He’s given second chances to people that stabbed him in the back and tying up loose ends with Floyd’s family that’s out for revenge and looking to paint the town red with his blood. Yet the life that he wants to leave behind isn’t ready to let him go and sending Sophie away to California only caused more problems for their already troubled relationship. Sophie is upset with Ameer for sending her away and that pain pushes her into the arms of another man. Ameer won’t back down and he won’t lose his girl. He’s a natural born boss and he’ll show the world that Ameer Kadar Matin is no one to be played with. Take a ride with your favorite couple and see if they can survive lies, betrayal, and even death.

    But after his mother passed and his father, Terry “Big Cali” Sands decided that it was time for him to finally step down, Cameron could only think of one person he wanted by his side and that was his little brother, Canan. Canan “School Boy” Sands grew up around his father’s empire but elected to keep his hands clean and stay out of the family business. However, now that his father was stepping down, both Cam and Big Cali had been urging Canan to step up and take his father’s place.Even though Canan had been around the business all his life, he never really saw himself being a part of it, but now that he just graduated from college and couldn’t figure out what was next, he finally gave in and stepped up to be by his brother’s side and run BCE. Family over everything, so when Cam said he needed his brother by his side, Canan knew what he had to do. Canan had been with his girl, Chelsey for two years, and even though everyone in his life knew that Chelsey was no good, Canan wasn’t trying to hear it, until he finally saw her true colors. Canan finally lets Chelsey go and falls for Avery, whose life is just as complicated. Being the daughter of an addict and having a father that died during a drug deal when she was a baby, has Avery hesitant about Canan’s decision to run BCE with Cam. Will Canan be able to convince Avery to give him a chance or will his decision to run BCE cause him to miss out on love. Meanwhile, Cameron has decided that he needed to find someone to settle down with. He was tired of one-night stands and wanted someone in his life to be there for him and help him raise his four-year-old son, CJ since CJ’s mother, Justine was more concerned with whom she could get in her bed versus taking care of her son. Cameron meets Lauren but is not interested in her, until he sees her at the mall one day with her boyfriend and jealousy kicks in, making him realize that he wanted more from Lauren than just friendship.Being on top is not as easy as it seems because Canan and Cam have to constantly watch their backs, especially when it comes to people wanting to see them fail. Cam and Canan have no idea what they’re about to face, but together the Sands brothers are ready for anything.

    Pearla is a born hustler, and Cash was born to steal. Pearla sets her sights on Cash and motivates him to take his petty crimes to the next level.Together, the two get money throughout the tri-state, while friends and family want to be upgraded without putting in work. At first, the couple makes it rain in the hood, taking care of those they love, but a hustler always knows when to draw the line.Suddenly, Pearla proclaims the ATM closed, and a quiet storm begins to brew. When the beggars can't beg anymore and the borrowers can't borrow anymore, friends become enemies. Words and bullets are exchanged, leaving The House that Hustle Built under attack and at risk of collapse.

    She comes across some devastating news causing her to run into the arms of another man, Royal, who is her best friend Jamie’s brother.Jamie and Ashaun marriage is rocky because he had a baby by another woman. Ashaun caters to her in every way hoping she would forgive him, but she can’t get over the betrayal. She longs for her first love who she has to pretend that she doesn’t even know, out of fear of what her brothers might think.Corey is Royal’s and Jamie’s baby brother, he is the wild one. Always hopping from one female to the next and has a serious temper. But only one person can bring out his soft side and that’s Tee-Tee. No one knows about their secret love affair because Tee-Tee is also a member of The Fam. The most notorious drug cartel in the whole DMV.When secret love affairs are exposed, and jealous exes can’t let go, who will remain? Will all three couples survive? Only way to find out is if you join the members of the Fam.

    The hottest spot was Jazzy Jay's, and that's where one of the guys slipped his gun into her pocketbook, knowing that the police who had just descended on the club wouldn't check the girls for weapons. She didn't know his name or anything other than he was cute and charming. But when she tracked him down to return his property, she found out his name was Chino; his game was hustling; and his plan was to make her his woman, his wifey, and give her more than she ever bargained for out of life, love, and the pursuit of money.

    A serial killer is on the loose in Detroit, murdering men and leaving her mark, and each of these women has a motive to kill. Simone, a sexual abuse survivor and advocate for young girls, has begun to heal her wounds over the past ten years, but she is still trying to reclaim her life. Her mother, Jessica, thinks it’s unhealthy for Simone to immerse herself into a world of pain and jaded love when she has yet to fully heal herself. A new, unexpected love interest only complicates things further. Ryan is willing to do whatever it takes to become a mother, even if it means betrayal. With her biological clock screaming and a shameful ten-year secret bubbling to the surface, Ryan is determined to get what she wants, but she may lose her husband—and her mind—in the process. Lauren, one of Detroit’s most prominent defense attorneys, redefines justice and seeks a way out of the career that has left her feeling trapped and torn. She can’t set her moral standards aside for a $400,000 salary, winning acquittal after acquittal for the demonstratively guilty. But how far will she go to rid Detroit of its criminal filth? As Lauren, Ryan, and Simone’s lives collide yet again, forcing them to deal with the tragedies of their pasts, the three women regretfully learn that no one is safe behind the thin shield of a Smoke Screen.

