From USA Today bestselling author K.C. Mills comes a scorching romance about a ruthless crime boss who discovers his greatest weakness may be the woman he vowed to protect. A gripping tale of power, protection, and the kind of love that breaks all the rules.
In a world where power and survival intertwine, Nari—a resilient former foster child—finds herself unexpectedly married to Kincaid Akel, a ruthless businessman with a complicated past.
What begins as a calculated arrangement transforms into a passionate and dangerous journey of love, loyalty, and survival. Kincaid’s fierce devotion to Nari is matched only by his willingness to eliminate anyone who threatens her safety. But when the shadows of their past—including Nari’s criminal father Eli Manchester—begin to close in, their marriage is tested in ways neither could have imagined.
Pregnant and caught between her husband’s dark world and her own search for identity, Nari must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice to protect the life they’re building together. With enemies lurking and secrets threatening to destroy everything, Kincaid and Nari must trust each other completely or risk losing everything they’ve fought so hard to create.
Release date:
October 28, 2025
Publisher:
Black Odyssey Media
Print pages:
288
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Nari followed me through the lobby, fuming, but I understood. She and I had just discovered details that completely complicated everything about us.
“You’re right. We do have a lot to discuss, starting with how you know my father and knew I was here. Are you following me?” She folded her arms across her chest, firing bullets through a heated stare while I ignored her, hitting the locks on my car so that we could leave. There was no way in hell we were about to have this discussion in the middle of the sidewalk, in plain sight, after what the hell I had just found out.
“It’s my job to know where you are at all times, now more than ever.” While my hand rested on the open door of my vehicle, my eyes lowered to her stomach, and she laughed under her breath.
“You’re not going to use this baby as a way to control me.”
“How am I controlling you, sweetheart?”
“Let’s start with the fact that you’ve known all this time who my father was, and you didn’t bother to tell me because the two of you are in some dick-swinging contest. How is that not control?”
“Nari, I’m more than open to having this discussion with you, but before that can happen, you need to get into the car. We’re not doing it out here.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere with you until you explain why you conveniently left out the very important detail that you knew who my father was.”
“I didn’t leave out a damn thing. I didn’t fucking know. Imagine my surprise the moment I got word that my wife was alone, sitting at a table across from a man who would take her life and not think twice, so we’re both at a crossroads here, now get in the fucking car.”
“You expect me to believe that you didn’t know? You, the almighty Kincaid Akel, didn’t know who my father was?”
“No, sweetheart, I didn’t fucking know. Now, get in the gotdamn car. If you want to have this discussion, we can, but again, we will not have it out here like this.”
My stance widened at the same time my shoulders expanded. My chin dipped so that our eyes leveled to ensure she understood just how serious I was. If she didn’t move in a matter of seconds, I would physically move her myself.
“Fucking tyrant,” she muttered under her breath, but at least things between us didn’t have to get physical. After she was seated, she slammed the door before I got a chance to close it myself, which had me taking a cleansing breath before I scanned my surroundings for any signs that someone was watching us. Once I determined nothing seemed out of place, I got in and pulled away from the curb with Nari shooting daggers through me.
“If you didn’t know, then why make the point of telling my father that he should know that you wouldn’t let me anywhere near him?”
“Because I didn’t have to know he was your father to make that determination.”
“And you don’t think that’s control? He’s my father.”
“He’s a killer.”
“So are you.”
When my eyes met hers, she didn’t back down. I laughed arrogantly. “Lucky for you I’m invested in keeping you safe. I’d be willing to bet my life that’s not a sentiment he and I share.”
“He’s my father. Why wouldn’t he want me safe?”
“Because that’s not who he is. Regardless of whatever dream he sold you, Eli Manchester will always put his agenda ahead of yours. That means if it serves his purpose, then you don’t fucking matter.”
“Sounds very familiar.” Her heated gaze landed hard on me, and I snorted.
“Not even fucking close.”
“You sure? Because what you’re describing sounds a lot like you.”
“The fact that you would insinuate that we’re the same lets me know just how fucking naive you are. We’re nothing alike.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because I fucking love you, and he loves the potential that he sees in the prospect of using you for whatever sick fantasy he’s dreamed up in his head after learning that you exist.”
“You love me?” Her tone was accusatory and snide, which I didn’t fucking appreciate. I cut my eyes at her but didn’t respond.
“Answer the gotdamn question, Kincaid. Do you love me?”
“More than you will ever be capable of comprehending.”
“Then why the fuck did you sleep with another woman?”
