by Lisa Lace
Table of Contents
Prologue
Epilogue
Epilogue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Ruined
A Contemporary Bad Boy Romance
Lisa Lace
Contents
1. Edward
2. Mia
3. Edward
4. Edward
5. Mia
6. Edward
7. Mia
8. Edward
9. Mia
10. Edward
11. Mia
12. Edward
13. Mia
14. Edward
15. Edward
16. Mia
17. Edward
18. Mia
19. Edward
20. Mia
21. Mia
22. Edward
23. Mia
24. Edward
25. Mia
26. Mia
27. Edward
28. Mia
29. Edward
30. Mia
Exposed
1. Maxwell
2. Laura
3. Maxwell
4. Laura
5. Laura
6. Maxwell
7. Laura
8. Maxwell
9. Maxwell
10. Laura
11. Maxwell
12. Laura
13. Maxwell
14. Laura
15. Maxwell
16. Laura
17. Maxwell
18. Laura
19. Maxwell
20. Laura
21. Maxwell
22. Laura
23. Laura
24. Maxwell
25. Laura
26. Maxwell
27. Laura
28. Maxwell
29. Laura
30. Maxwell
31. Laura
32. Maxwell
Epilogue: Laura
Blaze
Prologue
1. Nate
2. Jenna
3. Nate
4. Jenna
5. Nate
6. Jenna
7. Nate
8. Jenna
9. Nate
10. Jenna
11. Nate
12. Jenna
13. Nate
14. Jenna
15. Nate
16. Jenna
17. Nate
18. Jenna
19. Nate
20. Jenna
21. Nate
22. Jenna
23. Nate
24. Jenna
25. Nate
26. Jenna
27. Nate
28. Jenna
29. Nate
30. Jenna
31. Nate
32. Jenna
Epilogue
Unwrapping Daddy
1. Zoe
2. Tom
3. Zoe
4. Tom
5. Zoe
6. Tom
7. Zoe
8. Tom
9. Zoe
10. Tom
11. Zoe
12. Tom
13. Zoe
14. Tom
15. Zoe
16. Tom
17. Zoe
18. Tom
19. Zoe
20. Tom
21. Zoe
22. Tom
23. Zoe
24. Tom
25. Zoe
26. Tom
27. Zoe
28. Tom
29. Zoe
30. Tom
31. Zoe
32. Tom
33. Zoe
34. Tom
35. Zoe
36. Tom
37. Zoe
Epilogue
Mismatch
1. Ethan
2. Lily
3. Ethan
4. Lily
5. Ethan
6. Lily
7. Ethan
8. Lily
9. Ethan
10. Lily
11. Ethan
12. Lily
13. Ethan
14. Lily
15. Ethan
16. Lily
17. Ethan
18. Lily
19. Ethan
20. Lily
21. Ethan
22. Lily
23. Ethan
24. Lily
25. Ethan
26. Lily
27. Ethan
28. Lily
29. Ethan
30. Lily
31. Ethan
32. Lily
33. Lily
34. Ethan
Abduction
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
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Also by Lisa Lace
Edward
Keeping his eye on the doorway, Edward furiously typed his codes into the computer, hacking into the mainframe at Central Federal Bank. If you knew what you were doing, new banks were easy targets for the first few months of operation.
Edward wasn’t especially proud of hacking into other companies’ computer networks, but it guaranteed business for his father’s company. It seemed that when a company found out how vulnerable their information was, they were willing to pay almost anything for additional security. Since Donovan Technologies offered just that, Edward continued to help with that area of his expertise. His father might not understand it, but one day, Edward would make the ex-marine proud of him.
When the Central Federal Bank logo appeared on his computer, Edward sat back and smiled, pressing his fingertips together in front of him. He worked a little of his magic, transferring large amounts of money from one account to another and then back again, just to let them know he had access.
He opened an email in their system and left an anonymous note, letting them know how easy it had been to access their information. He hovered the cursor on the send button, quickly scanning the email before clicking the button.
When he tried to escape out, his screen froze and then went black. He worked on hacking back in to be sure his connection was severed completely. Then his father interrupted, walking into his office. Edward quickly but nonchalantly closed the program and leaned back in his chair.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Edward said, looking his father dead in the eyes.
Reese Donovan dressed to impress, and his good looks and intelligence had paved the way for his success. Edward was the spitting image of his father as a young man—but his intentions were different. A little more altruistic—to his father, a little too soft.
“Edward,” his father prodded. “What are you working on?�
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“A possible new account.” Edward briefly glanced at his computer before looking back at his father. Although his father was casual about the question, Edward knew better. He had a way of reading into little gestures of others very well. Edward was quite aware his father knew he was lying. But he’d rather be deemed a liar than a felon. “It seems the new bank that opened last week has some interest in ramping up security for their system. I don’t have all of the information yet, but I should by week’s end.”
“I wasn’t aware you worked in sales.” Reese’s sarcasm suffocated his words.
“Well, you know me. I try to help out where I’m needed.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Donovan?” Edward and Reese looked toward the door simultaneously.
Claire stood with her hand ready to knock, her eyes on Reese.
Edward noticed how Reese’s face relaxed. The ridges in his disposition smoothed out and a smile formed on his lips. A rare sight indeed.
“Yes, Claire?”
