The Rise of the Langes Series by Rachel Van Dyken – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

The Rise of the Langes Series by Rachel Van Dyken – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.books2020.com Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:32:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.1 http://www.books2020.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png The Rise of the Langes Series by Rachel Van Dyken – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.books2020.com 32 32 Sweet Poison (The Rise of the Langes #3) Read Online Rachel Van Dyken http://www.books2020.com/sweet-poison-the-rise-of-the-langes-3-read-online-rachel-van-dyken Sat, 28 Feb 2026 17:32:30 +0000 http://www.books2020.com/sweet-poison-the-rise-of-the-langes-3-read-online-rachel-van-dyken Genre: Alpha Male, Crime, Dark, Erotic, Mafia Authors: Rachel Van Dyken Series: The Rise of the Langes Series by Rachel Van Dyken
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Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46899 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)

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The final book in Rise of The De Langes an interconnected standalone mafia romance...

𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦.
𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳.
𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭…
His breath hit my neck, lips brushing skin.
"𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘵?”
All it took was one phrase—“𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦?”—and I was already losing.
To the enemy.
To a Tinder date gone violently wrong.
To the Syndicate’s most dangerous heir.
It was supposed to be my last middle finger to the establishment before they sacrificed me on the family altar of arranged marriage. So I took control. I made the rules. I chose the husband.
Louis De Lange.
The twin who should’ve died.
The traitor.
The man who lost my sister—his so-called true love.
He said he had nothing left. So I made him my weapon.
But the problem with controlling a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
You never see the fangs until they’re already at your throat.
The plan was simple. The timeline set. Sixty days to infiltrate, manipulate, and survive.
But I wasn’t banking on Louis being more than broken—I wasn’t ready for how dangerous he could be when he finally decides he’s done bleeding for everyone else but himself.
I was playing to win.
He was playing to lose.
And we were both about to learn…
The sweeter the poison the more bitter the fight.
To the end. Love. Hell. Or destruction. Let the games begin

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PROLOGUE

BOSS UNKNOWN

TEN YEARS AGO

“Everybody makes mistakes. This was mine. I can honestly say that when I look back at my life there are few things I regret—that day was one of them, that evening is one that will burn in my soul for an eternity. I imagine, just like everyone else involved, I’ll one day have to own up to what I did.”

“That day…” He took a seat across from me. “…may come sooner than you realize.”

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“Would it be easier if I did?” he asked from his spot in the shadowy corner. “Just know, the truth will eventually come to light. Hug your daughters a little tighter, smile a bit more, get a damn haircut, and stop blaming yourself for something that’s already happened.”

I would always blame myself.

It didn’t matter if someone gave me permission not to, as if they had the power to even be the one to allow the mark to get buried. One bad choice doesn’t just affect your future, it affects multiple futures, multiple lives. It may not make a difference in the moment, but the grim reaper is patient like that.

No need to take my soul then.

He’d wait for the perfect time to strike.

And enjoy the anxiety that filled every part of me until that day came.

A nightmare? Yes.

My fault? Absolutely. I called the shots. I was a boss, after all.

A powerful one who knew better.

I stared into the glass of whiskey and swirled the amber-hued liquid. “Does anyone else know?”

“No.” He clipped out the answer without further explanation.

“Good.” I tossed back the rest of the drink. “Then we never mention my impending death again, agreed?”

“Fine.” He sighed. “But a boss dying will be a big deal.”

“A boss living this long is just as big of a deal,” I countered. “Let’s go grab some food.”

“Sure.” He stood and led me out of my office.

The sound of laughter filled the house.

I think… I think I’ll miss that the most.

Them.

I saw him then, a complete and total older version of the life I stole, and I knew… the sand had already started to sift.

Tick. Tock.

SWEET POISON

LOUIS

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies. — Nelson Mandela

"Tempest.” My voice cracked. “You can leave if you want.”

There was nothing for her here anymore.

