Scarred Bride: Blood Empire, #6

By Blake York

Heath
She was supposed to be my wife. But betrayal severed ties.
Now she shows up begging for sanctuary from the Russian mafia after her. I want to slam the door in her face.
Until I look into those eyes I knew so well in our younger days.
When we were promised to each other.

Serenity
Heath Connolly.
Son of a mafia kingpin. Rumored to be the most dangerous of the Connolly triplets.
I believed I'd call him husband. That all changed.
He's the only one who can keep me alive. But I see in his eyes he doesn't care.
I'll do anything if he'll help me—even be his little toy.
My life is in his hands, and it turns out my pleasure is too.
But these twisted nights aren't helping me face reality—that my life is really over.
Unless Heath chooses to save me…but will he do more than that?

If enemies to lovers with all the steamy, gritty passion of dark mafia arranged marriage romance are your thing, 1-Click SCARRED BRIDE now and kick off your affair with the dark underworld.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blake York
• Release date: Dec 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223023821

Book preview

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Copyright Blake York 2022

Ebook Edition

Scarred Bride

Dangerous Ties Book 1

Electronic book publication 2023

Cover Art by Bookin’ It Designs

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Heath

She was supposed to be my wife. But betrayal severed ties.

Now she shows up begging for sanctuary from the Russian mafia after her. I want to slam the door in her face.

Until I look into those eyes I knew so well in our younger days.

When we were promised to each other.

Serenity

Heath Connolly.

Son of a mafia kingpin. Rumored to be the most dangerous of the Connolly triplets.

I believed I’d call him husband. That all changed.

He’s the only one who can keep me alive. But I see in his eyes he doesn’t care.

I'll do anything if he’ll help me—even be his little toy.

My life is in his hands, and it turns out my pleasure is too.

But these twisted nights aren’t helping me face reality—that my life is really over.

Unless Heath chooses to save me...but will he do more than that?

If enemies to lovers with all the steamy, gritty passion of dark mafia arranged marriage romance are your thing, 1-Click SCARRED BRIDE now and kick off your affair with the dark underworld.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XIII

Scarred Bride

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Blood Empire Book 6

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Chapter I

Heath

When a Connolly wakes to banging on the door, it’s never good.

I reach for my Sig before I even swing my legs out of bed, and I’m halfway across my condo in seconds.

Throwing a look at the security monitor, I expect to see armed men standing outside my door.

Jesus Christ.

Instead of the Russian mafia, I see a woman. This better not be one of my brothers’ sick jokes, sending me a gift in the middle of the night. I just spent hours as my father’s errand boy, out kneecapping enemies who owe us.

What I need is sleep—not a blowjob.

My breath settles as I study the woman who lifts a small fist to pound on my door again. Her knocks are taking on a frantic edge now. She glances over her shoulder as if somebody’s after her.

I have no doubt that if she’s coming to me, somebody is.

Slipping my Sig along the waist of my jeans that I fell into bed still wearing, I run a hand over my face and reach for the handle just as she knocks again.

I whip it open.

As soon as I meet those eyes, I’m blasted with the past. In a flash, I see a dozen moments between me and this woman.

Then, she was a child. We both were.

Relief washes over her features, rippling each dainty one.

Christ, she grew up to be more beautiful than I ever imagined.

He-e-eath. My name falls off her lips in three syllables instead of one. Again, she looks over her shoulder.

I eye up the grounds behind her but all I see is a well-lit parking lot where my truck is and the shrubbery a gardener takes care of. Who is she afraid of?

I look at her again. Clearly, she’s desperate if she came to me. We’re enemies.

But once, we might have been more.

What the fuck you want, Serenity?

She winces at my question, but rule number one about me is don’t fuck with my sleep.

I need your help. Please! she rasps out.

I haven’t seen Serenity Hunt in almost a decade. Her voice is throatier, despite the fear lingering in it. She’s no longer the sixteen-year-old I knew.

And I’m far from the same. You can’t grow up as the son of an Irish mobster in Detroit without getting hard around the edges. By now I’ve seen so much that I’m fucking petrified wood. Hell, what I did to those guys tonight alone would send people to the psyche ward for an extended stay.

Serenity’s big blue eyes beg me.

A lot of people beg. I’m immune to such antics. I start to shut the door in her face.

She shoves a hand into the crack, and I catch the door before it crushes the delicate bones of her fingers. Those fingers could pitch a baseball better than most boys, tie a fishing hook on a line...but were so gentle when one of my triplet brothers or I had a scrape.

Fuck. I don’t have time for walks down memory lane—or for helping enemies who show up on my doorstep even if they’re begging for help.

You’ve got the wrong house, Serenity. Find someone else.

She yanks her hand back, clutching it to her chest even though the door never touched her. Heath, I just need a minute of your time to explain.

Don’t got a minute. It’s the middle of the night. I’ve got to be up in a few hours. It’s too late for this crap.

Wild fear rolls through the blue depths of her eyes.

I haven’t seen her since high school, but it’s no secret my brothers and I all had a thing for the Hunt girl, whose dad worked for the Connollys. She really is stunningly beautiful. Except for the fear pulling at her features, she still robs me of breath.

Maybe I could go for that blowjob after all.

Heath—

A set of headlights hits the street and pans across the front of the condo. I’ve been in enough drive-by shootings to know when to take cover.

Get the fuck in here, I growl to Serenity and shove the door open enough to admit her.

She ducks inside and I slam the door, bolt it and grab her by the arm to haul her away from the front windows.

Under my hand, her arm feels thin. Like she hasn’t been taking care of herself for a long time. I twist her arm, looking for needle tracks, and she cries out.

What are you doing?

Checking to see if you’re a drug user. I don’t talk to junkies. I drag her across the hardwood floor and into the den. When I let her go, I can still feel the heat of her skin burning my fingers.

My old man warned me not to lay a hand on the no-good Hunt girl. After what her father did to betray us, I readily agreed. The fact that I’m standing here in my den with a woman whose father did us dirty is a fucking betrayal of my values.

Her chest heaves as she stares up at me. I scrape my gaze over her wide eyes, small upturned nose and full lips. Her jaw comes to a point and my brother Linc always teased her about how pointy it was. Now it’s fuller, less sharp, despite her thinness.

I come out of my stupor and find my voice. What the fuck are you doing here?

I-I need your help. She glances behind herself. Like I’d allow someone to sneak into my damn house and attack her.

I glare at her for a long heartbeat. My mind’s made up.

Grabbing her by the arm again, I haul her to the front door. I can’t help your kind.

She digs in her heels as I reach for the door handle, but not before I throw a look at the security monitor to make sure it’s clear.

Please, Heath! You’re all I have!

Her voice tremors and breaks.

Goddammit, I hate that she knows how to get to me, after all these years. Through distrust, betrayal and a family feud, she can still get to me.

She drags in a shaky breath. My brother...

Nathan? I grind out.

Y-yes. He’s in deep trouble with some guys. He showed up at my place, said he owes someone a lot of money, more than either of us have.

My jaw flexes as I picture the scenario.

She continues, He told me he needed me to do him a favor. I knew what he’d been doing. That drugs and gambling dug him a hole so deep he can’t dig himself out of it. I told him no, I couldn’t help him. I’m broke. I barely scrape by as it is, especially when... She flicks her eyes at me and then away. Since all the doors are closed to Hunts in this town.

Yeah, my old man has a way of making sure if you’re not working for him, you’re starving on the streets. I’m surprised anyone granted this