Three passionate novellas in a high stakes romantic suspense anthology featuring: A sizzling trio of novellas from three national bestselling masters of seductive suspense-stories of women who takes chances, women who gamble everything on love, women who accept the dare.

    But this particular obstacle—huge, hard-muscled, unashamedly masculine—is impossible to ignore. Stuck in a cramped car with Brodie Crews for hours en route to their new assignment, Mary feels her carefully crafted persona—and her trademark self-control—is slipping, and she won’t allow it.Brodie can’t imagine what secret in Mary’s past has left her so buttoned-up, though he’d dearly love to find out. Maybe then she’d trust him enough to explore their explosive chemistry. But he needs this job, so he’ll play by her rules and bide his time…until an enemy determined to outwit them strikes and he needs to get close—in every way—to protect her. Otherwise they could lose much more than a precious collectible. They could lose it all.

    Kat was named the prime suspect and, on a string of circumstantial evidence, charged and tried. While the jury found her innocent, not everyone else agreed, and her only choice was to go into hiding. But she carried a dark secret with her, one that made her worry she might actually have had something to do with Sara’s death . . .Now, years later, Kat is still haunted by her sister’s unsolved murder and continues to receive chilling anonymous letters, but she has tried to move on with her life. Until, on the tenth anniversary of Sara’s death, she receives a letter that makes the past impossible to ignore: "What about justice for Sara?" What about justice for Sara? And for herself? Kat realizes that going back to Liberty, Louisiana, might be the only way to move forward and find some peace. And there’s a killer out there who was never caught.But the town she’s come back to is hardly different from the one she left. The secrets and suspicions still run deep. Kat has an ally in Detective Luke Tanner, son of the former Liberty police chief, but he may be her only one. With plenty of enemies, no one to trust and a killer determined to keep a dark secret buried, Kat must decide if justice is worth fighting—and dying—for.

    He's providing refuge. Together, they'll fight for new love and survival...Laura Kensington is desperate to give her unborn child a fresh start. On the run from her late husband's ruthless family, she takes refuge on a Texas ranch. As her twisted mother-in-law hunts her down, she has one reason to be hopeful: a loving man who believes in second chances.Cade Bishop has dedicated his life to protecting injured and neglected animals. He didn't hesitate to protect the strong, beautiful Laura when she showed up on his doorstep, but he never expected the passion he feels for her. As the truth comes out, Cade dedicates himself to guarding the woman he's falling for.When the powerful family draws near, Laura and Cade will need more than a refuge to preserve their love and their lives. Love and Protect is the first standalone book in the Heroes of Evers, TX romantic suspense series.Love and Protect was previously published as Ever Hopeful.

    Attorney J.D. Damascus has always believed the NOPD put away the wrong guy, and now that more hookers are turning up dead, he's sure of it. But his drunken meltdown following the murders of his wife and children has left him with few friends on the force. Once a hotshot assistant district attorney, J.D. now handles cases for prostitutes and junkies who can rarely pay for his services. When Holly Jones calls him after finding his name on the jailhouse wall, he figures she's just another hard-luck case, but he finds himself drawn to her in spite of himself. Holly's in town looking for her friend Melissa, a hooker who may be the killer's latest victim. As J.D. and Holly draw closer to uncovering the truth, they find in each other the possibility for healing.

    For Roxanne Rayeaux, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, beauty had its costs. Not only did she have to worry constantly about how she looked, but she was considered stupid by strangers. She became romantically involved with a man who turned out to be married. So Roxanne pitched the world of diets and philanderers and moved her orange cat, Cheeto (the closest she could come to that forbidden food) to Virginia to open a restaurant. She went looking for some peace and tranquillity and instead inherited the restaurant's contentious, but sexy bartender, Steve Serrano.An average joe most of his life, Steve cannot deny Roxanne's obvious physical charms but thinks she is stuck up and pretentious -- not his type. Roxanne, suspicious of Steve's motives after a rash of break-ins occurs at the restaurant and a string of bad publicity appears in the local gossip column, cannot let her guard down around him. Besides he's not her type.If only they weren't so darned attracted to each other...

    Seeking answers, Serena turns to Erik North of Rarities Unlimited, a reclusive manuscript appraiser with a passion for the past. Without warning, they are thrust together into the center of a lethal firestorm that rages between two worlds -- one long dead, yet living on in an ancient text, the other chillingly alive and fraught with peril. In the blink of an eye, Serena and Erik have become targets of an unseen and determined stalker as they get closer to shocking revelations about Serena's legacy, the cold murder of an eccentric old woman in the heat of the Mojave Desert...and just how far a remorseless killer is willing to go. And now their only slim hope of survival is to keep moving.

