During your annual physical, a well-paid receptionist forwards your chart to an international human trafficking ring. A clear violation of the HIPAA Laws, but who cares? Money is a great incentive. Consider what happens after they take you, ship you off, and sell you at auction? Can you imagine your new life? Can you imagine a life as owned property?Avril Gillios doesn't have to imagine it; she has to live it. The question is, can she survive it?The Trafficking Consortium Copyright (c) Richard Verry 2016A brutal erotic suspense thriller about Avril Gillios, a young woman in her mid-twenties, who get’s caught up in an international organized crime ring specializing in human trafficking. The thousand-year old organization call themselves ‘The Consortium.’ Their affluent and influential members can order or acquire anyone, men and women alike, to satisfy their unique needs and desires. From organ acquisition; to perverse sexual satisfaction; or feasting upon their prey, they seemingly operate above the law all across the globe.Told from Avril’s point of view, the story describes how this criminal organization targets her, kidnaps her right off the streets of NYC and sells her to the highest bidder; marking the beginning of a new life, forever barred from returning to the only life she ever knew.She must navigate the perilous events that threaten her life to survive her ordeal and attempt escape. Sold to a sadistic monster, her captivity is relatively comfortable. Locked in a luxurious suite with all the trimmings included in the most elegant high-end luxury apartments enjoyed by the upper one-percenters, a cage is still a cage.She endures brutal beatings and violent ravishments as her new owner trains her to be compliant to his demands and needs. Along the way, she discovers that her sadistic owner loves her, in his own way.Confused and bewildered, she must figure out how to navigate the ever narrowing serpentine path to escape the growing threat to her life. Her captor eventually gives her an impossible choice, one that takes away all doubt of what he intends to do with her. However, he requires that she select the path that her life will take. Failing to choose is the same as choosing a horrific, slow, and painful death.Will she choose life or death?

    Over 1,000 pages of romance, drama, and suspense... Titles Included: BRADY Brady Hollister, the world’s biggest, hottest TV star has it all – wealth, killer good looks, a job he loves and his pick of women who throw themselves at him every which way. But he can’t seem to get the time of day from the new, wannabe director, coffee girl, Kat Sorenson. She’s been burned before and refuses to fall for Brady’s signature charm and smoldering good looks. Yet as mysterious events unfold on the old Victorian set, she’s pushed into being his personal assistant, and can’t help but fall for the real Brady Hollister, the one behind the womanizing, narcissistic playboy. JACKSON Jackson Fowler never expected to be rich, but when wise investments and clever inventions paid off, he was more than happy to embrace his new life in California. Tragedy strikes when is father dies unexpectedly, and Jackson finds himself back in Whitefish, Montana once more. There, he is forced to face the one person he hoped he would never see again--Melissa Weathers, the girl he left at the altar. ETHAN Cameron Sage knows something is wrong when her brother falls off the radar. Knowing she needs to find him she confronts his boss, only the man she meets isn’t. He’s the brother who never wanted the job in the first place. And there’s something about him that draws her in like a moth to flame. She can’t turn her back on him and gives him her greatest gift. FELIX Felix Eaton doesn’t technically need Stella for anything, other than being his wing-“woman”. They’ve been best friends since college and Stella has a stellar knack of making sure Felix gets the women he wants and disposes of the ones he doesn’t. Stella knows that the most eligible bachelor in town, who also happens to be her best friend; would never return her affections. She’s spent too many years trying. Is it time to give up and leave? MARK Mark Vidal spent years working too much, spending too much, and dating women when it suited him. When he first caught sight of Carrie, he realized he hasn’t seen something so sensationally enraged in his life. Women rarely expressed their tempers around him – they didn’t stay around long enough to get that privilege anyway. As the girl with massive blue eyes ranted at the cruelty and obnoxiousness of Mark’s driver’s mistake, Mark is secretly smitten with the novelty of her. She's real, and genuine – unlike any woman he’s ever known.

     But when she takes a temp assignment at a multi-billion dollar drug company, she can’t help but become intrigued with the arrogant and ultra-demanding CEO, Cullen Sharpe. Cullen Sharpe is used to getting what he wants, and his dark and damaged desires are locked on Ivy. Her innocent routine is enough to drive him over the edge, and after Ivy makes a mistake at work, he senses an opening to teach the shy temp the pleasures and seductions of being bad... …as well as the punishment that goes along with it. Soon the two of them are locked in a game of mystery, seduction, and raging desire that knows no bounds. But as Ivy is pushed beyond her limits, she begins to crave more from the dark billionaire. However, Cullen guards his secrets and his heart for reasons that run deep. And if those reasons were to ever be revealed, it just might destroy them both… This box set contains the full Billionaire’s Rules series: Discipline (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part One) Consequence (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Two) Truth (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Three) Lies (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Four) Threat (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Five) Expose (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Six) Commit (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Seven) Defy (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Eight) Trouble (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Nine) Risk (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Ten) Fall (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Eleven) Cherish (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Twelve) Hunt (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Thirteen) Catch (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Fourteen) Trap (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Fifteen) Free (The Billionaire’s Rules, Part Sixteen)

    They've carved out a small niche in an otherwise desolate and harsh world, and for the moment, all seems well. But trouble is on the horizon, and to stop it, they'll need something they haven't had in a long time.A man.

