Wicked Liar

Maybe it’s the angel who tempts the devil, not the other way around…

Two years ago, the angel was mine.

She didn’t belong with a mafia devil like me.

All it took was one night for me to break her wings.

She nearly died from my mistakes.

So I left.

I planned to stay away, but then my old enemies resurfaced.

Forced to go home, I had to face her

One look and obsession made me want her.

One forbidden kiss and I wanted her to be mine again.

One night with her and I wanted redemption.

She can fight me all she wants, but I'll fight back to own her.

I’m the selfish devil who will do anything to get his girl back.

So when I see her in an auction, I bid.

Fifteen million dollars makes her mine for thirty days.

And that’s where our story truly begins.

When the past and present collide, I find out she has dark secrets.

As the secrets spill, nightmares come to life.

We find out who the monsters and demons truly are.

And they make me look like a saint...

“Wicked Liar” is the third book in the Dark Syndicate series. It is a stand-alone Dark Mafia Friends to Enemies to Lovers Romance, complete with a HEA.

Please note: this book is a dark mafia romance that contains mature content, graphic violence and may contain triggers. If such material offends you, please do not read.

Dominic

Present day

There’s a good reason why people tell the good girls to stay away from the bad boys; The guys who are trouble. It’s the same reason why the angel isn’t meant to be with the devil. The angel is always too good for him, even when she tries to see the good in him. The devil is filled with too much darkness to see the light.

That’s me and her.

Me: Dominic D’Agostino. Devil, darkness.

Her: Candace Ricci. The angel … my light.

She was nearly mine.

Almost, then never...

I watch her walking around in her kitchen, completely oblivious to me. Her long honey blonde hair in that fishtail braid bounces as she moves from the cupboard to the counter with a plate. She’s beautiful with the kind of beauty that gets stuck in your head. Her willowy body with curves in all the right places is the kind that would have a man on his knees begging to touch her. She wouldn’t know, though. 

She’s the girl next door type who’s beautiful and doesn’t know it.

Contrary to what she’s always thought, she’s never far from my thoughts, not even when I have a million things on my mind.

In the two years I’ve been away, she’s never been far from my heart either.

My plane touched down at LAX less than an hour ago, and I came straight here.

Like a stalker, I’ve been standing on the roof of the apartment building opposite hers, watching her through a pair of binoculars. Thankfully, I'm enveloped by the thick darkness of night so no one can see me.

I'm far away from her, so far away. Yet that rose-infused scent that's always lingering in her hair is right here with me. Her silky, smooth skin still sparks the nerve endings on my fingertips. The taste of her still burns my lips, enticing my hunger for things I shouldn't want but still crave. 

As I look at her now, I remember finally having my taste of her perfect body that night we spent together. My cock hardens when I recall with perfect clarity how I claimed her over and over again, owning her body and taking her in all the ways I fantasized for years.

All we had was one night; One perfect night that could change a guy like me. One night that made me want to keep her forever.

That night is etched in my mind on replay, the same as the night I ruined everything and lost her.

I don’t have a single childhood memory that doesn’t include her face.

Those chaste memories of innocence were, however, exactly that. 

Chaste. 

My problems began as we grew older, and I started to want her.

But Candace was the good girl who was forbidden to me. The one woman, who unknown to many, I promised not to touch. 

Two years ago, I broke my promise and selfishly took my chance to be with her. Then I fucked up and showed her exactly what kind of monster I was when my fucking mistakes left her fighting for her life.

Guilt sweeps through me as I remember how I left her attached to tubes and machines in a hospital bed, barely alive because of me. 

Barely alive because of the bullet I put in her chest.

Me… I did that to her. It was an accident. I know it was. But it doesn’t change the guilt I feel or the fact I will always, always blame myself for what happened.

Accident or not, Candace nearly died. That’s the fact.

The bullet missed her heart by a mere three millimeters.

Millimeters made the difference between life and death of a woman who deserves everything good in this world.

Shame and guilt over what I did to her were what gave me the push to leave. Along with the reason it happened. 

Drugs…

I was a drug addict.

Me…

I still can't believe it.

I can play the badass mobster or the Einstein of the D'Agostino pack with his double honors degree from M.I.T. Underneath it all, though, I’m me, and I hate not being in control. When the shit started to hit the fan, I took a path that nearly destroyed me and her too.

I’ve been clean now for a year, and my addiction is behind me. But cleaning up wasn’t the only thing I had to worry about.

When a person turns to drugs, that part is just a coping mechanism for what’s really bothering them. What was bothering me was life.

Now it’s back to screw with me, and I have to deal with it, or more people I love could die.

I’m back, but I’m only here because the time has come where I’m needed.

When I left, I know my family had to trust I was alive and I’d be back when I was ready to come home. That last part is what I’m struggling with because I’m not ready. I’m not ready to be home or be the Dominic D’Agostino they’re all used to.

I pull in a breath as the gravity of the situation hits me.

Danger’s on the horizon again.

Danger regarding the Syndicate.

Danger that unlocks nightmares and brings monsters out of the dark.

When Candace checks her kitchen windows, making sure they’re locked and she’s safe, I’m reminded I'm one of the monsters who should stay away from her.

I should stick to the darkness and leave her out of my world.

Wicked lies and broken promises are the things that define us. Both a sign we were never meant to be.

Thirteen years ago, darkness took her parents from her, and she hasn’t been the same since. Fear is just the beginning of what cursed her after—a symptom of what happened. Or rather, what was going on.

I want better than darkness for her.

As Candace places an assortment of cookies on the plate and walks out of the kitchen with her phone at her ear, I lower my binoculars and leave too.

Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day.

I’ll see my brothers, and then I’ll see her too.

I don’t know what their reaction will be like.

Candace would have every right to hate me.

Staying away is the best thing I could do for her.

The only problem with that is, I still love her.