Ambush Doors

Eidolon Avenue: Where the secretly guilty go to die. One building. Five floors. Five doors per floor. Twenty-five nightmares feeding the hunger lurking between the bricks and waiting beneath the boards. The sequel to Eidolon Avenue: The First Feast (“a great read...powerful and jarring” - Cemetery Dance) returns to the voracious Eidolon as it savors The Second Feast. A narcoleptic man in apartment 2A battles a vengeful past determined to rob him of everything as he runs from the barbaric disaster of a delusional love. A woman in 2B, reinventing herself to please a callous boyfriend, discovers the horrors that wait in the shadows of her self-renovation. The man in 2C, a teacher at the nearby Catholic girl’s school, collapses beneath the brutal consequences of his lecherous desires. An older woman in 2D, after decades dedicated to the church, is cornered at last by the grisly carnage beating at the hollow center of her faith. And a college student in 2E, hungry to escape an ignored life of invisible anonymity, finds herself captured between the pages of a ravenous book. All thrown into their own private hell as every cruel choice, every drop of spilled blood, every silent, complicit moment of cowardice is remembered, resurrected and relived to feed the ancient evil that lives on Eidolon Avenue. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

Dante Moretti was born into power but never wanted it. The heir to Italy’s most feared mafia family, he learned early that love is a weakness and loyalty is bought in blood. Until her. Victoria Hale bright, innocent, and hopelessly out of his reach. She was the one thing pure in his dark world, the girl who made him believe he could be more than his father’s monster. But when his family discovered their love , Dante was forced to vanish overnight, leaving her heart shattered to protect her life. Five years later, Dante is no longer the boy she loved. He’s the Don; cold, ruthless, untouchable. And she… she’s about to marry his former best friend. Until the church doors burst open. Until the gunfire silences the vows. Until the devil she thought was gone drags her back into his world and whispers, “You remember who you belong to.” Now, trapped between the man she once loved and the man she was about to marry, Victoria must navigate a world of danger, obsession, and forbidden desire. Because loving Dante Moretti was never safe. But surviving him might be impossible.

At seven months pregnant, I overhear my Alpha mate, Christopher Scott, secretly planning to break tradition by promoting his secretary to a Beta and handing the Luna's duties over to her. His friend urges him to reconsider. "Luna is about to give birth. Isn't it inappropriate to throw a promotion banquet for Scarlett right now?" But Christopher dismisses his concerns. "What can I do? Scarlett is carrying my pup too. I can't just ignore her. "Besides, with Rebecca's temper, she'd definitely throw a huge fit if she found out beforehand. I might as well wait until she has delivered the pup and is too exhausted to interfere, and only then will I hold Scarlett's promotion ceremony. I say nothing. I pretend I know nothing at all and walk away. On the day I go into labor, Christopher holds Scarlett Lane's promotion ceremony at the pack's most sacred altar. While the entire pack is celebrating Scarlett's rise, the doors of the altar are suddenly kicked open. My father, the Alpha King, walks in. "Christopher Scott, is this how you treat my daughter?"

Avery Williams was physically and mentally tortured by her ex-werewolf boyfriend and his mate every single day in college. She wanted to escape from his sick clutches but what happens when she comes across the mysterious Alpha Dark in the Mating ball who claims her as his mate?! Alpha Dark is a mystery, and definitely evil. He claims her and traps her in his mansion. Now Avery would have to make a choice. To either surrender to this dark wolf who has skeletons buried deep behind his doors or escape him. Having past trauma from her ex, surrendering to a selfish man was definitely not an option. Why do you pull when I am not ready?” I said, mustering the courage to look at him. His eyes slightly narrowed at me, but he did not move from his position. The air crackled with tension and none of us were prepared to go down. He pulled my chin with his finger beneath it and angled his head to move close to my face. His lips softly brushed against mine and something sparked in my body like a firecracker, “Because you are mine. And I take what belongs to me.”

Aria Holt knows she's walking into a trap. When Damien Cross offers her a job at his tech empire, she knows exactly why eight years ago, her father's company killed his sister and destroyed his family. This is revenge. She takes the job anyway. Her family's name is a curse everywhere else, and her father is dying. She'll endure Damien's cruelty if it means survival. But Damien doesn't just want to humiliate her professionally. He wants to break her, piece by piece, until she feels every ounce of pain he's carried for eight years. He'll control her days, invade her thoughts, and prove that he holds all the power. Except his plan begins to unravel. Behind closed doors, the punishment turns into obsession. The cruelty shifts into desperate need. And Aria—quiet, guilty Aria—starts pushing back in ways that shatter his carefully constructed walls. When the truth about the accident finally surfaces, Damien faces an impossible choice: complete his revenge and destroy the woman he's fallen for, or let go of the only thing that's kept him alive for eight years.

