The Darkness Within — Jude Knight

Folks, just letting you know that this one is dark. In some places, very dark. If you read nothing else in this blurb, read the trigger warning at the end.To save her, he must lose herEver since he escaped the hell of his youth, Max has killed for a living -- first as a sniper and assassin in the war against Napoleon, and later ridding the world of those whose power on those around them allowed them to commit evil without fear of punishment.The dead burden what is left of his soul, and he wants to retire, and kill no more. When a search for a missing comrade takes him into a religious community, he feels as if he has found a home for the first time in his life.But there are cracks in the innocent surface the village shows its visitors. Max discovers hints at what lies beneath even as he falls for Serenity, who has recently been appointed Goddess-Elect, the designated virgin to take her place as three-month wife of her community's leader, the Incarnate One.The secrets of the community are worse than the secrets that burden Max’s soul. They put Serenity and others in dreadful danger. To save her, he must lose her, for if he draws on his hard-won skills, she will recoil from the darkness of his soul.Warning: This book is largely set within a cult, and is nothing like a typical Regency. If you have been in a cult or love someone who is, or who has been, in a cult, you might want to approach this book with caution. It might be triggering. It might be satisfying to see the bad sorts get their comeuppance. Your call.