Novels by Julynee

EPILOGUE — PENELOPEFour years laterThe smell of vanilla and buttercream filled the kitchen as I smoothed icing over the last layer of the boys’ birthday cake. There was flour in my hair, frosting on my cheek, and my heart was so full I thought it might burst.“Mommy!” one of the twins—Donovan—came barreling in with his brother right behind him, little feet slapping against the tiles. “We’re four today! Fourrr!” he squealed, throwing his chubby arms around my legs.“Yes, you are, my sweet boy,” I laughed, bending down to kiss his cheek before his brother, Damien, demanded his turn.“Donny! Damien! Stop attacking your mother while she’s working,” came Christian’s voice from the doorway, deep and amused.I glanced up at him, smiling despite myself. He leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, that same smug grin on his face even after all these years.He’d officially handed over his company to Liam a few weeks ago—much to Liam’s visible annoyance—and now spent most of his time running

PENELOPEIt had been months since the incident with Lucas, when he threatened my life and my family.Nine long months of rebuilding the bakery, starting all over again, in a bigger and brighter location.Later that month, Jess finally ended things with Liam. After he got out of the hospital, he tried. God, he’d tried—but Jess never looked back. I’d never seen her laugh as much as she did with the new guy she was dating now. Liam kept his distance, though I sometimes caught the look in his eyes when she walked into a room—bitterness and regret all tangled up.Christian stepped down from his father’s head of security, handing the reins to Alex, who had finally found his footing. Alex thrived in the role, and every so often he’d stop by the bakery, sketchbook in hand, and help me dream up designs for the next season. He even drew a new portrait of me for Christian, one that hung in our bedroom now.Sweet Delights stood even taller than the old one, with wide windows that let in the morni

CHRISTIANThe first thing I tasted was blood, stumbling to the ground when his fist collided with my jaw the moment I found him.I forced myself back onto my feet.The inner basement smelled like gasoline and sweat. Somewhere behind me, I could hear the faint echo of sirens and shouting, and that was enough fuel for me to stay and kill this bastard.He stood a few feet away, bleeding from where Liam had shot him, his shirt was torn, another knife glinting in his hand.That smug little grin still played on his lips, even now.“You’ve never been too soft on her,” he sneered, circling me like a wolf. “What changed, Christian? I actually liked you. But she made you soft, made you weak.”“That doesn’t concern you, Sawyer.” I spat blood onto the concrete floor, straightened as much as my body would let me, and met his eyes.“It does concern me, if she had felt anything back for me, I may have considered aborting this revenge plan. But she called me out, put me in my place, and picked you ov

PENELOPEI don’t even remember how I got out of that basement.One second Christian was telling me “I’ve got you” while he untied me, and the next Alex’s hand was gripping mine, pulling me up the stairs, his voice steady and calm as chaos raged around us.Liam limped behind us, refusing help even though the knife wound in his thigh was still bleeding.The building was swarming now. Red and blue lights painted the walls. Uniformed officers rushed past. Someone shouted into the radio. Another officer barked orders at someone else.But all I could hear was the echo of Lucas’s words in my head.“Break her. Not love her.”“My father rotted in prison because of your family.”“I vowed to destroy everything they loved. Even this child inside you.”My chest hurt so bad I thought I might actually be dying.I stumbled outside into the cool night air, but it didn’t help. Nothing helped. My heart was racing, my ears ringing. I couldn’t catch my breath.From somewhere above, a deep, furious voice c

CHRISTIANWe pulled up to the warehouse just as the last rays of light bled out of the sky.The place was quiet. Too quiet.Liam cut the engine and glanced at me, his knuckles flexing on the wheel.“You ready?”I didn’t answer. I was already getting out, slamming the door behind me, my gun in my hand as my shoes crunched over gravel.The doors weren’t locked. A single guard outside raised his head at the sound of us. He didn’t even get to speak before Liam barreled into him, dropping him with one solid punch. I didn’t stop to watch.Inside, more of Lucas’s men moved to intercept. Liam dove into them without hesitation, fists flying, the sound of bone and muscle cracking echoing through the empty space. I didn’t look back—I trusted him to handle it.My eyes were fixed on the hallway ahead.I followed the faint trail of light spilling from a room at the end, every step fueled by nothing but her name in my chest. Penelope. Penelope. Penelope.When I finally reached the doorway, I froze.

CHRISTIANAs we stepped off the plane, Liam fell into stride beside me and slid his phone into my hand without a word.“It’s your father,” he muttered.I blinked at him, my brow furrowing. My first instinct was to pull my own phone from my pocket—except there wasn’t one. There hadn’t been since the night I swung that bat at Maria’s hand and heard it shatter as it hit the floor. I hadn’t thought twice about it then. My entire focus had been on making her scream, and getting the truth out of her. I hadn’t had time to replace it.Now, holding Liam’s phone felt foreign. I pressed it to my ear. “Hello—”“We can’t find Penelope.”Those four words stopped everything.I froze in the middle of the jetway, my chest constricting as if someone had shoved a fist into it.“What do you mean you can’t find her?” My voice came out sharper than I intended.“I employed guards for her,” his voice came slowly through the receiver. “It was your brother’s idea ever since I announced her pregnancy at the par