    After being orphaned as a young girl, Asghar grapples with coming-of-age as a woman without the guidance of a mother, questions of sexuality and race, and navigating a world that put a target on her back. Asghar's poems at once bear anguish, joy, vulnerability, and compassion, while exploring the many facets of violence: how it persists within us, how it is inherited across generations, and how it manifests in our relationships with friends and family, and in our own understanding of identity. Using experimental forms and a mix of lyrical and brash language, Asghar confronts her own understanding of identity and place and belonging.

    He examines the power of the arguments embedded in these speeches to inspire people to achieve great things, or do great harm. Abbott draws upon his political expertise to explain how our current understanding of the world is rooted in pivotal moments of history. These moments are captured in the words of a range of influential speakers including: Emmeline Pankhurst, Martin Luther King, Jr, Enoch Powell, Napoleon Beazley, Kevin Rudd, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, Margaret Beckett, Winston Churchill, Salvador Allende, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Tim Collins, Mohandas Gandhi, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robin Cook and Barack Obama. The speeches in this book are arranged thematically, linked by concepts such as 'might is right', 'with us or against us' and 'give peace a chance'. Each transcript is accompanied by an insightful commentary that analyses how the words relate to our modern society. Fresh and relevant, this is a book that will make you stop in your tracks and think about what is really happening in the world today.

    Following her mother’s death she is guided to Horstberg in search of answers and contentment. When her path repeatedly crosses with the brooding Stefan Heinrich, she is drawn to him by feelings too profound to ignore. The love they share is intense and undeniable, but Ericha’s ignorance of Stefan’s circumstances puts her on a scale in his life opposite to the country he rules, and the wife he loathes.While Stefan questions daily what kind of madness drove him to marry the deceptive and tawdry Johanna Von Bindorf, a princess from the neighboring country of Kohenswald, he is torn between his commitment to do what is right, and his love for a woman that he cannot have; a woman who fills his aching soul. Years of spiraling downward in hopelessness finally drive him to make Ericha a part of his life as far as it is possible, while deep inside he knows that eventually a price for his happiness will have to be paid.As Ericha develops a deep bond with the legendary Abbi du Woernig, she unknowingly breathes life back into the heart and soul of Horstberg. But happiness and peace for the entire family are fleeting and fragile. Both Stefan and Ericha quickly realize the price for their choices is higher than either of them ever could have imagined. When Horstberg’s freedom is bargained for with the life of its ruler, Stefan knows that he must sacrifice everything to once again prove himself worthy to serve the people of his country with dignity and to live his life with the woman he loves.

    And Paula is a journalist whose long-term campaign against prostitution has brought her some strange bedfellows.After a shock change to the law, with brothels being raided by the authorities, lives across the country are fractured. As a threat from Lori’s past begins to catch up with her, the three women are increasingly, inevitably drawn into each other’s orbitThe Service is a powerful and challenging novel about women’s bodies, sex and relationships, mental health, entitlement, authenticity, privilege and power – as shocking as any dystopia, but touching and deeply humane.

     Emily decides to leave everything behind and start over in the west as a mail order bride. Her new husband, Levi, has children too, which makes Emily think that he will understand her and that things will go smoothly. But she couldn’t have been more wrong. Levi has been doing everything alone for several years since his wife died. He never wanted to marry again but he knows his children need a mother and he has been struggling with the burden of being a single parent. When Emily and Levi finally met, they realize they cannot see eye to eye on anything when it comes to the children, and it almost seems that everything and everyone is working to keep them apart. The newly merged family has become a disaster in waiting… especially in the harsher conditions of the west. How will Emily and Levi learn to work together and save both of their families? Or will they give up and leave their families more broken than they were in the beginning?

    Retirement was not in the cards for Robert, so he disappeared instead. After he comes out of the cold to answer the call to aid a fellow soldier facing a bum rap, he is thrust back into the spotlight when he is in the wrong place at the wrong time and kills a terrorist, thereby saving dozens of lives. He finds gainful employment in the slaughter of jihadists, which sparks an urban legend that Robert, a dangerous and unfeeling assassin, is a living paladin, whose mission is to rid the earth of evil for the betterment of mankind. Social media gives him the name: "Paladine" and God help whoever gets between him and his next target. Russian Holiday (Paladine Political Thriller #2) In this installment of the series, Paladine crosses paths with a Russian assassin, which puts him in the middle of the controversial new cold war between the United States and Russia. Traffick Stop (Paladine Political Thriller #3) In this installment of the series, Paladine seeks to retire from the assassination business and finds himself fighting a band of Syrian sex traffickers.

