Ghost grinned, leaning forward. “That right? Then maybe I’ll bring someone home next time.”
“That would be different,” Buck teased.
“Would it?” Ghost asked softly. “Or would it just be you, again, laying claim on what you can’t let yourself want?” The silence that followed wasn’t comfortable anymore. It was electric. The kind that stretched a heartbeat too long.
Finally, Buck spoke. “Listen close, Ghost. She’s not yours to toy with. She’s not part of this club. She’s a liability, and she’s leaving tomorrow.”
Ghost tipped what was left of his whiskey in a mock salute. “Sure thing, boss.” But he didn’t believe a word Buck was saying—not even for a second.
Buck turned back to the window, broad shoulders outlined by the glow of the wood stove. Outside, the night was wild—wind, ice, endless white. He’d always seemed more at home there, Ghost thought with the chaos and cold. It was the quiet that scared him. It was where he kept part of himself buried.
“She’s not the enemy,” Ghost added, breaking the quiet again. “She’s just lost.”
Buck’s reply was low and final. “We’re all lost. She’s just new at it.” Ghost swallowed more whiskey, watching firelight dance across the glass. He thought about Rhett, about the woman upstairs with steel in her voice and fear she refused to show, and about the man standing near the window pretending he didn’t feel every inch of it.
They were all ghosts out here, frozen between what they’d done and what still waited for them. And Ghost had the sinking feeling that Wren Callahan had just become the thing that would thaw them—or destroy them both trying.
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You won’t want to miss the next book releasing from K.L. Ramsey! Bound by Blood is book 1 of the Crimson Empire Mafia Series, and it will release in April 2026!
Luca
Blood made men loyal. Blood made men dangerous. And tonight, blood would bind an empire. Luca Camorra stood at the head of the long mahogany table, with his hands braced against the polished surface, and his shoulders squared beneath his tailored black suit. The room was thick with cigar smoke and tension—old, familiar, and suffocating. It was the kind of tension that came before violence.
His men waited for him to give them their next orders. They were more than capos and enforcers—they were family. All eyes were on him, but Luca didn’t acknowledge them yet. He stared instead at the single folder lying open in front of him. One name was typed neatly across the top—Isabella Romano. She wasn’t just the daughter of his enemy; she was also his bride-to-be. The very thought of having to marry her just sat wrong in his chest. It was a slow burn of fury he’d learned to control years ago. Emotion had no place at this table. His father had beaten that lesson into him long before Luca had earned his first scar.
“The Romanos are expecting the engagement announcement within the week,” his uncle Matteo said.
Luca finally lifted his gaze. Cold, calculated, and deadly calm. “Expectations don’t concern me,” he said evenly, “resultsdo.” A murmur moved around the table, quickly silenced when he cleared his throat. No one challenged Luca Camorra—not since he’d taken over the family at just thirty-two and turned hesitation into fear.
Matteo leaned back in his chair, studying him. “This marriage ends the war.”
Luca let out a humorless breath. “No, it pauses the war.” He knew for a fact that peace built on pacts was never permanent.
The Romano family had cost him more than just territory and more than money. They’d taken his uncle—his mother’s brother—and left his body displayed like a warning on the docks. Luca had personally ordered the retaliation. Three Romano captains were buried—one was still alive when they put him in the ground. They left him there long enough to beg for his life. And now Luca was supposed to put a ring on their princess and call an end to the war that they had started.
Luca straightened, buttoning his jacket with precise movements. Control was everything to him now. He knew from experience that appearances mattered. The Camorra family didn’t bend—they calculated their next move.
“I want her watched,” he continued. “From the moment she gets here.”
Matteo nodded. “It’s already arranged.”
“I mean it. I want every step she makes, every call she places, and every breath that she takes reported back to me.” Luca’s voice hardened. “If she’s here to spy?—”
“She won’t get the chance,” his enforcer Dante said from the far end of the table. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Luca met Dante’s eyes. “No. She’ll be mine to deal with.” Because if Isabella Romano thought she could walk into his house and play innocent, she was already dead to him.
The meeting ended swiftly after that. Luca gave his orders and dismissed his men. The room emptied, leaving Luca alone with the folder and the ghosts it carried.
He closed it slowly, trying to shut away the past, but that would never happen—not really. There was no way that he could forget or forgive what the Romanos did to his family. Marrying Isabella wasn’t a part of his plan, but he had to do it if he wanted to keep his family safe. If he had his way, he’d burn down the entire Romano family—Isabella included.
He hadn’t planned on getting married. Hell, he never wanted to be tied down to one person for the rest of his life. He didn’t do love. Love was leverage, and leverage got men killed. His father’s death had proven that. Love was just weakness disguised as devotion, and Luca had sworn he would never make the same mistake as his father had.
A knock sounded at the door. “Enter,” he growled.
