I have lost everything.
My purpose.
My love.
My soul.
Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle--the promise I made her, brings me back.
So I breathe.
I live.
I hate.
And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade.
I am broken, I dont want to be fixed.
One last trip to New York, one last chance to redeem a lost part of the mafia family. The Empire is crumbling and it's my job to fix it, my job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.
The only issue is, the only way to fix, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.
An arranged marriage.
Only this time.
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.
My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.
Only this time.
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.
My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.
5 Beautiful Stars
Empire is part of the Eagle Elite series. You can pretty much read each book as a standalone because each book are different characters, however, this is the only book where you need to read Elude (book 6) prior to reading Empire. Trust me on this.
The feels this book made me feel. I thought I was a blubbering mess after Elude, but Rachel Van Dyken sure knows how to worm herself into the hearts of her readers. I loved Empire, I loved the journey I took, I loved the ups and downs and I loved how I felt afterwards. It’s simply a beautiful story.
Empire is about love, loss and finding peace. It’s about letting go the past and joining the present. It’s about never giving up and letting friends in to help carry the burden.
Sergio is a not an easy Hero to love. He’s damaged and very tortured. This isn’t the first book where we get a Hero dealing with the death of a spouse, but this is the first book where I knew the previous spouse and loved, I loved Andi. She was my favorite character in Elude and I loved her more than Sergio. Andi is not an easy act to follow and so I went into Empire very cautiously.
This book isn’t about Sergio yearning for his dead wife, no, it’s about his inner pain and his struggle to let Andi go and do what’s asked of him. He is betrothed to marry Val and that he will do, even if it’s only been two months since Andi’s death.
“You’ll find someone who makes you blush just like that, someone who’s just like the guys you read about in books, you’ll find a man worth fighting for… That man… isn’t me.”
Val is nothing like Andi, she’s young, innocent and doesn’t even know she’s part of a mob family. I was instantly drawn to Val and I loved her. I loved that she was sweet and naïve, someone Sergio would never see coming.
Val and Sergio’s relationship is very rocky. You can only imagine the tension. Sergio tries hard to be nice, but that’s not him and he pushes Val away A LOT.
“Some stories aren’t filled with instant love or happily ever afters where all it takes is one kiss to seal the affection between two people. Sometimes it’s work. Sometimes it’s painful.”
“He was going to be my husband….he would never actually be mine.”
To my surprise, I felt and sympathize for Sergio. I completely understood where he came from. Like I said, I loved Andi and two months isn’t a long time. I wouldn’t call Empire a story where Sergio works hard to love Val, no, it’s more a story of Sergio coming to terms with his past love and allowing something more with Val.
I kind of liked that more. I loved the relationship between Val and Sergio. I loved the angst, the tension and compromises. I loved them getting to know each other and hoping that one day Sergio would be able to open his heart to Val.
“Our love would be ugly, deformed, awkward. It would be so many things, but I hoped, that in the end, above all else, it would be good enough.”
This book is filled with sweet and of course silly moments. I love Rachel Van Dyken’s writing style. Even in a sappy book, she can make me laugh hard. If you are a fan of the series or completely loved Elude, you will be very satisfied and happy with Empire.
An ARC was provided.
Empire is part of the Eagle Elite series. You can pretty much read each book as a standalone because each book are different characters, however, this is the only book where you need to read Elude (book 6) prior to reading Empire. Trust me on this.
The feels this book made me feel. I thought I was a blubbering mess after Elude, but Rachel Van Dyken sure knows how to worm herself into the hearts of her readers. I loved Empire, I loved the journey I took, I loved the ups and downs and I loved how I felt afterwards. It’s simply a beautiful story.
Empire is about love, loss and finding peace. It’s about letting go the past and joining the present. It’s about never giving up and letting friends in to help carry the burden.
