The outlaw secret heiress
Anastasia has spent twenty-seven years believing she is an ordinary kindergarten teacher, and has learned to be grateful for the little things. After losing her mother years ago, Anastasia has no family left to depend on.
One night, Anastasia returns home to find armed men waiting for her. She has no idea who they are or why they want her dead. Then Jaxon Cross walks into her life. President of the Black Vipers MC, Jaxon is the kind of man people cross the street to avoid. Cold, heavily tattooed, brutally protective and feared throughout the criminal underworld.
But Jaxon knows something Anastasia doesn’t. Her mother once saved his life. And before she died, she made Jaxon promise to protect her daughter. When another attempt is made on Anastasia’s life, Jaxon takes her to the Black Vipers’ club secluded compound in the Peak District, where she is forced to live under his protection. Anastasia hates being controlled and Jaxon refuses to let her die.
What begins as a battle between a stubborn woman looking for her freedom and a dangerous man determined to keep her alive slowly becomes something neither of them expected. Then Jaxon discovers the truth. Anastasia isn’t an ordinary kindergarten teacher. She’s the secret daughter of Victor Devereaux, one of Britain’s most powerful criminal cartel bosses and the rightful heir to an empire her stepbrothers will kill to control. Now the woman Jaxon promised to protect has become the target of an entire criminal dynasty. As enemies close in and betrayal reaches the heart of the Black Vipers, because Anastasia may have been born into a dangerous empire but Jaxon will make sure she survives long enough to rule it.
Read
Chapter: What Clara HidAnastasia’s POVThe box was already waiting on the table when I walked into the room, and for a moment, I simply stood there staring at it.After everything we’d been through to find it, seeing that old wooden box beneath the harsh white light made my stomach twist. It looked exactly as I remembered, right down to the worn edges and the small brass lock that had fascinated me as a child.Jaxon stood beside the table with his arms folded across his chest, while Rafe guarded the door and Maisie watched me from the edge of a chair.Nobody said anything.I finally forced my trembling legs forward, the floorboards groaning under my weight. "So that's it."Jaxon nodded slowly, his eyes heavy with an unreadable weight. "We found it less than twenty minutes ago. Abandoned in the back of a vehicle near the old service road.""Someone just... left it there?" I asked, a wave of cold panic prickling across my skin."Or orchestrated it so we'd find it," Jaxon replied softly.Rafe pushed off the do
Last Updated: 2026-09-18
Chapter: The boxAnastasia’s POV The memory hit me so hard that I was out of bed before my mind could fully process it. Beneath my mother’s bed sat an old wooden box, small, dark, and impossibly heavy for its size. Clara had always been fiercely protective of it, artfully dodging every question I ever asked. It had remained a background detail of my childhood until tonight, until someone broke into my apartment, until the box went missing, and until a stranger texted me asking what my mother had left behind.I threw on my robe and stepped out into the hallway, startled to find Jaxon leaning against the wall opposite my door with his arms folded across his chest. He straightened immediately, his gaze scanning my face as I stepped toward him."You're supposed to be sleeping," he said."I remembered something. The wooden box under my mother's bed. someone took it.""I know. I was there when we realized it was missing.""And you didn't think to tell me?" I stepped closer, the heat of frustration rising i
Last Updated: 2026-09-18
Chapter: The messageAnnatasia POV“Who sent it?” My voice came out sharper than I intended and Jaxon stopped in the middle of the hallway. His phone was still pressed against his ear, his back to me. For a second, he said nothing.Then he ended the call.I stared at him.“What message?”He turned slowly and something in his face made my stomach tighten. It wasn’t the cold expression I’d seen when he gave orders to his men. This was different. He looked like a man who had just heard something he desperately wished he hadn’t.“Go back to your room, Anastasia.”I almost laughed. “Seriously?”His jaw tightened. “I’m not in the mood for an argument.”“Neither am I.”I stepped closer.“You just told someone on the phone to read a message. Then you looked at me like someone had died. So tell me what it said.”“It has nothing to do with you.” “That’s a lie.” His eyes narrowed.“Anastasia…”“No. Stop doing that” I said as I shook my head.“Doing what?”“Talking to me like I’m a child who needs to be sent away wh
Last Updated: 2026-09-18
Chapter: The promise I madeCHAPTER 5Jaxon’s POVI watched Annalise disappear through the door. Only then did I let out the breath I’d been holding. She had no idea how close she had come to dying. Not tonight. Not because of the men who had followed her, but because of the secret her mother had spent twenty-seven years protecting. I looked down at the silver key on the table. The same key I’d seen once before, four years ago, in Clara’s hand.I still remembered that night. She had been sitting across from me, pale and exhausted, with fear in her eyes I’d never seen there before.“Jaxon,” she’d said. I’d never heard my name sound like that.“What happened?” She had looked toward the window before answering.“They found me.” My hand tightened around the edge of the table. I’d asked her who, but she hadn’t answered. Instead, she’d placed the key in my palm.“If anything happens to me, keep this safe.”I stared at it.“What does it open?”“My daughter’s future.” Those were the exact words she’d used. I hadn’t unde
Last Updated: 2026-09-17
Chapter: Under his protectionsCHAPTER FOURAnastasia POVThe third gunshot made me duck. Jaxon moved before I could even react. One second, I was standing behind him; the next, his arm was around my waist, pulling me against his chest as he moved us away from the windows.“Down.”I didn’t argue. I went behind the heavy table with Maisie while Rafe was already shouting orders.“Lock the gates!”Men rushed through the room. Someone reached beneath the table and pulled out a weapon while another man hurried toward the back entrance. My heart pounded so hard it hurt.“What’s happening?” I whispered.Maisie glanced at me, her face tense. “I don’t know.”That frightened me more. I looked toward Jaxon. He stood near the window, his entire body rigid, one hand pressed against his side where a gun had appeared as if he’d been carrying it there all along. He wasn’t afraid or angry.Rafe hurried over. “Three shots from the tree line.”“Has anyone been hit?”“No.”“Find where they came from.” Rafe nodded and disappeared thro
Last Updated: 2026-09-17
Chapter: The rules of his worldCHAPTER 3Anastasia POVI woke up to the sound of a motorcycle. The deep roar came from somewhere outside my window, loud enough to pull me from sleep. For a few seconds, I didn’t remember where I was. Then everything came back. The men in my apartment, the chase, the rain, Jaxon, my mother’s name. I sat up quickly.The room was unfamiliar. Dark curtains covered the windows, and a large wooden wardrobe stood against one wall. There was a small table beside the bed, a lamp, and a bathroom door across from me. My clothes were folded neatly on a chair. I stared at them. I remembered getting into Jaxon’s SUV wearing the same clothes. So someone brought me here and unpacked my things.That realization made my skin crawl. I pushed the blanket away and stood. The floor was cold beneath my feet. I walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside. The compound looked completely different in daylight. It was bigger than I’d realized. Large buildings were scattered across the property, surround
Last Updated: 2026-09-17
LOGIN
