Dante
They call me The Executioner. I'm feared by everyone.
Except her. At least, not anymore.

Katarina Carfano.

I was never supposed to want her.
Her father took me in when I was thirteen and turned me into the ruthless man I am today. He told me to stay away from his daughter, but she's the only reason I'm still here.
I live for her. I breathe for her. I do what I do for the family for her. Because with every piece of scum I rid this world of, it's one less that has the potential to hurt her.

Being with Katarina means going against the only people I can remotely come close to calling family, but I set our fate in motion years ago, and I'll keep doing whatever is needed to make sure she's safe.
And mine.

Katarina
My father brought Dante Salerno into our home a battered and broken kid.

He terrified me.

But as the years went on, that fear eventually turned into curiosity, which then morphed into something so much more.
A deep-seated need took root inside of me with every lingering look and brush of a touch we'd share when no one was watching.

I knew nothing could ever come of it, though. I've known my role in the family since I was fifteen and my father told me I was meant to marry the man of his choosing. I was meant to be a bargaining chip in a business deal and nothing more. And while he was killed before that could happen, my brother who took his place as the head of the family thinks I'm still going to play that role for him.

But what my brother doesn't realize is that I'm no longer a scared or timid teenager, and there's no way I'm going down without a fight or without knowing what being Dante's truly feels like.