Again, I didn’t answer, and it triggered something because before I could process what was happening, she slapped me so hard that it took everything in me not to break her fucking jaw from an instinctive reaction. When our eyes finally met again, I could see the moment it registered what she had just done, but she didn’t fold.
“I will never in my life put my hands on you, but I promise I can make you suffer in ways that you can never even imagine without ever laying a finger on you. Show me the same respect that I show you.”
She snorted. “Fine. Then I’ll just go fuck another man because, apparently, that’s how we’re showing respect.”
The best thing Nari could have done at that moment was shut the fuck up. As much as I loved her, she was engaging in a dangerous war with me. One she wouldn’t be able to win, so it was a small blessing that she chose to ignore me silently.
When we arrived at the house, she and I went in different directions. She climbed the stairs, and I headed straight for my office. I needed time to process what the hell had just happened.
Nari’s father was a man who I wanted nothing more than to silence with a bullet. He wanted me on the receiving end of one as well, preferably from his gun. How fucking small did the world have to be? The first thing I did was wrap one hand around a bottle while the other gripped a glass, which I filled to the brim, taking down half in one motion before I landed in the chair behind my desk and refilled it. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there repeating the process, but half the bottle was gone by the time I had control of my thoughts.
I finished the last of what was in my glass, gripping the fine crystal snifter in my hand before I sent it flying across the room. Glass shattered against the wall, landing in shards on my office floor. My head met the back of my chair just as my eyes closed.
“That bad?” Darius’s voice caused me to snort through my frustration.
“That fucking bad.” My fingers massaged my temple before I dragged them across my forehead. A migraine was inches away, hindering the ability for me to think as clearly as I needed.
“What’s up? What do we need to do?”
“Kill Eli Manchester,” I muttered before lifting my head to see Darius. His expression was pensive, which I understood. Three simple words would tip the scale and cause a rift. Kill Eli Manchester. It wasn’t as easy as it seemed, not just because of the DNA he had provided my wife.
“I’ll stand by whatever call you make, but what you’re saying will start a damn war.”
“And not just in the streets.”
His frown drew deeper. “I don’t get it.”
“He’s Nari’s father.”
“You’re shitting me, right?”
“This mess would be a lot less complicated if I was.”
“Damn, how did that get by you?”
A good fucking question.
I prided myself in knowing all the details so I would never get caught with my pants down. The best business strategy was to know every player and the weight of their importance. This one small detail changed the gotdamn game.
“If I had to guess, I didn’t know he had a daughter. His name was never listed on any documents. There was no connection to be made. Nari’s mother was sixteen when she had her, and her parents handled everything because she was a child. When they found out she was pregnant, they made her give Nari up for adoption, only she was never adopted, so it wasn’t necessary to get relinquished rights documented from the father. It’s likely why she landed in foster care. There was no contact from her mother or father throughout Nari’s life. Nothing at all to point to Manchester before now.”
I had done my research because that’s who I was, so it was really fucking with me that that one very small, yet important, detail somehow remained unknown until today.
“And what evidence is there now?”
“He confirmed after ambushing Nari today.”
“He pulled up on your wife?” Darius’s eyes lowered, expressing his feelings on the matter. He didn’t like Manchester’s stunt any more than I did.
“She was at the penthouse. I’m sure he had people watching once he connected the dots and realized who she was. It would be the smart thing to do because he knew I wouldn’t openly welcome him into her life.”
“The penthouse? What was she doing over there?”
Running from me!
“Story for another day. I just need to decide what the fuck I’m going to do about this.”
My decision was already made. That muthafucker’s days were numbered. Nari didn’t understand whose blood she carried. Even if I exposed the type of man he was, she wouldn’t easily handle the idea of me killing her father. A presence she’s wanted in her life from early on as she understood the role of a father. Her emotions would get in the way of logic, and I would end up the bad guy for ridding her of a cancer that would ultimately destroy her heart. It was inevitable. Regardless of Nari being his flesh and blood, she would be handed over as a sacrifice without a second thought if she got in the way of anything he wanted.
“I already know what you’re thinking, and that’s not an easy call to make.” Darius’s voice had me exhaling through my frustration.
“He’s not worthy of her time or her heart.”
“I agree, but he’s her father. You can’t—”
“I can, and I will without hesitation if that’s what it comes to.”
“At what cost?”
“She is the cost. It might take time, but she’ll eventually see that I prevented an inevitable disappointment . . . or even worse, placing her life in danger.”
“You willing to bet your marriage on that?”
We shared a look of understanding. Darius was issuing a warning. One that I had already tossed over in my head a million times. Killing my wife’s father could be the end of us. “I might not have a choice.”