Sergio is a not an easy Hero to love. He’s damaged and very tortured. This isn’t the first book where we get a Hero dealing with the death of a spouse, but this is the first book where I knew the previous spouse and loved, I loved Andi. She was my favorite character in Elude and I loved her more than Sergio. Andi is not an easy act to follow and so I went into Empire very cautiously.
This book isn’t about Sergio yearning for his dead wife, no, it’s about his inner pain and his struggle to let Andi go and do what’s asked of him. He is betrothed to marry Val and that he will do, even if it’s only been two months since Andi’s death.
“You’ll find someone who makes you blush just like that, someone who’s just like the guys you read about in books, you’ll find a man worth fighting for… That man… isn’t me.”
Val is nothing like Andi, she’s young, innocent and doesn’t even know she’s part of a mob family. I was instantly drawn to Val and I loved her. I loved that she was sweet and naïve, someone Sergio would never see coming.
Val and Sergio’s relationship is very rocky. You can only imagine the tension. Sergio tries hard to be nice, but that’s not him and he pushes Val away A LOT.
“Some stories aren’t filled with instant love or happily ever afters where all it takes is one kiss to seal the affection between two people. Sometimes it’s work. Sometimes it’s painful.”
“He was going to be my husband….he would never actually be mine.”
To my surprise, I felt and sympathize for Sergio. I completely understood where he came from. Like I said, I loved Andi and two months isn’t a long time. I wouldn’t call Empire a story where Sergio works hard to love Val, no, it’s more a story of Sergio coming to terms with his past love and allowing something more with Val.
I kind of liked that more. I loved the relationship between Val and Sergio. I loved the angst, the tension and compromises. I loved them getting to know each other and hoping that one day Sergio would be able to open his heart to Val.
“Our love would be ugly, deformed, awkward. It would be so many things, but I hoped, that in the end, above all else, it would be good enough.”
This book is filled with sweet and of course silly moments. I love Rachel Van Dyken’s writing style. Even in a sappy book, she can make me laugh hard. If you are a fan of the series or completely loved Elude, you will be very satisfied and happy with Empire.
An ARC was provided.
I got to meet Rachel at the RT book signing. She's really that pretty in person. I thinks she's so talented and I love that she can write serious and comical books. She's one of the few authors that can make me laugh and cry at the same time. I was bummed I missed Thor and husband! I can't wait to see her again when she comes back to Texas in October. I'm on the watch-out for baby and hubbie. More photos - > HERE
“Taxi.” I held up my hand. “It’s too cold to walk.”
“Is it?”“For those of us who have hearts,” I said under my breath.
He paused and then burst out laughing. “Holy shit, was that a dig at me?”
I shrugged as the taxi pulled up.
“Damn, and you’re not even apologizing.”
“It was more of a passing comment under my breath…” I got into the taxi and slid across the cold, worn vinyl seat. “But true.”
Sergio slammed the door after him. “And here I thought I was making a good impression.”
“You offered to kill me if I kissed you.”
The taxi driver frowned into the rearview mirror.
“She’s kidding,” Sergio reassured him.
I refused to let him get off that easy. “You also look at me like you want to throw up.”
Mr. Taxi Driver’s nostrils flared.
“Uh.” Sergio laughed uncomfortably. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
“The wife.”
Taxi Driver’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head. Yeah, this was probably the best entertainment he’d had all day.
“I don’t talk about it,” Sergio said in a drop-the-subject voice.
“Maybe you should.”
“I have enough money to afford a therapist, thank you,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Money doesn’t buy happiness,” I fired back.
Sergio released a string of pithy curses. “Did someone spike your milk this morning during show and tell?”
“Lactose intolerant.”
“Sorry. Your Kool-Aid.” His eyes narrowed. “It’s like you’re trying to piss me off.”
Bingo. I smiled. “Funny, that’s what Dante says to me all the time. Just think of all the things you get to look forward to. Isn’t that what you said you wanted?”
