Novels by Jules

( Aria's point of view )In my father’s house, every mirror is a two-way glass and every smile is a concealed blade.There, was held the "Engagement Celebration," a night designed to show the world that the two most powerful families in the city were finally united.Dante sat beside me in the back of a limousine, resting his hand on my thigh. It was a calculated move, one meant for any hidden cameras or prying eyes, but my body liked the way he touched me."Remember," Dante leaned in with his lips on my ear as if he were whispering a sweet nothing. "The keylogger is in your earring. Once you’re inside the study, you have sixty seconds to plug it into the back of the server. If you’re not out in two minutes, I’m coming through the door.""I know the plan, Dante," I whispered back with a steady voice for a girl about to rob the Butcher of Sicily. "Just make sure you keep the elders distracted. My father loves to talk about his fucking legacy. Keep him talking."The car door was opened a

( Aria's point of view )Trust is a luxury I could never afford, but tonight, I was forced to buy it with the only currency I had left; my survival.Dante had been gone for exactly two hours, but i still felt his presence in my bedroom with a constant reminder that my life was no longer my own. I paced around the room. My mind was a whirlwind of binary code and blood.Dante Moretti knew everything but hadn't turned me in. He hadn't called for the Butcher to finish the job. Instead, he had offered me a deal that sounded like a fucking suicide mission.A knock at the door made me freeze, but this time, I didn't wait for him to announce himself. I opened it to find Dane having with rolled-up sleeve that made him appear even more dangerous. He held two glasses of bourbon whiskey."We need to set the terms," he said, walking past me without an invitation. He set the glasses down on the small table near the balcony and sat, motioning for me to join him.I sat across from him with my back st

( Aria's point of view )I learned early in life that the most dangerous weapon isn't a gun or a knife. No, it’s a secret that someone is willing to kill for.An insanely loud pounding on my bedroom door shook me out of a restless sleep. I sat up with my hand instinctively reaching for the empty space under my pillow where my knife should have been. My heart was hitting hard against my ribs."Wake up, Aria. We’re leaving in ten minutes." Dante’s voice was deadened by the door, but his tone was clearly commanding."It’s five in the morning!" I yelled back, throwing off the bed sheets. "Where could we possibly be going at this hour?""To a meeting you need to attend," he replied. "And wear something that says 'Mafia Queen,' not 'hiding in my room.' My tailor left a garment bag on your dressing table. Use it."I heard his footsteps fade away. I groaned, rubbing my eyes. My body felt heavy from the stress of the previous night. I had spent hours trying to find a backdoor into my frozen ac

( Aria's point of view )I walked into the Moretti's den expecting it to be a cage but it was actually a house filled with ghosts. Then, there was a man who looked at me like he saw a virus.We rode in an SUV to the Moretti estate. In the car beside me, was Dante Moretti sat like a statue. It was difficult for him to even look at me once since my father’s guards shoved me into the backseat. He just stared at his phone, tapping the screen.I looked down at my hands. I was still wearing the same green dress from the wedding. It was wrinkled now, a mocking reminder of the very night my life had been traded away like a piece of property. My thigh holster was gone. My father’s men had stripped me of all my weapons before we left. They really thought they had disarmed me. They didn't know about the micro-chip hidden in the hollow heel of my designer shoe they didn't dare to touch."You can stop glaring at the floor, Aria," Dante said with a heavy voice. "It won’t open up and swallow you, yu

( Aria's point of view )I never thought my freedom would be stolen by the kiss of a man.I was in a ballroom attending a wedding. In this wedding was a gathering of elite people who looked like royalty but they had enough blood on their hands. To everyone else, I was Aria Valenti, the diamond of the Valenti family. They saw me as the silent, dutiful daughter. But to myself, I was a ghost halfway out the door.My thigh holster pressed uncomfortably against my skin beneath the green gown I was wearing. I didn't care about the drinks or the noises the people made. My mind was on the encrypted drive hidden in my clutch, containing the last few thousand dollars I needed to disappear forever from this city I so much hated."Don't look so bored, Aria," my father, Lorenzo Valenti's voice came from beside me. He gripped my elbow just a little too hard. "Smile. We are here to show strength, not your teenage depression.""I’m twenty-one, Father. And it’s hard to smile when I’m surrounded by peo