For a woman in her sixties, Claire’s beauty was timeless. She exuded sophistication and class, and her endless patience made her a perfect fit as Reese’s executive assistant. She reminded Edward of his mother—the way she carried herself and lent a helping hand wherever needed. Edward had no questions about why Reese kept her in his company and close to his side.
“You have your luncheon meeting today. If you want to be timely, you should get ready to go. The media will be there.”
“Ah, yes. Of course. Thank you, Claire.” Reese walked toward her, only speaking up once more before disappearing with Claire by his side. “Edward, I suggest you stop pimping the company like a flirtatious car dealer and get back to work. I’m going to need your reports by tomorrow.”
Edward didn’t remove his eyes from his father until he disappeared out the door. He should have been used to it, but the cutting tone still speared his heart.
He reached up and turned his screen back on, wanting to undo everything he just accomplished.
Armed with an impressive portfolio of client companies, Donovan Technologies provided firewalls, security protocols, and other cyber defenses to thwart people like Edward. But most people like Edward weren’t peeking into accounts to show off. Donovan Technologies provided not only cybersecurity but also an array of multi-level support for the businesses under their umbrella. Business Lenders Inc. had helped finance them, and Merge Inc. swooped in when they were failing, bought them, and sold them for parts. The three heads of Donovan Technologies snatched companies up by the mouthful, and if they weren’t strong enough to pass muster, devoured them whole.
He glanced over at a picture of his mother and father from when they were first married. They looked so happy. Edward was sure it was an act: his father standing straight and tall in his dress blues, his expression stern. The woman next to him wore an elaborate white wedding gown, her arm linked through his. A sunny smile that reached her eyes as she leaned into him for the photographer. He wondered how long she’d needed to rehearse for such a perfect pose.
He leaned back and thought back to a childhood nothing like the happy image on his desk. You obeyed him or suffered the consequences. Reese had always been stern. He hadn’t been a monster, but he was never affectionate, loving, or soft. More than once, he remembered watching his mother love that man and go out of her way to take care of him. She never begged him for affection, but Edward knew what the pain in her eyes meant. By the time Edward was twelve years old, she was done trying to win him over. Edward watched her leave.
When she left Reese standing in the living room next to his two boys, old enough to understand but still too young to change things, Edward knew his life had been forever changed. He was glad for his mother that she was finally going to find happiness. But it didn’t stop him from crying himself to sleep that night and wishing he had the courage to beat his father down.
The truth was, he would never be able to take that first swing—and not because he was afraid of him. Yes, he knew Reese would throw him in a corner any time he came at him, but Edward loved his father to a fault.
No matter how Reese treated him and his brother Jack, he always looked up to Reese and admired his accomplishments. He liked to think his father had taught him how not to treat people by example, but even after so many years of the same struggles, Edward longed to impress Reese.
It was times like this that he admired his older brother. Jack didn’t give a shit. He seemed unbothered by the lack of affection. In fact, Jack was becoming just like their father.
Edward got up from his desk and took a break to clear his head. Grabbing his suit coat, he breezed out the door and headed uptown.
After a sandwich and a couple of beers, he was back in the office, with a better sense of direction. He settled back behind his desk just as a text came through on his phone. He lifted it from his pocket and opened it.
Reese: We need to talk. I’ll be back at two. Be there.
“You got it, sergeant.” He stared at the text, angry at his father’s disrespect.
He pre-screened his emails, then closed them down. Once he’d navigated to his favorite financial newsfeed, he saw what his father needed to talk to him about.
BROADEN MARKETS HACKED – SET TO RESTRUCTURE AND REBUILD
“Shit.”
They were only supposed to increase security, not change their entire system. Edward made a phone call to Broaden’s security team to make sure they were still closing the deal.
Edward looked up just as Reese walked in. “Okay, well, listen,” Edward said over the phone. “If anything changes, give me a call. I’ll give you priority status. I understand how vulnerable it can be. Good luck.” As he hung up the phone, he looked at his father, who was standing over him.
“Broaden?” Reese was not pleased.
“Yeah. They backed out.”
“That account was potentially worth a hundred grand.”
“I know.”
“I put off two other accounts because of the work we were going to put into this one.”
“I’m sorry. It happens. We can’t win every account every time.”
“You’re right, Edward. We can’t. But I can. I know what you’re doing, and I want it to stop now.”
“What I’ve been doing? What do you mean?”
“Don’t play stupid, Edward. Your hacking and worming your way into other companies’ networks is going to catch up with you. When you go to prison because of it, I will not be there to bail you out. I will deny everything and wash my hands of it, of you.”
“Do you have any idea what I’ve done for—”
“Not for, Edward. To. What you have done to my company. You just cost me a hundred thousand dollars.”
“A lot of the accounts we currently have are because of me,” he said, beginning to raise his voice. “Compared to the millions you’ve already made, a hundred grand isn’t that big of a deal. Companies change their minds. Broaden overreacted and freaked out. That is all. They’ve decided to revamp their whole system, which will cost them a lot more. I’m working on it, though.”
“Don’t.”
“What?”
Reese leaned over Edward’s desk, his face inches from his son’s. “If you want me to show you how serious I am, continue what you are doing. The next time you try to so much as pull twenty bucks out of an ATM machine, you’ll be denied. Do you understand me?”
Edward could feel his blood pressure rise. He wanted nothing more than to rip into his father. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“Try me. I’ll freeze your financial assets so fast, you won’t have time to fill your gas tank to leave the city.”
“Why not? You freeze everything else you give me. What’s stopping you from this?”