Nothing I could offer except pieces of the ghost that were left and the guilt I would now carry over what I had to do.

Do you want to play a game? I should have said no.

I should have asked for more terms.

I should have thought it through. Then again, would the ending have changed? Would it have been any different? Any less tragic? If not me pulling the trigger, would she prefer it be a stranger?

“Tempest.” I held up my hands; they were shaking. God, I couldn’t stop the tremors wracking my body. I still had his blood staining my clothes. I didn’t tell her it was from a hug.

Let her think me the monster I was, better that than she know the truth.

Let him die a hero.

Let me live a tyrant.

It was better this way—for her, for everyone. She could move on—God knows she’d have no choice now that I’d already finished what I started.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. “You said you had no choice.”

“I didn’t.”

Muffled sobs escaped her lips as she covered her mouth with her hands looking between the body and me and back again. “They’ll hunt you for this. Torture everyone you hold close—maybe even me, did you for one second think about what this would do to me? To us?”

“There is no us.” It was harsh. I meant for it to come out softer, but I was having a hard enough time holding it together, I was barely able to breathe let alone get words out. I needed her to hate me.

I needed her to cling to her family, her sister, her friends. For once, I fucking needed Tempest to actually do what she was asked.

One time.

Please God, let it be now.

She choked on a sob. “Was any of this real? I mean, was it all a game from the start or did you actually care… did you—” Her voice cracked. “Did you fall even a little bit for me?”

Her eyes were so bright, so vulnerable. I’d earned too much of her trust, I didn’t deserve any of it.

Shit!

I bit down on my lower lip to keep from screaming. We were running out of time—she was running out of time. She needed to get to safety, she needed to be guiltless in all of this.

She kept talking. “Were your eyes wide open from the very first drop?”

I said nothing.

“God!” She screamed. “Did you do this willingly and smile at me while doing it? All to infiltrate my family? Break me in order to break them? Use the last shred of love I have against me?”

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Advertisement Little Nightmare (The Rise of the Langes #2) Read Online Rachel Van Dyken http://www.books2020.com/little-nightmare-the-rise-of-the-langes-2-read-online-rachel-van-dyken Mon, 30 Jun 2025 19:07:51 +0000 http://www.books2020.com/little-nightmare-the-rise-of-the-langes-2-read-online-rachel-van-dyken Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Forbidden, Mafia, Suspense Authors: Rachel Van Dyken Series: The Rise of the Langes Series by Rachel Van Dyken
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Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 62569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 313(@200wpm)___ 250(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)

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Welcome to your final dream.
Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.
I promise. Just close your eyes.
Sleep.

It's a bad omen when the nickname for the girl you're supposed to protect is Black Widow. It's still unclear where she got it from, but I've heard the word machete and laughter thrown around way more than I'm comfortable with.

The pay is so high that my brother and I, being from the De Lange Family can't really say no.
We slide so easily into the protective unit of the Five Families that they forgot to check if we had extra knives to drive into their backs.

They have a debt to pay.
And I'm more than willing to collect it in blood—hers specifically.

I'll make her love me.
I'll make her trust me.
And when she finally gives in…
I'll make sure she knows that everything she's ever loved was destroyed by the one she gave her heart to.

She’s a living nightmare and I’m the monster she innocently invited in.
Care to play?

She thinks I’m a toy, I’ll show her I’m the master of the web and in the end, I’ll make sure she bites.

When one Family falls—another will rise.
The Rise of the De Langes

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PROLOGUE

First Blood

“Do you have the target?”

The voice on the other end of the phone was too familiar. I’d come to hate it—almost as much as I hated myself. I didn’t believe in the cause anymore; there were too many people who would bear the brutal force of the effect.

Throat dry, I tried to keep my voice even, unfeeling, though my heart slammed uncomfortably hard against my ribs. I told myself it wasn’t regret. I lied to myself and even toyed with the idea that it was a pulled muscle or out of place rib—but I knew the reason, even my body was physically repelled by my actions.