I bet you’ve heard the story about the secretary falling head over heels for her boss; that’s me, but what happens when you have unforgettable with someone without knowing he is your boss? That’s me; I got invited to a party that ended up being a birthday party with a dungeon theme, weird, I know, tell me about it, but I finally let my hair down and enjoyed exploring my sexuality with the most intense men I have ever met. My boss, Richard Ashford, Mr. Billionaire CEO himself, he is intense, dominating, cocky, and arrogant, but he makes me feel like the most important woman in the world. Behind closed doors, he is the most fantastic lover. I wish the world could see him the same way I do. I am not ready for dating after everything I have been through. But he is. He wants to show Manhattan’s elite that I am his, but I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I like being anonymous. His life is covered by every newspaper and magazine. That’s what happens when you own most of New York’s media companies.

She became his wife by obligation. He married her with resentment in his heart. When ruthless businessman Ethan Blackwood is forced into a marriage he never wanted, he makes one thing painfully clear—his wife will never have his love. Trapped in a cold mansion and a colder marriage, Lydia Blackwood endures life as a woman bound by vows but denied affection, respect, and warmth. To the world, she is Mrs. Blackwood. Behind closed doors, she is invisible. Lydia enters the marriage hoping time might soften Ethan’s heart, but instead she faces rejection, loneliness, and the shadow of another woman who still holds his love. Every cruel word and silent night chips away at her spirit, yet beneath her quiet obedience lies a strength Ethan never expected. As secrets unravel and truths surface, Ethan begins to see the woman he cast aside—the sacrifices she made, the loyalty she showed, and the love she gave without being asked. But regret comes late, and wounds cut deep. When Lydia finally chooses herself over a loveless marriage, Ethan must confront the terrifying possibility of losing the one woman who truly belonged to him.

My husband, Dominic Moore, insists on having his first love, Irene Cobb, at our wedding ceremony. Just when it's time for the bride to enter the hall, he suddenly asks for the ceremony to be paused for three minutes. Then, he gets off stage and pulls Irene, dressed in a white gown, out of the crowd. Right in front of all the guests, he takes her by the hand and walks her down the aisle, saying, "I promised Irene I'd walk her down the aisle someday." The tearful Irene throws herself into Dominic's arms before saying to my in-laws, "Mom, Dad. Although I won't get to be your daughter-in-law, I still want to address you as Mom and Dad just once." She turns back to Dominic and kisses him passionately. The guests exclaim in shock and whisper among themselves, eager to revel in my humiliation. However, I simply open the doors with a smile. I take off my veil and place it on Irene's head. "Why do you say you won't get to be their daughter-in-law? Since you like this cheating scumbag so much, I'll give him to you."

Sofia Russo dashed into the elevator, running late for work. But as soon as the doors closed, she found herself face-to-face with the notorious mafia don, Luca Greco. Her heart raced as he pulled her closer, his smoldering gaze sending shivers down her spine. Suddenly, he whispered in her ear, "Two minutes before the elevator stops. Enough time for a quickie." Sofia was taken aback, disgusted by his brazen proposition. She tried to push him away, but he was too powerful. “Disgusting” she blurted. "Sofia Russo," the words rolled off the tongue of the infamous mafia don, Luca Greco, as he pulled her closer, his smoldering gaze locked onto hers. "Ex-husband Tony Moretti. Has a seven-year-old daughter, Isabella." Sofia's heart raced as she realized this man knew more about her than she'd ever imagined. "Give me a chance, sweetheart," Luca demanded, his voice silky smooth. "Let me take care of you and your princess." Sofia was lost in the intensity of his gaze, but she knew better than to fall for a man like him. She'd been burned before and had no intention of repeating the same mistake.

“To escape a monster, she ran straight into the arms of a devil.” Lila Vance was a debt payment. Wrapped in fifty thousand dollars of French lace, she was minutes away from marrying Marcus Thorne—a man who whispered that she was nothing more than his "property." But Lila refused to be broken. With a ripped dress and a heart full of terror, she bolts from the altar and into the private elevator of the Grand Imperial Hotel. When the doors open, she finds herself in the lion’s den: the penthouse of Adrian Sterling, her fiancé’s most lethal rival. Adrian is a man carved from shadows and sin, a billionaire "Shark" who destroys legacies for sport. When Marcus comes to claim his prize, Adrian offers Lila a choice: go back to the man who will break you, or sign a one-year marriage contract with the man who will own you. As the line between their fake vows and real desire begins to blur, Lila must face a terrifying truth: Adrian Sterling didn't save her out of mercy. He saved her because she is the final piece in a game of revenge he’s been playing for years. In a game of power, who will be the first to break?