Welcome to Down and Dead, Inc., where, to Live, Sometimes Ya Gotta Die.MAKING THE BREAK IS EASIER THAN KEEPING THE BREAK Christine Branch is elated. Finally her sister, Caroline Branch Easton, has made the break from her abusive ex, Martin Easton, and returned to Dallas to Christine's ranchette to heal. Only Martin refuses to let her go. Within twenty-four hours, his thugs are doing everything they can to intimidate Caroline into returning home. Christine knows she must do something to get her sister the time and space she needs to heal and stay safe—and she concocts a plan:OPERATION SWITCH AND BAITThe sisters trade lives and Christine baits the thugs into following her. It works! Caroline undergoes counseling, eventually divorces Martin, though he refuses to accept it, and the operation continues…until Martin shows up at the ranchette and issues a return-home ultimatum....

The Shadow Watchers were introduced in the Crossroads Crisis Center novels, now they return with their own stories…PEOPLE ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEMSuperstar Elle Bostwick is kidnapped in London. But who has kidnapped her?  NINA, a ruthless, powerful organization of opportunists who will do anything to anyone anywhere to gain access to something Elle has that they want?  The CIA, who is equally determined to prevent NINA from gaining that desired access? Why kidnap a superstar singer? Why Elle?  And why does she not know what they're after?Elle mysteriously appears at a Shadow Watcher's wedding reception, and Nick Sloan is ordered to keep her safe indefinitely.  Yet the Top Secret entity issuing the orders doesn't say safe from what or who is pursuing Elle. Not even why, which is atypical.  Why is this happening now?OLD WOUNDS RUN...

THE DARKEST HOURS ... After losing everything, Della Jackson tries to begin again as an investigator. But she can't forget the past...and neither can someone else. Someone who won't let anyone - even Della's best friend, former special operative Paul Mason - stand in the way. As Della is stalked and those closest to her are targeted, both Della and Paul realize there's only one way to survive. They each have to face their greatest fears, overcome the scars of the past and dare to love again...before it's too late.

They've lost each other time and again.Now is their last chance. A lonely eternity awaits New Orleans computer analyst Kevan Buchanan and businesswoman Alyssa Cameron unless they can overcome the problems that kept them apart in their past lives. Surrounded by darkness, he stood alone. A slight wind ruffled his hair and breezed lazily across his skin. On the horizon, light flickered and gnarled fingers of mist swirled together, thickening to fog and descending on him. The fog parted, revealing the bumpy stone path. He walked down to its end. When the fog merged into a solid wall in front of him, he stopped and waited, feeling hollow, empty, and alone-emotions he wouldn't have recognized before Alyssa came into his life. He'd loved her. He still loved her. He always would. An uneasy shiver crept up his spine. A funeral had just been held here. He'd never before envisioned a funeral . . . Concentrating, his vision of it grew more focused, more clear. It was Alyssa's.

"A wonderful combination of romance, family drama, and out-and-out thriller." —Anne Stuart, New York Times"Complications here go beyond the usual hurdles and make the romance more touching for being hard won. And if the main action—Laura and Jake must combat terrorists amassing anthrax in the Florida Everglades—seems far-fetched, just read The New York Times." —Publishers WeeklyA deadly terrorist attack is taking shape deep in the Florida swamps. It's Jake Taylor's job to stop it-and to rescue his wife from the perpetrators.Laura and Jake Taylor have good reason to doubt they'll live a long, happy life together. He's a Special Ops soldier; she's a former Special Ops intelligence officer. She has an insider's knowledge of the risks he takes. Their marriage began as a practical arrangement: he needed to keep his young son out of the clutches of an unstable ex-wife. Laura knows better than to fall in love with her husband. Jake...

In a secret military hospital, five mentally shattered officers hold the key to dangerous secrets. A specialist in post-traumatic stress syndrome, Dr. Sara West becomes a pawn in an undercover mission. Told that she will uncover answers to the mystery of her brother-in-law's disappearance, Sara attempts to find out what happened to these soldiers, aware that she's entering a world where knowing too much can be fatal.Why do these men fear the color white? Why do they repeat the phrase "I wept"? As Sara is drawn to one remarkable patient she calls Joe, the shocking truth is exposed as his memory begins to return. And not even this man whom she is starting to love, can stop her -- or save her -- from committing an act that will either save millions of live...or condemn her to the darkest hell imaginable.From Publishers WeeklyA lengthy stint as an Air Force wife has provided Hinze (Shades of Gray; Duplicity) with plenty of fuel for her edgy military-themed romances. Her latest romantic thriller centers around a civilian psychologist, Dr. Sara West, who has been coerced into military duty. Acting undercover as an Air Force major, Sara enters a maximum security facility in Mississippi to direct a short-term research project on five patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. All the patients are men, and all have been reduced to a catatonic state, each one repeatedly uttering the phrase "I wept." It's Sara's job to find out what has happened to them. She's drawn to one patient she calls Joe, a man who worked as a Shadow Watcher (a spy who spies on spies). As Sara helps Joe heal, she finds herself falling in love; through him she learns that "I wept" is an acronym for a place more horrible than the human mind can endure. Gripping and adrenaline-charged, Hinze's plot will appeal to fans who like their suspense razor sharp. (Dec.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"Beautifully written." - Publishers Weekly"After reading the Seascape Romance Series, you'll be ready for a vacation at the Seascape Inn." - Literary TimesWith their painful divorce looming on the horizon, radio psychologist Bess Cameron and her soon-to-be-ex-husband, John Mystic, meet at Maine's Seascape Inn to finalize the terms of a property settlement. Bess believes John is in love with someone else, and she's determined to move on without him. Their marriage appears doomed until the Inn's matchmaking ghost, Tony, and its irrepressible owner, Miss Hattie, take matters in hand. Sometimes you have to leap upon a mystic tide and have faith the sand will shift and an island will appear . . . The second book of bestselling author Vicki Hinze's Seascape Trilogy brings readers back to the gentle magic of a place where love is always stronger than the fragile boundaries of life. Vicki Hinze is the award-winning author of 24 novels, 4 nonfiction books and hundreds of articles, published in as many as sixty-three countries. She is recognized by Who's Who in the World as an author and as an educator.Visit her at http://www.VickiHinze.com.

