Jace Marino has mastered control. By day, he’s the brilliant, untouchable criminal law professor at Brooklyn Law. By night, he’s the eldest son of New York’s most powerful crime family — a man whose word still commands the streets, even if he claims to have left that life behind.

Julian Pole never wanted law school. Sensitive and artistic, he’s far more comfortable with a sketchpad than statutes. But with a detective father and a nurse mother pushing him, quitting isn’t an option — even as his grades begin to slip.

When Jace calls on him unexpectedly in class, Julian’s stammered answer and shy, uncertain eyes spark something Jace doesn’t want to name. He should look away. Instead, he finds himself watching.

As rivals close in on Marino territory, Jace’s two worlds are on a collision course — and the quiet, blue-eyed student might be the one thing he can’t protect from the fallout.

I don't know how I know at first. Maybe it's the way the air shifts, the way noise stops meaning anything. One second I'm listening to the auctioneer drone on, Aiko's hand resting neatly on my arm, and the next… I feel him.


The moment the auctioneer mentioned his name, I froze.


I knew something was wrong the moment I saw Enzo here.


When my eyes finally find him, everything inside me goes still.


The lights hit him in this soft, uneven way, his hair catching gold, his lips parting just slightly like he can't breathe. He looks too real, too human, too mine in a room full of people pretending to be made of marble.


The kind of pain that makes your body forget how to move. His face doesn't hide it; it's raw, visible, the way only Julian can be. He's standing there, frozen between his friends, and every part of me screams to go to him.


Chapter 22 - When The Lights Went Out