CALLAN: A Winter Mafia Romance (THE BARD DYNASTY)

A sassy woman meets a secret mobster.

She's stuck at home, spending the holidays alone. He's fighting an invisible enemy.

MACKENZIE

I thought it was a quiet neighborhood with beautiful Christmas ornaments and no villains.

Turns out I was wrong.

When a handsome stranger lands on my balcony, wearing a Santa suit (or what's left of it), I think it's a joke.

A prank that has gone wrong.

So I pick up my phone and start snapping pictures.

Little do I know I'm about to get in a whole lot of trouble when the stranger summons me to hand him my phone.

With an ax to grind and in a vengeful mood, the man has a beef with little old me for trying to snap some pictures and show them to my best friend.

My humor is short-lived as he makes a go for my camera and lands on me before rolling with me.

One thing leads to another, and before long, he makes me a proposition I cannot resist.

Short on money, actively looking for a job, and with a flare for playing detective, I have no problem keeping an eye on my neighbors for some cash. Too bad I have no idea who I'm moonlighting for.

The money is good, and my new boss grows on me, and before long nothing can keep us apart.

Not his problematic past and not my natural distrust for men.

But things are more complicated than this.

CALLAN

I'm too mad to think straight as a con artist steals from me, sending me on a wild goose chase.

This is not only about catching a thief.

This is about finding the man behind the heist and ensuring it's not the same person who started a war a few years back and destroyed part of my family.

I stop at nothing to find the person responsible for this when a cute brunette with fiery eyes believes that taking pictures of me dangling from her neighbor's balcony makes for a great life snapshot.

To be frank, I don't need more incriminating evidence, and I'm not the man who gets easily distracted, but I can't say I'm not amused by her attitude.

She is sweet and sassy, but having a woman like her in my life is a tall order, not to mention dangerous for her.

For now, she runs errands for me, and I protect her from the shadows.

I'm occasionally grumpy, and I'm hard to please, but I have my reasons.

Other than that, I'm a good employer.

And deep down inside, I'm just a man who wants to find someone he can talk to about his real life.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is an action packed, humorous at times, spicy mafia romance. Expect opposites attract, a broody, grumpy, tattooed hot–blooded man and a sassy woman who follows his lead while holding her ground.

THE BARD DYNASTY Series follows the simultaneous stories of four brothers unfolding around Christmas time in some of the most scenic places in New York and Montana. They are all standalone stories.