Skip to product information
1 of 3

Masks of Devotion (Paperback)

Masks of Devotion (Paperback)

Regular price $16.99 USD
Regular price Sale price $16.99 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
  • Purchase the Print Books
  • Choose Your Shipping Method
  • Books Are Printed to Order and Shipped Direct to You

Synopsis

Kade Coral was my brother's best friend and always in my life—until he wasn’t.

We flirted for years and finally confessed our love.

Six hours after I woke up in his arms, he moved.

Three years have passed and not one word from him.

And no one recreates the zings I had with Kade.

That includes party boy Fisher Corbyn who wants to get serious with me.

Then Kade arrives, swearing he never stopped loving me but full of secrets and lies he claims are for my protection. And he declares Fisher’s unsafe.

My brain says Fisher’s harmless.

Kade’s the one who’s dangerous for my heart.

Or is he?

Masks of Devotion is the fifth installment of the Brooks Family Saga. This brother’s best friend, first love, second chance dark romance is an epic journey of one family's struggle of forgiveness, hope, and new beginnings amidst dangerous situations. Each story intertwines and focuses on a new sibling trying to find their Happily Ever After. Please note: This series was previously called Together We Stand.

Masks of Devotion-Prologue

Kade Coral

Espionage creates secrets and lies so deep sometimes you have to remind yourself what side you’re on and why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s a labyrinth of twists and turns, and, to get through it, you have to stay focused at all times.

Interpol warned me in my training the enemy will become human, likable, and at times I might become sympathetic to their cause. They made it clear my life would become as classified as my assignments, but they didn’t warn me those I trust the most—the friends who have always been family to me—would feel hurt, betrayed, and sometimes question my motives.

Protocol about sleeping with the enemy to gain access to information vital to your mission is clear. But there are no rules or guidelines about how to protect your heart or the woman’s you love. 

Gracie Brooks has always been in my life. Her oldest brother Hudson and I met when we were four, and, the day she was born, he spent the night at my house. The next day, when his parents brought Gracie home, I remember staring at her in awe.

I’m an only child, and the Brooks children are the siblings I’ve never had. Gracie and Gabriella were like my little sisters. But Gracie grew up. And the moment I noticed her as a woman and not a girl created an ache in my body I hadn’t felt before. 

Everyone thinks I went away for college, and I did...until the CIA showed up in my dorm room during the second month of my studies. The military needed the patents I created, and they wanted me to fly around the world into military bases and teach the top leaders and teams how to tap further into the cyber world of evil.

They offered me so much money, it didn’t make sense to stay in school. Plus, it sounded a lot cooler than sitting in class listening to a boring professor whose IQ was lower than mine.

One day, I was surfing the dark web and discovered information to take down several gangs. The CIA moved me into the gang unit, and I returned home to Florida. Several years passed, and Interpol showed up at my house. What they offered sounded pretty exciting and would give me more clearance to help destroy the Twisted Hearts. The gang leader grew up on the same island I did and was secretly making significant headway into international cybercrimes.

Shortly after I joined Interpol, I was at the Brooks’ for a family party and Gracie strolled in. I had to remind myself she was Hudson’s little sister—hell, I always thought of her as my little sister—and pry my gaze away from her while trying not to kill the loser boyfriend she had brought to the party.

I tried to stifle my feelings for her. So, I fought it for years, secretly pining for Gracie and trying to date other women to forget about her. But my desire for her only grew.

Over the years, flirting became a new normal for us—when no one else was around. When the family was present, we both acted like we always did. Hudson would kill me, not to mention Ryland, if they discovered I had feelings for Gracie. There was bro-code in play and it was something you didn’t break.

But it got harder. No matter who I dated, she was all I wanted. Numerous times, I would be out with a girl and run into Gracie. Both our dates would end up leaving early, and we would spend all night talking wherever we were. I’d take her home, drop her off at her door, and restrain myself from kissing her.

And one night, I tapped into Satan’s well. We shared a kiss so riveting, I was breathless and craving more. When I got into my car, I spent over an hour talking myself out of going back to her door and asking to come in. 

So I stayed away from Gracie for several weeks, obsessing over her and scolding myself for not being able to control my feelings for her. But the moment I ran into her, my desire for her won, and, without thinking about why I should leave, I made a beeline toward her.

