“Value the people who sacrifice their something for you... because maybe that something was their everything.” - Unknown The brief was simple—infiltrate our rival’s crew and steal the info we needed. Easy, right? I thought so, too, until I met Ryan. A woman with the ability to change my view on everything: who I was, who I am now, and what I want to be remembered for when the reaper comes to collect. I’m a killer, a scapegoat for hire—the man who’ll take the fall for your immoral operation if you offer me the right price. I’ve made enemies along the way, and I’m forever watching my back. In a world as corrupt as mine, love and relationships remain an unobtainable target. So I act the fool, parade as the playboy, but all I really want is to belong to somebody. She made me think it could be her, that a woman so haunted by her past might actually need a man like me—somebody who can kill with his bare hands, a man who would sacrifice it all to see those he loved kept safe. That was, until she turned the table and risked it all to help me. When best-laid plans fall apart, and we’re both put to the test, will love or loyalty prevail?

 Dark contemporary romance. Contains scenes involving violence and murder. She was, still is, and will never be anything but my everything. Our love was all consuming, passionate, and forbidden. We took risks to be together, carrying on an affair for months before her psychotic drug lord husband found the truth behind the lies. She barely escaped with her life … and that of my son. My club president told me that our love was no longer worth the risk, gave me a choice, and loyalty to the club being what it is, I walked away from her. I left behind the only thing I’ve ever wanted more than life itself and remained the dutiful soldier to a corrupt leader. Six years and a promotion to club president later, it’s time the lies stopped. She IS worth the risk, I’ve NEVER gone a day without thinking about her OR my son, and I know underneath it all she DOES still love me. She just won’t admit it … yet.**

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.” –Elisabeth Kubler-RossLife is dark for Steph. After swearing never to be her own worst enemy again, she’s forced to battle her demons once more as events in her life push her to the absolute limits of self-preservation. And she needs to do it alone. Pete is back in the place he swore never to return to, all in the name of protecting Steph from the dangers of his past. But are yesterday’s ghosts the only threat they face? When true intentions are laid bare, can Steph find the fight within to pull herself out of the darkness? Can Pete close the last doors on his past, or will he realize what is truly important, too late? Their history may shape the people they are today, but nobody said it had to define their future …

I run from my pain—that’s just what I do. It’s how I’ve managed to keep a handle on the shame and remorse at what I did the day my life changed. Some days the change is for the better and most it’s for the worse. Now, each day is getting darker, ever since I met the woman who has the power to ease my ache and got a taste for what could be. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her in my bed.

Love. How do you define it? I guess it’s up to the individual. Love can be a sweet gesture of flowers on your anniversary. Love can be a meal waiting at home after a long day at work. Love can be a gentle caress. Or the unspoken words in your lover’s eyes. Love isn’t a backhand, given because of a warm beer. Love isn’t wearing long-sleeves to hide bruises from the ladies at the supermarket. I thought I’d never experience love. Such emotion didn’t seem to fit with what I had—who I was. But he stepped in, and showed me his. He pulled me from the dark abyss I had lost myself to, and showed me the simple things which could bring such joy. Sun on my face. The smell of fresh coffee. Colours in the autumn leaves. All the little things. He shows me these things, but he doesn’t share in them. He knows happiness, but he doesn’t feel it. He will give love, but never accept it. He saved me. Now it’s my turn to return the favour…

“There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home …”If only I could click my magic heels and get the hell out of here, but I’m not a girl, and I can’t. And besides, for me, miracles never happen.I’m crazy. Psychotic. One outburst short of snapping the thin grasp I have on reality. But who can blame me?We all cope in different ways.And her way is the most confronting of all.

Stephanie Drake, or Steph as she’s known to her friends, is lost. Somewhere between the end of her childhood, and the day her loser of a boyfriend called it quits on their so-called relationship, she forgot who she was. She lives each day in a perpetual routine, stuck in the confines of her normal, safe life. If she doesn’t take a risk, she won’t get hurt—right? Then she meets Pete—or Pistol to his friends. He’s blunt, arrogant, and straight forward about what he wants. And as it turns out, he wants her. Should she take a walk on the wild side, risk being burnt, and lay her heart on the line? Something in the way he makes her feel tells her ‘yes’, but her friends aren’t so sure this emotionally shut-off man has a place in her life. Why should she listen to them, though? After all, they don’t know a thing about him ... ... do they?