Payton Running away from home at 17 wasn't easy. Let's face it, though, nothing before or in the ten years since has ever been easy for me. And I'm doing okay—sorta. I just need to keep scraping by, living under the radar. Staying out of people's way, off people's minds. When a man walks through my open patio door, stepping boldly into my home and my life, I should be scared, frightened, terrified. I must be more broken than I realized because I'm none of those things. I'm intrigued—and I'm wondering if the way to take control of my life is by giving in to him. Nero The first time I took a man's life, I knew there'd be no going back, no normal existence in the cards for me. Instead of walking away, I climbed a mountain of bodies and created my own destiny by forming The Alliance. And I was fine with that, content enough to carry on. Until I stepped through those open doors, and into her life. I should've walked away. Should've gone right back out the door I came through. But I didn't. And now her life is in danger. That's the thing about being a bad man. I'll happily paint the streets red to protect what's mine. And Payton is mine. Whether she knows it or not.