He Wants Me Dead Or Alive
"Are you going to treat me like the enemy?" Raffaele asked, hovering over me like a predator.
"You are the enemy," I sneered.
He smiled. "Careful. You're hurting my feelings."
"I hope I can hurt much more than that."
His eyes darkened. "You forget-I'm the one who can break you."
I vowed never to give my heart to a man. Never let one bend me. Never let one own me.
Then a single night changed everything.
When my best friend became a target, I took her place and caught the attention of the most dangerous man in the city. Raffaele, My friend's older brother, wasn't supposed to see me. We were never meant to meet but the moment his eyes locked on mine, I became his new obsession.
I don't bend and he doesn't let go.
Suddenly caught up in a world of blood and power, resisting a man like Raffaele might cost me everything...heart, body, and soul.
He wants me, dead or alive.
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Chapter 1
Rosa's POV
My heart was slamming against my ribs so hard I could feel it in my teeth. Two men stood over me, cursing in some sharp foreign language, words snapping like whips, faces twisted in anger.
They were pissed at each other, at me, at the whole damn situation and I was just sitting there on the cold concrete, wrists tied tight behind my back, trying not to let them see how scared I was.
My name was Rosa Stewart, and I was about to tell you exactly why these idiots were cursing themselves stupid in a tongue I couldn't even recognize, but before I could even get the first sentence out in my head, the door crashed open with a bang that echoed off the walls.
Bright light flooded in, blinding after hours of shadows, and a tall figure stepped through, moving like he owned the darkness itself.
I squeezed my eyes half-shut, praying it was Luca, please let it be Luca, let him have come to fix this mess he'd dragged me into.
It wasn't Luca. He looked like him?
There was no time to figure out who it was, because the two guards exploded into motion, shouting, rushing the newcomer with knives flashing. One of them tripped in his hurry, and his blade clattered to the floor right near my feet. I didn't think. I twisted hard, ignoring the rope tearing skin, fingers stretching until they closed around the handle.
The stranger was already fighting, fast and brutal, slamming one guard into the wall with a sickening thud. He glanced over, saw me standing there ready to go, and his dark eyes widened just a fraction.
"The lady shouldn't fight?" he said, voice low and edged with amusement even as he drove a fist into the other man's stomach.
I bared my teeth. "This lady has a bronze medal in national sparring, so maybe shut up and worry about your own face."
I lunged before he could answer. The second guard swung at me, wild and sloppy. I slipped to the side, years of drills kicking in, and snapped a palm strike straight up into his nose. Blood sprayed. He howled.
I dropped low, hooked his ankle, yanked, then brought my knee crashing into his groin as he fell. He curled up whimpering. I finished with a sharp elbow to the temple. Out cold.
"Woah," the stranger breathed, finishing his guy with a clean hook that snapped the head back. "You do know how to fight."
"You better stop talking and watch your damn back," I snapped, already spinning toward the doorway where more boots were pounding closer.
He laughed-actually laughed-while ducking a flying chair. "Are you really my brother's fiancée? I heard you once flew home early because you got a splinter in your foot. And here you are kicking ass like it's Tuesday."
I blocked a punch, countered with a quick jab to the throat. The man choked and staggered. "I do more than fight," I told him, breathing hard. "I might actually smack you in the ass if you don't shut your mouth and help me finish this."
He grinned, wide and reckless, grabbing another attacker by the shirt and hurling him into a stack of crates. "Feisty. I like it. So tell me, Kylie-"
I almost tripped over my own feet. Kylie. Of course he thought I was Kylie. Luca's real fiancée. The one I'd been pretending to be since the moment they'd grabbed me. I swallowed the panic and rolled with it.
"Yeah, Kylie," I said, sweeping a guy's legs and stomping his wrist so the gun he was reaching for skittered away. "Kylie Rivers. Pleasure to meet you in this five-star hellhole."
He was still talking, even while he fought, voice calm like we were chatting over coffee. "Luca never said you could handle yourself like this. He made you sound... delicate. Porcelain doll. All soft edges."
I ducked a fist, came up with an uppercut that rattled teeth. "Clearly Luca's a shitty judge of character. And you talk too much."
We were moving together now, almost back-to-back, the room a chaos of grunts and falling bodies. Three more men burst through the door. The stranger snatched a metal pipe off the floor and swung it in a wide arc, forcing them to scatter.
"Left!" he called.
I pivoted, met the charge head-on. Big guy, slow. I feinted high, dropped low, leg sweep, then drove my heel into his temple as he hit the ground. Done.
"Nice," he said, approving.
"Less compliments, more punching."
He took out the last two in quick succession-one with the pipe, one with a brutal knee to the face. Then silence dropped, sudden and thick, only our heavy breathing and the occasional low moan breaking it.
