Leandro was supposed to protect me. He failed me, covered me in blood and broke my innocence.
Leandro was to love me, but in the end, I knew we had no future.
So, I made a decision, and it has been five years since I last saw him. Now he stands before me, not only as my husband but as my Don.
My decision freed me but destroyed the Leandro I knew. This Leandro was covered by darkness and cruelty, and I was drawn to him like a bee to honey.
The more I get to know the man, the more it makes me question everything I know to be right and wrong.
But he is still the boy I knew and even though I needed him to love me, how long before I fall to the unmerciful side of Leandro Scavo, and truly love him?
*Broken Crowns is the first book in the Kingdom of Lies & Truths series and can be read as a standalone. It is a Dark new adult mafia romance that includes scenes that may be disturbing to some. (Mention of human trafficking, discussions of child abuse, graphic murder & torture scenes, strong sexual scenes, strong adult language and talks of blood). Recommended for readers 18+.
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EXCERPT:
I gave a soft snicker as we stared each other down. Her eyes blinked with humor. She would not make it easy to get answers. “Why did you leave?”
“I thought that reason would be obvious to you.” She took in every inch of the house, as if avoiding looking at me, then her gaze fell on the balcony as if she could see right through it . . . at someone or something out there. Waiting. Watching. Her eyes lingered there as she said, “I told you back in Florida that I lost my innocence and you that night. I was scared every time I was alone. Every sound had me jumping. The sight of a small cut on my hand along with the blood that beaded gave me panic attacks.”
“I just never got comfortable with blood the way you obviously have. I didn’t want to. I didn’t want the guns around, the men, the knowledge of knowing anyone I married in this life could easily be taken from me in some turf war. That I could be used again to get to the man I would end up marrying one day.”
I waited patiently as she zeroed in on me. “You brought me back to the worst part of my life, and I’m alone in it because my best friend and cousin fear you, while my parents hate me.”
Hearing a tremble in her voice and tears running down her cheek, I took her hand and guided her out of her seat to sit into my lap. She circled her arms around my neck and cried over my shoulders. “They don’t hate you. You hate me. You think your parents could ever feel what you feel toward me?” She shook her head. “Then stop saying that. Give Federico time and the doors of the estate will open to you again.”
Sniffling, her arms tightened around me. “But Faye and Eden . . . they’ll never welcome me again. I’m married to you . . .”
She whispered that last part, but all I could hear was her scheming ways to get me to absolve the girls of their role in her lie.
Unsure if I was more amused by it or annoyed, I threaded my fingers through her hair—pulling just hard enough to get a whimper from her—and forced her to meet my eyes.
“Then it’s a good thing you have me for company.” Sighing in defeat, Emilia loosened her arms around my neck, and before she could stand from my lap, I gripped her hips and kept her there. “Keep patronizing me, Emilia. You haven’t met Leandro the unmerciful yet.”
“I have a good idea who he is . . .” Raising her hand to my face, she sketched my forehead to my temple and over my cheeks and nose. Her right hand brushed my midnight shadow before slowly sliding over my parted lips. “He’ll take what’s his by right. He told me that two nights ago.”
The soft undertone of her voice was entrancing. Her delicate touch aroused me, but her condescending words burned me. “You are testing my affection for you,” I said, cupping her cheek with the hand I freed from her hair. My thumb mimicked her fingers, and when I brushed her smiling lips, she opened them and flicked her tongue against the tip.
Author Bio:
Writing under the pen name Empress Chang, she is referred to as an overly dramatic, outgoing yet shy individual by her friends and family. Half Chinese Jamaican, Chang was born and raised in Jamaica. She then migrated to the United States of America, three years ago where she is still scared of driving on the other side of the road!
Writing stories about her dogs and princesses at a young age, Chang discovered romance books in high school and started writing her own believing that romantic happy ever after’s are necessary for a healthy and happy life.
She is a huge believer in the simple things in life, and her life’s main goal is to be happy. This includes sunny beaches and junk food (of course)!
When Chang is not writing, she is usually reading, watching a series that has hooked her attention and demands to be binged, or is spending time with her supportive, loving husband.
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