Lauren Reynolds Criminal Minds

Her father's murder was just the beginning. Sold to the Italian mafia as punishment for a betrayal she never committed, Violet Fernandez finds herself imprisoned by Vlad Romano—ruthless heir to a criminal empire that shows no mercy. But the captor who should be her nightmare becomes her unlikely ally when Vlad discovers the truth: Violet was merely a pawn in her father's dangerous double life. Together, they uncover that her father died protecting explosive secrets—information that could bring the cartel to its knees. Now, marked for death and hunted at every turn, Violet and Vlad are forced to flee into shadows where only the most dangerous survive. With each desperate escape, the line blurs between captor and captive, between hatred and a forbidden desire neither can deny. As bullets fly and passion ignites, Violet must decide: is Vlad truly her savior, or is he leading her straight into a trap where there is no escape? Just when freedom seems within reach, a devastating revelation changes everything... "CAPTIVE HEARTS" — Some chains are made of steel. Others are forged by desire.

“ I'll marry you” Lauren Greene said the words in utter desperation. Getting married to a crippled man whom she had never seen until that day was not something she had ever imagined she would do but when her mother had a cardiac arrest and needed an emergency surgery, she didn't care. This was her only choice. Alexander Magnus lost his parents in a hit and run accident which left him crippled at the age of ten. He went abroad to study afterwards, returning after twenty years to take over his father's company. The only person he ever talked to was his childhood friend and savior, Melissa McCarthy. He cherished and loved her with his whole heart but much to his dismay, she never showed up for their court wedding. There he met Lauren Greene. How will Lauren cope with the aftermath of her impulsive decision? What happens when Alexander demands for an heir as payment for her mother's surgery? If their marriage supposedly worked out, what happens when dark pasts begin to surface?

“You have no idea what I am,” Lucian growls, his breath hot against her skin. Chloe’s heart races, fear and desire twining together. “Show me,” she whispers, daring him to unleash the beast within. A town full of secrets. A man who’s more than he seems. And a hunger that could destroy them both. Journalist Chloe Reynolds came to Blackthorn Ridge for a story. What she found was a town haunted by silence—and something far more terrifying than shadows lurking in the dark. Wolves are circling, bodies are vanishing, and the people warn her to leave before the night closes in. But Chloe can’t leave. Not after meeting Lucian, the brooding, dangerously magnetic leader of a mysterious pack. His gaze ignites something primal within her, something she can’t resist. Each heated encounter pulls her deeper into his world, where the line between desire and danger blurs.

Elara’s life is shattered when she is forced into an arranged marriage with Damian Volkov—the ruthless Alpha of a powerful werewolf pack and the feared king of the mafia underworld. As the daughter of a desperate businessman who struck a dangerous deal, Elara becomes nothing more than a pawn in a world of violence, secrets, and supernatural power. Damian is cold, calculating, and possessive, ruling with an iron fist both in the criminal world and among his kind. At first, their marriage is nothing more than a contract—an agreement to secure power and settle debts. But as Elara defies him at every turn, she awakens something primal in the Alpha King, something far more dangerous than any enemy. Torn between duty and the growing intensity of their bond, Elara must navigate a world of deadly rivalries, betrayals, and forbidden passion. As secrets unravel and enemies close in, she realizes that escaping Damian’s grasp may be impossible—not because of the deal that binds them, but because her heart may no longer want to run. In a world where love and power collide, will Elara survive her fate, or will she become the queen of darkness beside the Alpha Mafia King?

Blurb: "You're going to operate on me, Dottoressa Bianchi. And you're going to make damn sure I live." Damiano Valentini'e voice is low, commanding and terrifying. But as Dr. Alessia Bianchi stands over the infamous Mafia King, her scalpel trembling, she realizes this is no ordinary patient. Damiano is cursed. Bound by an ancient blood pact that keeps him alive, but in torment, barely alive. Every life he takes feeds his power and fractures his soul. A soul now hanging by a thread. Alessia's world is torn apart when her twin brother vanishes during a secret investigation into the deadly Moretti family. Her only lead? Damiano, the man whispered about in both criminal and supernatural circles. She should run. She should fear him. But instead, she's drawn to him... To his shadows, his secrets, and the darkness behind those sliver eyes. As the delve into the Mafia underworld to uncover her brother's fate, Damiano and Alessia must face bloodthirsty enemies, unravel a deadly curse, and resist a magnetic passion that threatens to burn them both. He is the monster she should hate. She is the light he never thought he'd deserve. But together, they maybe the only ones who can survive the storm.

