Life was normal. Chaotic, messy, fun. Until she met Hardin Briggs.

Six feet two, with a face that made it impossible to look away. Piercing blue eyes that seemed to see through everything, perfect jawline, define nose, dark lashes that shouldn't belong to a guy, lips you could die for just to kiss—and that faint, impossible smirk.

For someone like Luna—wild, reckless, impulsive—he was too magnetic. Part of it was the mystery, the unreadable edge that kept her up all night. 

But it wasn’t just him she was drawn to. It was the danger. The closer she got, the more her life was in danger. And when she discovered the secret world he lived in—missions that could kill, enemies who didn’t forgive, contracts signed in blood, people watching from the shadows, and a life where trust was a weapon—it was already too late. She was in too deep.

She thought she knew herself. But... some feelings don’t just change you.
They consume you.
And Hardin was something she wasn’t ready for.

"I don't know why I'm warning you," he murmured, "but don't be."


"Why?" I asked again — quieter this time. Less curious, more vulnerable.


He paused. The clacking of keys stopped. His fingers stilled. Then, softly:


And… what did that even mean? My nose scrunched slightly.


"Says who?" I snapped before my brain could stop me. "What makes you think I'm innocent?"


Finally — finally — he turned. Full body. Full face.


He stared at me with that unreadable gaze and said:


I felt like I got whacked with a frying pan the size of Texas.


I hadn't even had a boyfriend before, sir.


The closest I've gotten to intimacy was emotional eye contact and throwing popcorn at Steven.


I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened it again like a buffering Wi-Fi signal.


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PROLOGUE