Dead Man's Walk Larry Mcmurtry

Althea Johnson, a quiet but fiercely determined young woman, marries the man every woman fears yet secretly desires—Dominic Valtieri, an intimidating billionaire known for his ice-cold ruthlessness and dangerous connections. Entering the marriage with sincerity and naïve courage, she hopes that fate might finally plant the seeds of love between them. Instead, her first night as wife becomes a humiliation—Dominic uses her, not loves her. When she discovers she’s pregnant, she clings to the fragile hope that motherhood might soften him. But the truth is crueler than any nightmare: Dom never wanted her—he ONLY needed her womb. For a legacy. For a bloodline. For an heir. A pawn. A vessel. A means to an end. Shattered, she vows that her child will never grow up as a bargaining chip in a billionaire’s—or mafia family’s—dynasty.

A high-profile rape case rocks Corvessa City. During the autopsy, I examine the deceased's private area as part of the standard procedure. My wife, a police captain, blows up in front of the onlookers. "Don't we have a female medical examiner in our unit? Do you realize you're re-victimizing the deceased? And your wife is standing right here. Are you really that desperate?" The crowd turns on me in a heartbeat. Bowing to public pressure, the department suspends me and tells me to keep reporting in at my own expense. I hand in my resignation on the spot. Without me, nobody in Corvessa City is going to crack this case.

Three months after my husband, Josiah Erikson, disappears in a skiing accident, I spot him in a bar. He's laughing freely with an arm slung casually around his "best friend", Monica Jones' shoulders. "Good thing you came up with the idea. I'd almost forgotten what freedom feels like." One after another, his buddies clink glasses with him and ask about when he plans to reappear. He looks down and thinks about it before saying, "In a week. I'll show up once she's gone completely crazy searching for me." Standing in the shadows, I watch him savor his freedom, then call my friend who works at the state vital records office.

My best friend, Scarlett Throne, is diagnosed with cancer. After running away from home, she takes her own life. She leaves behind only a testament and a pair of eight-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. "You're the only person I can rely on in this world. I'm not asking you to adopt them, but just make sure they have enough to eat." Out of compassion, I take the siblings in. For the next 20 years, my husband and I have been working hard together to raise them, buying them cars and houses. But one day, my adopted daughter reports my husband for being abusive toward her. Even my supposedly dead best friend suddenly appears and testifies against him. I demand to know why she does such a thing. My best friend, filled with righteous indignation, says, "I see you as my best friend! I've never thought you adopted my children just to serve your husband's perversions!" My husband's reputation is ruined, and he's been thrown in jail. I desperately try to prove his innocence, only to be forcibly sent to a mental hospital by my adopted son. There, I wither away and die. When I open my eyes again, I find myself back on the very day my best friend was diagnosed with cancer.

I married Rafe Maretti—the man who owned the Maretti Casino empire. Sophisticated, ruthless, but sinfully charming. By year three of our marriage, I introduced my little sister to his nephew, Adam Moretti—twenty-five, all sharp smiles and sharper ambition. He ran the dirtier side of the family’s business—arms, drugs, the kind of trade that dripped blood and money in equal parts. I married the powerful, irresistible uncle. She married the young, dangerous nephew. It was supposed to be our fairytale. Then one day, I got kidnapped in Rafe’s casino. Snatched by a rival mafia family desperate to force Rafe to sign over one of his biggest, most profitable casinos. Except Rafe didn’t answer the phone or even notice I was gone. The kidnappers grew impatient. First, it was slaps. Then punches. Then they shattered my leg and buried a knife in my stomach. Still no word from my husband. Until finally, after what felt like a hundred unanswered calls, a single message came through. "I’m with Bianca. She’s having a stomach. Stop calling." Once the kidnappers realized I had no value, they dumped me in a rotting warehouse like discarded luggage. It was Isla, my sister, who found me. She got me out. And then the brakes failed. The car spun out. Isla went unconscious beside me. I tried calling Adam. Isla’s husband. But as soon the call went through, all I could hear was. “Leave me along. Isla, I am in the middle of something here.” When I clearly heard a woman’s voice in the back. If not for a passing stranger, Isla and me wouldn’t have made it to the hospital, let along have survived. So when I opened my eyes again, the first thing I thought was: I’m divorcing that sorry bastard. The Maretti can go to hell.

