Cover Reveal: EMPIRE by Rachel Van Dyken
EMPIRE
by Rachel Van Dyken
Release Date: May 31, 2016
**Must Read ELUDE prior to Empire**
I have lost everything.
My purpose
My love
My soul
Death knocks on my door, I want to
answer, but every time I reach for the handle -- the promise I made her brings
me back.
So I breathe.
I live.
I hate.
And I allow the anger to boil beneath the
surface of a perfectly indifferent facade. I am broken, I don't want to be
fixed.
But the Empire is crumbling and it's my
job to fix it.
My job to mend the pieces that were
scattered over thirty years ago.
A trip to New York, only one chance to
redeem a lost part of our mafia family.
The only issue is, the only way to fix
it, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.
An arranged marriage.
Only this time,
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I will kill her
myself.
My name is Sergio Abandonoto, you think
you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate?
You have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.
Sergio looked ready to strangle me. “No. I don’t
believe I asked for an annoying little sister, but if that’s what you’re
offering, please don’t let me stop you. Just know, I won’t hesitate to put you
over my knee if you get out of hand.”
The minute the words left his mouth. I froze.
He froze.
The taxi driver stared little laser like holes into
the rearview mirror.
And Sergio leaned toward me.
I swallowed as tension swirled around us.
He gripped me by the chin and turned my head to the
side, his lips brushing my ear. “It’s like you have a death wish.”
“You wouldn’t do it.”
He pulled back as both of his eyebrows shot up, and
then he looked down, like he had spotted something.
I followed the direction of his gaze and let out a
little gasp as a gun dug into my stomach.
“It’s been directed at you for the last four
minutes,” Sergio said through a practiced smile. “I meant what I said. Listen
well. I keep my word. Kiss me, and blood will be spilled.”
“Y-you’re a crazy person!” I hissed, shoving at his
chest. “And I wasn’t going to kiss you!”
“Sure you weren’t.” He put the gun away. “Good talk
though, right? Oh look, the movie theater.”
To say that I scrambled out of the car like a kid
running away from her kidnapper would be a gross understatement, but the minute
my feet hit the pavement, I paused.
My body told me to run.
The guy had pulled a gun.
On me.
I didn’t even watch violent movies.
Get the
beginning of Sergio's story in Elude on sale now.
Twenty-Four
hours before we were to be married--I offered to shoot her.
Ten
hours before our wedding--I made a mockery of her dying wish.
Five
hours before we were going to say our vows--I promised I'd never love her.
One
hour before I said I do--I vowed I'd never shed a tear over her death.
But
the minute we were pronounced man and wife--I knew.
I'd
only use my gun to protect her.
I'd
give my life for hers.
I'd
cry.
And
I would, most definitely, lose my heart, to a dying girl---a girl who by all
accounts should have never been mine in the first place.
I
always believed the mafia would be my end game--where I'd lose my heart, while
it claimed my soul. I could have never imagined. It would be my redemption.
Or
the beginning of something beautiful.
The
beginning of her.
The
end of us.
Rachel
Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today
Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not
writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her
next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!
Want to be kept up to date on new releases? Text MAFIA to 66866!
You can connect with her on Facebook or join her fan group Rachel's New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
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