“Don’t move irrationally. Sit on it. See what his plan is.”
I snorted. “His plan is to divide and conquer. Giving him time only strengthens his ability to do so.”
“Nah, man. Y’all are solid. It won’t be that easy.”
I exhaled a sigh and brushed my hand down my face. Darius was astute and immediately picked up on what I wasn’t saying.
“What the fuck did you do?”
“Not a damn thing.” My eyes cut to him, but his expression didn’t change. “Val.”
“Come on, Caid. You’re still fucking with Val?”
“No, I haven’t in months, but my wife believes otherwise.”
“How did she come to that conclusion?”
“Val popped up on me in New York. We had words. I made clear I wasn’t breaking my vows, not even for her. Apparently, that didn’t sit well because her mind crafted a much different picture of what we really were. I’m assuming she found Nari through my social media pages and sent a recording of a call we shared while I was engaged to Aila. The clip makes it seem as if she and I had an agreement about my wife’s lack of importance, or rather her role in my life. It was Aila who I was referencing in the recording, not Nari.”
“Why the hell was she recording your calls?”
For this exact reason.
“Women like Val thrive when they feel they have leverage. I’m sure it was her way of guaranteeing some type of retribution or control if I ever decided to cut her off.”
“Only you can’t be controlled.”
“I weigh every decision I make, including the consequences. The potential for Val to threaten me with details of our relationship would never matter.”
Darius shook his head, laughing under his breath. “Until now. How the hell did you manage to fuck up your marriage before the ink’s even dry?”
“I didn’t. She only thinks I did because she’s too damn emotional to hear me out.”
“That’s your fault.”
“How the hell is that my fault?”
“I hear pregnancy hormones are a bitch. You were the one fucking like a sport trying to make a baby. Now you got one and an emotional-ass wife as well.”
And a way to permanently stay connected to Nari!
“I seriously need to stop telling you shit,” I groaned, remembering the conversation we had after confirming that Nari was indeed pregnant. He questioned my position with having a kid so soon, and I made clear it had been my intent, which I’d been diligently working toward since the first time I lay between her thighs.
“You don’t trust anybody else, so I’m all you’ve got, but since that’s a role we’re playing for each other, I wanted your opinion on something.”
He seemed uneasy, which let me know it was something serious.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been tossing around the idea of Lish and I having kids.” His eyes hit the floor before he gripped the back of his neck. It took a minute for him to look at me again.
“You two have discussed adoption before.” I’d been privy to their conversation about possibly adopting children, but it was never discussed in a way where they decided to move forward.
“We have, but I was thinking about possibly doing in vitro. She can carry a baby; it just wouldn’t be hers.”
Ahh, now I see where the conflict lies.
“So, how would that work?”
“My sperm and a donated egg.”
“So, technically, it would be your kid and not hers?” He nodded. “Have you discussed this with Alisha?”
“Not yet. You think I should?”
“If it’s something you’re considering, then yes. Open communication helps prevent misunderstandings on both sides. I feel it’s vital in all negotiations, but more so in a marriage.”
He laughed sarcastically, brushing his hand over his head. “This isn’t a business deal. It’s about our future, our family, or the potential to have one.”
“But a negotiation, nonetheless. I’m curious, though, why now?”
“It’s not new for me, you know that. I’ve always wanted a family, but it’s something I was willing to sacrifice if I had to. Shit, man, I love that girl to death. I would give her the world if it were within my power.”
“So, if she says no, that it’s not something she’s willing to do, you can move past it?”
It took him a minute before he responded with a slow nod that wasn’t very convincing.
“This is important to you?”
“It is, but it’s not a deal breaker. I love my wife, and nothing will change that. Even if she decides kids aren’t for us—”
“Kids or having a kid that’s yours?”
When he didn’t answer, I offered my honest opinion. “If you truly love her like I know you do, then have the conversation and decide together, but you have to be honest and prepared not to get the outcome you want. If that’s the case, then you’ll have to decide where that leaves the two of you.”
“Together. No matter what, that’s where it leaves us.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
He tossed his chin and moved on. “Where do we stand on this thing with Manchester?”
“As of now, I keep Nari away from him. We also keep an eye on what he’s got going on. This was intentional and has nothing to do with building family bonds.”
“I would agree, but there’s a slim chance that he really wants—”
“Not happening. He won’t get near her again.”
Darius removed his phone and squinted at a message on his screen. When I had his attention once more, his face seemed tense. “This is not the time to get sidetracked. You’re taking on a lot and need to be focused.”
My position with The Families.
