We have our own protocol, our own traditions, dating back to when two families merged and created our syndicate in Ireland. Now, we have our strongholds in Philly and Chicago, and the wrong man holds the highest position. The day my uncle decided to betray us, he signed his own death warrant, and after a five-year hitch in the can, I’m ready to take everything from him. In order to ensure the demise of his management, I have to get close to him. I need to earn his trust and that of his closest associates. I’ll be the top earner he wants me to be. I’ll be the very image of a conventional family man. For that to happen, this Irish bastard has to find himself a wife. Someone sweet and compliant who will stand by my side and make me look like I have too much to lose to screw over the head of the family. Emilia Porter When it rains, it pours, so I guess it’s been pouring for eighteen years now. Being from an old mining town that’s full of drunk cautionary tales, I spend my days juggling—and failing—school, work, and paying the bills so my dad can drink himself into a stupor. Then this freaking guy rolls into town in his expensive sports car and thinks I should marry him. This isn’t the fifties, and there isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I’ll marry a well-known mobster. No matter how much money he promises me. No matter how intensely the chemistry sizzles between us. He asks for three years of marriage. Then I’d be set for life, independent and free to start fresh on my own. Free to walk away. Who the hell does he think he is?

    He’s become more of a recluse cutting off communication with his parents and most of the outside world. He talks mainly through his YouTube channel “Nic Says” and his cold, spine tingling rants are very disturbing; especially to the young women at his University campus. He does not take rejection well and he’s got sweet revenge on his mind. But what’s even more alarming is that he’s got a sympathiser who’s got even bigger ideas. Are they part of a murder club? Detective Jack Creed needs to stop this attack. He’s got 48 hours to stop the perpetrator or witness Australia’s greatest mass University shooting. Australian author C T Mitchell is Australia's newest detective mystery, suspense and thriller writer with crime fiction plots centred around the seaside town of Cabarita Beach and the Northern Rivers District, in far north New South Wales, Australia.

     Easier said than done, especially when everyone in town believes she’s the reason for the divorce between her and town Golden Boy, Lance. Two years after her divorce, and with a push from her best friend Marcus, she’s taken the plunge into the dating pool. Rachel gets more than she can handle when every date is almost too good to be true, or so it seems. Now she must choose her perfect match, between him, him, him, him and him. The Christmas Hims is a light-hearted, clean holiday romance that will make you believe that true love does exist, especially at Christmas.

    A Sam and Jory Easter Ficlet

    Evan Harrison has become a recluse, a prisoner inside his own house, felled in his prime by a migraine headache without end. All he'd ever wanted was to be a doctor, and now he's nothing - until chance delivers a beaten and battered Jamie into his care. Fourteen years his junior, gorgeous, mouthy, stubborn and...completely and unquestionably straight. Maybe. Or maybe not...Jamie doesn't know what hit him, other than there were three of them, and that he's broken and in pain and he doesn't know the identity of the kind stranger with the cold stethoscope and warm eyes taking care of him. And he sure as hell doesn't know why he likes his bossiness or finds him sexy....Chance may have brought them together, but a shared attraction keeps them together long after Jamie’s bruises have faded. As Evan enjoys the longest pain-free stretch he’s known in two years, they begin to explore their attraction, the caresses of a kind Jamie’s never known. But even as Evan revels in his young lover’s first, tentative touches, the guilt is never far from his mind. Jamie’s never looked at another man romantically and Evan’s never looked at anything but. And Jamie won’t kiss him. That would be… gay. Evan wants Jamie’s kiss more than he’s ever wanted anything before in his life, but it’s not his kiss to take, its Jamie’s to give. Evan knows wanting Jamie is wrong, their relationship unethical, a relationship forbidden with just cause. He swore an oath to do no harm. And it’s not only his oaths that are going to get broken--he’s never given his heart away before…

    When Kenya Claiborne wakes up half naked in a stranger’s bed, and the homeowner decides to make the best of a bad situation by propositioning her, she finds herself going along with his plan because she needs the community service hours.Jonathon Blakemore, happy to have someone filling the empty chaperon position, will soon learn that he’s met his match.Then, when the time comes for his grandfather to sign over the estate in Ireland, trouble ensues and neither Kenya nor Jonathan know who wants one of them gone.

