Bound In Silence
(2026)(The second book in the Valentino Crime Family series)
A novel by Cora J Riley
She investigated criminals. Now she's falling for one.
Elena Martinez thought she understood justice. As an FBI forensic accountant, she spent three years building cases against organized crime—until the night she witnessed Assistant Director Sarah Chen coordinate a murder with Marco Russo.
Her handler. Her mentor. The woman who recruited her.
Suddenly Elena's the target, sent to a compromised safe house to die. But Antonio Torres gets to her first.
He's the Valentino family's consigliere. A killer. A strategist. And the man who promised Elena's brother—a cop who died saving a mobster's life—that he'd protect Miguel's family. For five years, the Valentinos have anonymously supported Elena's family. The college education that led to her FBI career? Paid for with blood money.
Now she's captive in a luxury safe house, working with the very criminals she investigated, using mob resources to expose the corruption that nearly killed her. Antonio's deadly competent, devastatingly attractive, and determined to keep his promise—even if it means keeping Elena prisoner for her own protection.
But this isn't like his boss Dante's brutal captivity of Dr. Sophia Russo. Antonio learned from those mistakes. He gives Elena agency, honesty, partnership. As they build a case together, professional respect becomes something more dangerous.
Elena's falling for a man who's killed nineteen people and will kill again. A man who offers her real justice when the law failed. A man who sees her completely—FBI training, forensic brilliance, and growing capacity for darkness.
When Marco Russo discovers her location and attacks, Elena faces a choice: watch from the sidelines or participate in mob justice. The line between investigator and criminal is thinner than she thought.
Some broken people can only be healed by someone equally broken.
A dark mafia romance with a morally gray hero, a heroine who embraces the darkness, and a HEA built on honesty, violence, and choosing each other every single day.
Elena Martinez thought she understood justice. As an FBI forensic accountant, she spent three years building cases against organized crime—until the night she witnessed Assistant Director Sarah Chen coordinate a murder with Marco Russo.
Her handler. Her mentor. The woman who recruited her.
Suddenly Elena's the target, sent to a compromised safe house to die. But Antonio Torres gets to her first.
He's the Valentino family's consigliere. A killer. A strategist. And the man who promised Elena's brother—a cop who died saving a mobster's life—that he'd protect Miguel's family. For five years, the Valentinos have anonymously supported Elena's family. The college education that led to her FBI career? Paid for with blood money.
Now she's captive in a luxury safe house, working with the very criminals she investigated, using mob resources to expose the corruption that nearly killed her. Antonio's deadly competent, devastatingly attractive, and determined to keep his promise—even if it means keeping Elena prisoner for her own protection.
But this isn't like his boss Dante's brutal captivity of Dr. Sophia Russo. Antonio learned from those mistakes. He gives Elena agency, honesty, partnership. As they build a case together, professional respect becomes something more dangerous.
Elena's falling for a man who's killed nineteen people and will kill again. A man who offers her real justice when the law failed. A man who sees her completely—FBI training, forensic brilliance, and growing capacity for darkness.
When Marco Russo discovers her location and attacks, Elena faces a choice: watch from the sidelines or participate in mob justice. The line between investigator and criminal is thinner than she thought.
Some broken people can only be healed by someone equally broken.
A dark mafia romance with a morally gray hero, a heroine who embraces the darkness, and a HEA built on honesty, violence, and choosing each other every single day.
Used availability for Cora J Riley's Bound In Silence