Deniable Secrets

In the Collective’s world, love gets you killed. I learned that the hard way. They dragged me into the dark and forged me into a weapon with blood and brutality. I barely survived the training. Now I follow the rules, pull the trigger, and keep my emotions locked down tight—because hesitation earns you a bullet between the eyes. Killing is easy. Not wanting him? That’s the real fight. Michael Varro is a dangerously seductive lie in human form—my handler, my weakness, my mistake. He’s betrayed me again and again, always claiming it’s “for the mission.” Always choosing the Collective over me. And I should hate him for it. I do. I also can’t stop craving him. Then his former mentor crawls out of the past—sadistic, relentless, and hungry to drag Michael back into hell. The kind of man who doesn’t just destroy you…he enjoys it. Michael’s rage turns sharp enough to cut, and for the first time, I see what’s hiding beneath the control: Regret. Vengeance. And a need for me that could ruin us both. Now treachery is everywhere. No one is safe. Not inside the Collective. Not outside it. And the closer I get to Michael, the more the truth sinks its claws into me: He might be the only person who can keep me alive…and the one most likely to be the reason I die. One wrong move, and everything shatters—Michael’s revenge, my heart, and both our lives.