Prologue
Two souls, bound by fate yet torn apart by the shadows of their pasts.
Axel Walker never believed in destiny. At 27, he’s built his life on survival, not fate. Standing at 6’2”, with tattoos winding from his forearm to his neck, solid black curls, and piercing brown eyes, he carries a reputation forged in the streets of Motor City. His past is drenched in blood, and his loyalty to LMC—the only family he had left—has come at a steep cost.
A single night changed everything. A tragic mistake. A loss that hollowed him out, leaving behind a man who swore off love, convinced that anyone who got too close would suffer the same fate as those before them. His touch, his very presence, was a curse.
And yet, fate had other plans.
At a train station on the edge of town, Axel’s world collides—literally—with a woman who unsettles him in a way nothing else ever has. A fleeting moment. A sharp intake of breath. Bella barely registers his face before he’s already moving past her, lost in the flow of the crowd.
But something stops her.
At her feet, a small object catches the dim glow of the station lights. A matchbook. She bends down, fingers brushing against its worn edges. The name of a bar is scrawled across the front in bold, dark ink.
The Lotus.
The sight of it sends a shiver down her spine, a whisper of familiarity she can’t place.She should leave it. Walk away.Instead, she grips it tightly and steps forward—toward a truth she doesn’t yet understand.