In the gritty heart of Duskville, where shadows hide the crimes no one wants to see, Detective Jackson Reyes works like a ghost—unflinching, relentless, and alone. Scarred by a childhood spent watching his mother suffer at the hands of a cruel man, Reyes learned early that justice doesn’t come easily. So he became it. When Lena, a young woman trapped in a world of coercion and violence, walks into his station and tells the truth no one else will hear, something shifts. As Reyes digs deeper into the criminal underworld controlled by Riko and his men, Lena becomes more than a witness—she becomes a reason. A reason to keep fighting. A reason to believe healing might be possible, even for someone like him. ______ Content Warning: This story contains themes and depictions of sxual assult, r*pe, non-consensual acts, gr*oming, sx traffcking, and dr*g use. Reader discretion is strongly advised. These topics are part of the narrative and may be distressing or triggering for some individuals. Please take care while reading.

Some scars you wear on your skin. Others you hide in your heart. Tessa Morgan never imagined her life would become a cage of hushed apologies and hidden bruises. Once an aspiring artist, now she survives each day under the cruel control of Marcus Reynolds—a man whose love turned to ownership. But when fate throws her into the path of Ryder Bishop, Vice President of the Hellfire MC, she glimpses a chance at freedom she'd thought lost forever. With danger closing in and desire growing stronger, Tessa must decide: stay in the chains she knows, or trust the outlaw who could set her free. But Marcus isn't letting go—and neither are his secrets. In a world where loyalty can kill and love can save, will she find the courage to choose her own path?

BLOOD AND VOWS --- SYNOPSIS A forced marriage. A deadly alliance. A love that could ruin them both. To stop a war between two rival mafia families, Emilia Romano is forced to marry her father's enemy—Alessio Moretti, the cold, ruthless heir to a criminal empire. Neither of them wants the arrangement. Neither plans to fall in love. But when enemies close in and old secrets resurface, their fake vows become dangerously real. In this world, love isn't just forbidden—it's lethal. – Will the war actually stop? Who is Alessio Moretti? Is Emilia Romanio ever going to be free? Will love find this two egocentric couple? Let's find out in this intriguing story.

Ava Reynolds is broke, desperate, and watching her little sister die slowly in a hospital bed. She’s out of options, until a cold, powerful billionaire offers her a lifeline: marry him for one year, and he’ll pay for everything. No love. No intimacy. Just a contract. Damian Kingsley needs a wife to save his empire. Ava is a nobody, and that’s exactly what he wants. What he doesn’t expect is the fire behind her quiet eyes or the way she makes his cold world start to crack. But Ava isn’t walking into this marriage blind. She knows she’s just a tool to him. And she swears she’ll never fall for a man who treats love like a business deal. Until one mistake rips her life apart. Betrayed. Humiliated. Thrown out like trash. She leaves, broken, but not defeated. And when Damian finally realizes the truth, it’s too late. The girl he once used is gone. In her place stands a woman he can’t control. A woman he can’t live without. Now he wants her back. But Ava doesn’t want an apology. She wants him to burn

Shantali Jackson awakens from cryostasis to discover she's been asleep for over 600 years. A working-class woman from the pre-collapse era, she finds herself in a sterile medical facility, where staff address her as royalty and claim she's the beloved of Prince Costa—a man she barely remembers meeting at Le Glow Club one fateful night. As fragmented memories surface, Shantali learns the devastating truth: she and Costa were never willing participants in the preservation program. After publicly defying their arranged marriages to choose each other, they were declared enemies of the state and forcibly preserved by the Emergency Preservation Committee. They've been awakened seventeen times for six centuries, only to have their memories wiped when they refused to comply with the Council's genetic breeding program. This time is different—the memory suppression technology is failing, and ghostly echowisps (manifestations of psychic trauma) guide them through their escape. With the help of Marcus, a resistance member, they flee to the underground networks where Shantali discovers shocking truths: her half-brother Elliot became a resistance leader, Costa's parents have been working to undermine the Council for centuries, and the outside world has been habitable for generations. The couple escapes to Haven's Gate, one of seven thriving Eastern Sanctuaries where humanity has rebuilt naturally. But freedom is short-lived when they learn Dr. Thorne and other preservation specialists are using extracted consciousness data to create a new form of control—artificial minds programmed for obedience. Refusing to remain passive victims, Shantali and Costa make a bold choice: they'll pose as desperate refugees seeking re-preservation, walking willingly into Dr. Thorne's trap to stop his plans once and for all. Their love story becomes humanity's last hope against a system that would sacrifice free will for genetic perfection. A tale of choice, resistance, and the power of love.