Novels by Gretchen Velmonte

The armored van’s engine shrieked as I buried the accelerator into the floorboards. For a terrifying second, the tires just spun, cooking rubber against the asphalt before the tread finally bit.Ahead of us, two black Valdez SUVs moved in tandem, angling to choke off both lanes."Hold on!" I white-knuckled the reinforced steering wheel.I didn't lift. Instead, I aimed straight for the shrinking gap between the lead SUV’s bumper and the guardrail.The impact jarred my teeth. Metal tore metal as our heavy bull-bar punched through their rear panel. The physics of the crash did the rest—the Valdez SUV broke traction, spun wildly across the centerline, and flipped twice in a chaotic spray of sparks and safety glass."That’s my girl!" Drake roared over the engine whine, already leaning half his body out the passenger window.Bang! Bang!Two crisp, practiced shots punched through the front rubber of the second chasing SUV. It veered instantly, losing all steering and slamming dead-on into th

Uncle Elias paced across the command room, his deep voice breaking the heavy silence. He spoke of the complete, irreversible collapse of the Mendez family: Chloe’s permanent, non-bailable prison sentence, and David and Valerie paying the ultimate price for their sins.Finally, I had reclaimed complete operational control over the domestic Mercer empire. There would be no more of David’s fake fatherly affection, no more of Valerie’s pretentious motherly concern, and above all, no more venomous snakes like Chloe and Jacob ruining my life.My mind drifted as I processed the victory, but Uncle Elias’s tone suddenly shifted, dropping into a deadly register."I just received an encrypted priority transmission from your grandfather Thomas in Europe," Uncle Elias said, his aura flaring with the terrifying, suffocating pressure of a veteran who had survived decades of war. "The Valdez faction has fully mobilized after receiving news of David's death. They realize the golden command talisman is

By midnight, the Mercer headquarters was bathed in near-total darkness, save for the blue glow of the surveillance monitors in the central security hub.On the main screen, two disheveled, frantic figures slipped through the outer perimeter line. David and Valerie were creeping through the side access corridors, looking around nervously like cornered rats."Where the hell is it?!" Valerie’s muffled voice came through the audio feed as she cursed under her breath. "Damn this family! They had a hidden command post right under our noses all along! Once we find that golden box and hand it to Master, Chloe will be saved, and that wretched Aurelia will pay with her life!""Shut your mouth, Valerie!" David hissed back anxiously. "Do you want to set off the perimeter alarms? This isn't an ordinary office. I just have a bad feeling... Why is security so light tonight?"In the command room, Drake chuckled softly. "Tsk. The old dog isn't completely brainless after all.""He wouldn't have managed

Deep within the subterranean level of the Mercer private headquarters, the air was cool and heavy with the scent of aged cedar and steel.Standing before my late mother's hidden vault, I rested my thumb against the biometric scanner. The mechanism whirred to life, blue light tracing my skin before a series of heavy mechanical locks disengaged with a solid clack.All these years, David and Valerie had searched for physical keys to open this sanctuary, completely unaware that my mother had encoded the vault to my personal biometrics. If I hadn't noticed the hidden blueprint beneath her final canvas, I would never have realized that my own hand held the key.Drake and Uncle Elias stood behind me as the heavy vault doors swung open. Inside lay rows of sealed archives, confidential ledgers, and pristine canvas tubes. But my eyes immediately caught something resting on a central velvet pedestal: a small, antique wooden box alongside a weathered pocket journal.I stepped inside, carefully li

After Drake delivered Jacob to his new prison cell, he returned to the Mercer headquarters looking thoroughly triumphant—only to walk straight into Uncle Elias's lethal, waiting fist.Drake’s combat reflexes kicked in instinctively before he could even register what was happening. He ducked, narrowly dodging a brutal right hook.Standing behind the one-way glass in the monitoring lounge, I gasped in shock. But beside me, Vivian burst out into a sudden fit of laughter."Hahaha! Your two protectors are remarkably intense with each other," Vivian teased cheerfully. "A scene like this is definitely worth remembering!"I rolled my eyes at her mischievousness, though I couldn't take my eyes off the sparring match. It was my first time seeing a true, high-level martial arts duel. Drake spent the first few minutes frantically dodging blows from Uncle Elias, and for a second, I thought my uncle would overwhelm him.Suddenly, Drake shifted his stance. Moving with terrifying speed, he executed a

After an intensely passionate night that lasted until the early hours of the morning, our intimate battle with Drake finally settled just as the sun began to peek over the Paris skyline. A satisfied smile played on my lips as I lay beside my possessive frenemy, my body thoroughly exhausted.Just as sleep was about to claim us, the sharp ringing of my phone shattered the quiet room.I reached for the nightstand, checking the caller ID. It was Vivian."Yes?" I answered, my voice raspy with sleep."Huh? You two don't want to go back home?" Vivian’s teasing voice echoed through the speaker. "It's time to leave, dear Aurelia. End your little honeymoon."My brows furrowed at her sudden playful banter. "You're coming back with us? Fine... give us fifteen minutes," I groaned groggily.Before I could set the phone down, a strong arm pulled me back into the bed, wrapping tightly around my waist."Who was that?" Drake murmured against my skin, his lips brushing the curve of my shoulder. "Hmm...