BLACKWOOD

Fourteen years ago, a fire tore through the Blackwood–Vale warehouse on the Manhattan riverfront and killed Julian Blackwood. The two families, once as close as blood, have been bitter enemies ever since.

Damian Blackwood is twenty-six, cold, brilliant and feared. He built his empire out of grief and holds the Vale family responsible for everything he lost. Seraphina Vale is just as sharp, a woman whose flawless smile hides a mind that notices everything. She was sent away on the night of the fire, and she has never been told why.

When the city puts the burnt land up for auction, their rivalry explodes in front of three hundred guests. Neither will back down, so the law forces them into a joint bid, and two enemies must build on the ground where their families fell apart.

But the fire was no accident. A dead witness, missing pages from the records and a message that reads “Ask who had the key” point to someone who has spent fourteen years rewriting the truth. Old allies turn out to be liars, family loyalties begin to crack, and a childhood promise that Damian and Seraphina each believe the other broke comes back to haunt them.

As the danger closes in on both families, with shots fired in the dark and a kidnapping that tests everything between them, the two people who should hate each other most are the only ones who can trust each other with their lives.

Some promises are broken. Some are buried. And some fires are never meant to go out.

Contains violence, mature themes, and open-door romance. Recommended for 18+.