Thirteen Keys Novels & Stories

My mother has volunteered at our neighborhood church for over a decade. Christmas drives, Sunday service, any neighbor in trouble, she's the first one there. Everyone says God sent her to us. She thinks so too. She says God wants her to be generous, so she is. The thing is, when no one's watching, the generosity always comes out of my pocket. After she remarried, she doted on my half-sister Serena. Serena picked up a box of cold medicine for her, and Mom handed Serena the keys to my Tesla. Serena mentioned she needed to renew her car insurance, and Mom wired her the surgery fund I'd been saving for two years for my daughter Emma. That afternoon, Emma collapsed on the floor, lips turning blue, gasping for air. Her medicine was crushed into the carpet. Mom fished the last pill out of her pocket and dangled it in front of me. "Apologize to your sister, and I'll give Emma the pill." I got on my knees. But that same day, she gave away the cardiology appointment I'd spent three months getting. She gave it to Serena. What she didn't know was that the name on the appointment was her own.

"You're mine, Aurora. If I can build a whole world for you, then I can also destroy the whole world for you." He looked into my eyes, his eyes were burning with something raw, something dangerous. "B-But this is wrong." I stammered, my heart pounding in my chest, feeling the tension of this forbidden desire. "I'm the one who decides what's wrong and what's not, babygirl. You think you can stay away from me with some lame excuse? Then you are wrong, kitty cat." He smirk, as if he's determined to do what he was doing. _____ Aurora Martinez had her all life enduring pain, sufferings and loneliness. All she had was her sister to support her. At the age of thirteen, she moved to her mother's new husband's house with her sister and mother. Little did she knew that after that day her life was going to change forever. Her stepbrother Artemis Marcello Fernandez became obsessed with her. His obsession became a sick possession that he had to left the city for the shake of her. After five years they again meet. And the most horrible thing is she has to stay in his mansion for a while. The old obsession became aggressive, memories flowed and the urge to making her his became stronger that ever.

“When we grow up, you should fall in love with me, woo me, propose to me, marry me, and love and cherish me for the rest of your life. You must treat me like a Queen.” Lil told the brooding, handsome boy. “But these are all the things I should do. What will you do?” Nat asked the chirpy little girl in front of him. “I will grow up to be an outstanding lady and give you a happy family so you can smile every day,” She replied matter-of-factly. Thirteen years later, on the day of their marriage, he whispered to her, “Did you think you could be my wife because you schemed and trapped me into this? You can enjoy the vacant position of Mrs. Smith that you covet so much. But you will never have a place in my heart and life.” She disappeared the day after their marriage. What will happen when they cross paths seven years later as spouses turned strangers turned business partners? He has already forgotten he was even married. But she could never forget him, try as she may. But she has her secrets to protect and can’t tell him who he is to her as he tries to navigate his feelings.

“You love the way I touch you, don’t you, kitten? You can’t hide it. Tell me to stop, and I will do that immediately?” I couldn’t say anything; I was a complete wreck of nerves. He inched his face closer, and I arched my back so that it pushed my chest towards him.  I couldn’t control myself. I just wanted him to touch me. Needed him to touch me.   “Do you still think that this is a mistake?” He asked, his lips curved in a teasing smirk.  However, I was far too gone to argue.  “I’m not going to touch you until you beg me.” He stepped even closer. “Now, kitten, do you still think that this is a mistake?” *** *** *** **** In one single day, my entire life is turned upside down when Dad is brought back to the pack, lifeless and dead in every way. However, the last thing I would have expected was my mother to show up on our doorstep after thirteen years to take me in. Or maybe not, because nothing else can beat the insane attraction that I feel to this man. This man walking down the stairs and looking every bit like some Greek god of seduction. “Olivia, my husband, André.” Wait… He’s my stepfather?

Thirteen years of my life were given to Ethan Cross. I believed in his music before anyone else did, stayed through the long nights when success was only a dream, and held on to every promise that I would be the woman by his side when it all finally came true. After eight years as his girlfriend and four more wearing his ring, he walked away. Seven months later, an invitation arrived. Ethan is getting married. And not to me. He is marrying my cousin sister. The wedding is set on a two week getaway meant for couples only. Ethan may think I will stay behind, broken and forgotten, but he is wrong. I will not be showing up alone. My date is Adrian Cole, Ethan’s powerful boss in the music industry, the man who holds his career in his hands and the one rival he never wanted near me. Ethan thought he left me behind. But this time I am not the girl he abandoned. I am stronger, I have found my own rhythm, and I am walking back into his world with the one man who can break him the way he broke me.

