I grew up as the precocious daughter of a preacher, but death stalked the hallways of my home, tearing my family tree apart and twisting my father’s love into something cold and constricting.

Ever the good girl, I remained subservient under his watchful gaze, but each cutting remark and unrealistic expectation forced me to open my eyes and face the truth.

This life was slowly killing me.

At my best friend’s urging, I jumped at the chance to stay with her for the summer, having no idea how my life would change after a chance encounter with a dark and brooding biker.

Now, my summer of fun feels a lot like happily ever after, even if the man of my dreams is my father’s worst nightmare.

But when trouble comes knocking, it won’t matter if I’m a sinner or a saint as long as I’m willing to fight dirty for what I want.

They say all’s fair in love and war, but nobody told me corruption would taste so sweet.

If you'd told me years ago that I'd become a stunt woman after a car accident turned my Olympic dreams of gold to rust,

I'd have called you crazy.

Yet here I am, throwing myself off a perfectly good building.

I guess I've always been a little fearless, except when it comes to matters of the heart.

I keep my relationships light and meaningless, which is why my exes tend to have bigegos and the emotional depth of a puddle.

I'll admit, I have the bar set so low it's practically a tripping hazard.

Maybe that's why when a tattooed biker started a drunken conversation with my boobs, I found him more intriguing than offensive.

I thought he would be like the rest, just someone to pass the time with.

But after years of keeping my relationships shallow, dating a biker is the equivalent of being thrown in at the deep end.

And as enemies, old and new, start closing in, it takes almost losing him for me to let down my walls.

Even if loving him might just kill me.

Born to a man of faith who let his vision for the future twist his mind,

I learned to stay in the shadows, collecting the kids that ended up in this godforsaken place with me.

They're the lost ones, and I'm their Wendy.

The forgotten one, the dud, the failure.

My only use now is as a future breeder to the cause.

But they've taken enough, and I'll be damned if I let them take more.

When the chance of escape is dangled before me like a carrot on a stick, I take it.

I run with my lost ones toward a new life where the kids can be kids, and I can be free.

But freedom is an illusion when you belong to another, and your nightmares are ready to hunt you down and drag you back to hell.

What do you do when you can't run anymore and have nowhere to hide?

You turn back.

You fight back.

And slay your monsters before they get you first.

Forgive me, Father, for I'm about to sin…

She calls me Hudson

But they know me as Pete.

A simple man with a common name

They see the warm smile of their neighbor,

Not the cold eyes of a man who kills for the thrill of it and sleeps like a baby afterward

Until Starling

My son's girlfriend and my new obsession

She falls into my lap like a wounded bird with broken wings

Branding me with her touch, making me an addict after just one taste

She thinks I'll give her up once she gives in

But she's never met a man like me before

And Forbidden Fruit was always my favorite.

He calls me Birdie

But they know me as Starling.

A strange girl with a pretty name

I'm the orphan everyone pities

A perpetual victim who has spent more time on her knees than most

Until Hudson

Hes a monster of his own making

One who crosses all my lines and pushes every limit

He doesn't want to free me; he wants to cage me

And if I resist, he'll destroy the only boy I've ever loved.

After all, monsters don't win hearts

They steal them.