Lana Blackwell thought she won her freedom the night she murdered her abusive husband, Richard. Instead, she steps into a new nightmare when his brooding business partner, Chuck Sterling, arrives convinced she stole twenty million dollars from their mob-laundering accounts. Lana knows nothing about the money, but when Chuck makes it clear the crime boss will kill her unless the debt is paid, survival leaves her no choice but to work with him. What she doesn’t expect is the dangerous pull between them, or how much it threatens the independence she sacrificed everything to claim.

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Chuck has spent his life believing attachment is a liability and freedom a lie. Richard was the one person who made him feel valued—until his death reveals a web of betrayal that leaves Chuck questioning everything he trusted. As the crime boss closes in with violence and a deadline neither can outrun, suspicion sharpens into desire and emotional vulnerability becomes as risky as the mob itself. Loving Lana would mean dismantling the emotional armor Chuck built to survive—and choosing her would mean betraying the memory of the man he once called family.