BOOK 1&2 "You're already broken, Claire. I broke you, and I'll keep doing it, again and again. Just so you know, you're mine to break, mine to keep, for as long as I damn well please. The sooner you accept that, the better." **** Claire Keys' life fell apart when she was kidnapped and brutalized by Luciano Sebastian, the ruthless leader of the Silver Fox mafia. After losing her parents, she vowed revenge but couldn't even muster the strength to pull the trigger. Fate, however, led her to Don Dada, the infamous head of the Danger Blaze mafia. He made her an irresistible offer, giving her the chance to be close to him and also his sworn enemy, Luciano. After a night of passionate kisses and heated moments, Claire thought she had found a way out. But she soon realized she was caught between two powerful mafia men, each determined to claim her for themselves. To Luciano, she was his property; to Don Dada, she was his lover, a woman his heart yearns for. Now, Claire faces an impossible choice: whom to trust and whom to betray as she seeks to avenge her parents. But in the ruthless mafia world, trust is a dangerous gamble. Will Claire survive the deadly tug-of-war between Luciano and Don Dada? Will she succumb to their desires or fight for her freedom? And could love find a way in the darkness? Danger, desire, and a forbidden love affair. A tale of passion, betrayal, and the ultimate sacrifice.

Fresh out of college, Clara Stewart asked me to take on a $500,000 mortgage for her. When I refused, she turned around and bought an $800,000 villa in full, for another guy. Holding up the property deed, she told me: "Jayden, the truth is, I'm actually rich. I've been pretending to be poor to test you. Unfortunately, you failed. I'm disappointed in you. Let's break up." I simply smiled and walked away without a second thought. The irony? I'm the son of the richest man in the country. I was pretending to be broke, too. Fast forward four years, we met again at the National Wealth Summit. Clara had just barely made it into the top 50 on the list, clinging to the arm of Henry Brown as they entered. She spotted me in simple clothes with no visible brand, holding a child in one arm and the keys to a Porsche Cayenne in the other. Thinking I was someone's driver, she sneered: "Jayden, you really went all out just to see me again? Let's be real, you're just a driver now, and I'm on the wealth list. We live in completely different worlds. Don't waste your time fantasizing." I did not bother replying. Honestly, I was only there because my billionaire dad insisted. I had finally cleared a day to spend with my son and now I had to waste it on that.

Dahlia Bernard gave Desmond Sterlings everything, love, loyalty, and a crown he never earned. She picked him from the slums, built him into a CEO, and handed him the keys to her empire. Love blinded her. Desmond repaid her by betraying her, stealing her company, sleeping with multiple women, and getting her own sister pregnant. A community dick, that's all he ever was. Now, Dahlia isn’t just broken. She’s angry. With Ronan Knight, Drawlwood's ruthless billionaire by her side, Dahlia is ready to reclaim everything that was once hers. And this time… mercy is off the table. ********** I was flung aside, my grip on Roselle slipping as I crashed into someone's arms, Ronan Knight. "Hold in your rage, Dahlia," Ronan's voice was calm. "There are better ways to make them pay. Don’t destroy yourself trying to hurt them. That's not how revenge works." I glanced down at my reddened knuckles. Tears blurring my vision. "Then tell me, Ronan… how do I hurt them?" I choked on my tears. "By becoming untouchable," he said softly. "Become more powerful, more successful. A version of Dahlia they could never break. And then… you make them kneel." He leaned in, a wicked promise in his eyes. "I'll help you rise again, Dahlia. And when you do… they'll beg at your feet."

"This brutally romantic mafia love story will grip you!" ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Helen Hardt Arranged-marriage, age-gap, Mafia/cartel romance Capo to the Luciano Famiglia was my birthright. The cruelty needed to succeed in this life has been beaten into me since I was a young boy. My father, Vincent Luciano, taught by example and with the slap of his hand. My independent streak took me down paths my father would never have gone. With our enemies gaining strength, it is my idea to attempt an alliance with an unlikely bedfellow. The Roríguez Cartel and the Luciano Famiglia are improbable partners, yet even Vincent Luciano can’t deny the possible benefits. The only way to solidify the deal is for me to marry Catalina Ruiz, the eldest daughter of Andres Ruiz, a top lieutenant in the Roríguez Cartel. Catalina is young, beautiful, and thinks she understands the path she is being forced to follow. There is no way for her to know the monster she is about to wed. A man doesn’t become a made man at thirteen if he is capable of love. That emotion is beyond my scope of expertise. Saving the famiglia is my goal. And once this alliance is made, ours will be but the first of the brutal vows exchanged. Have you been Aleatha’d?

Claire is a seventeen-year-old human and orphan living in foster care with her fourteen-year-old sister. She has been living in foster care since her parents died from an animal attack when she was thirteen years old and it has been hell. One day a couple comes to visit Claire claiming to have grown up with her father. They ask if she and her sister would come to live with them and she agrees thinking that once she turns eighteen she will be able to find a nice apartment for her sister but what she doesn’t know is that her life is about to change forever and she will be introduced to supernatural creatures she never thought were real. Stephen and Steven's knight are eighteen-year-old twins Alpha’s and they still haven’t found their mate. They are twins and know that they will share a mate when they find her. When their father tells them about finding his old Beta that got killed in a Rogue attack years ago daughter and that they will be moving in with them they have no idea that the older of the two is the girl they have been waiting for. But they are not her only mates their best friend Gwen smith’s mate as well. How will Claire react when she not only finds out that werewolves are real but also she is mated to three?