Book picks similar to
Beginning by Calle J. Brookes


romantic-suspense
romance
suspense
contemporary

Surrender at Dawn


Laura Griffin - 2011
    Jack doesn't want to get tangled up in Charlotte's problems or anyone else's, but an obligation to a SEAL teammate prompts him to help her. They embark on a nighttime mission that turns out to be more dangerous--and passionate--than either of them ever imagined.

In Safe Hands


Leslie North - 2016
    Recruited by an elite security agency that leverages his hyper-protective instincts to shield notorious trial witnesses, Damian never met a charge he couldn’t safeguard. Until her. Alexa Volkov lived a privileged life, far from the messy underbelly of her father’s Russian mafia. As a crime boss daughter, she is in a unique position to collapse the organization from the inside out. Her plan to testify against the mob patriarch puts a bounty on her head that would tempt even the most trustworthy cop—especially one hell-bent on punishing her for the sins of her father. But the safe house part of Damian’s protection plan is anything but safe. In a place where alliances are not what they seem and the most dangerous heat bearing down on them is the forbidden burn of seduction, the only thing more at risk than life is a lethal hit to the heart.

Fatal Destiny


Marie Force - 2011
    In the aftermath of a tragic loss, they struggle to reconnect as the big day draws near and their work keeps pulling them apart. When a new clue in a cold case surfaces, Nick asks Sam not to take any foolish chances before the wedding and to leave it alone for the time being. Sam agrees, but she can’t let it go entirely and winds up trapped in an explosive situation. Then an unwelcome visitor from her past threatens her future happiness. With trouble at every turn, will Sam survive long enough to walk down the aisle?

Kidnapped


Suzanne Ferrell - 2012
    He’s been shot and if he can’t get help fast, two lives will be lost—his and that of the young witness whom he’s sworn to protect. Desperate, on the run from both the police and the Russian Mafia, he kidnaps a nurse from a hospital parking lot.ER nurse Samantha Edgars has been living in an emotional vacuum since the death of her daughter. Mentally and physically exhausted following a difficult shift, she’s suddenly jolted from her stupor when she’s bound and gagged, then tossed into the back of her car. Forced to tend a bleeding FBI agent and his injured witness, she’s terrified. But Samantha quickly learns the rogue agent and orphaned boy need more than just her professional skills. Danger is bearing down on them, and she must learn to trust Jake—and her heart— if they’re all going to survive.

Deathwatch


Dana Marton - 2013
    Murphy Dolan is in the Army Reserves, returning from his 2nd tour of duty, only to find a stranger hiding in his house. She's scared spitless. He's completely burned-out on violence. Neither of them has any trust left to give. If the best of the FBI couldn't protect her from the country’s most notorious assassin, does a burned-out small town cop have a prayer?

Badger


Dale Mayer - 2018
    Having only joined a year before, he'd been the youngest member of the squad. Mouse left behind unanswered questions about his life…along with seven team members who aim to see that his tragic death is brought home to those responsible. Badger's path back to health is a long and difficult one, but revenge drives him out of bed every single day of his life. Someone modified orders the morning of the incident, sending his unit straight over that landmine. At the time the altered route had been given to him, he'd been curious but not unduly concerned. What happened to his squad has brought unwavering clarity: Those last-minute changes and the explosion that shattered his team were deliberate--and he means to catch the perpetrator if it's the last thing he ever does. Kat Greenwald watches the man she's falling in love with fester a little more each time they're together. Refusing to give himself time to heal, not surprisingly he hasn't taken to his prosthetic well. As a prosthetic designer, she's dealt with men and women in endless physical and emotional states. Badger is different. He's driven, determined and deadly, but she can't help her feelings despite the negatives. She's hooked on a man whose sole concern seems to be in getting retribution for the incident that left his team in shards…while all she wants is a future happily-ever-after with him. Kat has a long road ahead of her to convince Badger a life filled with love is always preferable to answers that can only be gained at the risk of dying to get them.

Lock 'N' Load


Tee O'Fallon - 2018
    She hides behind her job, analyzing Top Secret code and making recommendations on national security. She doesn’t need a man in her life. But she will, very soon... CIA K-9 officer Sgt. Matt Connors suspects that beneath Trista’s uptight appearance, there’s a sexy woman itching to cut loose. But he doesn’t dare act on his attraction. He’s a loner and always will be. Keeping away from Trista is a must-do directive. Until he doesn’t have a choice... During a routine assignment, Trista stumbles across a cryptic exchange. She doesn’t think much of it... until someone tries to murder her — twice. Both times, Matt had been there to save her. But now she has to hide. And her new bodyguard, Matt, and his K-9 are the only hope she has against the powerful forces that want her dead.

