The Mafia Academy

When my father arranged for me to marry the heir to the Costa crime family, I swore I’d do anything to escape that fate. I have more to offer than being some man’s arm candy and producing heirs. Marcello Costa might be my fiancé, but he’ll never be my husband. So when he and his father are killed in a car bombing, I consider myself lucky. No longer will I have to go from being a mafia princess to becoming a mafia wife, I can now attend the Sicuro Academy—a private college created for mafia children like me.

My life has been a series of duties—to the mafia, to my father, but never to myself. Aurora and I are a good match as far as mafia politics go, but she’s nothing I’ve ever wanted in a wife with her hard edges and being about as malleable as granite. Then there’s Sofia Moretti, my little sister’s best friend. I never looked at her with anything other than sisterly affection, until recently. Now she consumes my every thought. My every desire. Her innocence beckons me, and I yearn to be the one who taints it.

The first time I saw Gabriele Vitale, some dark yearning deep inside me called to him and no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop wanting him. He’s made it clear that he wants nothing to do with me. But sometimes there’s a flicker of interest in his eye, and it’s enough to make me know he’s lying. When a stupid decision on my part throws us together, I get a first-hand view of the darkness he alludes to. One part of me is drawn to it. Another part of me is frightened by it. But not enough to stop from getting to know him better.

At the Sicuro Academy, the Russians and the Italians give each other a wide berth. We’re bitter enemies after all. So imagine my disbelief when my brother announces that I’m to wed Dante Accardi, next in line to run the Accardi Italian crime family. After the shock subsides, I’m determined to save myself. It’s not until my plan is in full swing that I realize there might be more to Dante than I thought.