The Bullet That Missed

**Evelyn Karamazov** I’ve spent all twenty-three years of my life immersed in the world of the mafia, groomed to rule with an iron fist. But power in our world doesn’t come without a price, and that price is marriage—a union built on strategy rather than so-called love. It’s the last thing I want, but in this life, sacrifices are the currency we trade in. And if I have to choose, I’ll sacrifice to the devil I know rather than the angel I don’t. But make no mistake, a sacrifice is still a sacrifice, and it demands its due. **Killian Bandini** Sixteen years—that’s how long I’ve waited to exact my revenge. Sixteen years to drown in nightmares, consumed by guilt and the unyielding desire to set things right. My father is dead, and now the Bandini empire is mine. The time has come to collect what is owed, and God help those who wronged me, because they will pay with blood. ★ What happens when the most lethal, most infuriating man to ever walk the earth crashes your wedding, puts a bullet in your would-be husband’s head, and holds everyone at gunpoint just to ensure you marry him instead? Killian Bandini doesn’t ask; he takes. But if he thinks I’m some meek bride to be bartered and controlled, he’s dead wrong. I may have to marry him, but I sure as hell won’t make it easy. He’s come for blood and power, but he doesn’t know that I’m not just a pawn—I’m a queen, and this game has only just begun.

School had just dismissed us for the exam-break when my roommate begged me not to leave her alone in the dorm. She said she was scared and wanted to come home with me. Out of kindness, I brought her back with me. I had no idea that the very first night, she would sneak into my brother's room, and by the next morning, she was screaming that he had assaulted her. Because of that, my brother missed the exam, and his reputation was ruined. When the school board found out, they expelled him. No other school would take him in. To keep me from getting involved in this mess at school, my parents had no choice but to let that roommate live with us. After that, she treated our home like her personal hotel: never lifting a finger, demanding that my parents wait on her every night, and even having them wash her feet. My brother dropped out and took up work at an illegal factory just to support her spending. Then one day, a machine crushed him at that factory. My parents, already exhausted and heartbroken, fell gravely ill and passed away soon after. I was consumed by hatred. In the end, I dragged the roommate who destroyed my family down into the flames with me. Even as I died, I still couldn't understand. What kind of bitter grudge did her family have against mine for her to ruin us like that? But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the very day she asked to come home with me…

Marie, a young beautiful woman who just graduated from college departs back to her family, she belongs to a branch of the Genovesse family and she is to be the Heir of her Family, she goes home to meet her Father who she hadn't seen in over four years, along with her brother but soon after her arrival. A Mafia Lord shows up, Mancini proposes a meeting with Marie's Father, to discuss matters concerning the Family, while Maries waited for her aging father to finish his meeting, she hears gun shots from the room her father was in. In a rush, she carries some men and breaks down the door just to see her father bleeding to death, at the same time she sees her father, Marie's is also shot by Mancini's right hand man, in her confusion she sees her father dying before her, she was also dying but she didn't care about any of that, she struggled to reach her father and prayed for a chance to save her father, to fix all of this, to save her family, afterwards Marie dies of blood loss from bullet wounds to her chest. Marie later wakes up in a plane going back to her family's house, in her confusion, she realizes she had gone back in time, back to when she had finished college and was returning back home. Now that she knew what was going to happen, will Marie be able to change the future and save her family or will be unable to change the unmovable hand of fate?

"Now tell me, young lady, who wants you dead?" Nicholas asked as he stared intently at me. His words froze me in place. My eyes widened, and my heart raced uncontrollably in my chest. I looked at him, my eyes diverting to the blood trickling from his shoulder where he was hit by a bullet while trying to save me. "I... I don't know," I stammered, still bewildered by the events that had unfolded. Laura Dickson had endured an abusive relationship at the hands of her boyfriend Santos, to whom she felt indebted for assisting her in settling some debts. Eventually, she reaches the conclusion that she can no longer tolerate the relationship and flees, disregarding Santos' threats of ending her life should she ever leave him. At a charity ball event, she encounters Nicholas, a strikingly handsome and powerful billionaire, the head of Brandson mafia family, who saves her from a serial killer intent on shooting her. Nicholas takes it upon himself to provide her with protection at his covert hideout until the serial killer is captured. What will unfold when they discover that the serial killer was actually closer to them than they had presumed and was in fact not who they thought it was? How will Laura react when she uncovers a grave secret that will profoundly shake her foundations? And what will occur as Laura falls In love with Nicholas, a billionaire mafioso who only sees women as objects of sexual desires? Discover the answers within the gripping pages of the thrilling novel, "Bound by Passion."

