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At twenty-five, she has spent three years traveling the world without a bodyguard, finally experiencing something she’d never truly had growing up: freedom. She’s a reckless, sarcastic, beautiful party girl—and the daughter of one of the most feared mafia bosses in the country.
She also refuses to become what her father expects. She won’t date mafia men. She dates normal men, goes dancing with friends, travels wherever she wants, and treats her father’s criminal empire like an embarrassing family secret.
But her life has always been complicated.
Her biological mother was a brilliant young dancer who escaped an abusive, drug-filled home, earned her GED, and fought her way into a prestigious dance academy. She worked as a stripper at her father’s nightclub to pay for it. She became friends with the mafia boss who owned the club, never realizing how badly that friendship would end.
Eventually, she became his secret lover, believing his treatment of her meant something more.
She was wrong.
He had been engaged the entire time.
The betrayal destroyed her career, her dream of dancing, and eventually sent her spiraling into addiction. After discovering she was pregnant, she gave her daughter to her father and disappeared from her life except for occasional visits when she was sober.
Her daughter never hated her. She knew both sides of the story. She knew her mother was sick, knew her father was a bastard, and still loved them both.
Her father raised her alongside the wife he’d eventually married and their three children. His wife had once hated her mother and helped make her life worse—but she never blamed the child. She became the mother who raised her, and the daughter calls her Mama.
Then her biological mother dies.
After grieving, she disappears for three years, backpacking across the world without security, family expectations, or anyone knowing where she is.
Now she’s home.
And her father has one surprise waiting for her.
The same man who’s been protecting her since she was a teenager.
Her brother’s best friend.
The Lieutenant’s son.
Her lifelong nemesis.
The tattooed biker who has spent half his life ruining her fun.
She insists she hates him.
Her family knows better.
Three years.
That was how long Valentina Moretti had managed to stay away from home, her family, and the suffocating world she was born into.
Three years of airports, foreign cities, hotel rooms, dancing until sunrise, making friends whose last names meant absolutely nothing, and dating men who had never heard the name Moretti.
For three years, Val had finally been just Val.
Then her biological mother died.
Now, at twenty-five, she was standing in the driveway of the Moretti estate with a suitcase in one hand and absolutely no desire to admit how much she had missed this place.
The front doors opened before she could even reach them.
“VAL!”
Sofia came flying down the steps.
Val barely had time to drop her suitcase before Sofia threw her arms around her.
“Look at you!” Sofia laughed. “You actually came home.”
“Unfortunately for everyone.”
One by one, her family appeared behind Sofia. Isabella was already fighting back tears. Nico pulled Val into a hug while Luca immediately started asking questions about her travels.
Then Val saw her father.
Dante Moretti stood at the top of the steps, watching his daughter with an expression that softened the second their eyes met.
Val smiled.
“Hi, Daddy.”
Dante opened his arms.
“Come here, princess.”
She walked straight into his embrace.
For a moment, everything felt exactly like it used to.
Then Dante ruined it.
“You’re staying home now.”
Val pulled back.
“No.”
“You’re getting security again.”
“I don’t need security.”
“You’ve been gone three years.”
“And I survived.”
Dante sighed. “You’re getting a bodyguard.”
Val stared at him.
“Dad, please tell me you are joking.”
A familiar voice came from behind her.
“Miss me?”
Val froze.
She slowly turned around.
Rafael DeLuca stood beside a black motorcycle near the gates, dressed in black, tattoos visible along his arms, looking older, broader, and somehow even more annoyingly attractive than she remembered.
Val stared at him.
Rafe raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
His mouth twitched.
“Good to see you too, princess.”
Three years away from home.
Three years of freedom.
And somehow, her father had brought back the one man who had spent years ruining her plans.
Rafe DeLuca was back.
And apparently, he had no intention of letting Val disappear again.
52 Val’s father and a powerful mafia boss. Feared by everyone outside his family, Dante is a devoted, ridiculously protective father who spoiled Val while trying unsuccessfully to control her. He secretly believes Rafe is the perfect man for his daughter.
— 48 Dante’s wife and the mother Val calls Mama. She helped raise Val alongside her own children and loves all four equally. Warm, elegant, strong-willed, and quietly protective, Isabella knows the truth about Val’s parents and supports her completely.
24 Dante’s oldest son and heir. Confident, loyal, protective, and Rafe’s best friend. He loves Val like a sister and finds her constant arguments with Rafe hilarious.
Nico’s twin and the family’s troublemaker. Sarcastic, playful, and protective of Val. He loves teasing her and immediately notices the chemistry between her and Rafe.
55 Dante’s longtime Lieutenant and Rafe’s father. Serious, loyal, and respected within the organization. He considers the Moretti children family and trusts Rafe completely.
31 The tattooed, intimidating son of Dante’s trusted Lieutenant and Nico’s best friend. Rafe has been Val’s bodyguard since she was a teenager, spending years catching her sneaking out, ruining her plans, scaring off boyfriends, and generally making her life miserable. Calm, confident, observant, fiercely loyal, and armed with a dry sense of humor, he’s one of the only people who can tell Val “no” without backing down. He rides a customized motorcycle, has a dangerous reputation, and doesn’t scare easily. He and Val have always fought like cats and dogs, but underneath every argument has been an undeniable chemistry everyone else noticed years ago. After three years apart, Rafe is back in her life—and this time, neither of them is quite as good at pretending their relationship is only about protection.
— 20 The youngest Moretti sibling. Sweet, clever, and observant. Sofia adores Val and openly ships her with Rafe, much to Val’s annoyance.
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