The Debt Collector (Marked by Blood, #1)

He bought her to protect her. But in his world, safety comes at a price.Dr. Tessa Freeman thought her worst day in the ER was behind her—until she helps a young trafficking victim escape and becomes the next target of a brutal criminal network. She’s abducted. Beaten. Marked. But when a man with a chilling presence and shadowed past steps in, her fate changes again.Locke doesn’t do kindness. He deals in leverage. To save Tessa, he buys her life—and makes her a deal: six months under his protection, no questions asked. No escape. No feelings.But danger breeds intensity, and intensity breeds desire. As Tessa adjusts to life under Locke’s watchful eye, she finds herself drawn not only to him but also to his dangerous ally, Gage—a man who watches her like he sees too much.As their bond deepens and the enemy closes in, they must choose: stay in the shadows or risk everything to take the ring down.