"Dear Reader,
Just when you think it can’t get any worse, the universe seems to take that as a personal challenge. The Devil’s Backbone Society has their fingers everywhere. It’s more than a secret society―it’s a leash and a prison sentence. The elders insist it’s about making connections that will help you for the rest of your life, but what they don’t tell you is how long―or, in this case, short―your life might be.
The society has already cost me―cost us. Blood. Sweat. Tears. Lives.
Now, it may take more than what I have to give. A part of me wants to be here, wants to see this through to the end. But the rest of me? The rest of me worries that even if I watch my back, it won’t be enough. How do I protect them? How do I protect these handsome, crazy, over-the-top men that I’m falling for? How do I save them from the society and themselves? And more importantly, how do I save myself?"
"Dear Reader,
You want my advice? Never look a gift horse in the mouth. You don’t want to see the rotten teeth.
In this case, the gift is a scholarship to attend the prestigious Neveah University. The rotten teeth? Well, they came in the form of my brand new stepbrother and his little cohort of entitled, arrogant best friends. Four dangerously handsome and stupidly wealthy men who made up their minds about me long before we met. Men who are used to getting everything they want no matter what the price.
I was a big girl, I could ignore them. Then came the secret society hazing. Kidnappings. Crazy parties. Insane stunts. Mindblowing prizes. Even so, I could handle myself… until the secret and stolen moments with men I had no business falling for. It was enough to give a girl a nightmares."
"It’s always been about the chase. The prize. The puzzle. The Game. I became the best of the best, Hermes, because no one could catch me. No one could touch me.
No one had.
Until her.
She’s everything I never knew I wanted.
She is my life.
It’s been one bad call after another in this Game. It’s cost the woman I love more than I ever wanted her to have to pay. I would give it all up for her, but the Game must be played.
I started this game for my grandfather.
I fought to win to claim the Valenshek Legacy.
Win, lose, or draw, I’m not leaving this town without Tristian Ives."
"Dreams. Goals. Plans.
You envision a dream, set a goal, and formulate a plan. I had diligently pursued all of these steps. I was on my way to obtaining my degree, engaging with breathtaking works of art, and unexpectedly falling into bed with my professor.
Yeah, that last bit wasn’t part of the grand scheme, but even I had to admit that it wasn’t an unwelcome deviation.
Ironically, despite my meticulous planning, attention to detail, and even despite my own deceptions, I ended up being the one deceived. Being manipulated and used.
He didn’t desire me for who I was; he merely coveted my connections.
He yearned for me because of my access to his prized painting.
And when he absconded into the night with the piece he’d been willing to betray me for, he shattered my heart.
Except, he got caught, and in doing so he inadvertently revealed my biggest secret.
My forgery."
"Every four years, the criminal underworld engages in a game. The Game. The challenges range from the impossible to the deadly to the truly insane. Things that only a crazy person would tackle.
I’ve won the game five times. This time will be no different.
I’m at the top of my field now, the best of the world’s thieves. There’s nothing I can’t steal, and this time, the game is all about theft, subterfuge, and sleight of hand. Starting with a legendary painting of poppy flowers.
It’s a painting that disappeared into the black market decades ago, but I know where to find it. The only person standing in my way is her.
Nothing will stop me winning the game, not even the sultry, quick-witted brunette who lures me into her painting studio with the most irresistible bait.
I have no option to fail at The Game. It’s my legacy.
The Valenshek Legacy."
"kill ordernoun
A document issued by the Circle allowing for the murder of a mercenary with no agency repercussions. A rarely wielded tool, a kill order brings the Circle’s full wrath down on its target.
Worthless, useless, waste of space. That’s what my father liked to remind me on a daily basis. I was a stain on his pristine reputation. We both were, Moana and I. He taught us that we were less than nothing, we were an inconvenience. Slugs on the cabbage of life. But he was wrong.
Because of him, my sister and I dedicated our lives to helping others. Fighting for others who couldn’t fight for themselves. We took risks, gained ranks, and eventually discovered a purpose. My big sister, my best friend … her pain and loss gave us the direction we both so desperately needed.
We were a unit. A family. A team. Dedicated to a purpose. My calling in life. Until I met her.
How do I tame the deadliest of women? How can I prove myself to her, snaring her in the bonds that have lashed me to her? How do I navigate a partnership with a man I loathe, to whom I’d spent years wanting to destroy?
Destroy the Guild. Take Danny home. Live our life.
That had been my goal.
Now?
