Fatal Chaos

A brutal home invasion. Two small, traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eyewitnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career. While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. 

Get all the details of Sam and Nick's unforgettable night together in this novella! You might want to keep a fan and some ice water handy, because this story is H-O-T!

I knew on the day of the attack that our lives were changed forever. What I didn’t know then was that I’d never see John again after he deployed. One day he was living with me, sleeping next to me, making plans with me. The next day he was gone. That was five years ago. The world has moved on from that awful day, but I’m stuck in my own personal hell, waiting for a man who may be dead for all I know. At my sister’s wedding, I meet Eric, the brother of the groom, and my heart comes alive once again. 

After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she's finally found peace and a promising career opportunity - until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Maddie Chester is determined to leave her hometown of Gansett Island, a place that has brought her only bad memories and ugly rumors. Then she’s knocked off her bike on the way to her housekeeping job at McCarthy’s Resort Hotel by Gansett’s "favorite son", Mac McCarthy. He’s back in town to help his father with preparations to sell the family resort and has no intention of staying long. When Mac accidentally sends Maddie flying over the handlebars, badly injuring her, he moves in to nurse her back to health and help care for her young son.

Grayson Coleman has just moved home to Butler, Vermont after spending years working for a high-powered law firm in Boston. He's looking for a simpler, less stressful existence in the sleepy little mountain town where he grew up with his siblings and Abbott cousins. Once the holidays are over, he plans to hang out a shingle and open a new general law practice. After helping to raise his seven younger siblings, the last thing on Grayson's mind is a family of his own.

Brett Westerly is his father's golden child, but it's come at a cost. As head of the family corporation, he throws himself into his work - hiding in his office is easier than confronting the reality of his broken family. After a bitter divorce that split the family and divided loyalties, the wealthy Westerly matriarch offers an early inheritance to any grandchild who marries and invites the entire family to the wedding.

No one's more surprised than Tyler McGowan when he discovers he has a knack for running the family's oil business - a role he took on after his father's sudden passing. Now, to keep the old man's legacy afloat, Tyler's giving up his playboy ways and settling into small-town life. But his newfound resolve is tested when trouble strides into his office in five-inch heels.

Under extreme pressure, neurosurgeon Maggie Sullivan knows she needs to slow down, and the best place she can do that is Sullivan's Crossing, the land and store at the crossroads of the Colorado and Continental Divide Trails. She relishes the opportunity to indulge in a simple way of life. But Maggie's world is rocked, and she must take responsibility for the Crossing. When Cal Jones offers to help, Maggie is suspicious.

Working the graveyard shift as a waitress, single mother Jessie Mann has no time to waste on a Texan with big dreams and a skinny wallet. And that’s just what she sees when Jack Morrison ambles into the diner where she works. After a childhood of financial instability, Jessie swore she’d do better by her son. But with Christmas just around the corner, saying no to Jack and his cowboy good looks is easier said than done.

The blaze that night at her family's pizzeria changed young Reena Hale's life in more ways than one. Neighbors and relatives would pull together to help the Hales get through the crisis and rebuild. The Baltimore authorities would arrest the arsonist responsible. But as Reena gazed into the fire, beheld its brutal beauty and destructive power, her destiny began to take shape.

Bakery owner Willow Dalton's friendship with Zane Walker has always been a bit complicated. Now a scrumptiously hot A-list actor, Zane's always had a reputation as a player. He's arrogant, and he's definitely not boyfriend material. Sure, he did Willow a favor by agreeing to take her virginity before college, but is that reason enough for her to go along with a fake engagement a decade later - even if it comes with a real diamond ring?

Olivia's parents had been one of Hollywood's glittering golden couples...until the night the monster came. The monster who destroyed their beautiful home and took her mother away from her forever. The monster with the face of her father. Now a young woman, Olivia has a chance to confront her tragic past - and the longings of her own lonely heart. But before she can confront her past, she must safeguard her future.

Tory Bodeen grew up in a small, rundown house where her father ruled with an iron fist and a leather belt - and where her dreams and talents had no room to flourish. But she had Hope - who lived in the big house, just a short skip away, and whose friendship allowed Tory to be something she wasn't allowed to be at home: a child. But after Hope's brutal murder, Tory's life fell apart. Now grown, she's trying to find a measure of peace. But Hope's killer is still nearby.

A summer at his grandparents' South Dakota ranch is not 11-year-old Cooper Sullivan's idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he's discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn't as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop's annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker's body.