    Backstage is a VIP pass to the glamorous, gritty music industry, a world Nikki Turner knows intimately–as she introduces writers you’ll want to read again and again.

    From this Essence bestselling author comes a sexy, fast-paced novel about astreet-smart girl determined to make it big in the glitzy nightclub business.288 pp.

     Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. What really happened? No one has a clue. Twenty-two people are questioned, but nothing is found. So one by one, Pepper narrows the suspects down. It becomes clear that everybody has something to hide. The closer Pepper gets to truth, the more everyone lies. Somebody saw something. Someone knows the truth. Someone is a murderer. The question is…who?

    Until tragedy touches them both and they are forced to reassess the importance of their relationship.

    Who will come out on top? “Family isn’t everything; it’s the only thing,” has been the code Tyrik Anderson, aka, Tye has lived by since his first child came into the world and breathed his first breath twenty-one years ago. However, just because Tyrik lives by codes and morals, that doesn’t mean his son Shy does. When Tye’s connect Carlos is viciously robbed, Carlos vows vengeance against all involved. Circumstances causes Tye to exit the game, however, he soon learns that he’s more involved now than ever before. Tye has no idea what’s going on around him, but he’ll soon find out that the same person he’s willing to take a bullet for, also happens to be the same one behind the gun. Although raised by one of the city’s most respected drug dealers, Shy just can’t seem to stop fucking up. Cars, clothes, and trust funds aren’t enough to an ungrateful Shy, who seems to would rather trade the streets over his comfortable lifestyle. Instead of listening to his father, Shy chooses to embrace the streets with his two friends Drama and Rum. Up to no good, and with ill intentions, they soon begin what will ultimately be a bloody war in the streets. Tye’s daughter Tasha seems to be doing it all right, and to her, it’s finally paying off. Enrolled in college and successfully running her dad’s business, she still finds time to make room for love. Rich is like a dream come true to a naive Tasha. However, just like her father and brother, he’s tied to the streets in more ways than one. More titles coming soon from UPTOWN BOOKS. If you enjoy reading titles by MESSIAH RAYE, check out his colleague SHONTAIYE

    When she and her three best friends venture out on prom night, they’re drunk on young love and excited for their college plans. But a tragic incident turns a night of high school achievement into a crime scene, and Jessica and her girls are left with bloody hands and shattered futures. After spending years paying off a debt that wasn’t theirs, Jessica and her friends return to Harlem to find it very different from when they left. Crack is now king, and its destruction has left their families in ruin and their neighborhoods consumed by its peddlers. Jessica takes a stand, and her friends are there to back her up when demons from the past come beating down their doors. Now Jessica and the girls must pass the ultimate test in order to preserve their lives, their families, and their Harlem.

    In the years that follow, he works tirelessly at accomplishing his goal of becoming an agent with the Bureau. Upon graduating from college, he is inducted into the organization and excels at infiltrating and bringing down the drug crews and dealers that he hates with a passion! It is Derick's skill for fitting in with the street element that brings him to the attention of his superiors, who quickly transfer him from Charlotte, North Carolina to New York City, where his new assignment is to enter one of the largest and most deadly criminal organizations ever. However, when Derick takes the assignment to bring down the Black Tar Boyz, neither he nor the FBI will know just how deep he goes undercover and how e

    When she falls in love with Eric, one of her victims, all she wants is to find her baby sister, and settle down with her new love. But River soon becomes a prisoner of her dangerous world. And escaping it may cost her more than her life.By the time she turns sixteen, Starr is working for a pimp and turning tricks daily. But when an assault by one of her "dates" lands her in the hospital, Starr meets a woman who wants to help her change her life. Starr's heart is too hardened to believe in second chances, but soon she begins to long for more than selling her body just so she can survive. However the game does not give up its players so easily.Enter Eric's cousin, Yung Slim, fresh out of jail after seven years. He's looking to reclaim the streets and take care of some old grudges. When Yung Slim goes to battle, Eric—torn between his love for River, his ties to his cousin, and the lure of the streets—gets in too deep. When the war breaks out on the battlefield of the streets, who will be left standing?

    That's why no one is more surprised than her when she starts dating Thomas Anthony Young, the fit and handsome office heartthrob. After eight months together, Tiffany is sure that he's about to propose at any minute.Instead, she's taken off guard when they have a senseless argument. Thomas abruptly departs for a business trip, leaving Tiffany hurt and confused. In an effort to cheer herself up, she calls her friend Alicia for some company. Alicia already has plans to attend the wedding of a cousin she's not too fond of. She suggests that Tiffany go with her. They'll make a brief appearance and then spend the rest of the day together, shopping and catching up. Neither one of them is prepared for the pandemonium that breaks loose when they get to the wedding and Tiffany discovers that Thomas is the groom!