nico russo

"You have a week. If you don't provide my money, then you'll accept my proposal." "A week? Are you joking?" "I don't joke." "You... want me to marry you?" "For one year," Nico repeats, forcing her to look at him. "Then you walk away with enough money to never fight again." Cake Coogan survives by her fists and her fury, spending her life fighting in underground rings to keep herself and her mother alive. But one stolen payout, one stranger's intervention, and one accidental bag switch drops her into the crosshairs of Nico Vescari. Nico Vescari; mafia heir, feared and ruthless, a man who kills with a steady pulse—wants his money back. What he gets instead is Cake: the girl with the iron fists, mismatched eyes, and a journal he should never have read. Fascinated, furious, and threatened by how she makes him feel, he gives her a choice that isn't a choice at all—marry him for a year... or lose the only family she has left. Thrust into a world of blood feuds, monsters, and merciless mafia politics, Cake becomes both weapon and wife. She's pulled between power plays, underground fights, and a man whose touch feels like fire even when she swears she hates him. Nico's family is dangerous, his enemies worse, and his rules suffocating, but the most lethal thing between them is the feral desire none of them want. As bodies fall and alliances burn, Cake is forced to choose between revenge and the man who has broken her, protected her, and ruined her life in equal measure. In a story of obsession, betrayal, and savage love, only the strongest survive. And Cake Coogan is not prey.