They were wrong to do it this way. “Target secure.”

I hesitated. Let my thumb brush the blade—once. Twice. It was cold.

It wouldn’t stay that way for long. She had no idea what I was capable of, what I was supposed to do.

“Make it quick.” The voice already sounded irritated with me.

I rolled my shoulders, trying to loosen the weight in my chest. “It’s my blood to spill. Mine to take.”

Not his.

“Then stop talking and do it already, you’ve been given enough chances, plus, it will earn her trust, something you need if you’re going to pull it off.”

The knife felt heavier now. Too real. I knew it would.

“The killing’s already been done,” I murmured staring at her again, allowing myself to take in her innocent smile, knowing that sharp words always followed past those lips. “Finished,” I whispered, to myself, to him. “In more ways than one.”

A laugh cracked from my throat—cold, bitter, joyless. What the hell had I become? What had I let them do to me?

Why…did it have to be her?

He joined in briefly, his laughter sinister, mine in disbelief, his voice rasped through the speaker with finality. “Make it as pretty and dramatic as her, asshole.”

I walked toward her at the same time the sacrificial lamb came up behind her. The price of his life was a million. Not much by my standards—but it would take care of his wife and two kids.

He’d been useless his entire life and now by giving it, he believed he’d be saving theirs.

He had no clue, that his son probably preferred a dad to a dollar bill, that his wife would probably blame herself and have trouble going to the grocery store or getting in the car without having a panic attack.

All because of his life.

All because he thought money meant more than love.

Money was a liar.

It said it could save.

It said it could change lives.

It said it would make everything better.

Money was a drug, one that always somehow required more of whoever possessed it.

A bead of sweat ran down his neck before he lunged for her. The precision of my knife landed directly in his carotid artery. He’d bleed out in seconds. He collapsed.

I wondered if in those seconds he wished he had said no.

I wondered if he saw his wife’s face.

His two sons.

I wondered a lot as I approached and held out my hand. “No better way to introduce myself, I guess.” I grinned at her stunned expression. “I’m your new bodyguard.”

1

RAVEN

The one where the house is filled with the ghosts and nothing but regret, the one where it burns, toils, and aches, the one where pain smiles and thrives.

Iwiped my mouth and braced the sink with my shaking hands. The taste of bile still lingered in the back of my throat. I had no choice in this. Then again, neither had he.

The haunting sound of the church organ crawled through the cracks of the small bathroom walls. If grief had a scent, I was surrounded by it. We’d had peace for so long and now it just felt like peace was the last thing I wanted. War sounded more pleasant, more distracting. I needed the darkness, the kind that made the pain feel earned. The kind that said there was a price and that I’d more than paid it over and over again. But no matter how many times I replayed the memory in my head…

It didn’t make sense. Two plus two did not equal four.

“Raven!” he’d yelled. "Get back now!”

I'd just turned when he shoved himself in front of me then collapsed against my body like a promise breaking. The back of my head hit the cement, and when I’d looked up, all I saw was the perfect blue sky.

It was a sunny day.

A day made for greatness.

He’d held my hand.

He’d promised ice cream.

Minutes later, I was covered in blood.

“Raven?” Tempest’s voice—my twin sister and other half—muffled through the bathroom door. “It’s time.”

Time.

Something I’d never have enough of.

Something I’d never get back.

Just like him. How could he be so stupid? What was my life worth without him in it? My palm hovered over my still flat stomach. “Be right there, Tempest. Give me a minute.” Or an hour. Days. Maybe just give me a grave deep enough to jump into, as long as it’s next to his.

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Advertisement Ciao Bella (The Rise of the Langes #1) Read Online Rachel Van Dyken http://www.books2020.com/ciao-bella-the-rise-of-the-langes-1-read-online-rachel-van-dyken Mon, 08 Jul 2024 20:39:04 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/ciao-bella-the-rise-of-the-langes-1-read-online-rachel-van-dyken Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary, Dark, Mafia, New Adult Authors: Rachel Van Dyken Series: The Rise of the Langes Series by Rachel Van Dyken
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Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 362(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)

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How thin is the line between love and hate?

