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Hunted Temptation: An Age Gap Dark Romance (Alpha Nights: Unlikely Heroes), page 35
Hunted Temptation
ALPHA NIGHTS
UNLIKELY HEROES
BOOK 4
HAYLEY FAIMAN
HAYLEY FAIMAN BOOKS
Contents
Also by Hayley Faiman
Stay Connected
Hunted Temptation
Warning
Playlist
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
Hunted Surrender
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
Newsletter Sign Up
Wild Ride
Prologue
About the Author
Also by Hayley Faiman
Hunted Temptation
Hunted Surrender
Copyright © 2025 by Hayley Faiman
All rights reserved.
Cover Designer: Cormar Covers. Yoly Cortez
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No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Formatted with Vellum
Also by Hayley Faiman
Men of Baseball Series—
Pitching for Amalie
Catching Maggie
Forced Play for Libby
Sweet Spot for Victoria
Russian Bratva Series —
Owned by the Badman
Seducing the Badman
Dancing for the Badman
Living for the Badman
Tempting the Badman
Protected by the Badman
Forever my Badman
Betrothed to the Badman
Chosen by the Badman
Bought by the Badman
Collared by the Badman
Notorious Devils MC —
Rough & Rowdy
Rough & Raw
Rough & Rugged
Rough & Ruthless
Rough & Ready
Rough & Rich
Rough & Real
Cash Bar Series —
Laced with Fear
Chased with Strength
Flamed with Courage
Blended with Pain
Twisted with Chaos
Mixed with trouble
SAVAGE BEAST MC —
UnScrew Me
UnBreak Me
UnChain Me
UnLeash Me
UnTouch Me
UnHinge Me
UnWreck Me
UnCage Me
Unfit Hero Series —
CONVICT
HERO
FRAUD
KILLER
COWBOY
Zanetti Famiglia Series —
Becoming the Boss
Becoming his Mistress
Becoming his Possession
Becoming the Street Boss
Becoming the Hitman
Becoming his Wife
Becoming her Salvation
Prophecy Sisters Series —
Bride of the Traitor
Bride of the Sea
Bride of the Frontier
Bride of the Emperor
Astor Family Series —
Hypocritically Yours
Egotistically Yours
Matrimonially Yours
Occasionally Yours
Nasty Bastards MC —
Ruin My Life
Tame My Life
Start My Life
Dance into My Life
Shake Up My Life
Repair My Life
Sweeten My Life
Wrap Up My Life
Underworld Sinners—
Stolen by the Sinner
Bound to the Sinner
Caught by the Sinner
F*cked by the Sinner
Stripped by the Sinner
Rejecting the Sinner
Loved by the Sinner
Devil’s Hellions MC —
Dirty Perfect Storm
Cocky Perfect Storm
Taboo Perfect Storm
Wicked Perfect Storm
Midnight Stalkers—
Tempting the Monster
Enticing the Monster
Watching the Monster
Dark Horse MC
Filthy Alpha
Filthy Secret
Filthy Hot
Filthy Savage
Filthy Liar
Filthy Devil
Alpha Nights
Unlikely Heroes—
Hunted Obsession
Hunted Vengeance
Hunted Innocence
Hunted Temptation
Vicious Reapers MC—
Wild Ride
Wild Night
Wild Side
Awakened Curses —
Vow to a King
Vow to a Tyrant
Vow to a Rogue
Offspring Legends—
Between Flaming Stars
Beautiful Unwanted Wildflower
Esquire Black Duet Series –
DISCOVERY
APPEAL
Forbidden Love Series —
Personal Foul
Kinetic Energy
Standalone Titles
Royally Relinquished: A Modern Day Fairy Tale
Stay Connected
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The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it… I can resist everything but temptation.
OSCAR WILDE
Hunted Temptation
ALPHA NIGHTS
Unlikely Heroes Novel
She wasn’t supposed to be part of the plan… but temptation never asks for permission.
Vaughn lives a life of solitude and control, surrounded by luxury and discipline. It’s the only way he knows how to survive a past that dealt him nothing but pain.
Until her.