That night, I didn’t take her home. I took her to my hotel room. Several hours later, I got instructions from Interpol I needed to get on a flight to Europe for a new assignment.

And it was permanent which meant years. How long? No one could tell me. Gracie slept in my arms, and I felt like my world was crashing in around me. Not going wasn’t an option—the skills I have, no one else does. The intel I had on the Twisted Hearts and all the evil they spewed into the world, I couldn’t ignore. They needed to be taken down because their plans could destroy humanity as we know it.

Plus, I worked for Interpol. I’m a trained spy who has clearance to kill. You don’t just get out.

When Gracie woke up, I told her I was leaving in six hours. I died that day. So did she. I saw it. Not a day has passed in three years I don’t think about her, or bring up her Instagram account, or re-read text messages we spent years exchanging while flirting on the down-low.

One day, while digging into the dark net on the Twisted Hearts, a guy who I’d seen on a lot of her Instagram photos, Fisher Corbyn, popped up. My gut instantly dropped. I had already run a background check on him because I kept seeing him on her feed. On paper, he was a wealthy businessman. I assumed I couldn’t stand him because he was into Gracie.

But I was wrong. My distaste wasn’t only about his interest in her. I should have listened to my gut.

For close to two years, I friended Fisher, doing “business” with him, and all the other things I needed to do to get into his trust zone. He’s trying to claim Gracie, and by the time I finish with him, he’s going to be behind bars for life or dead. I’ll be more than happy to put the bullet in his head. 

Interpol finally agreed to let me return to Florida, and I only have one mission in doing so. To win Gracie forever and keep her out of harm’s way. And I’m going to have to do it without Fisher catching wind of anything. He’s out to make Gracie his forever, and he’ll stop at nothing to get her.

Espionage is the legal means I have to go after Fisher. But this isn’t just about business anymore. This is personal. My woman is the only reason it counts.

“Gracie—”

I hold my hand in the air. “Please don’t.”

Tears and pain fill his eyes. I must be a masochist because I reach for his head and kiss him one last time. He holds my head firmly to his and whispers, “I love you.”

“But it’s not enough, is it?”

“That doesn’t have anything—”

“I have to go.” I quickly retreat and get out of the car.

He follows, but I spin. “Don’t walk me upstairs. It’s over. You made your choice. I wish you lots of success and hope the money you earn will make you happy.”

He furrows his brows. “You think—”

“Goodbye, Kade.” I trot to the elevator, and he gets on.

I hold the open button. “I said not to come up.”

“Gracie, please don’t—”

“No,” I scream at him. A new well of tears flow. “Please go. I’m not sure what you expect from me, but I can’t do this. You say you have to go, then go.”

He closes his eyes and hesitates.

“Go,” I sob.

“I’m sorry. I love you.” He steps out, and I hit the close button. When the doors shut, I hit my floor and hold it together until I get to my unit.

As soon as I open the door, my eyes go to the Tiffany vase Kade sent me on my birthday several months ago, along with two dozen long-stemmed roses. I pick it up and throw it at the wall, and it bursts into pieces everywhere.

In a trance, I fixate on all the shards.

Broken glass and shattered dreams are the only things left.

How could you have been so stupid?

The note he sent me is still on the table.

Find out what happens next in Masks of Devotion

Read Masks of Devotion if you love:

  • Family Saga
  • First Love
  • Brother's Best Friend

"Gracie and Kade’s love story takes some twists and there were some parts where I forgot to breathe. But the Brooks family and their counterparts are conquering the Twisted Hearts gang and reclaiming their happy ever afters."-Reviewers

★★★★★ "This book has all you could want and more. Literally, I laughed, I cried, I screamed at the characters, I swore out loud. My toes curled reading the steamy hot love making scenes. The Brooks family is the family we all wish we had. Or pray we marry into. Come join the ride."-Reviewer

PRINT BOOKS SHIPPING INFORMATION

Print books are printed to order and shipped by our print fulfillment partner, BookVault. Print time is usually 72 working hours. After books are printed, they are packaged and shipped directly to you by the shipping method you choose at checkout. Rates and delivery times will vary depending on your delivery address and shipping method.

Average shipping times: To U.S. addresses, 2-3 weeks.

Winter shipping times: Shipping may take longer around postal holidays or during periods of inclement weather.

View full details