“You don’t think I know that. If I could set this on the shelf, I would, but if he pushes the issue, I’ll have no choice but to push back. It makes more sense to get ahead of things before it turns costly.”
“The price is already inflated, Caid.”
Nari.
“I need a few days to get back on the same page with Nari. We’ll revisit this then.”
He tossed his chin. “Yeah, I need to get going anyway.”
I sensed his urgency and understood right away. I recognized the same urgency in myself lately.
“Tell Alisha I said hello.”
He chuckled and nodded. While Darius let himself out, I traveled upstairs to check on my wife. She had been distant since we left the penthouse, and it was time for me to make clear that she was and would be my number one priority.
When I found our room empty, my next stop was the guest room at the end of the hall. It was the only one that had an entrance to a balcony, which I learned my wife loved indulging. Sure enough, she was there, curled up in the egg swing, staring out into our backyard. The tranquility was pleasant, but considering the tension between my wife and me, I could not enjoy the lush greens and rainbow of colors sprinkled about.
“We need to talk.”
“No, we don’t. Not until I’m ready, and I’m not there yet. Please also call whoever the hell you had dismantle the beds unless you want us sleeping on mattresses stacked on the floor.”
“Our bed will do just fine. I’m not sleeping on the gotdamn floor, and neither are you.”
“So fucking arrogant, but I’m not surprised. When I said we, I meant me and my child.”
I moved from where my shoulder was anchored against the frame of the French doors, which separated the room from the balcony, and stepped out into the evening air. My eyes roamed briefly before I rounded the front of the swing, blocking Nari’s view. “Our child and I know exactly what you meant. You seem to forget that there is no running, sweetheart. Not to the penthouse and not down the hall to another room. We sleep together in the same bed, even if you have to resort to childish measures by building walls with pillows to assert your authority.”
Her eyes lifted to mine with a vengeance. They blazed with anger, further filtering into her expression with a clenched jaw and tight muscles around her brown orbs.
“Our agreement is that we sleep under the same roof. Not in the same bed.”
“Fuck that agreement, Nari. It’s no longer relevant . . .”
She laughed snidely, untucking her legs from beneath her butt, slowly lowering them over the edge of the swing. Once she was upright, her hands gripped the edge, her fingers so tight that her knuckles drained of their natural color. “It’s very relevant. You have the best lawyer in the state, possibly even the country. You’re the one who told me that, remember?”
“I do, and it’s true, but he does what I tell him to do—always. I can call him now to confirm if you’d like. If I tell Nathan to burn that shit, he will. What proof do you have that it ever existed?”
“I have a copy.”
“Do you, sweetheart? If I’m not mistaken, you threw it at Nathan this morning just before demanding that he amend our terms to permit you to sleep with other men.” My eyes lowered to hers, and Nari’s lips parted as if she were tempted to speak; however, she decided against it when her mouth slammed shut. I was sure she felt she could trust him. She could. Hell, he damn near cursed me out when he called to inform me that my wife was demanding changes because I cheated on her. I spent twenty minutes convincing my lawyer, whose salary I pay, that I hadn’t been unfaithful. How the fuck did that turn of events occur, where I had to explain myself to a man I cut a check for? “You want to sleep with other men, baby? Am I not enough for you? I guess I truly am losing my edge.”
“Maybe I do, or maybe I’m simply following your lead. I’m making a judgment call for my sanity.”
Which you will pay for later.
“You’re testing my patience is what you’re doing. Unfortunately, Nathan knows better.”
“He promised,” she snapped.
I was positive that was his intent. Not many are immune to the spell my wife could cast on the strongest and most determined. It was the craziest shit I had ever seen because she had no clue about the power she held. My good pal Nathan didn’t see her coming. Those sinful eyes, paired with her innocence and tortured spirit, were enough to bring any man to their knees and have them risking it all.
I could bear witness.
“I’m sure he did, and he would have stood by the decision had I actually been in the wrong.”
“You were. You had sex with another woman.” Her voice was just below screaming, but I wasn’t alarmed, nor did I match her level of intensity. One of us needed to remain levelheaded.
“No, baby. I didn’t.”
“I heard you inviting her over after expressing I was a means to an end. That call—”
“Wasn’t about you. I was referring to Aila.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to believe the truth.”
“Were you with her in New York?”
“Yes, but not the way she’s insinuating. When I’m in town, people talk. She knows my habits and showed up at my place because she’s familiar with it.”
“But she is the reason you had to call me back.” The memory weakened my case.