She’s a photograph with haunted eyes and a silent scream. A temptation he should resist—needs to resist. He sees himself in her broken stare. He can’t look away.
Vaughn doesn’t plan. He watches. Then he acts. One moment she’s trapped in California, the next she’s beside him, with no idea what comes next. All he knows is he can’t leave her behind.
She only ever wanted freedom. A life untouched by cruelty. But her father, Chief Scoggins, won’t let her go. He’s carefully crafted a gilded cage and is determined to keep her locked inside—forever.
Vaughn knows the risks. She’s a liability he can’t afford, a complication he swore to avoid. But setting her free is worth the danger. He’s not trying to keep her. He just wants to see her thrive.
Sometimes, darkness doesn’t fall—it hunts. And sometimes, temptation comes wrapped in a broken girl you were never supposed to save.
Warning
This story includes content that may be distressing to some readers, a scene of sexual assault that may be triggering or upsetting. Please prioritize your emotional well-being and read with care.
Playlist
You can listen to the ALPHA NIGHTS: UNLIKELY HEROES playlist here
Unstoppable.: The Score
Like Lovers Do: Hey Violet
In My Blood: Shawn Mendes
Everything Breath You Take: The Police
Stronger: The Score
One Last Breath: Creed
Meet Me in the Hallway: Harry Styles
Beggin’: Måneskin
So Far Away: Staind
Dreams: The Cranberries
Treat You Better: Shawn Mendes
Queen of the Night: Hey Violet
Crash into Me: Dave Matthews Band
I WANNA BE YOUR SLAVE: Måneskin
Everybody Talks: Neon Trees
Let’s Fall in Love for the Night: FINNEAS
It Must Have Been Love: Roxette
Truly Madly Deeply: Savage Garden
Viva La Vida: Coldplay
Start Me Up: The Rolling Stones
Supermassive Black Hole: Muse
Prologue
VAUGHN
THREE MONTHS AGO
I have a list that’s at least half a page long sitting in front of me. One name after another of men who clearly need to die. Slowly. Every single one of them. I know that Theron and the others want to drain their accounts. They want to do all this sneaky-ass shit, but I want to kill them.
I want to watch the life slowly leave their eyes.
It’s my therapy.
It’s the only way I can attempt to stay sane in this world, inside my own head. Watching people who deserve to die… die. Knowing that I couldn’t do shit to them back in the day, but I can now. I’m the one in charge. I’m the one in control—me.
Only me.
Not them.
Never them.
Never again.
I don’t even need to hear them beg for their lives or listen to their screams. I just want to watch them die. The visual is what I crave. Death is the only peace I can find when it comes to the dregs of the underworld.
Hell, most would probably consider me one of them, too, but I’m not. Sure, I’m a hired gun. I kill really fucking bad people, so I don’t hurt anyone else. I know that if I don’t, if I let everything bottle up inside me, I’m going to explode one day. This way, my eruptions are targeted.
I’m not from the underworld, though, not like that. My soul may be darkened, but it’s not black, and my heart is not full of evil. I don’t want to hurt any innocent people, just the ones who deserve it.
I’m full of anger.
Justifiable anger.
The desire to have complete control through pain is there. I know it is. I am not a monster, though. Taking my anger out on the bad guys seems like the best thing I can do to keep sane. To keep from losing myself to the anguish of my past.
I only take the jobs where I know the person deserves to die. Which sounds hypocritical, but I don’t give a shit. I’m a hypocrite, then. I’ve been through some of the worst things a person can go through, all the men of Securus have, and this is how I deal with it, how I deal with my internal shit.
This is how I cope. By killing the men who need to die and getting paid handsomely for it. An insurance policy that I quite enjoy watching grow. A once unknown little secret that is now beyond well-known.
Except this list.
This list is personal. I’m doing all of this as a favor, as therapy. I won’t be making a dime off any kill I make for the time being. Then again, I’ve made so much money doing this that I never have to work another day in my life. I could give away my share of Securus and not even blink at the loss of net worth.
The first thing I do with this list is open the file that Lucille started on the Target. I’ve taken care of a few already, one in Miami and one in Rhode Island, but this one is a haul.
