Retribution Punishment

Adrian Cole thought he had hit the big time when world-famous sensation Damian Knight asked him to tour as the opener for his world tour. But just as his dreams were in reach, one phone call wrecked his future—he was accused of plagiarizing the songs of other people, branded a thief, and discarded. On the walk home from the recording studio, Adrian was ambushed, struck by a car, and arrested on false drug charges, betrayed by the person he most trusted: his husband, Ethan Cross. After being blinded, silenced, and forgotten, Adrian spends years behind bars until Sebastian Cross, Ethan's estranged younger brother, shows up as a messiah in the most unlikely of ways. Sebastian rescues Adrian, gives him a new identity, and sets him on the path to retribution using his wealth, power, and personal hidden agendas. Adrian's rage increases as he learns more lies, such as the fact that his former best friend Marcus Hale killed him to atone for their transgressions, that Ethan and Marcus were lovers in the closet, and that Marcus stole his music and called him a bully. But revenge comes at a cost. When Ethan finds Adrian still alive, an intense battle leaves Sebastian injured by a bullet meant for Adrian. Pinned down by love and loyalty, Adrian inherits Sebastian's business as he gets his own life back as a musician. They navigate betrayal, lying, and phantoms of the past. Adrian not only clears his name but also discovers love that eclipses the one which had nearly killed him.

"I warned you, Lena. No man touches you except me. You're mine now, let that stick." That was his first warning. Delivered with a cold stare and a voice that didn't allow defiance. "Now, I'm going to fuck you till every other man looks like a woman to you." That was her punishment, and she couldn't even lie to herself about how much she enjoyed it. Abandoned by her father, Lena Anderson, whose dream was to become a surgeon, never planned to end up in a mafia-owned strip club. But when your sister is diagnosed with cancer and your mother can barely walk because of a stroke, you do all it takes to keep them alive. All it took was one night to change her entire life. She didn't plan on killing her first VIP client. But when he forced himself on her without permission, she made sure he never touched anyone again. It wasn't her intention, nor was it getting caught. But she was. Not by the police. By someone ruthless, Lucano Baricelli, her boss, heir to the Baricelli family. A mafia don. A man known to break bones before asking questions. He should have turned her in. Instead, he offered her a deal. Pretend to be his wife for five years so he could win his father's trust and take over the mafia empire. In return? He keeps her out of prison and makes sure she never lacks anything. She accepted. But there were rules. Never get pregnant. Never be caught with any man. Rules are made to be broken, so they say. Lena Anderson broke both, and it drove Lucano nuts.