Silent Flame

She reads fairytales. He lives nightmares. And yet, she became his favorite story.

Matteo Ricci is the carnage to his brother's chaos.

Six foot eight, inked head to toe, and built like sin-he's every girl dad's worst nightmare. Unapologetically violent, ruthlessly loyal, and completely untethered since Roman was admitted to the psychiatric institution, Matteo's world is unraveling. That is, until a quiet little bookstore stops him in his tracks. And inside it? The girl who makes his darkness pause.

Arianna Bailey doesn't speak-not since the night her world went up in flames.

Mute, closed-off, and tormented by the nightmares of her parents' murder, she finds comfort only in stories that let her escape. People don't look twice at her. And she prefers it that way-until he walks in. Tall, terrifying, and tattooed, Matteo shouldn't make her feel safe. But he does.

Two broken souls.

One violent man.

One silent girl.

And a love story written in scars and second chances.