"I’m here for you, always, Leora." That was the promise Theron made before he stole her kiss. But promises can be broken. And in Crestwood, betrayal is deadlier than love. The Moon Pendant marked Leora as the rightful Luna before she could even walk. Hidden in the human world all her life, she is dragged back to claim her throne—only to discover that the crown comes with chains. To unlock her wolf, Leora must choose a mate. Every wolf wants her. Every elder demands it. But her heart keeps pulling toward the one man she cannot have—the warrior sworn to protect her. When her love awakens her long-buried power, enemies close in and Leora realizes the harsh truth. The man she loves most is the one fated to destroy her.

Her name is Sapphire Emerald Maxine Lopez. Ang hahaba ng mga pangalan nila di ba? Well it was because of their mom na talagang pinaghandaan ang mga pangalan nila. Their mother dreamed for the future of her two children pero hindi sumang-ayon sa kanya ang kapalaran. Sapphire or preferred to be called as Max is the opposite dream of her mother. She doesn't like girls stuff and even acting and dressing up like a man. Pero, hindi naman siya tomboy o kahit confused man lang. Alam niya na babae siya, nagkataon lang na panlalaki ang interes niya. She built her car remodeling business na unti-unting umani ng pansin sa loob lang ng isang taon. Life is amazing as she think about it. Meet Chase Luke Racinni the only son of one of the richest family in the world. All the girls will line up in just a single snap of his fingers. A womanizer, Casanova and a heartbreaker, name it, he all has it. He doesn't like to see his competitors, especially when he learned that some of his clients, made their cars remodeled from a small company called Transformers Inc. His own brand of cars has been remodeled and he could not accept it. So what he did is, he destroyed it. In just one night, Max's remodeling company kissed the ground to it's downfall without knowing the real reason. Paano kung magtagpo ang kanilang mga landas sa isang hindi inaasahang pangyayari? The circle of fate started to change when the two of them met. Pero paano na lang kung malaman ni Max na ang itinuturing niyang mabait at matulungin na kaibigan na nagkataon na gusto pa niya ay siyang dahilan ng pagbagsak ng niya?

The moment my sister brought Daniel home so the family could meet him was the day I knew I had to make him mine. He looked like he was written by a Latin God, six feet four, perfect for my height of five feet nine. He had jet black hair and he knew what he was doing when he wore that tight T shirt that hugged his muscles, sitting across from me on the dining table.

She coveted everything about me. My possessions, my experiences, and even my men. So one night, my mother pushed me into an older man's bedroom. The next day, she asked with a smug smile, "Nina, how was your night with the older guy?" I rubbed my sore waist, recalling his broad shoulders, long legs, and trim waist from the night before. I smiled as I answered her. "That fiancé of mine is all yours now. Just remember—I’ll be your Aunt-in-law in the future.”

When the college admission notice arrived, I suddenly developed a high fever and was bedridden. My sister encountered a kidnapping on her way to help me collect the notice, and her life was uncertain. My parents hated me deeply. After tearing up my admission notice, they forced me to give up my studies and work in a factory. Later, I experienced a kidnapping as well. After narrowly escaping, I hid in an abandoned factory and sent them a message for help. My dad called me and shouted at me without restraint, “Lena, are you even human? How could you play such a joke on us on Jessica's memorial day!” “Do you have any idea how much your mom and I wished it had been you who died back then?” In my last moments before death, their insults echoed in my ears. I was tortured and killed, turned into a monster, and my body was thrown into a stinking ditch for three full days. Even my father, the most experienced forensic expert, couldn’t recognize me. When my sister returned home with the guy she eloped with years ago, my dad had just restored my appearance through technology. They knelt before my decaying corpse and cried until they fainted.