Ruthless Ashes

I thought the dog was the threat… until I met the man holding the leash.

One minute I’m delivering lattes.

The next, a giant German shepherd takes me out like a linebacker,

and his owner—Luka Barinov—stares down at me like I’m a threat he needs to eliminate.

Bratva heir.

Sin in a suit.

A man who treats suspicion like oxygen.

He decides I’m connected to his enemies.

Then my café burns down.

My sister disappears.

And Luka decides “coincidence” is a bedtime story for idiots.

So he takes me.

Locks, questions, growls—all included.

I should hate him.

I want to hate him.

But my body is too busy betraying me every time he steps close.

And Vega—the traitor dog?

He adopts me on sight.

His owner is still figuring out whether I’m a threat… or the woman he can’t walk away from.

When the truth about my family detonates,

when the real enemy demands my life as leverage,

Luka stops interrogating me.

He starts protecting me like he was born for it.

Bleeding for me.

Burning for me.

Undoing me in ways I can’t fight.

Until one secret changes everything.

One heartbeat.

One test.

Two pink lines.

I wasn’t a coincidence.

I was a target.

A weapon.

A weakness.

And now… I’m his.