His pragmatic nature makes him popular and allows him to strike alliances with government officials, which keeps prying eyes off his business. But even a town as small as theirs is not without risk or envy, and Elia has only ever really wanted one thing: Senator Harrison’s daughter. As the eldest daughter of a corrupt politician, survival was Caroline Harrison’s only hope of one day being granted freedom. But her father has other plans, and when negotiations for her hand in marriage begin, all her dreams shatter. That is until she makes an unlikely ally: the handsome, young boss of the local mafia. Elia makes an offer Caroline can’t refuse, though it becomes clear soon into their union that the senator’s daughter isn’t as innocent as she seems. He may have promised her protection, but she isn’t the one who needs it. _Sweet Surrender _is the first interconnected standalone in the King's Trace Antiheroes series, a dark romance trilogy centering around a corrupt small town in Maine. Listener discretion is advised.