    Marisa Peruzzo, Mafia princess, would.She owed him for killing her fiance.She owed him for destroying her mother.She owed him for chaining her to the 'family business'.And she owed him for taking away her lifelong friend.Payback's a bitch. ***FBI meets Mafia Princess:Dave sat up straighter when she entered the bar. Sandro had promised the contact would have useful information and be immediately recognizable, but he never specified male or female. Was this his informant? Carlo Peruzzo's daughter. The Mafia princess herself.Her gaze scanned the room until she saw him. Though her lips were pressed in a straight line, a sparkle flashed in her eyes as if she knew just how she had shocked him.Dave realized his heart rate had kicked up a few notches when their eyes had locked. His jaw would have dropped if he hadn't been the kind of guy trained not to show his emotions.She walked purposefully toward him, making her way through the crowded tables. Black designer jeans hugged nice curvy hips, and her full breasts were covered with a pink plaid, pearl-button western shirt. Interesting color choice. A leather belt wrapped around her waist, and his focus narrowed. Best he could tell the belt was pink, too. And there were some kind of pink jewels inlaid in the buckle.He hid a smile. The only thing that would complete the color coordination was if she had on-he looked down, yep, pink cowboy boots. Pretty-in-pink cowgirl-Mafia princess. That certainly wasn't an image he expected to see. With her head high, and her gaze fixed on him she seemed unaware-or unaffected-by the attention she garnered. And she certainly got a fair share of stares. He saw more than one man pause with a drink halfway to his mouth, head swiveling to keep track as she walked past.Dave had never seen the high-and-mighty Mafia daughter in anything other than expensive business suits, with her hair pulled back and her makeup understated, but tonight she wore this chic knock-off cowgirl look well. With her dark wavy hair swinging free around her shoulders, her smooth olive skin glowing, and lips a luscious color of pink to match as well, she could raise the lust level in a saint.Dave was no saint. 94,000 words, 376 pages***Each book in the Vista Security Series is stand alone but if you'd like to read in order:The Good Daughter (Vista Security Origins Book 1)Trust No One (Vista Security Book 2)Edge Of Trust (Vista Security Book 3)Forced To Trust (Coming Soon)and for fans of The Good Daughter:Nia, Be Mine (Coming Soon)

    She knew this move would be life changing in so many ways. Having spent her childhood shuttled from one family to another; every decision made for her - Cassie made a promise to herself, that when she was on her own, she would be the one in control and she would allow no one to make her think differently. “My happiness does not come from how much is in my bank account; it is the arms that hold me at night that make me far richer than anyone I know.” For Sakis Carras, one of the most powerful, wealthiest and dangerous men on the East Coast, the words spoken by his friend haunted him. His successful business empire, which he started from the ground up, was everything he had worked so hard for and he was living the American Dream. Sakis controlled his empire with no apologies or regrets - until he met Cassandra. Letting her into his life, Sakis realized quickly that he had met his match in every way and he learned the hard way that she could not be so easily controlled.

    That's what you learn to do growing up well-off in a place like Detroit. This is a city that knows how fast things can turn.That white boy made me forget myself. A few moments in his presence and I was consumed by a madness. I did things I never dared dream of.But it doesn't feel wrong. It feels like freedom.I shouldn't go back to him. He's from the wrong part of town. He makes a living out of violence. He's a risk in my unblemished life. One time was enough of a flirt with danger. Thing is, he might just have me addicted. SEAN: I've fought for everything I've got in this world. My fists won me a new life, away from the squalor of my South Detroit past. Now I'm starting to get my reward: money, fame, girls.The waitress was just supposed to be one of many. Black girls weren't even my type, but something in her set me off. Everything about her screamed class - a word that had never been in this poor boy's vocabulary.I thought I just wanted a taste of it. Turns out it's not the thrill I'm after. It's her.I've gotta show her that I can be more than my body. She wants me to fight for her heart?Girl, get ready to be knocked out. Black and Blue features sizzling dialogue, steamy sexual situations and some rough language. Mature and open-minded audiences only. This book is standalone.

    Tate Sullivan is in a fix: her best friend, Missy Martin, is getting married. With constant criticism from Missy Martin, Buckhead heiress and bride-to-be; stress from her intense nursing job; and a short-temper on the rise from her high powered, attorney husband, Georgia-native, Tate Sullivan is engaged in the ultimate balancing act.Tate has to cope with sleep-deprived night shifts, her closet nicotine habit, her husband's apparent workaholism, her mother's meddlesome behavior, and her ongoing attempt to educate Missy about not making borderline racist remarks about everyone who doesn't have money or look like her. When a collision with a runaway Golden Retriever lands Tate in the arms of the newcomer to Atlanta, Dr. Jackson Greenfield, Tate begins to think her mother has concocted the ultimate scheme. Wedding planning has never been so nerve-racking...or dangerous. Marrying Missy reveals the complexity of those who are merely planning a wedding, preparing for a marriage, and those who aren't sure what their marriage is-or has become. Sarah Elle Emm captures the world of wedding planning for a particular Georgia princess, but sublimely reveals all that is so often forgotten in that process-love and marriage. - the Publisher

    But something is missing, and when her best friend suggests sex as the answer, it strikes a chord. But never did she intend to fulfill her desire with her boss, John Merritt. What starts as a fling boils over into something much hotter, and when emotions become a problem, Adrianna’s not sure she wants to take things to the next level. Now in an uncertain relationship with her boss, Adrianna fears at the future she never had in mind for herself. Her friends see the positive change, and so does her mother, but Adrianna isn’t sure she’s ready to settle down and trust a man again, despite how excited John is to start a life with her. But his loyalty is tested when a work crisis causes him to turn on her and Adrianna wonders if there is there any hope of a reconciliation, or is she going to spend her life as alone as she’d once convinced herself she should?