    She pretends to have moved on, is a successful artist and photographer, until the morning she opens her door to a stranger she assumes is a model and asks him to strip to his briefs . He wants to expose the truth.... Wealthy businessman Ron Noble has the body, the jet, the fast cars and the women, but he hides a deadly secret. His father started the fire that killed Ashley’s parents. Now someone is leaving him clues that could exonerate his father and they lead to Ashley’s door. Blindsided by the blazing attraction between them and a merciless killer silencing anyone who was there the night of the fire, Ron dare not tell Ashley the truth. Yet the answer he seeks may very well tear them apart. While a demented arsonist...SLOW BURN(s)...and plots his ultimate revenge.

    Wounded and on the run, he has no choice but to take beautiful Abby Wells hostage. After all, she's in danger, too. And if the only way to keep the fiercely independent communications expert safe is to cuff her and bring her along for the ride, he'll do it. With pleasure, even.Only, given their close contact, it's not long before Hawk's thinking about a totally different kind of pleasure….

    Her psychic gift drove away the man she loved and years later has drawn him back to her As a teenager, Taige Branch hated her psychic gift. No one could understand, except for Cullen Morgan, the boy who stole her heart. He did his best to accept her, until his mother was brutally murdered and he couldn't forgive Taige for not preventing it. Now a widowed father, Cullen Morgan has never forgotten Taige. But what brings her back into his life is another tragedy. His beloved little girl has been kidnapped, and Taige is his only hope of finding her. Working together against the clock, Cullen and Taige can't help but wonder whether if they find his daughter in time, it isn't too late for the overpowering love that still burns between them.

    He’s nice, but boring, and their relationship has lost its spark. But steady and predictable Thom, suddenly doesn’t seem so steady and predictable when their condo explodes and she’s kidnapped by a couple of crazies claiming that Thom isn’t who he says he is. Thom is having a hellish week. Not only is he hunting a double agent, but his fiancé dumped him, and thanks to his undercover life, she’s been kidnapped. Turns out Thom is Operative Thom and he’s got more than a few secrets to share with Betty if he’s going to keep her alive. With both their lives on the line, their lackluster connection is suddenly replaced by an intense one. But in his line of work, feelings aren’t wanted or desired. Because feelings can be a lethal distraction.

    Megan Bradley has to get away. Away from the crime she saw but couldn't prevent, and away from missionary Gerard Vance, who almost made her trust in love again. Shaken and scared, Megan fl ees to the one place she can heal—her small Missouri hometown. She never expected Gerard to follow her…or for danger to find her again. When they discover a murderer lurks in town, Megan will need strength from Gerard—and the Lord—to save lives. Including their own.

    And charming. And sexy as all get out. Dr. Lisa Maxwell isn’t the type to go home with a guy she barely knows. But, hey, this is Italy and the red-blooded Rafe Sullivan seems much more enticing than cataloging a bunch of dusty artifacts.After being fully seduced, Lisa wakes to an empty bed and, worse yet, an empty safe. She’s staked her career as an archaeologist on collecting the three Furies, a priceless set of ancient Greek reliefs. Now the one she had is gone. But Lisa won’t just get mad. She’ll get even.She tracks Rafe to Florida, and finds the sparks between them blaze hotter than the Miami sun. He may still have her relic, but he’ll never find all three without her. And they’re not the only ones on the hunt. To beat the other treasure seekers, they’ll have to partner up—because suddenly Lisa and Rafe are in a race just to stay alive.

    Racked with grief over her son Danny's brutal death, Sarah Patterson steels herself to take revenge on his murderer. When detective Mac Donovan stops her from shooting Samuel Tate on the courthouse steps, he risks his career--and the case against Tate--to protect her.With a serial child-killer walking free, New Orleans is taut with anticipation of his next savage crime and the police and FBI are helpless. But Tate has developed a sick fascination with Sarah Patterson--and he'll kill to keep her attention. With Mac's help, Sarah positions herself at the center of a dangerous operation designed to stop Tate for good.Nothing can bring Danny back...but Sarah is hell-bent on ensuring no mother suffers as she has at the hands of Samuel Tate.

    The man she loved is dead—has been for ten long years. Jack Laubreaux saved her life after their plane crashed in the rugged Rockies, then died of his own injuries. But she still misses him, so when a drifter who reminds her of Jack shows up in Serenity Falls, she’s drawn to him.Martin Stride just wants a job and a warm place to sleep for the cold Rocky Mountain winter. That’s about all life has to offer him these days. He would have stayed out of this small Montana town if he’d known a pretty woman would take a fancy to him. That never ends well for him.His pursuers let him live, as long as he settled for not having a life. But this time, he can’t seem to make himself walk away. Which means he’ll have to protect Sophie and her family, with no one to depend on but a corrupt local sheriff who wants her too.Small town law enforcement isn’t equipped to handle a deadly Chicago crime lord whose power extends into state government and beyond. Can Martin assemble them into a team? Because this time, he’s not running. This time he’ll use all resources to stir up the power elite until he reaches the rot at their dark core.