A Cruel Arrangement

Bestseller Tijan treads a thin line between sex and danger in the steamy second Kings of New York mafia romance (after A Dirty Business). Life has not been easy for Molly Easter, but she’s proud of how she’s built Easter Lanes bowling alley into a successful business while keeping her distance from her con-man father, who is so indebted to the Walden crime family that they essentially own him. When Molly is injured during an attempted robbery of Easter Lanes, however, she’s unwittingly thrust into the mob war between the Waldens and their rivals, the Worthings. Dangerous and tormented mafia boss Ashton Walden prides himself on his coldness (“I liked being cruel. I liked killing.”), but he feels an undeniable connection to Molly and an unfamiliar, “not very Mafia” urge to protect her. Though he initially intends to use her as a pawn in a scheme against his enemy, he soon finds himself bonding with her instead. After he reveals a dark secret about their families’ intertwined pasts, the pair realize that they are more alike than they will admit and their attraction grows. Tijan makes the criminal underworld both perilous and seductive. This is sure to scratch an itch for fans of dark romance. Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary. (Apr.)