spoken to me in two years. Not a single word. But we share a secret, he and I. And if it ever comes out, I have no doubt in my mind.... He won't have a problem killing me, too.

An Irish mobster. A missing friend. Two loyalties, ripping me apart. I had a plan. Get in, get my information, and get out. Easy, right? Turns out, infiltrating the Irish mafia isn't exactly what I thought it would be. I just wanted a soldier. Someone I could flirt with to get me in the door. That's when Lachlan Crow noticed me. Problem was, he wasn't a soldier. No, he was next in line for the throne of the Irish underworld. And he was determined to hate me from the outset.

My life is a tale of betrayal. I killed so many because they betrayed our cause, because they betrayed the Outfit. A hypocrite. A liar. A murderer. That’s what I am. Five times I betrayed the Outfit. With my blood I made a vow to our cause, swore my life to it, promised to put the Outfit first. Above all else. Five times I chose a woman over the good of the Outfit. I betrayed my father. My vow. My men. You reap what you sow. Would my betrayals destroy everything I swore to protect?

Remo Falcone is beyond redemption. As Capo of the Camorra he rules with a brutal hand over his territory - a territory the Chicago Outfit breached. Now Remo is out for retribution. A wedding is sacred, stealing a bride sacrilegious. Serafina is the niece of the Boss of the Outfit, and her hand has been promised in marriage for years, but kidnapped in her wedding dress on her way to church by Remo, Serafina quickly realizes that she can’t hope for saving.

Kiara always wanted a loving family she could take care of. She never thought she’d find it with the Falcones. Nino and Kiara both lost part of themselves in their traumatic childhood. Together they’re trying to recover the missing pieces, but they aren’t the only broken souls in the Falcone mansion; Kiara fears that not all of them can be saved. Determined to protect her new family and the future of her dreams, she’s on a mission to help each of them in her own way, even if it means stacking up secrets.

The most important thing I’d ever read was scribbled on the door of a portable restroom, engraved into plastic at a carnival on the outskirts of Boston. Lust lingers, love stays. Lust is impatient, love waits. Lust burns, love warms. Lust destroys, but love? Love kills. Maybe it was always my destiny to fall in love with a monster. When other kids stayed awake at night fearing the pointy-toothed beast hiding in their closet, I longed to see mine.

I first met Tristan Miles at a meeting where he was trying to take over my late husband’s company. He was powerful, arrogant, and infuriatingly gorgeous, and I hated him with every cell in my body. In the shock of the century, he called me three days later and asked me on a date. I would rather die than date a man like him - though I do have to admit it was good for the ego. Turning him down was the highlight of my year.

Grace doesn’t know much about anything beyond her town’s limits, but she does know this: She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U. And when you play with fire - you ought to get burned.