    His life was not an easy one and he should have long succumbed to death, but prevailed, as only he could, into a life of hell and debauchery. Beauty derived from cruelty… Bloodlust born of agony… Some minds can’t handle torture… It breaks them…

    Treasury agent Parker Browne is working undercover in Petersburg, Alaska to investigate a money scam and a murder. His prime suspect, Liv Hanson, is a freelance writer struggling to save her family’s business. Free spirited, full of life, and with a talent for catching liars, she fascinates Parker. Trying to prove she’s a legitimate writer who cares about Petersburg’s issues, Liv pens a series of newspaper articles about an old, unsolved murder. When her cold case ties in with Parker’s investigation, bullets start to fly. Parker understands money trails, and Liv knows the town residents. But he gave up on love two years ago, and she trusts no one, especially with her carefully guarded secret. If they mesh their skills to find the killers, will they survive the fallout?

    “Tell me when’s the right moment to tell another person your past bullshit, your damn secrets that you don’t wanna face, your skeletons?” His eyes skewered hers. Everyone claimed to want to know shit, but there was a price to the telling.“I know people who marry and never share some of their secrets,” he said, inching closer. “A lot of shit dies with them. How do you know when it’s right to share? Because I’ve no idea how to ride that train.”The pink tip of her tongue leisurely moistened her lips. “I think when you care about someone, you build to a level of trust and you take them into your confidence.”A level of trust, female bullshit.“Yeah, but that’s the problem. It’s easier to give your body, than your deep personal shit.”She ducked her head.He continued speaking in a low whisper. “I mean the real stuff that’s close to your heart. The fucked up shit everybody keeps locked up. Most folk don’t get close enough to ever see the dark places inside.” He watched her swallow hard.“So I ask again, how do you know when’s the right time.” He leaned next to her ear and whispered. “After how many dinners, or dates? Before or after we fuck? What’s the magic number that opens the door to my personal shit, ‘cause I damn sure ain’t telling everybody my personal business.”His voice remained conversationally low, calm, while nerves jumped and pulsed at the thought of sharing some of the things he’d done in the past. He’d rather buy anything she demanded, or take her anywhere in the world, than fully open up and let her see some of the dark places in him. Shit, he didn’t like to look inside and rarely did.She narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t about everybody. It’s about you and me.” She pushed his chest. He stepped closer.“Okay, what signals do I get to let me know I should trust you with my shit? You ready for that?” They looked at each other.Her eyes slid to his chest. “I don’t know.”“And therein lies the root of our problem.” He dropped his arms.She shivered.“You want me to tell you everything without securing my trust. Why should I bare my soul to you? What would you do with the knowledge? Trust me? Or judge me?” He pulled back and stared into chocolate pools of light. Whatever this was between them marked him. He’d never considered telling a woman he dated about his past. The price of admission, Red called it.“It’s like leaving pieces of your soul around and that’s too damn dangerous to do on a small tip.”

    Someone to Love"God, I'm happy she's gone," one of Jill's friends said. "Yeah, looking at her face makes me sick to my stomach." Words like those have followed Raina every since she was a child and half of her face was destroyed by a tragic fire. Once upon a time, she was one of the ‘beautiful ones’ with her hazel eyes, light brown skin and long flowing hair. But now, Raina only watches the world around her. Too ashamed of her looks to actually interact, she finds joy in following Bill with her eyes. With her head down and her hair obscuring her scars she manages to get by.Bill doesn’t like anyone and has little patience for Jill’s flirtations. He has been described as looking like Brad Pitt on crack—and it’s not very far from the truth. The only thing that matters is getting through the work day so that he can get high. But one day he literally crashes into Raina and for the first time in either of their lives they allow themselves to actually be ‘seen’.The Way HomeJamie thinks too hard, reads too much and doesn’t much care for her looks. At fourteen, she knows that she’s never had a real childhood. When her mother died she was the one that had to step up to the plate and run the household—and for the most part she doesn’t mind at all. And then one day she sees a white boy coming from the woods who was dirty, hungry and obviously uncared for but with eyes so lost that despite her normal shyness she offers to help him. As they come to terms with the fact that their lives transcends the ‘norm’, Kenny and Jamie’s relationship reaches heights that they could have never imagined, and lows that their love may not survive.Baby Girl and the Mean BossNicole wasn’t sure why she had gotten the nick name Baby Girl when she was not-by far-the youngest employee of The Down Home Calabash. Her much younger co-worker complained, gossiped or talked about how attractive their boss was. But Nicole didn’t have the luxury of a fantasy existence. She was on a mission to make money and to get her degree and her plans most definitely did not include Marty. Besides he was mean and he yelled at her!But once she experiences a tragic accident, Nicole sees a different side of her sexy, boss. But each has their own secrets and if they can’t express their heartfelt emotions their relationship might be doomed even before it begins.