In Fairview Heights, there’s one rule everyone knows. Don’t cross the Black Rose gang. Not if you want to live. My father broke that rule. Now he owes the notorious Black Roses a favor, and to make sure he pays up, they’re taking me as collateral. Until Dad completes whatever job they gave him, three gang members will be my keepers. Sloan, Rory, and Levi. The boss’ son. The man with a secret. The flame from my past. They’re all dominant, cocky, and hot as hell, and I know from personal experience that one of them is a damn good lay.

I used to have it all. Football made me popular. Money made me desirable. My name made me a king. Girls tried to tame me, but I valued my freedom too much to be tied down. Until I lost it all.

Life is a cruel game where only the most ruthless survive. It’s a truth my mother rebelled against, and she paid for it with her life. Now, I play their game. Publicly accepting the destiny that lies in wait for me when I turn 18. But, behind closed doors, I plot my escape. Trent, Charlie, and my twin, Drew, rule the hallways of Rydeville High with arrogance and an iron fist. I execute my role perfectly, hating every second, but they never let me forget my place in this world. Everyone obeys the rules. Because our families have always been in control.

My arranged marriage should have forged an alliance between my fiancé's gang and my father's. It turns out my fiancé had other plans. Like slaughtering my entire family the night before the wedding. I make it out alive, left with nothing but a thirst for vengeance. To crush the prick who betrayed me, I have to turn to the biggest pricks of them all. Hot, cocky, and dangerous, Wylder Noble and his men rule Paradise Bend. If I pass their brutal tests to prove I deserve their help, my ex doesn't stand a chance.

In one moment, my freedom is snatched away when my father tells me I have to marry a man I’ve never met. I expect an 80-year-old retired boss who craves my virgin flesh in payment for his service. Bright side—in a few years, he’ll be gone, and I’ll be free again. I’m not prepared for the dangerously gorgeous soldier my father presents. Like anything that looks too good to be true, so is my new husband. He’s cold, cruel, and worst of all, young. Suddenly, marriage is a life sentence. That is, if I don’t show him from day one that no one controls Eliza Pomponio.

It’ll be easy, my father said. When we move to a small town in the south, we’ll own it, my brothers said. After all, my family is rich as sin and used to getting whatever they want. How hard could it be? Except, when we arrive in Faulkner, someone already owns this town. The Darling family. They are every bit as wealthy as we are, and they’re not happy with our new money moving in.

Liars. Every last one of them. The kings and queens of my new high school. The father and stepmother I never knew. Each has more wealth and privilege than I could've ever imagined. Each has a pile of wicked dirty secrets they'd do anything to protect. These people have grown accustomed to getting what they want, and what they want is to make my life a living hell. Too bad for them, you can't break someone who's already broken.

They were my bullies once. Three boys I hated more than anything. They made my life hell for a year - until I escaped their cruelty when my dad's job moved us away. I've never forgotten them, though. Never forgotten what they did. And I know they haven't forgotten me. But when I'm offered a full-ride scholarship to the prestigious Clearwater University, I refuse to let old fears stop me from accepting. Because I'm not the girl I used to be. I'm stronger. Tougher. Angrier. And if West, Reese, and Trent think they can screw with me again...well. We'll just see who breaks first.

After our rival gives up the throne as my dying wish, my men trust him to protect me from any danger that may come my way. He keeps me safe, somehow understanding the darkness that lurks inside of me. He knows it cannot be caged, and he allows me the ability to set it free when we’re alone.

“Madison Kate Danvers was murdered tonight.” Those words changed my life, and not for the better. They were wrong, of course. I wasn’t dead. But I was set up. After being charged with a string of offences - and made an example of by my political-minded father - I’m eventually released back into Shadow Grove with one thing on my mind. Hate. Someone is going to pay for derailing my carefully laid-out future. How very convenient that someone just moved into the bedroom down the hall from me.