Laura Spencer. Young, pretty, introverted. She worked at a local deli, where she left more broken plates than collected tips. Apologizing to aggravated waiters and cowering from over-friendly male clients made up most of her social interaction. The only friends she had lived inside the pages of books or on movie screens, offering slim comfort during the long, dark nights of her lonely life. Every two weeks, a postcard was delivered through her mail. She lived for those deliveries.

Peter Spencer. Her brother, her lifelong protector and her only family. The only one who truly knew her, who would sacrifice it all for her. Peter made a bad decision, involving the worst kind of people.

Kayne Malkin. Tall, dark and handsome. He belonged to the Organization, the Quebec fraction of a ruthless Russian Mafia. He was known for many things. He killed and tortured for a living. He seduced and destroyed for pleasure. But above all else, he built his reputation on one trait only. Kayne Malkin never lied. Not to the men he interrogated, not to the women he set his sights on. He got what he wanted, while staring them in the eye. Honest and remorseless.

Kayne Malkin’s assignment: The Peter Spencer case.

On the first warm spring night, while Montreal celebrated the passing of winter, Laura reluctantly accepted to accompany a coworker out on the town. Kayne smirked by himself seeing her arrive, all dolled up, looking uncomfortable. Lurking in the shadows, he patiently waited. The trap was set.

Mine