Empire of Saints: Desert Saints

She was never supposed to see him.Elena is driving alone through the desert when she witnesses something she was never meant to survive. One wrong road. One violent moment. One man who should have made sure she disappeared with everything else.Mateo lets her leave.It is a decision he cannot explain-and one that neither of them can take back.Mateo has built his life on discipline, loyalty, and control. As an enforcer in a world where hesitation gets people killed, he knows exactly what Elena represents: a witness, a liability, and a weakness his enemies could exploit.But Elena isn't what he expected.She doesn't run the way she should. She doesn't break the way he expects. And the more Mateo watches her, the harder it becomes to separate protecting her from possessing her.Elena knows she should stay far away from the dangerous, controlled man who stepped out of the darkness that night. Instead, she finds herself being pulled deeper into a world governed by violence, loyalty, and men who don't forgive mistakes.Especially Mateo.Because once a man like him decides something belongs under his protection, walking away may no longer be an option.DESERT SAINTS is an obsessive cartel romance featuring a morally gray antihero, slow-burn tension, possessive protection, dangerous loyalties, and a heroine who refuses to break.Book One of the Empire of Saints trilogy.