Sergio looked ready to strangle me. “No. I don’t believe I asked for an annoying little sister, but if that’s what you’re offering, please don’t let me stop you. Just know, I won’t hesitate to put you over my knee if you get out of hand.”
The minute the words left his mouth. I froze.
He froze.
The taxi driver stared little laser-like holes into the rearview mirror.
And Sergio leaned toward me.
I swallowed as tension swirled around us.
He gripped me by the chin and turned my head to the side, his lips brushing my ear. “It’s like you have a death wish.”
“You wouldn’t do it.”
I followed the direction of his gaze and let out a little gasp as a gun dug into my stomach.
“It’s been directed at you for the last four minutes,” Sergio said through a practiced smile. “I meant what I said. Listen well. I keep my word. Kiss me, and blood will be spilled.”
“Y-you’re a crazy person!” I hissed, shoving at his chest. “And I wasn’t going to kiss you!”
“Sure you weren’t.” He put the gun away. “Good talk though, right? Oh look, the movie theater.”
To say that I scrambled out of the car like a kid running away from her kidnapper would be a gross understatement, but the minute my feet hit the pavement, I paused.
My body told me to run.
The guy had pulled a gun.
On me.
I didn’t even watch violent movies, I’d just panicked and said the first thing that popped into my head!
Shivering, I forced myself to take a deep breath and wrapped my jacket tighter around my body.
That was the thing about men like Sergio, or maybe just loyalty in general. He’d promised he would keep me safe, but I wondered if that promise was only extended until I was more trouble than I was worth.
I was safe, not because of what I was to him.
But because of who my dad had been to him.
I was nothing.
And yet, a part of me still yearned to be… something.
Anything really.
Pathetic.
“Change your mind?” Sergio’s smooth voice interrupted my thoughts. He was the type of man you felt even when he wasn’t speaking. His presence was impossible to ignore, kind of like his ridiculous good looks.
Weren’t mafia guys supposed to be old?
Fat?
Chain smokers who bought Cuban cigars and sat behind large desks while counting money and ordering hits on people who pissed them off?
“No.” I finally found my voice. “I was just thinking….”
“About?” His hand touched my back, ushering me forward, but not pushing, almost as if he was giving me the option of still saying no.
I increased my pace so that I couldn’t feel the warmth of his fingertips. “Popcorn.” I turned and winked, hoping it would hide the fact that my body was shaking.
Maybe I was the crazy one.
Because he was armed.
The man was armed.
And he had no qualms about pointing his weapon at me whenever I got too close.
Huh, we’d have a happy marriage.
I guess we’d never argue, since I liked living.
It would suck not to make my twenty-first birthday because I didn’t fold the towels just right.
And again, I froze.
Was he that neurotic? Or was it just the closeness?
“On a scale of one to ten…” I was proud of the way I kept the shaking out of my voice. Why was I so scared? Oh right, because he’d pointed a gun, no, shoved a freaking gun into my stomach and done it with a smile on his face. “How OCD are you?”
An easy laugh escaped him as he glanced around the movie theater lobby and then back at me. “What makes you think I’m OCD?”
“Things.” I gulped then forced a smile that I didn’t feel. How was I supposed to go through an entire movie knowing he was one uncomfortable conversation away from losing it? “So?”
“What can I get you?” A teen boy looked at Sergio then smiled wider when his eyes fell to me.
Immediately, Sergio wrapped a protective arm around me, basically forcing my body to curve into his warmth. “My wife and I will have two buckets of popcorn, two packs of Sour Patch Kids, and a bottled water.”
I didn’t correct him about the water.
“Wait.” Sergio held up his hand. “Sorry, Dr. Pepper mixed with Coke.”
The teen scrunched up his face then rung us up. His eyes fell to me again then back at the register, like he was trying not to look but couldn’t help it, which was comical, since I didn’t really think I was anything to look at.
When he handed Sergio back his change I could have sworn I heard a growl from my “husband.”