He’s in California.
I’m ready to go and take care of him there. This is a bit different than the others. He’s not a politician, doesn’t own a business or engage in any trade, domestic or otherwise, which has been the case for most of the men. What he actually is—is terrifying. He’s the chief of police of a midsize town.
He’s corrupt.
He’s been trafficking girls on the side. Girls who, no doubt, are being manipulated into being trafficked and are scared shitless. He was on the thumb drive Nadine gave us—associated with her estranged husband and her.
Disgusting human.
Nadine is an angel of a woman, and to be used like that, to be treated that way…
He should die.
They all should die.
And they will—eventually. I’ll see to that. Happily. Gleefully even.
The chief of police’s offshore bank accounts have already been drained, along with his domestic ones. He may not even realize it yet, but he will. Yet it’s not enough. Taking his money isn’t enough. Leaving him destitute is not enough. Even getting him fired… it wouldn’t be enough.
I’m going to need to watch him bleed, and I’m going to need to be the person who ends his life. I am going to have to watch the life drain from his eyes and know that he’s gone and will never come back.
It must be me who does it, too. Nobody else can because nothing else matters to me more than watching him die, watching his life end. It’s going to give me the satisfaction I need in order to stay in control.
As I begin to read his file, I realize that I don’t just want it, I crave it. It is a need I can never simply let go of. I have to see it play out in front of me. I need to know that he is gone and will never hurt anyone else again.
Continuing to click through the file, I pause on the image of his daughter. Most of the people I take care of either have little kids, no kids, or grown kids. Seeing someone who does this shit with kids turns my stomach.
Would they want someone to do these things to their own children? Their own sons and daughters? I don’t understand how they can take themselves, their lives, out of the equation and not even think about it. That would be all I could think about if I had a child.
What if someone did this to them?
My eyes scan the image, and when my focus sharpens, it stops on the girl in the picture. Girl, woman, I don’t know. I hope she’s a woman because she’s stunning. Her eyes peer into my goddamn soul.
Gray and intense.
She’s tall and lithe, almost too thin. She’s got no tits, no hips. She’s almost too lean, as if she’s not getting enough food, but maybe it’s just because she’s so young.
Too fucking young.
Her legs are long and lean, her hair long and straight, almost to her waist. I want to learn more about her. I want to wrap her hair around my fist three or four times and hold her still while I fuck her.
I want to keep her.
Fuck.
Maybe I am one of them, because I know she’s young, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be inside her. I have never felt this way before, especially not from a picture. I need to ignore her, rip that shit up, forget she exists. And as I tell myself that, I slip the picture into the breast pocket of my shirt. Because I’m a sick fuck.
ELODIE
Closing my eyes, I let the sun soak into my skin, hopefully tanning me so I’m a shade closer to the perfect golden sheen that I want to achieve. I’ve never been someone who tans, but I’m preparing to go off to college, and I want to look my best.
Plus, being out here under the sun’s hot glare keeps me away from my father.
And I’ll do anything to stay away from that man.
That monster.
I stopped telling people when I was about ten years old that my father was a bad man. It doesn’t mean that it’s not true, because it is. I just stopped saying the words aloud because nobody ever believed me.
It didn’t matter who I told or what I said. Nobody believed a single word I said. So, I just gave up. I’m positive that he’s awful in probably more ways than I could ever imagine. And no matter how I tried to explain his horridness, I was ignored, because everyone loves him.
Everyone.
I’m the odd person out, and there’s no reason to try and show people something they refuse to see, refuse to accept.
At the time, he was a beloved lieutenant, and now he’s an even more beloved chief of police for our midsized California town. He is one of the most powerful men in town and makes sure to remind me of that often.
So I stay quiet because it’s pointless. It’s my goal to be gone soon, and I’m never looking back. Not for a second. Because nobody could ever imagine that he, the Chief Scoggins, could be anything but amazing.
He shows up to every community event, not to mention every single school event that I was or wasn’t part of. He has put his stamp on the community, and he loves every second of the admiration. He’s obsessed with the way people love him and the way he has them all fooled. He gets off on it.
I’ve hated every second of the farce.