    However, she does get along great with her grandmother. When her grandmother dies, Elsa is devastated. After her death, Granny gave her the task of delivering letters to different people whose past she wants Elsa to understand. Woven in the plot of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry are the fairy tales that Granny told Elsa over the years. It is up to Elsa to connect the dots and understand which fantasy characters from the “Land of Almost Awake” are represented by whom in real life.   A Brief Look Inside: EVERY GOOD BOOK CONTAINS A WORLD FAR DEEPER than the surface of its pages. The characters and their world come alive, and the characters and its world still live on. Conversation Starters is peppered with questions designed to bring us beneath the surface of the page and invite us into the world that lives on. These questions can be used to.. Create Hours of Conversation: • Foster a deeper understanding of the book • Promote an atmosphere of discussion for groups • Assist in the study of the book, either individually or corporately • Explore unseen realms of the book as never seen before Disclaimer: This book you are about to enjoy is an independent resource to supplement the original book, enhancing your experience of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry. If you have not yet purchased a copy of the original book, please do before purchasing this unofficial Conversation Starters. Download your copy today for a Limited Time Discount: $3.99 ($4.99) Read it on your PC, Mac, iOS or Android smartphone, tablet and Kindle devices.

    This is not any of those—the year isn’t half-way done. What I’ve tried to do is organize some of the feelings and thoughts that events, so far, have provoked in me, in those scraps of time the year itself has allowed. These are above all personal essays: small by definition, short by necessity.”Crafted with the sharp intelligence, wit and style that have won Zadie Smith millions of fans, and suffused with a profound intimacy and tenderness in response to these unprecedented times, Intimations is a vital work of art, a gesture of connection and an act of love—an essential book in extraordinary times.

    In the late 1940s, parents began to file desegregation lawsuits with their daughters, forcing Thurgood Marshall and other civil rights lawyers to take up the issue and bring it to the Supreme Court. After the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, girls far outnumbered boys in volunteering to desegregate formerly all-white schools. In A Girl Stands at the Door, historian Rachel Devlin tells the remarkable stories of these desegregation pioneers. She also explains why black girls were seen, and saw themselves, as responsible for the difficult work of reaching across the color line in public schools. Highlighting the extraordinary bravery of young black women, this bold revisionist account illuminates today's ongoing struggles for equality.

    Includes:SUMMER RENTALEllis, Julia, and Dorie. Friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what each of them needs. Ty Bazemore is their landlord. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he's ever cared about. Maryn Shackleford is a stranger on the run who needs just a few things: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs?SPRING FEVERAnnajane Hudgens truly believes she is over her ex-husband, Mason Bayless. They've been divorced for four years, she's engaged to a new, terrific guy, and she's ready to leave the small town where she and Mason had so much history. She is so over Mason that she has absolutely no problem attending his wedding to the beautiful, intelligent, delightful Celia. But when fate intervenes and the wedding is called to a halt as the bride is literally walking down the aisle, Annajane begins to realize that maybe she's been given a second chance. Maybe everything happens for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, she wants Mason back. But there are secrets afoot in this small Southern town and Annajane discovers that change can bring out the worst in people and uncover family scandals. And even though there are people determined to keep Annajane from getting what she wants, happiness could be hers for the taking, and the life she once had with Mason in this sleepy little lake town could be in her future. That is, if she can find out what she's really made of and what really matters most to her.LADIES' NIGHTGrace Stanton's life as a rising media star and beloved lifestyle blogger takes a surprising turn when she catches her husband cheating and torpedoes his pricey sports car straight into the family swimming pool. Grace suddenly finds herself locked out of her palatial home, checking account, and even the blog she has worked so hard to develop in her signature style. Moving in with her widowed mother, who owns and lives above a rundown beach bar called The Sandbox, is less than ideal. So is attending court-mandated weekly "divorce recovery" therapy sessions with three other women and one man for whom betrayal seems to be the only commonality. When their "divorce coach" starts to act suspiciously, they decide to start having their own Wednesday "Ladies' Night" sessions at The Sandbox, and the unanticipated bonds that develop lead the members of the group to try and find closure in ways they never imagined. Can Grace figure out a new way home and discover how strong she needs to be to get there?

    Addison Goodheart is not like other people…Addison Goodheart lives in solitude beneath the city, an exile from a society which will destroy him if he is ever seen.Books are his refuge and his escape: he embraces the riches they have to offer. By night he leaves his hidden chambers and, through a network of storm drains and service tunnels, makes his way into the central library.And that is where he meets Gwyneth, who, like Addison, also hides her true appearance and struggles to trust anyone.But the bond between them runs deeper than the tragedies that have scarred their lives. Something more than chance – and nothing less than destiny – has brought them together in a world whose hour of reckoning is fast approaching.