Tisha McLean used to believe in discipline, duty, and never letting emotions compromise the mission. As a retired Naval officer, she's trained to assess risk, stay focused, and protect at all costs. But nothing in her training prepared her for Steven Smith-the cold, calculating billionaire she's been assigned to guard. For five years, she's watched him operate in the shadows, doing things she can't ignore...and developing feelings she definitely shouldn't have. Loving a man like Steven was never part of the plan. Steven Smith doesn't pretend to be good. Power, control, and survival are the only things he trusts-until Tisha. She challenges him, sees too much, and somehow still stays. When an attempt on his life nearly succeeds, the walls around him start to crack, revealing a man willing to risk everything for the one woman who refuses to be fooled by him. But loving Steven means accepting the darkness that comes with him. As danger closes in and lines blur between right and wrong, Tisha must decide: walk away from the man she knows is dangerous...or risk everything for the one she can't let go.