I want her back. I want the Guild out of her life. I’ll sell my soul and work with my enemy if I have to.
Whatever it takes."
"All I’ve ever known is the Guild. They clothed me, fed me, raised me. They trained me. In return I became their perfect weapon, their loyal soldier, their deadly asset. For as long as I can remember, the Guild has been my life. Now, it’s about to become my death.
Not everyone is cut out to be a mercenary. I’ve watched countless colleagues fail in their missions and pay the ultimate price. I’ve watched peers lose their minds with the weight of the work we do, and pay with their lives to keep our secrets.
I never thought I would become one of them.
No one quits the Guild. But I sure as hell won’t stick around to be killed by some coward in the shadows, pulling strings to see me fail.
How do I run from the deadliest of hunters?
How will I hide, when they have eyes everywhere?
By making the enemy of my enemy my friend.
The Guild was my whole life. My purpose. My mentor.
Now I’ll do anything to escape them. To escape him.
Even if it hurts.
Especially if it hurts."
"Those who have reached a certain level within the mercenary guild know that it’s not merely a job. It isn’t a hobby or a career or a fun pastime. It’s a calling. A fucking honor.
Being in the Guild is our life … or death.
Not everyone is created equal, and not everyone is truly cut out for the work we do. It’s not pretty, it’s not glamorous, and it’s sure as shit not moral or good. The weight of the sins we carry can become too much for some, and they crack.
When they do, they become a threat.
No one quits the Guild. Not really. Either they cut a deal to make themselves useful in another capacity, or they get eliminated.
But who, you might ask, can kill a killer?
Who scares the boogeyman into running and hiding?
Men like me.
The Guild is my life. My love. My very existence.
Anyone who poses a threat to that, is eliminated. No questions, no hesitations, no mercy.
Until her."
"Betrayed.My best friend, my right hand, the man I trusted above all others. Zayden de Rosa declared his love for me and pursued me until he shattered the walls between us. Then the man who loved me proved to be a traitor. I never saw that coming.
Abandoned.My fierce lover, he died to protect me. Let me kill him and erase him so he could move in the shadows. He’s out there alone and he has no idea what’s happened. All he’ll know is that I’m not where I’m supposed to be. Something that might cost him his life for real. I have to trust him to survive on his own. He never saw that coming.
Framed.My lighthouse. My lover. My Lucas. I love him so damn much and while I might be guilty of some crimes, the worst seems to be hurting him. The majority of what they arrested me for was a damn lie, but not that one. Hopefully the light he promised me will sustain through this time. We never saw that coming.
Enraged.My ex is at the heart of this all. One assault after another. He didn’t break me before and he won’t break me now.
I’m Hades.
He’ll never see me coming."
"Vault is a Madison Kate Novella but is intended to be read after the Hades series, as several events overlap and this story DOES contain multiple spoilers for the Hades series.
Please consult the recommended reading order for Shadow Grove World on my website if you are uncertain what order to read the books in. This novella is set on a timeline parallel to the events of Club 22 and Timber.
Once again. This story WILL spoil the Hades series for you if you haven’t read or finished it prior to picking this up.
You’ve been warned."
"They say to keep your enemies close and mine are all around me. At the heart of it are four dangerously gorgeous men. The man who wants to light my darkness and already paid the price for loving me. The man who can handle my power and loves every dark inch of me. The man who has been my closest companion and now threatens to upend our carefully balanced world in pursuit of me.
But the fourth man is probably the most terrifying. He wants to take the others away. He wants to tear the spinal column out my empire. Destroy my businesses. Destroy me.
Why?
Because the man who should have stayed dead wants me and he will stop at nothing until he’s carved out my bloody, beating heart and left me broken.
He should remember who he’s dealing with … I’m not the girl he knew anymore.
I’m Hades.
This time when death comes for him, I’ll make sure it sticks."
"Five years ago, I made a choice that I haven’t regretted a day since. I protected the single most important person in my world, my little sister. I protected myself, and I seized control of the Tri-state Timberwolves.
Since then, I’ve wielded that power with an iron fist. Done whatever it took to take care of my people. Kept us out of the public eye, and kept us safe.
Now a ghost from my past is threatening my position. Challenging me. Peddling their poison and breaking my rules. Stabbing at me in the dark.
Blowing up my fucking club.
But this last attack has taken it one step too far. They have no idea the lengths I’ll go to protect what is mine. And Lucas? He’s mine.
They want anarchy? They haven’t seen anything yet."