The Five Families thought the war was over.
They have no idea, I'm the very beginning.

I kidnapped her to prove a point—at knife point, it seemed sharper that way.
See what I did there?

I used the perfect virginal daughter from one of the most powerful Families in the Cosa Nostra to fix the broken pieces, knowing that in the process—I’d spread hers for the world to see.
I would embarrass her, shame her, use her, but I would never touch her… my one and only vow to her father in exchange for his allegiance.

The flowers at our wedding would be extravagant—people would watch it like a celebration, she’d live it as her funeral.
Call me twisted, but I thrive off her hate, I wouldn’t know what to do if I had her heart—I’m not good with pretty things I’m capable of breaking.

I’ll use every single person I can to restore order… to bring about the peace that my Family deserves.
But something sinister lurks in the darkness.
In the end, it may not be just my Family I save but theirs as well.

They say the past comes back to haunt you—that history repeats itself.
Bet they never saw this coming.

After all, when one Family falls—another will rise.

Ciao Bella.
The Rise of the De Langes

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

CHAPTER ONE

“You can’t bestow wisdom on idiots. I would know. My dad told me that every day until I realized it was me, I was the idiot. God love him.” —King Campisi, Capo dei Capi

Bella

There are three things you absolutely need to know about me.

One, I have a short temper, compliments of my dad.

Two, my dad is, to put it mildly, one of the most powerful mafia bosses in Chicago.

Three, I hate ham. Can’t stand it, which brings us into four.

Okay, so I meant four, whatever.

And four, I despised Ivan De Lange with every fiber of my soul. If he was on the side of the street limping, you best believe it was because I ran him over with my car, my bike, and then a stolen tricycle for good measure.

He wasn’t making matters easier by picking a fight during family dinner in front of everyone.

More yelling commenced from inside the house. I winced.

And now you’re all caught up.

I’m Bella Abandonato, college sophomore at one of the most elite universities in the nation, spoiled princess, hell of a cookie lover, and this is how I destroyed my enemy: one chocolate chip at a time.

Damn, too much? And was I really trying to do my manifesto while Ivan cornered me in the yard next to the giant tree he’d pushed me out of when I was fifteen?

Yes.

Was it the same tree I shoved his head against? Also, yes.

I had no problem feeling guilty when it came to him, and he had no qualms about being guilty when it came to me.

“You’re an idiot,” I said with purpose and a strong sense of conviction. I wanted to carve it into his skull so that every time he saw his own face in the mirror, he’d remember like the complete dumbass that he was.

An idiot.

See? Not that hard, and sometimes for people like him, from his Family, reading may be tough, but for him it’s literally something that makes a person wonder, can he even see words?

Ivan leaned in, too close, way too close, his green eyes penetrated mine in a way that was so severely uncomfortable that I wanted to trip him then grab the closest object and hold it high over my head. He’d of course tell my family and it would be a whole thing, the last thing we needed was more war between the Families anyway so we’re taught at an early age, not to necessarily play nice, just not to get caught by any of the bosses from any of the Families.

Ivan was cruel when I first met him at fifteen, when he came into our lives and decided to start working for the Families, not that he was really given a choice as an orphan. I’d been warned to be nice because he didn’t have any parents left, but he just wore his anger so much on his sleeve that the first thing he said to me when I offered him some homemade cookies was he didn’t eat poison then looked me up and down and said. “You should probably cut back anyway, am I right?” He’d pinched my side and what followed was me slamming a plate against him, cookies flying everywhere and blood everywhere that, till this day, nobody’s really sure where it came from.

Then again, I was in the Cosa Nostra, Italian mafia blood ran through my veins, my heart pulsed with it each beat it took and I knew that I’d either live a seminormal life or I’d be the one to wreak havoc.

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