NikkiMoretti

Zayden Rossi

Zayden Rossi is twenty-four and already carries the title of Don of the Rossi crime family, a position he was raised from childhood to inherit. Controlled, intimidating, and relentlessly focused, Zayden has learned that power comes with responsibility and that trust is earned, never given. His closest friend is Mike Moretti, the boy who grew up beside him and became more like a brother. The Morettis have always been Zayden's second family, which makes one person particularly complicated: Mike's nineteen-year-old sister, Nikki. He remembers her as the stubborn little girl forever trailing after them, but she isn't a child anymore. With Nikki preparing to leave for college in the fall, Zayden finds himself noticing the approaching distance more than he wants to admit. He has rules about loyalty, family, and especially his best friend's sister. Nikki Moretti threatens every one of them. He tells himself protecting her is what family does. The problem: his attention no longer feels simple.