Thorns of Lust

THORNS OF LUST THORNS OF OMERTÀ SERIES EVA WINNERS CONTENTS Thorns of Omertà series Thorns of Omertà Playlist Author Note Blurb Prologue 1. Tatiana 2. Konstantin 3. Tatiana 4. Tatiana 5. Konstantin 6. Tatiana 7. Tatiana/ Konstantin 8. Tatiana 9. Tatiana 10. Konstantin 11. Tatiana 12. Tatiana 13. Tatiana 14. Konstantin 15. Tatiana 16. Konstantin 17. Tatiana 18. Konstantin 19. Tatiana 20. Konstantin 21. Tatiana 22. Konstantin 23. Tatiana 24. Konstantin 25. Tatiana 26. Konstantin 27. Tatiana 28. Tatiana 29. Konstantin 30. Tatiana 31. Konstantin 32. Tatiana 33. Konstantin 34. Tatiana 35. Tatiana 36. Konstantin 37. Tatiana 38. Tatiana 39. Konstantin 40. Tatiana 41. Konstantin 42. Tatiana 43. Konstantin 44. Tatiana 45. Tatiana What’s Next? About the Author To my daughters, husband, family, friends and my readers. Please skip over the sex scenes and focus on the plot. You DA best! Love ya! To everyone else, thank you for reading my stories. THORNS OF OMERTÀ SERIES Each book in the Thorns of Omertà series can be read alone with the exception of Thorns of Lust and Thorns of Love, which is the story of Tatiana Nikolaev. If you’d like the preview of the next standalone book in this series, Thorns of Death, keep reading after this duet ending. 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. Visit www.evawinners.com and subscribe to my newsletter. FB group: https://bit.ly/3gHEe0e FB page: https://bit.ly/30DzP8Q Insta: http://Instagram.com/evawinners BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/eva-winners Amazon: http://amazon.com/author/evawinners Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/evawinners Tiktok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeETK7pq/ THORNS OF OMERTÀ PLAYLIST https://spoti.fi/3mp6fBl AUTHOR NOTE Hello readers, Thorns of Lust is the first book of a duet and is NOT a standalone. Tatiana Nikolaev’s story completes in Thorns of Love. Furthermore, please note that this book has some dark elements to it and disturbing scenes. Please proceed with caution. It is not for the faint of heart. Don’t forget to sign up to Eva Winners’ Newsletter (www.evawinners.com) for news about future releases. BLURB My husband. His secrets. Our tragedy. I thought I knew him. I didn’t. I thought he was trustworthy. He wasn’t. But nothing in this world is as it seems. I caught the attention of the most notorious man in the underworld. Konstantin wasn’t the type to be ignored. He commanded his criminal empire with an iron fist but he had secrets of his own. But I was Tatiana Nikolaev. I’d never bend to a man’s will or be used as a pawn. Not again. The moment I tempted the fates and played with fire, life spiraled out of control. My only way of survival was to trust again. But could I? PROLOGUE TATIANA Death smashed into the back of Adrian’s slick Maserati, demanding our lives. My body jerked forward and the seat belt cut into my chest. My heart jumped, racing as fast as my husband’s driving. “What’s going on?” I whimpered frantically as I glanced over my shoulder. The headlights of a black SUV filled the rear window. Smash. My body jerked forward again. “Adrian!” I screamed. “Gun, get a gun.” He acted as if he hadn’t heard me, just kept speeding down the dark road. My eyes darted to my husband as my ears buzzed with fear. Adrian looked scared. Terrified even. This wasn’t good. Not. At. All. “Head back to New Orleans,” I yelled. We were way outside the city limits, headed for Adrian’s place. Dark roads highlighted only by the light of the moon. We hadn’t seen a house or another car for miles. “Head down,” he barked. I obeyed at once, as I struggled against the seat belt. If Adrian was worried, there was something terribly wrong. “Adrian,” I screeched, fear seeping into my bones. “Turn around and get us into the city. We’ll be safer around others. My brothers have men everywhere.” He didn’t react, just kept driving forward. It was the only time I wished we had my brother’s bodyguards with us. I hated them lingering behind me, always tailing me and reporting to my brother. Vasili had men following me before I was married, and he had bodyguards after Isabella and their kids at all times. Alexei did the same with his wife, Aurora. They didn’t mind it, but they didn’t grow up suffocated by bodyguards that reported everything to your brothers. Even how many times I fucking went to the bathroom. It was annoying as fuck. Except now, I really wished they were here. The bullets began flying, shots echoing around the car as they whizzed past us. A loud pop shattered the back windshield and shards of glass rained down on us. A scream tore through the air. Mine. But I could barely hear it over the buzzing in my ears and adrenaline pumping through my veins. I clutched the seat, glass shimmering like diamonds over my red Valentino dress. The tires screeched as more gunshots whistled through the air. Bang. Bang. Bang. Adrian was shooting, but from the sounds of it, he wasn’t hitting anything because more bullets rained on us. More windows exploded. Pain erupted in my forearm and warm liquid trickled down my skin. And amongst all that violence, the oddest thought crossed my mind. I shouldn’t have worn a sleeveless dress. I could have protected my skin. The throbbing pain pulsed through my body. Fear gripped my throat. A sharp turn and my body slammed against the door. “Fuck,” Adrian snarled. There was a moment of calm before the car began spinning wildly out of control. I wrapped my arms around myself as if to offer some sort of protection. My body jerked forward, then back. The air rushed out of me with each loud thud, pain slicing through me. I couldn’t breathe. My heartbeat slowed. The echoing sound of metal screeching, folding in on itself as the car rolled. Once. Twice. Three times. Our eyes