The Augustine Empire Series by N. Viktoria

What happens when the man sent to destroy you becomes the only one you can trust? SOLANGE. I run the most powerful Black crime family in New Orleans. The Augustine empire. Built on blood, loyalty, and a ruthlessness that makes the Italians look soft. I'm the strategist behind every deal, every alliance, every body that disappears into the bayou. They call me the ice queen. I earned that name... moreWhat happens when the man sent to destroy you becomes the only one you can trust? SOLANGE. I run the most powerful Black crime family in New Orleans. The Augustine empire. Built on blood, loyalty, and a ruthlessness that makes the Italians look soft. I'm the strategist behind every deal, every alliance, every body that disappears into the bayou. They call me the ice queen. I earned that name. So when Dante Moretti walks into my city with orders to find my family's weaknesses, I know exactly what he is. A predator in a tailored suit. A weapon aimed at everything I've built. He thinks I'm the weakness. Then someone puts a bullet through my window. And another through his. Now we're hunting a traitor together. Sleeping under the same roof. And every time he looks at me with those green eyes, I forget he's the enemy. I don't make mistakes. But wanting him might be the one that kills me. DANTE. I was sent to destroy her. That was the mission. Find the cracks. Exploit the weaknesses. Report back to Chicago and watch the Augustine empire crumble. Then I met Solange Augustine. The woman who runs New Orleans' underworld like a queen on a chessboard. Cold. Brilliant. Untouchable. I should be finding ways to tear her family apart. Instead, I'm watching her door at night. Killing men who get too close. Burning every bridge back to my old life. Someone wants us both dead. Someone inside our families is pulling strings. I came here to betray her. Now I'd burn my father's empire to the ground to keep her safe. She's not my mission anymore. She's my obsession. She was born to rule. He was sent to destroy. Falling for each other might get them both killed. Kingdom of Bones is Book One in The Augustine Empire series. Enemies-to-lovers. Forced proximity. Assassination attempts. A Black mafia queen and the Italian underboss who chose her over everything. Explicit love scenes. Standalone with guaranteed HEA. less

What happens when the only man who can save you is the one you should fear most? DELPHINE. I watched him kill my fiancé. One bullet. One body. One look from those ice-cold eyes that told me I should be next. But he let me go. I ran for five years. New name. New city. New life. I told myself I was safe. I told myself he'd forgotten me. I was wrong. My mother's death drags me back to New Orleans, back to the world I escaped, back to him... moreWhat happens when the only man who can save you is the one you should fear most? DELPHINE. I watched him kill my fiancé. One bullet. One body. One look from those ice-cold eyes that told me I should be next. But he let me go. I ran for five years. New name. New city. New life. I told myself I was safe. I told myself he'd forgotten me. I was wrong. My mother's death drags me back to New Orleans, back to the world I escaped, back to him. And when bodies start dropping—witnesses from that night, one by one—I realize the truth. Someone wants me dead. And the Russian monster I've been running from? He's the only one who can keep me alive. I should hate him. I should fear him. So why do I burn every time he touches me? ALEXEI. I've killed more men than I can count. I am the Pakhan. The Wolf. The thing mothers warn their children about. I don't feel. I don't want. I don't need. Until her. She looked at me across that warehouse floor, and something cracked open inside my chest. I let her run. I told myself it was mercy. It wasn't. I've watched her for five years. Every apartment. Every job. Every man stupid enough to think he could have her. She belongs to me. She just doesn't know it yet. Now she's back. Now she needs my protection. And I will burn this entire city to ash before I let anyone take her from me again. She thinks I'm her enemy. She's about to find out I'm so much worse—I'm the man who's been obsessed with her since the moment I let her live. A dark mafia romance with an obsessed hero who falls first and falls hard. Enemies to lovers. Forced proximity. Touch her and die. BWWM interracial romance. Book 2 in The Augustine Empire series. Complete standalone. No cliffhanger. Happily Ever After guaranteed. less

