Monsters & Muses

To most, Kal Anderson is a villain. Harbinger of death, keeper of souls, frequenter of nightmares. Doctor Death. Hades incarnate. They say he stole me. Usurped my fiancé and filled the cracks in my heart with empty promises. Imprinted his crimson fingerprints on my psyche and tried to set me free. They’re not wrong, per se. Except it was my choice to stay.

Kal Anderson is a stone-cold fixer, both in the literal and figurative sense. Nicknamed Doctor Death, he prefers to keep his messes confined to his workspace and out of his personal life. Still, when it comes to the notorious Ricci crime family, he can't seem to catch a break. He's not supposed to notice his boss's daughter or engage in any way with her, considering the sordid history he has with both of her parents. Elena Ricci won't let him go without a fight, though. Not with the date of her arranged wedding on the horizon.

From the second I saw her, I knew she’d be my ruin. Sitting all alone at the bar, she looked like an angel. Eurydice in human form; her beauty eclipsed by demons. Now, I’m one of them. The ghost she’s tried for years to escape. Thinking I wouldn’t be able to find her. But I never stopped trying, and now that I have, her past sins should be the least of her worries.

Lenny Primrose is a puppet; a temptress sent to make my life bloody miserable. Adored by the public and used for her father’s benefit. Every man wants her, and every woman wants to be her. She’s good for my reputation. That’s the only reason I agree to the little devil’s proposal. I’m game. Willing to play pretend to get what I want. Until what I want is her. Now, there are no rules. I’ll wage a war against the world just to keep her. Even the deadliest men have their vices, and she happens to be mine.

They say every proud man must fall. Mortals who fancy themselves gods will one day kneel. I thought myself invincible; Apollo on Earth. Mocked my brother when he succumbed to such a fate. Before I noticed the blue-haired nymph lurking in the background. Cora Astor shouldn’t have come to this island. She sneered in my direction, beguiling me with her disgust. As a Wolfe, hunting is in my blood. Getting what I want is my nature. Even when I know I can never have it. Though I cannot keep her, I plan to relish the chase.

Nobody asked him to step in. I had everything under control, but by the time I shuffled onstage, there was no chance to stop him. Men ogled and touched as I offered my body and soul to the highest bidder, and I could tell my stranger didn’t like what he saw. Or maybe he did. Maybe he liked it too much, and that was why his number shot up. A quarter billion dollars and one existential crisis later, Cash Primrose was dragging me down the aisle in the name of convenience. I suppose it could be worse.

By the time the agoraphobic, unhinged, and musically gifted Grayson James came crashing into my life, I was deeply infatuated with his elder sibling. But that didn't stop him from ruining everything. He stole something that wasn't his to have. Something I hadn't known I was giving him. After realizing he was unsatisfied with that little taste, he wanted more—wanted me. Now, he's asked me to keep him company while he hides out in his family's rustic mountainside estate. Blackmailed me, really. Unfortunately, I need the money, the escape. It's not like I have much of a choice.