The Clans Series

Mariana may have gone through hell, but she doesn’t get to make decisions right now. She was promised to me by her father, the second she was born. Our families made a pact to preserve the future of the clans. We’re the destined King and Queen of the Romanian Mob. Now, after being trapped for years at the hands of a psychopath - after I’ve rescued her, I might add - the sassy woman wants to play games.

Things weren’t always so complicated; they used to be simple, but I guess that’s because I never really knew who Natasha was in the first place. We met on a whim, because she was in a sinfully tight dress and I was horny as could be. Her beauty caught my eye, but her heart captured my soul. She found me in a compromising situation, and there were two options. I could kill her, or I could keep her. I’d never allow anyone else to have her, but now she hates me for everything I’ve done. Will my actions tear us apart, or will she finally understand the life she was born into?

Willow Kim Adame. I was assigned to protect her - “with any means necessary” - and, at first, it seemed like a simple enough job. But she tries to disobey me at every step, seems outright intent on making not only my job but my life as difficult as possible.

My best friend asked me to marry his sister...so I did everything I could to ensure it. I've been after Aria Funar for years, wanting her by my side, craving that woman and her spirit. Over the years I had watched her grow up and turn into the woman she's become. After a traumatic event happened to Aria, her father branded her as damaged, irrelevant, she was deemed useless to him. Now, and only now am I worthy of marrying his daughter - because the tragic things that have happened to her ultimately brought her down to my level in her father's eyes.

I owed Mariana so much. I’d betrayed not only her, but The Clans - my country, my people; my own flesh and blood. With so much lost because of me, when Mariana gave me a chance at redemption I was quick to take it. I was needed in the Ukraine, and so I went. But now a vicious woman named Vera is throwing me off my game, and, despite all my preparations and all of my research, I knew nothing of this woman. I owed Mariana so much, and, though I knew nothing of her, she knew enough about me to make that impossible. She knew that I would sooner die than go back on my word.

My father gave me an ultimatum. He should really know better than that. I was set to marry Isabella, the daughter of a prestigious accountant for one of the Clans. He's been pressuring me for years to get married to extend our lineage - basically, to open up a baby-making factory. I may be marrying a woman, but it sure as hell won't be a boring little virgin girl. I want defiance in the highest form, and how better to achieve that than marrying a slave?

I changed every part of myself for him. At first, I thought it was because I loved him. Eventually, I realized that what he did to me was the most disgusting form of emotional abuse. He made me feel as if the authentic parts of me were wrong - that I was ugly. One night, after I had been through hell, I ran to my best friend Natasha's house. I wanted the comfort of my best friend - to hold me and tell me everything would be okay.

Throughout my entire life, I've only wanted one thing - independence. It might seem easy, but it's quite the contrary. It's nothing but a myth in my family because my life is not my own. It never has been, and it never will be. At least, not until now. I made a deal with my father to gain some aspect of freedom. I would marry a Romanian Clan leader to unite their vast mafia with our family hitman business. Two powerful families coming together, creating the most feared partnership in the world.

I've never been the type to get on the wrong side of the law until the day I did. I was given two options, to either go to jail for a very long time or become an agent for the CIA. I'm unlike any other agent, though. Most of my colleagues don't have families like I do. You see, I'm Romanian and the purest of blood flows through my veins. Since time has passed I believe I was targeted because of who I know. Otherwise I wouldn't have been sent on this mission, to take down Franco Falcone of the New York Crime Family.

I've learned many lessons throughout my life, but one is more important than the rest: My life is not my own. I understand this more every single day with the actions my family commit. They've arranged for me to marry a clan leader. There's only one problem - I won't be marrying him. I'll be murdering him.