Novels by Joy raphael

The moment Adam flicked his fingers, his men lunged.Reid didn’t hesitate—he shoved me aside, sending me stumbling against the bar. My hands grasped at the counter, my vision swimming from the alcohol, but I forced myself to focus. The first attacker swung for Reid’s jaw. Reid ducked, sharp and controlled, and drove his fist into the guy’s ribs. A sickening crack echoed through the now-silent club. The man staggered back, gasping for air, but Reid didn’t stop—he pivoted and slammed his elbow into the next attacker’s throat, dropping him instantly.Another man rushed from behind, but Reid twisted, caught his wrist, and drove a knee into his stomach. The man crumpled with a grunt, but Reid didn’t spare him a glance before turning to the next threat.Adam stood smirking, watching it all unfold.A chair scraped from behind me as another man charged for Reid with a broken bottle. Reid was faster. He sidestepped, letting the man fall forward before grabbing him by the neck and, with a sick

“...that's crazy. I always got irritated by my siblings, but sadly, they passed away. Now I’ll do anything to hear their nagging.” I traced a finger along the rim of my untouched glass.“Oh... I'm sorry for your loss,” Adam said, downing his drink in one go.His sixth glass, and he still looked perfectly sober. I was getting tired of the small talk, but Adam didn’t seem to notice. At least he was more of a talker.“So.. is it still a touchy subject? Do you wanna talk about it?”I rubbed the nape of my neck, shaking my head slightly. “Yeah, I'd appreciate it if we skipped that. Speaking of which, I couldn’t help but notice your necklace—it looks… unique.”“it is.” He ran his fingers over the ring. “A family heirloom? Passed from your grandma to your mom, then to your future wife?”He tipped his head back and laughed. “You're the first person to think that. It's rare for someone not to recognize what this ring stands for.” He gestured for the bartender to refill his glass, his gaze sha

TWENTY-FIVE The deep bass of music pulsed through the air, reaching us even as we parked across the street from the club. I turned to Reid, giving him a skeptical look.“Here? May I ask why?”“Two words,” he said, stepping out of the car and flexing his injured arm, counting off on his fingers. “Information. Fun.” I hesitated before getting out, my discomfort growing. I had never been to a club before—let alone with someone I was struggling to trust.“You know, when you said, ‘I know somewhere we can go’—especially in that tone—a club wasn't exactly on my list of guesses.”“It ain't that bad. You'll see.”I followed him across the road toward the club. A massive neon sign glowed from the rooftop, reading Lustra Lounge in elegant, golden letters. My brows shot up as I took in the upscale exterior.“Hold up, I thought you had to be invited to get into boujee clubs like these,” I said, stopping in my tracks.Reid smirked. “You forget who you're walking with. I can bring whoever I want

The sharp groan that escaped from Reid's lip almost made me stop dead in my tracks to tend to him, but he yanked the car open and shoved me inside, never breaking his pace.“Reid, you're hurt—”“It's nothing,” he snapped, his focus locked straight ahead.From the trees in the graveyard, the shooter emerged into the open, gun aimed directly at our car as Reid started the engine.“Eugene, get down.” “What—”“Dammit, Eugene! Just do as I say and stop worrying about me.” His sudden outburst stunned me into obedience. I ducked under the passenger seat, hands clamped over my head. Reid’s left arm was bleeding heavily now, but he didn’t seem to care. Instead, he pressed down on the accelerator, the tires screeching against the pavement as we lunged forward. A gunshot cracked through the air, shattering the graveyard’s eerie silence.The windshield in front of Reid burst apart, a bullet embedding itself exactly where his head should have been—if he hadn’t moved at the last second.I gasped

To think I'd forgotten all about Mabel over the past eleven years—after she failed her promise and let me get adopted into one nasty family—when the memory held missing pieces to a puzzle I hadn't even realized I was trying to solve.I glared at Reid. Had she told him now? Was it even my place to say anything? What if she had actually set things in motion for me to meet her son? A thousand questions raced through my mind, so fast that I didn't even realize I'd been staring at Reid for too long.“I brought you here to answer a few of your questions, but it seems like it triggered some memories instead. Mind sharing?”“What happened to her?” The question slipped out before I could think of anything else. I needed to know how she ended up dead.Reid shifted his gaze back to the gravestone. “She had….cancer.”“I'm so sorry.”He pressed his lips into a thin line, tucking his hands into his pockets. “Yeah. So spill. Did you know my mom?”I sucked in a slow breath, unsure how much I was allo

Eleven years ago…. The memories came rushing back, like shadows slipping from the dark corners of my mind—hidden, but never truly forgotten. It was the winter of my tenth year, and the orphanage was as bleak as ever. The walls were cold and lifeless, their chipped paints matching the despair that clung to the air. The other kids weren’t exactly cruel, but their indifference stung in its own way. I was used to being invisible—better that than the target of their whispered jokes. That day, I sat in the farthest corner of the communal room, my gaze fixed on the frosted window pane. Outside, the world was muted under a dull gray sky, the kind of overcast that promised snow but rarely delivered. A light dusting of snow clung to the ground, but the air was too dry for much more. When a sleek black Mercedes pulled into the driveway, it immediately caught my attention, and moments later, a woman stepped out, her every move radiating grace. She wore a navy coat, cinched neatly at the waist,