As it was, he jerked the candy so hard out of the kid’s hands that I was surprised he didn’t do a front flip over the counter.
“He’s a boy,” I whispered under my breath. “No need to shoot him too.”
Sergio glanced down at me, muttered a curse. “He was staring.”
“He looked about one science project away from solving world hunger via his mom’s basement… hardly the type of guy that I’d date.”
“Date?” Sergio said it so loudly the people in front of us waiting to show the attendant their tickets jumped and then turned around. “What the hell do you mean date?”
Crap. I’d messed up again.
My palms went sweaty while my face felt numb with fear. Regardless of how pretty he was to look at — I was finally fully aware of how dangerous he was to me.
To everyone around me.
Sweat trickled down my lower back as I gulped down more soda and shrugged. “I just mean, he’s not my type.”
“No shit he isn’t, because you don’t get a type anymore.”
“Right.” I licked my lower lip, pretending not to be scared, pretending to be the brave person I wasn’t was wearing on me.
By the time we made it into the theater I was dizzy.
It was too much all at once.
“So…” Sergio’s voice was in my ear. I jumped a foot. He frowned as if he couldn’t figure out why I’d be so jumpy. “Dante sits behind you, right?”
“Right.” I exhaled in relief. I forgot. It wasn’t a date. It was a challenge. He’d called me his sister, so therefore he was my brother, right? Hah. I relaxed a bit as I pointed to a seat a few rows back and quickly stole the goodies out of his hands then made my way to my own seat before he could object.
The credits started rolling.
And I found myself ducking in the chair.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
As if I was being watched — because I was.
Ten minutes into the movie, I was so stressed out, I almost burst into tears. My back was to him.
Wasn’t that a big no-no? My back was to the dude with the gun.
Even though he was supposed to protect me with the gun, all bets were off now.
Sweat pooled in the palms of my hands.
The music rose as one of the actresses ran down the stairs screaming.
I couldn’t take it.
Sergio gave me a suspicious look then put a seat between us.
I exhaled.
But it wasn’t relief.
At least I knew where he was.
And where the gun was, he was right handed, so there was that.
I finally allowed myself to relax enough to watch the movie when I saw Sergio’s right hand duck into his jacket.
I gripped the plastic arm rests, my fingers digging into the cheap sticky plastic material as he slowly pulled something out.
He turned.
And I flinched so hard that there was no mistaking what I thought he was doing.
Even though he had grabbed a black cell phone.
The damage was done.
My entire body shook as a big fat tear escaped, I tried to wipe it away but I wasn’t fast enough.
“S-sorry.” I shoved past him and ran.
But my body was too scared.
Too tired
To make it very far.
Elite #1 AMAZON | REVIEW
Elect #2 AMAZON | REVIEW
Entice #3 AMAZON | REVIEW
Elicit #4 AMAZON | REVIEW
Ember #5 AMAZON | REVIEW
Elude #6 AMAZON | REVIEW | iBooks: Nook:
Empire #7 AMAZON | Amazon UK: Amazon AU: Amazon CA: B&N: iBooks: Kobo:
Bang Bang (Novella) AMAZON | REVIEW
The Matchmaker's Playbook #1 Amazon
US: Amazon UK: Amazon CA: Amazon AU: TRAILER | REVIEW
The Matchmaker's Replacement #2 AMAZON
The Matchmaker's Replacement #2 AMAZON
The Dark Ones Saga
The Consequence of Revenge #2 AMAZON | REVIEW
The BET series
The Bet #1 AMAZON | REVIEW
The Wager #2 AMAZON | REVIEW
The Dare #3 AMAZON
The RUIN series
Toxic #2 AMAZON
The BET series
The Bet #1 AMAZON | REVIEW
The Wager #2 AMAZON | REVIEW
The Dare #3 AMAZON
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband and their snoring Boxer, Sir Winston Churchill. She loves to hear from readers! You can follow her writing journey at www.rachelvandykenauthor.com
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