Obsessed

Copyright © 2023 by Lola Malone All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Created with Vellum Contents Untitled Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Lola Malone Obsessed THE UNDENIABLE BOOK THREE LOLA MALONE About Obsessed Let me see you, mon lapin. Let me design you, define you, and consume you. Gabriel: They call me the Initiator, and Les Frères Perdus is where it all began. Gone are the days that they could strike me down. Now, I live with the family I created, in a golden cage that is my castle. And I am King. But when my brother comes home from New York, I see him. Hidden in the shadows, tall and strong, yet timid and kind. Mason represents an emotion I’d thought was trapped inside me, lost in nostalgia. The connection to my past, wrapped around me in silk rope, now tied around the neck of the man my brothers have brought home. Mason’s inexperienced, and he lashes out with anger. He wants to fight me, though he can’t deny what we both crave. My beautiful, strong lapin. Because I’ll take it all, and more. I’ll devour him. Mason: Looking after Pops, and making sure I keep my spot in the Inner Circle of the Business, are the top priorities in my life. For us to survive. And I never asked if there’s anything more. Until they come after me, those we have branded as murderers, as our enemy. They chase me away from the second row and into the spotlight, where he awaits. Gabriel is the most stunning man I’ve ever seen, and as wicked as he is gentle. As ruthless as he is compassionate. He becomes the enigma I want to unravel. But when the doors to freedom open, I know I need to ask myself the most obvious question. And accept the answer. Obsessed is an abrasive enemies-to-lovers with a toxic angel and his furious captive. It opens the doors to cult life and combines a kidnapping scenario with plenty of action and suspense. It’s part of the interconnected series The Undeniable, and while our boys get their HEA, not everything is resolved. More will be revealed in the final instalment of this series. This story contains dark themes, adult content, and potential triggers, though every effort was made to portray them thoughtfully and sensitively. Specific triggers (potential spoilers): violence, hypnosis, kidnapping. Dear reader, The Undeniable series is going yet another shade darker with Obsessed, and once more, I fully recommend you read Shameless and Fierce first. We’re about to enter another world—not only do we change setting, but we question the way people design their lives. Their devotion. Obsessed was the hardest book for me to write. I felt like we needed answers to questions we raised in both Shameless and Fierce, and as I was searching for those answers, I explored another sphere. One that fascinated me, as I went along and created the characters—who are those people who give up everything to join a cult, join a whole different life? As with the other books, I took my time in researching the topic. A topic that was often as gruesome as it was interesting—it sucked me in on multiple occasions and made me question even some of my own things I’d define as my cornerstones. Writing fiction is creating magic. It’s what I tell my children: in our fantasy, everything’s possible. If you’re looking for a most plausible world and plot, my books won’t be for you. Still I hope that Obsessed will carry you away, and that you’ll enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Like with my other books, please be aware of the following trigger warnings: non-consensual sex acts, violence, hypnosis, depression/anxiety, and substance abuse of tranquilizers. Lola Malone Prologue The ship arrived in the early morning hours, when it was still cloaked in darkness, and rain fell out of the sky in thick, icy drops. It was here, in these dismal surroundings of the port, where other cargo ships reunited from all different directions after days of travels across the Atlantic. It was here, where secrets of the sea were exchanged. A prolonged blast rang loudly through the frosty air, making his body shiver in anticipation. He shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Yet here he was. And the only person he could blame for that, was himself. He’d been upset that despite rising tension on the streets, and their earlier decisions, his family was focusing on drugs again. And not just that. No, they were taking it up a notch. Because owning a solid drugs transport between NY and Brest in France, meant they needed a flawless organization on this side of the water. It meant that they’d constantly be in the line of fire, which was not how he wanted to live his life. There had been words, and then there had been more words. And then he’d made this stupid promise to himself to go and oversee the transport with his own eyes. He understood that it was imperative to get out of this shit agreement they’d made with their newest rival. To understand the process and to meet their informant, before making any definite business decisions. But as the journey had progressed, so had his level of concern. What if any of these plans had been leaked? They had an agreement with All Saints, after all. A shitty one, but still—a deal was a deal and