What happens when two predators fall for each other's masks? ODETTE. They call me the baby of the family. Sweet little Odette. The innocent one who needs protecting. They have no idea. My mother trained me to be a weapon—nine years of learning poisons, manipulation, and the art of making everyone underestimate me. When my family trades me to the Irish mob in an arranged marriage, everyone pities me. Poor Odette. Sacrificed for an alliance. But I'm not a sacrifice. I'm a spy... moreWhat happens when two predators fall for each other's masks? ODETTE. They call me the baby of the family. Sweet little Odette. The innocent one who needs protecting. They have no idea. My mother trained me to be a weapon—nine years of learning poisons, manipulation, and the art of making everyone underestimate me. When my family trades me to the Irish mob in an arranged marriage, everyone pities me. Poor Odette. Sacrificed for an alliance. But I'm not a sacrifice. I'm a spy. My mission is marry Cillian O'Brien, learn his secrets, and report back to New Orleans. I've spent my whole life preparing for a moment like this. I can handle one charming mob prince with pretty green eyes and a dangerous smile. What I can't handle is the way he looks at me. Like he sees through every mask I've ever worn. Like he likes what's underneath. I was supposed to destroy him. I wasn't supposed to fall for him. CILLIAN. Everyone thinks I'm the golden boy. Charming. Easy. Harmless. They're wrong. I've been running half my family's operations since I was twenty-five, hiding my intelligence behind dimples and a quick smile. When my father arranges my marriage to some Augustine princess, I expect a scared little lamb I'll have to protect. What I get is Odette. She plays innocent beautifully—the wide eyes, the nervous smile, the trembling hands. But I see through her act within hours. This woman isn't afraid of anything. She's cataloging exits, reading the room, playing everyone around her like chess pieces. She's magnificent. I should be threatened. I should be suspicious. Instead, I'm obsessed. I want to strip away every layer of her mask until I find the real woman underneath. I want to be the one person she doesn't have to pretend with. She came to spy on my family. She's going to stay because she's mine. When a traitor threatens to destroy everything they've built, Odette and Cillian must protect their secrets or protect each other. Arranged marriage. Forced proximity. He falls first. Two master manipulators who finally meet their match. Crown of Serpents is Book 3 in The Augustine Empire series. It features explicit love scenes and a guaranteed happily ever after. Can be read as a standalone. less

He lost everything because of her. Now he's come to collect. LORENZO. I was born to rule an empire. Instead, I spent five years in a cage for a murder I didn't commit. She put me there. The prosecutor with the amber eyes who tore me apart on that stand. The woman I was falling for before she destroyed my life. She knew I was innocent. I saw it in her eyes. Now I'm out. I've found her. And I want to know why. I don't want her dead. Death would be too easy. I want the truth... moreHe lost everything because of her. Now he's come to collect. LORENZO. I was born to rule an empire. Instead, I spent five years in a cage for a murder I didn't commit. She put me there. The prosecutor with the amber eyes who tore me apart on that stand. The woman I was falling for before she destroyed my life. She knew I was innocent. I saw it in her eyes. Now I'm out. I've found her. And I want to know why. I don't want her dead. Death would be too easy. I want the truth. What I don't want is to still burn for the woman who betrayed me. VIVIENNE. I've been waiting five years for this day. The day Lorenzo Caruso would walk out of prison and come for me. I had my reasons for what I did. Reasons I can never tell him. Reasons that haunt me every time I close my eyes. After the trial, everything fell apart. I came to New Orleans with nothing but a law degree and a desperate need to disappear. Solange Augustine gave me a chance when no one else would. I became their lawyer. Their fixer. Their secret keeper. But I always knew he'd find me. He's not the man I remember. Prison made him harder. Colder. More dangerous. And someone powerful wants us both dead. The only way out is through the truth. But the truth might destroy us both. Reign of Shadows is a dark mafia romance featuring a fallen crime prince, a heroine with a devastating secret, enemies-to-lovers heat, and a conspiracy that runs deeper than either of them knows. Book 4 in The Augustine Empire series. Can be read as a standalone. HEA guaranteed. less