Snow fell gently over Moscow, blanketing the streets in white as black SUVs lined the driveway of the Romanov estate. Behind the iron gates and towering stone walls lived Adrian Romanov, a thirty-five-year-old man whose name alone was enough to make powerful men nervous.

As the pakhan of one of Russia's most feared criminal organizations, Adrian was ruthless, calculating, and fiercely protective of everything that belonged to him. In his world, loyalty was everything, betrayal was unforgivable, and weakness could get a man killed.

But three people could bring the most dangerous man in Moscow to his knees.

His wife.

And their five-year-old twins.

It was nearly eight in the evening when Adrian finally returned home after a long, unpleasant meeting with several of his men. Dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit, his dark overcoat dusted with snow, he stepped through the grand entrance of the estate and handed his gloves to the waiting housekeeper.

A housekeeper informed him that his wife was in the sitting room and the children had been waiting for him since dinner.

His daughter was sprawled across the rug with her collection of dolls, her little pink socks mismatched. His son sat beside her, building an elaborate tower out of wooden blocks, his brow furrowed in fierce concentration. Both children had inherited their father's dark hair, though their personalities couldn't have been more different.