I turned to face him fully for the first time. Dark hair fell into darker eyes, sharp jaw, blood streaking his knuckles and a tear in his shirt showing tanned skin. Same bone structure as Luca, but rougher, more dangerous, like a blade that had seen too many fights.
He opened his mouth... probably to say something else annoying-when a flicker of movement caught my eye.
One of the men I thought was down rolled fast, gun coming up.
Everything slowed.
I saw the barrel swing toward me.
I couldn't move quick enough.
But he could.
He threw himself in front, shoving me back hard. The gunshot cracked, deafening. His body jerked, he stumbled into me, and we crashed to the floor together, him half on top, heavy and warm, blood blooming fast across his shirt.
"No-no no no..." The words tore out of me. I scrambled free and kicked the man down, hands shaking as I pressed them to his chest. "Hey, stay with me! Talk to me-are you okay? Where did it hit?"
He coughed, winced, eyes finding mine. "No," he rasped. "Not okay."
I leaned closer, panic choking me. "Tell me where, I can-"
He moved suddenly, strong, hand sliding to the back of my neck, pulling me down until our faces were inches apart. Then he smirked, slow and wicked.
"I had the sense to wear a bulletproof vest, sweetheart. Unlike you, who fights reckless."
Relief slammed into me so hard I almost sobbed. Then fury chased right behind.
"You absolute asshole," I hissed, shoving his chest-careful of the blood, but not gentle. "You scared me half to death!"
He laughed, rough and low, still holding me close. "Had to check if you cared. I'm Raffaelle Navarro. Luca's older brother. And you are? I know your name but maybe we need a proper introduction."
I should have told him. Rosa Stewart. But he was so close, breath warm on my face, eyes locked on mine with that dangerous glint, and the lie slipped out smooth as silk.
"Kylie," I whispered. "Kylie Rivers."
His smile deepened, like he was tasting a secret. "Kylie Rivers," he repeated, thumb brushing the side of my neck. "My brother's delicate fiancée who just fought like a street demon. Well, Kylie... it's nice to finally meet you."
My pulse was roaring in my ears. Bodies all around us, blood on the floor, sirens probably coming soon, and all I could think was that I had just lied to the wrong man.
I was Rosa Stewart.
And I was in way over my head.
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8.1
Racheal Angelo never wanted a new life, a new house, or a new family. She just wanted the life she was used to, but when her mother marries the cold, manipulative, powerful attorney Simon Adams to escape financial ruin, Racheal is forced into a mansion she wants no part of.
What she didn't expect was the nightmare waiting at the top of the stairs- Thane Adams, her new stepbrother. The same sinfully irresistible stranger she had a reckless, heartbreak-fueled hookup with the night she caught her boyfriend, Raymond cheating.
What begins as tension and denial soon becomes a desire neither of them can control. But in a house full of secrets, lies, hidden agendas, and a father who will ruin anyone who threatens his legacy and reputation... falling for each other isn't just forbidden. It's dangerous. A love born in the dark may cost them everything, even their family, their future, and each other.
7.6
Dumped by her fiancé just days before their wedding, only to watch him marry someone else-what would you do? Cry yourself to sleep, or dress to kill for revenge?
That was Elaina's reality. She's no Cinderella, yet she lost a shoe while recklessly crashing her ex's wedding. Her revenge plan went up in flames, but fate had other ideas, throwing her into the path of Alister-a man who is handsome, charismatic, and dangerous... and ironically, the person closest to her ex-fiancé.
Amidst heartbreak and vendettas, Alister paints her world in new colors, turning Elaina into a modern-day Cinderella. But will this story end in "happily ever after," or is Alister merely leading her into a much more dangerous game?
9.2
Clara was drowning in student debt and barely making rent when she downloaded a fantasy mobile game to escape reality.
Inside the game, an exiled prince named Alex was freezing to death. Pitying him, she spent her last few dollars on microtransactions to fix his shelter and cure his poison.
But the game was far too real.
Every time she paid, the prince reacted. When she complained aloud about going broke, the in-game army suddenly halted, as if the prince had heard her voice.
Then, the terrifying real-world consequences hit.
Clara woke up to find her water glass and a box of Kleenex had vanished from her locked bedroom overnight.
She frantically searched the tiny apartment, her heart pounding in her chest.
She thought she was losing her mind. Had she thrown them out in her sleep? Was there a stalker hiding in her home?
How could physical objects just disappear into thin air behind a deadbolted door?
Until she looked at her nightstand.
Sitting exactly where her missing items used to be was a glowing, weightless crystal cup that defied all logic.
And on her laptop screen, the exiled prince was carefully holding her Kleenex box, offering a mountain of real gold on an altar.