Erotica, Dark Romance ___ Left with no other choice, former heiress Carla Dawson must work as a stripper in Velvet Steam. She doesn’t wish to fall lower by selling her body to the highest bidder-until his icy finger slid into the wrong place. Carla wants to feel his fingers roaming her virgin walls, a feeling she always thought was beyond her reach. On the other hand, Don Angelo isn’t ready to satisfy the feisty little fox. At least, not yet. Not until she begs and shows him how much she craves his touch. Only then would he accept this temptress and make her his exclusive pet. How long would Carla survive beside Don Angelo when she needs to choose her words carefully, lest a bullet greet her in the next minute? After all, this mafia Don got his heart broken by another, but she gets to pay the price. When she feels she needs to escape his world, she witnesses something that can never be unseen. Now, her only option is to stay or stay. Carla must remain at his side as an obedient pet, even when her mind screams danger!!! For her sickly brother, she would do anything, including giving up her freedom, just to keep him safe. With a harrowing secret hidden from both of them, what would Don Angelo do when he finds out that his favorite pet is his nemesis? Besides, forgiving her would make him the greatest sinner alive.

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.

The Vale family was the most powerful mafia syndicate in the New York City. And I—along with a few other carefully chosen girls—had been handpicked to join their ranks, trained from the ground up so that the next head of the family could choose his wife from among us. Wife. That was the kinder word for it. The truth was whoever got picked would become his shield, his weapon, his most loyal protector. Someone who would kill for him. Die for him. Years passed. One by one, the others fell away. In the end, only Elara Quinn and I remained. And then, Elara died—killed on a secret mission. After that, there were no more choices left. I became Adrian Vale’s wife by default. I had given everything to Adrian. And I loved him. I thought he loved me too until I took a bullet to the chest—meant for him. As I lay there, barely breathing, I heard Adrian talking to his assistant, “Don’t bury her in the Vale cemetery. My half is reserved for Elara.” That was it. Elara—who had never even lived long enough to marry him—still had a space carved beside him in death. I? I had taken the hit that should have ended him… and yet I wasn’t even good enough to be buried near him. I slowly closed my eyes. And when I opened them again, I was back on the day the Vale family formally announced Adrian as their new head. The day everything began.

I took a bullet for my boyfriend, Leo. When I woke up, I decided to play a little game. I told him I had amnesia. I wanted to see what he'd do. Instead, I saw a flash of excitement in his eyes. Next thing I know, he brings in his cousin. Dante. The Don of the family. "This is your fiancé, Dante. You've been engaged for two years." Dante. The man who supposedly hated me. Now he was staring at me like I was his whole world. "Yes," he said. "I'm your fiancé." Fine. I'll play along. I need to know what game Leo is playing. That night, I saw it. Security footage in Dante's mansion. Leo, in bed with another woman. He kissed her like he was starving. Pushed inside her. And he talked trash about me. "Let my cousin watch Bella for a while. She's so damn needy. You're what I really need, Scarlett." My heart shattered. He pawned me off on another man. Just so he could screw around. Fine. Two can play at that game. I'll get myself a new fiancé. I put on the wedding dress. I kissed Dante—a deep, devouring kiss, right in front of Leo. And that's when he finally broke. He lost his mind. Told me he was wrong and begged me to come back.

"What do you think, Kenzo? Do I look sexy in this" pushing the door open to his suite room, he was met with the most unexpected scene, with sprawled legs on both sides of the bed, a book in her hands, in a flowy lacy thin white gown which stuck dangerously to her body, doing absolute justice to her perfectly rounded boobs which poked out dangerously through the see-through night gown, his long distance wife was right there, on the bed. She finally looked away from the book which was seated on both palms of her hands, she tucked it aside and then raised her head up, her eyes meeting his. "Missed me, dear husband?" Three weeks and four days ago was their 7th year wedding anniversary, and she wasn't available, she was never available, not for the first, second, fifth, nor sixth. So, why was she here now? After years of living totally apart despite being married, their main focus was their company, or at least, hers. They married for love, people think they didn't, they think it is a contract marriage, they married for love, or maybe just him. He married her because he loved her and he thought she did too, but maybe he was wrong. Why was she here now? This is a short, fast-paced romance designed to keep you hooked from the first page to the last.

Why Me? Have you ever questioned this yourself? Bullying -> Love -> Hatred -> Romance -> Friendship -> Harassment -> Revenge -> Forgiving -> ... The story is about a girl who is oversized or fat. She rarely has any friends. She goes through lots of hardships in her life, be in her family or school or high school or her love life. The story starts from her school life and it goes on. But with all those hardships, will she give up? Or will she be able to survive and make herself stronger? Will she be able to make friends? Will she get love? <<…So, I was swayed for a moment." His words were like bullets piercing my heart. I still could not believe what he was saying, I grabbed his shirt and asked with tears in my eyes, "What about the time... the time we spent together? What about everything we did together? What about…" He interrupted me as he made his shirt free from my hand looked at the side she was and said, "It was a time pass for me. Just look at her and look at yourself in the mirror. I love her. I missed her. I did not feel anything for you. I just played with you. Do you think a fatty like you deserves me? Ha-ha, did you really think I loved a hippo like you? ">> P.S.> The cover's original does not belong to me.