THEIR ELUSIVE ENEMIES TOOK EVERYTHING. NOW THEY WANT MORE. Crossroads Crisis Center owner Benjamin Brandt was a content man - in his faith, his work, and his family. Then in a flash, everything he loved was snatched away. His wife and son were murdered, and grief-stricken Ben lost faith. Determination to find their killers keeps him going, but after three years of dead ends and torment, his hope is dying too. Why had he survived? He'd failed to protect his family. Now, a mysterious woman appears at Crossroads seeking answers and help - a victim who eerily resembles Ben's deceased wife, Susan. A woman robbed of her identity, her life, of everything except her faith - and Susan's necklace. The connections between the two women mount, exceeding coincidence, and to keep the truth hidden, someone is willing to kill. Finding out who and why turns Ben and the mystery woman's situation from dangerous to deadly. Their only hope for survival is to work together, trust each other, and face whatever they discover head on, no matter how painful. But will that be enough to save their lives and heal their tattered hearts?

DON'T BELIEVE YOUR EYES Amanda West had been buried alive, only to escape her early grave. The Special Forces captain knew she'd been captured by the enemy while on assignment, but Amanda didn't understand where the mysterious IV wound on her arm came from, or where she'd even been for the past three months. Amanda's investigation led her to Mark Cross, another secret agent in search of the same answers. Together they faced a common enemy until Amanda stumbled upon a terrifying truth: Someone was making doubles of government agents. Agents like Amanda...and Mark. Which meant that the only man she trusted in a world gone mad might not be the man she thought he was....

IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE. BIOWARFARE EXPERT CAPTAIN MAGGIE HOLT IS AT THE MALL. AND SHE'S NOT SHOPPING. Intel said the crowded mall was the target where twisted mastermind Thomas Kunz would release his lethal supervirus. To add more pressure, this was Maggie's first time leading a mission. Luckily, she'd teamed up with Dr. Justin Crowe, creator of the antivirus, to avert disaster. But when Kunz began releasing false reports and planting body doubles, Maggie no longer knew what or whom to trust -- including Justin. The countdown had begun on her race to prevent catastrophe -- and if Maggie made one false move, slay bells would ring.

HER ENEMY WILL STOP AT NOTHING FOR CONTROL…SHE WILL RISK EVERYTHING FOR FREEDOM. A horrific crime shatters Lisa Harper’s idyllic childhood. Her father is dead and her desperate mother, Annie, quickly marries Dutch Hauk, an abusive monster who soon reveals his hatred for Lisa. To protect her, Annie defies her ruthless husband and forfeits custody to a trusted friend. Enraged, Dutch vows to keep Annie and Lisa apart—and he does. Years later, though keenly aware of Dutch’s evil intent, Lisa and her mother seize a chance to be a family, safe in a home where love dwells. But they fail to fathom how far Dutch will go to keep his vow. Determined to control his women, Dutch proves resourceful. His associates in crime are feared at the highest levels across the globe—and for Lisa they plan a fate worse than death. Yet she too has formidable connections, including former Special Operations Officer Mark Taylor. Burdened by his own traumatic past, Mark has loved Lisa from afar. Now, for Lisa and her mother to survive, Mark must risk his life—and even more difficult for him, he must trust God. All as one question haunts them: Can Mark and Lisa untangle these deadly ties before it’s too late?

Madison McKay doesn't trust anyone. The former military woman and owner of Lost, Inc., learned about betrayal the hard way, in work and in love. That's why she'd never let herself fall for ex-military special investigator Grant Deaver. Yet when Madison is framed for a security breach at a top secret military facility, she's forced to put her life in Grant's hands. But after she discovers that he's been deceiving her, everything will be torn apart unless Grant can convince her to trust him with her life...and her heart.

The Consortium, an international group of businessmen, launches a silent war against the United States using biological contaminates to destroy crops and create the need for medical technology it intends to black market. The goal? Financial Gain. The method of attaining it? Manipulate the economy and, through it, the government. The war will be won before the U.S. realizes it has been attacked--and the Consortium will rule the U.S.But the Consortium didn't plan on the Special Detail Unit Senior Special Agent, Gabby Kincaid, discovering there is a war and it's being fought and won by the enemy: a discovery that exposes Gabby's cover and marks her for elimination by her partner, Special Agent Max Grayson. Max attempts to execute his orders, but he and Gabby become the U.S.'s strongest defense. They must work together to expose the enemy--before more innocents die from deliberate contamination; before the economy collapses; and before the country is crippled. Few...