Carmen Castilo was the only daughter of one of the most powerful mafia dons in the city—until the night her father was shot in front of her.

At his funeral, while the family mourns, Carmen disappears.

Kidnapped from her own home and drugged, she wakes beneath blinding lights in an underground auction where the most powerful criminals in the world gather to bid—not on weapons or territory, but on her.

To them, Carmen isn’t just a woman.

She’s the last piece of her father’s empire.

The final bid reaches a staggering one billion dollars.

The buyer is Nico Romano—the stepbrother she betrayed five years ago.

Once cast out of the family after Carmen accused him of treachery, Nico returns more powerful, more ruthless, and determined to collect the debt he believes she owes him.

Escape is impossible.

Alone, stripped of allies, and trapped under Nico’s control, Carmen is forced to play by his rules—a calculated system of rewards and consequences he calls repayment.

But Nico isn’t the only one playing a game.

While he believes he owns her, Carmen is quietly rebuilding what was stolen from her. Someone murdered her father, and the deeper she digs, the clearer it becomes that his death—and her reason for getting Nico’s exiled—may have been part of the same carefully planned conspiracy.

Surrounded by enemies and secrets, Carmen must reclaim her father’s empire before it falls permanently into the wrong hands.

And the one man who might damn her soul…may also be the only ally powerful enough to help her win.

*Please this is a mafia story. If you’re uncomfortable with blood and killing this is not the story for you*

He felt good to touch and even better to look at. I might have taken more time to study the tattoos scattered across his skin, tracing each line and curve with my eyes, if his lips hadn't been latched onto my nipples in a way that made it impossible to focus on anything else.


I knew better than to let things go this far, but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to stop him. My lashes fluttered shut as I gave in, letting myself concentrate on the sensation of his mouth on my body, the slow, deliberate way he moved that made my breath hitch.


I had only just closed my eyes when I felt him tug at my pants, the sudden movement snapping my eyes wide open as I looked down at him.


Nico met my gaze without hesitation. He didn't flinch, didn't pause. Instead, he pushed himself up slightly, continuing to pull my pants down with steady determination. His eyes locked onto mine again, almost as if he was daring me to object, daring me to tell him to stop.


Chapter 56 - Warm{R18}