She hadn't just downloaded a mobile game; she had opened a cross-dimensional trade route with a desperate future king.
9.5
He was born from the void between stars - a being of immense power, forged from cosmic origins.
For thousands of years, he walked among humanity, protecting them and keeping his true strength hidden. After losing the only family he had, grief led him to seek his own end... only to wake up in a world entirely unlike his own.
Here, cultivation is the main path to power. Those who master spirit qi gain superhuman strength, speed, and abilities that place them far above ordinary people. Four great sects rule the land, competing for resources, secrets, and dominance over each other.
Icaros joined the Li Sect, where he found companions he came to trust and care for: the capable and easygoing Li Han, the sharp and composed Su Yan, and the spirited Nelly. For a time, he felt he had found a place to belong, even as he kept his true nature hidden and wondered whether he could ever learn to cultivate like those around him.
Everything changed when their voyage was suddenly attacked. A powerful figure floating in the sky cut their ship apart with sharp, devastating energy strikes, leaving only destruction in his wake. Believing his friends had been lost in the disaster, Icaros chose to stop holding back any longer.
> "I am done hiding!"
He unleashed his full power: golden light blazed from his eyes, he flew at incredible speed, and he broke through every barrier and enemy in his way. On the shores ahead, he tore through hordes of powerful jade monsters, destroying them completely before flying deep into the interior of the island.
Meanwhile, survivors washed up scattered and alone. One young cultivator found himself on the shores of Jade Island - a place most cultivators avoid, as it holds no treasures or useful materials, only danger and endless deposits of ordinary jade. Yet despite the risks, ordinary people have built settlements here, finding safety from the conflicts and power struggles of the outside world.
This island works by different rules. Spirit qi is scarce and unstable, making cultivation far less effective than elsewhere. Instead, the people here rely on advanced technology - weapons and explosives that can injure or even defeat those with great physical strength. Here, skill and preparation can be just as powerful as raw strength, and even the strongest cultivators must move with caution.
Now, Icaros has vanished deep into the island. His companions are lost somewhere across this dangerous land. And the mysterious swordsman who destroyed their ship has already arrived here, searching for an ancient map said to lead to the legacy of a being from another world.
Will they find each other again? And can anyone survive in a place where the usual rules of power no longer hold true?
✅ Chapters 1–19: FREE
🔒 Chapters 20 onwards: PAID
(Continue the journey of power, friendship, and discovery!)
8.9
The mangled car teetered on the cliff's edge, my leg crushed, gasoline fumes thick in the air. My husband, Holden, stood safe on the highway, directing the rescue – but not for me. He was saving her, the woman in the passenger seat, leaving me and our unborn child to the ocean below.
I woke trapped in the crushed Maybach, leg pinned. The cliff loomed; the driver's seat was empty.
Holden, safe outside, directed paramedics past me to Giana, his "most valuable asset," ordering her rescue first.
I watched him comfort Giana, oblivious, as the car slid. My baby barely viable. Holden offered a black card for silence; Giana gloated.
Ten years of devotion, a cruel lie. Rage fueled me: how could he abandon his wife and child?
I swore a venomous oath: never again an accessory. I flicked his card away, shielded my pregnancy, and promised my baby escape.
7.9
The rain was a solid sheet of gray as the black SUV rammed into my car, sending me spiraling over the guardrail. As the glass shattered and the world turned upside down, a searing pain ripped through my chest before everything went cold and dark.
I didn’t stay in the darkness. My spirit hovered ten feet in the air, watching the steam hiss from my mangled sedan.
I followed the magnetic pull of my soul back to my family estate, expecting to find them devastated. Instead, I found my stepmother, Florene, and my sister, Kassidy, pouring vintage champagne and laughing in the drawing room.
"To the end of the nuisance," Florene said, her eyes gleaming with greed. "The trust fund unlocks at midnight. We're finally rich."
The betrayal cut deeper than the metal that killed me, but the real shock came at my funeral. Hiram Tyson—the cold, masked husband I’d spent three years fearing—collapsed over my closed casket. He unbuckled his silver mask, revealing a face ruined by scars, and sobbed a name I hadn't heard since childhood.
"I'm sorry, Angel. I thought keeping you at arm's length would keep the darkness away."
He wasn't the monster I thought he was. He was the boy I had saved at the orphanage years ago, and he had been protecting me in silence while my own family plotted my murder.
I reached out to touch him, but the world exploded into a blinding white light.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in a casket. I was back in our bedroom, feeling the heavy weight of Hiram’s arm across my waist. The calendar on the nightstand read September 14, 2023—exactly one year before the crash.
I looked at the silver mask resting on the table and felt a cold, hard determination settle in my chest. This time, I wasn't going to be the victim. I was going to be the villain in their story and burn their world to the ground.