My pensive gaze remained on Nari. I didn’t falter, and I wouldn’t lie, never to her. “Yes, but not to have sex with her. It was simply to get a handle on the fact that she showed up in the first place, which I couldn’t have done if I had you on the line. She and I talked, and I made clear that my situation with you wasn’t the same as my arrangement with Aila. That, of course, didn’t make her happy, so she left with a bruised ego and the need for vengeance. She sought you out to hurt your feelings like I had done to hers.”
“You were with her the night you proposed to me.”
My patience was wavering. I understood her position. The facts pointed toward what she believed was true, but images were easily altered and twisted to produce favorable results. That was precisely what Val had done.
“I was with Val the night I proposed to Aila. Not you. The recording she sent you is a call we had before you and I ever met. There are very few things that I value in this world. My word is at the top of that list. The only thing which ranks above my word is you. I have not, and I will not ever, disrespect you by being with another woman, mentally or physically. I won’t entertain anyone’s advances but yours. I can’t be any clearer on my position with you and our marriage.”
My phone signaling a call was the only thing that pulled my eyes from my wife. Noticing that it was Cast, I answered immediately.
“Yeah?”
“They just found Knotty with a hole in his head.”
“Okay.” I frowned, needing him to get to the point.
“In your zone. It was done to send a message—”
“From whom?”
“You.”
“The fuck does that mean?”
“Somebody ran up on his guys while they were carrying. Stole the product, dropped three of their guys, and word is they heard that whoever did it said to tell Knotty’s boss that ‘Kincaid warned him about being on his blocks.’”
“Why the fuck . . .” My eyes lowered to my wife’s. She was watching me intently. “Meet me out there in an hour.”
“Got it, boss.” Cast ended the call, and I returned my attention to Nari.
“I’ll be back in a few hours. Don’t leave the house. We have a lot to address.”
“I’m not a child.”
“No, sweetheart, you’re not, but you are carrying ours. One thing I refuse to debate is the safety of either one of you. If you have ever believed anything I’ve ever told you, believe this: you will not ever again put your life or our child’s life in danger without serious consequences.”
Her heated glare remained on me until I left the balcony. I hated to force her hand, but my wife was still learning the importance of trusting my leadership. Until she was clear on what that meant, I would maintain complete control.
“They left the bodies?”
“Yeah, three. I got them loaded up and out of here.”
My jaw flexed as I stood with my hands submerged in my pockets, allowing my eyes to move up and down the blocks.
“They took the product too?”
“Yeah. Not sure how much, but it was enough to add to the problem. Knotty’s Haitian.”
I nodded, understanding. He was family to Toussaint; therefore, a layer of protection extended to each member, regardless of the affiliation. It muddied the waters with potential problems for me if people truly believed I was the one who put in the order to have him killed.
“He’s trying to put me in the middle of a war with Toussaint.”
“Who is?”
“Manchester.”
“That’s a lot of work just to come at you about two low levels. Those men you tagged were muscle at best.”
“This isn’t about Gains and Taylor,” I made clear.
“Then who is it about?”
“My wife.”
“You’re gonna have to make that make sense for me, Caid.” Cast’s brows pinched as he stared at me.
“He’s her father. I just found out. Shit, we both just found out. It’s very convenient that hours after the discovery, Knotty ends up with a hole in his head, and my name is attached to it. This could be just to fuck with me or, at the very least, complicate my life because I shut him down with Nari.”
“Hold the fuck up. Let’s circle back to Eli Manchester being your father-in-law.”
“He ain’t shit to me, and neither is he anything to my wife. Blood doesn’t give you a pass. I just need time for her to catch up and understand he’s not worth the time she so desperately wants to give him.”
“So she wants to get to know him?”
My eyes lifted to his, delivering my answer.
“That isn’t the type of weight you need on your shoulders.”
“You’re right, which is why it’s not happening.”
“So, what now?”
“I’ll reach out to Toussaint to set up a meeting to make sure he understands this isn’t me.”
“What if he don’t hear you?”
“Then I do what I need to do.”
“Knotty is family to him. Things aren’t always black and white when it comes to family. Those gray areas are a bitch.”
There was a double meaning in his statement. Cast was warning me about handling Manchester. I didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. My only concern was my wife and our child. I would do whatever was necessary for them to remain untouched.
“When I get it set up, I’ll let you know. And, Cast, be clear; there’s no room for anyone to make decisions about the well-being of my wife but me.”
He offered a nod, understanding I wasn’t trying to hear his thoughts on how I needed to move where she was concerned. Cast wouldn’t take offense because he knew me well, but he also wouldn’t intervene with his thoughts on what needed to be done regarding Manchester. My word would be the only one that mattered.
Chapter 2
Nari.
My body warmed at an alarming rat. . .
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