Material Witness


Lisa Mondello - 2012
    Researching the cool, blue-eyed and dashingly handsome man at the end of the bar stirred her senses more than she wanted to admit. But was this man of leather armor all he appeared to be?Playing White Knight to an innocent wasn't how Detective Jake Santos planned to spend his time under cover. But there was no way "CJ" was what she claimed to be and that nagging tightness in Jake's chest told him he'd better take her home to safety and leave it at that. Then the barroom exploded with gunfire, leaving a trail of dead that includes a notorious Providence crime boss and an undercover FBI agent. When Cassie's name is leaked to the media as the only witness to the grisly murders, Cassie insists she only trusts Jake to protect her.The FBI wants their star witness happy and will do anything to make sure Cassie testifies. But it is clear to Jake that the shooter isn't the only person who wants Cassie dead. Not knowing who to trust, he vows to protect Cassie at all cost despite the fact that guarding the beautiful novelist is a serious distraction. MATERIAL WITNESS is the follow-up Romantic Suspense Novel by Lisa Mondello's Yuletide Protector and is book 1 of her new Heroes of Providence series.

Hot as Hell


Julie Ann Walker - 2016
    When the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan where she works comes under attack by terrorists, there is only one man she knows who would move heaven and earth to rescue her: Michael "Mad Dog" Wainwright.

1st Shock


Misty Evans - 2019
    When the local US attorney brings her the skull of a young murdered woman with similarities to one she’s already reconstructed—but not identified—she and her sister, Charlie, dive head-first into a chilling investigation. The twisted killer is clever, drawing closer and closer when he discovers the sisters on his trail. Another body turns up…and another… but his modis operandi points to a convicted murderer already behind bars. Together, Meg and Charlie must face the fact this copycat is taunting them, leading them on a gruesome quest. He’s picked up where his mentor left off—and he’s coming for one of them next.

Forever Entangled


Kathleen Brooks - 2015
    After working as an undercover FBI Agent in Los Angeles, Ryan gets a phone call telling him to come home to the small town of Keeneston, Kentucky. The woman he thought he was over is now in serious trouble. Sienna Ashton fell in love with Ryan Parker too late. He was gone from her life before she realized what he really meant to her. Now working as a sports psychologist, Sienna finds herself helping others figure their lives out. She thinks her chance of happily ever after is long gone until a murder brings Ryan back into her life and entangles them in a battle for their heart and their lives. Ryan and Sienna discover there is more going on than originally thought and now the two are in the fight of their lives. It doesn't take long for fireworks to ignite as passion and danger drive the couple toward a fate they never saw coming.

Combat


Emma Calin
    Interpol cop Anna Leyton meets world champ cruiser-weight Freddie La Salle in a black London cab. Both have pasts and secrets. They need each other openly but neither must reveal the truth. A sports reporter is slain. Organised criminals conspire to rig international gambling. A cop in love with her number one suspect risks the fire to express the heat of her erotic love. The do-or-die passion of a fighter in his prime feeds the flames to a white heat of lust. Follow the big fight build up through London, Paris and California all the way to that round one bell in New York City. Can Freddie La Salle do what he has to do in the ring? Can true love be built on deception? Take off the gloves and buy this book now for a front row seat. Enjoy this novel 'Combat' from Emma Calin's 8-part 'Passion Patrol Series', combining thrilling crime mystery with explicit steamy suspense romance. If you enjoy James Patterson, Catherine Coulter, Nora Roberts and Kendra Elliot you'll love a series that combines all of their best traits in fast-paced, pulse-pounding roller-coaster adventures full of passionate romance, deception, danger and love.

Falling Fast


Kaylea Cross - 2017
     Having grown up in a household of elite, overprotective male Marines, Charlie Colebrook is savoring her hard won independence and avoiding a serious relationship that could tie her down. As a computer forensics expert for the DEA she might be a civilian rather than an agent, but she’s far from helpless, and she’s hungry to prove herself. So when her boss asks her to take on a dangerous undercover assignment that could expose the key money launderer for the biggest, and most lethal drug cartel in the Western hemisphere, Charlie seizes her chance. There’s just one catch: the man assigned as her partner is the only man she wants…and he won’t settle for less than everything she has to give. Now he’s the only one who stands between her and a ruthless cartel. DEA Special Agent Jamie Rodriguez has tried like hell to ignore the explosive chemistry he has with Charlie. Not simply because she’s his best friend’s sister—but because with her, he wants all or nothing. As a member of the agency’s elite FAST Bravo unit, he’s got the skill and experience to keep her safe. Now that he’s assigned to protect her on this op, he’ll do it at all costs, even if she tempts him as no other woman ever has. But the final op tests them both to the breaking point, and when things go to hell, it will take everything they’ve got to survive the deadly trap set for them.

Stolen In Paradise


Toby Neal - 2013
    The victim’s project, a genetically-engineered algae that could solve the world fuel crisis, has been stolen from the development lab, a hotbed of intrigue where everyone on the project has something to hide—including Marcella.It was supposed to be simple: kill the scientist and grab the formula. Now he has to stop a relentless FBI agent any way he can.He’s in too deep. He’s trapped. They’re closing in, and he’ll kill anyone he has to in order to walk away.

Guns 'N' Tulips (Short Story)


Kristine Cayne - 2013
    After months of scheming and strategizing, the day of the big heist--and Conner's chance to get his old life back--finally arrives, but right from the start, Conner's plans fall apart. Even worse, the woman he loves is trapped in the crosshairs of the Bank Bandits' murderous leader, and Connor is her only hope for survival.