I was sent to kill her. Dr. Alana Hart—brilliant criminology professor who dug too deep into the Ammirato Group's operations. One bullet, one less problem. Simple. Clean. Until I saw her. Curves that made my blood burn, intelligence that challenged my every move, and a defiance that awakened something I'd buried long ago. Now, instead of eliminating her, I've kidnapped her to my secure fortress. My employers want her dead, and a cleanup team is hunting us both... moreI was sent to kill her. Dr. Alana Hart—brilliant criminology professor who dug too deep into the Ammirato Group's operations. One bullet, one less problem. Simple. Clean. Until I saw her. Curves that made my blood burn, intelligence that challenged my every move, and a defiance that awakened something I'd buried long ago. Now, instead of eliminating her, I've kidnapped her to my secure fortress. My employers want her dead, and a cleanup team is hunting us both. I'm her captor, her protector, her greatest danger and only salvation. The tension between us is explosive, building with every glance, every touch. As bullets fly and our time runs out, one thing becomes I've crossed a line I can never return from. She's mine to protect. Mine to possess. Even if it costs me everything.I'm not supposed to be alive. The moment I uncovered the truth about the Ammirato Group, I became a target. Then he appeared in the shadows—tall, lethal, moving with the silent grace of a predator. Santino. The hitman sent to kill me who instead made me his prisoner. Now we're trapped in his concrete fortress while assassins close in. I should hate him. Fear him. Not burn for his touch, not crave the searing heat of his hands on my body. With every hour, the walls between captor and captive crumble. Every kiss, every explosive encounter reshapes who we are to each other. I'm a professor who analyzes criminal minds, yet I can't understand my own desperate need for this dangerous man. As our enemies draw closer, one question haunts When the bullets start flying, which will win—his duty or his desire? less