Three stories by three talented crime writers—Carsen Taite, Ali Vali, and Michelle Grubb—each packing her own special brand of heat.

In Hammersmith by Michelle Grubb: Officer Belinda Riley knew the signs of a suicide bomber, but this time she was blind to the obvious. This time she didn’t want to believe what was right in front of her eyes.

In Bow and Arrow by Carsen Taite: Bounty hunter Luca Bennett has always lived on the edge of the law, but now she’s living with a cop and doing her darnedest to stay out of trouble. When an old enemy resurfaces, will the shady ways of Luca’s past come back to haunt her? 

In Hell Fire by Ali Vali: Dr. Abigail Eaton stumbles into a massacre, but once someone tries to kill her it seems like no accident. While hunting for the perpetrators of a sex trafficking empire, Agent Riley Abbott saves Abigail from a professional hit and discovers the young mother might be the key to more than just her case. Riley takes Abigail and her family to what she thinks is safer ground, and runs right into the arms of reputed mob boss Cain Casey.

Old flames die hard in these tales of a second chance at love with the ex you’re still not over. Stories by award winning authors Jenny Frame, Carsen Taite, and Ali Vali.

In My Forever Girl by Jenny Frame, when tragedy tore their family apart, Brayden and Faith’s marriage ended in divorce. Four years later, they’re thrown together on a cruise by their friends. Can the spark that refused to die reignite the fire of their love?

In Double Jeopardy by Carsen Taite, Katie James didn’t plan on being a runaway bride. Twice. But when the gorgeous, accomplished, former love of her life, Emma Reed, reappears in her life the week of her wedding, will Katie risk everything for another chance with the woman who might be her soul mate?

In On the Rocks by Ali Vali, whiskey distiller Preston Maxwell still has no idea why her college sweetheart, Hayley Wyatt, disappeared from her life right after collecting her diploma. But when Hayley shows up to work on the advertising campaign that will take her business to the next level, Preston isn’t letting her get away a second time.

Newly-made capo Neal Walsh has devoted her life to protecting the powerful Mancuso crime family, but when a crisis crushes connections within the organization, she must carefully navigate shifting alliances to ensure her loyalty is not misplaced—a task made even more complicated when she begins falling hard for the reclusive wife of her boss’s sworn enemy.

Anastasia Petrov surrendered to her fate as the trophy wife of powerful mob boss Mikhail Petrov long ago, but their marriage of convenience has become increasingly less so since his reckless power grabs have put their fortune in peril. Taking matters into her own hands, she secretly seeks out new allies. But what starts as strictly business turns into a dangerous attraction to the striking younger woman on the other side who awakens a desire she’s long denied and ignites a fire that could either burn them all down or save her soul.

Katie James didn’t plan on being a runaway bride. Twice. But when the gorgeous, accomplished, former love of her life, Emma Reed, reappears in her life the week of her wedding, will Katie risk everything for another chance with the woman who might be her soul mate?

Double Jeopardy was previously published in Still Not Over You: Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2020).

When gunshots ring out in Judge Nina Aguilar’s courtroom, every one of her regrets flashes before her eyes. One of those regrets—her first love—reappears in her life in the most surprising way, and everything about their reunion signals that falling for Franco again would be a dangerous move. Even though she’s still as stunning and brilliant as Nina remembers.

Attorney Franco Rossi vowed she’d never return to Dallas, but when an old friend’s son is accused of murder, she books the next flight. Her homecoming triggers bitter memories, but learning the only woman she’s ever truly loved is the judge assigned to the case really throws her. Franco is convinced she and Nina have no future, yet chemistry and circumstance keep bringing them together. Will history, good and bad, repeat itself?

They’ll have a chance to find out if they survive the danger headed their way.

Detective Beck Ramsey is paying a stiff price for blowing the whistle on a fellow cop. Relegated to the always underfunded, often ignored cold case desk, she’s biding her time until she can escape long-forgotten lost causes and get back in the field.

Journalist Macy Moran digs deep on every story, but when her usually objective reporting turns into an unrelenting hunt for a serial killer, she risks losing her relationships, her career, and her reputation. Haunted by the memory of her best friend’s death, Macy is willing to put everything on the line until she meets the infuriating and captivating Beck Ramsey and somehow convinces her to reopen the coldest case on her desk.

As their plans and their hearts careen out of control, Macy’s obsession with a murderer will either bring her closer to Beck or rob her of a chance at true love.

Attorney Wren Bishop knew it would be an adjustment to go from her cushy, lucrative career in big law to the public defender’s office, but she’s completely unprepared for the suspicion from her colleagues and the animus from her adversaries at what was billed as a close-knit courthouse. To top it off, her first case pits her against Lennox Roy, a gorgeous yet fierce prosecutor with a reputation for cajoling juries and breaking hearts.

Lennox comes from a family full of bleeding hearts who believe in second, third, and fourth chances, but she’s seen firsthand the damage leniency can do. She has no patience for a softy like Wren Bishop, no matter how sexy and brilliant she might be. But when they face off over a mysterious arson case, their attraction ignites a passion that leads them to question their assumptions about the law, the truth, and each other.

Attorney Siobhan Collins’s life has been shrouded in mystery from the moment she was born, but she is certain of one thing—she owes her life and everything she has achieved to the Mancuso family, and she has pledged to protect their interests at any cost. Her loyalty will be put to the test when she learns the woman who has stolen her heart is determined to destroy the only world she has ever known.

FBI agent Royal Scott is ready to ditch working undercover and figure out how to live in the real world, but her boss convinces her to take one more assignment pretending to be someone she’s not. Her one goal—infiltrate the Mancuso family’s illegal empire and find a way to bring them down. But when she becomes captivated by Siobhan Collins, the elusive counselor to Don Mancuso, she may be the one taking the fall.

Advance praise from Publishers Weekly: "With this sexy lesbian romance take on the mobster genre, Taite brings savvy, confidence, and glamour to the forefront without leaning into violence...Taite’s protagonists ooze competence and boldness, with strong female secondary characters...This is sure to please."—Publishers Weekly, 4/29/2021

The first time Summer Byrne met hard-nosed prosecutor Owen Lassiter, Summer was the jury forewoman who delivered the verdict that ruined Owen’s winning streak. Summer never expected to see Owen again, but a brush with a stranger pulls her back into a life she’d rather forget and back into the path of the wildly attractive, infuriating prosecutor who refuses to accept evidence she can’t see with her own eyes.

Owen Lassiter knows the law, knows her own mind, and doesn’t have time for nonsense and half-baked theories. When Summer Byrne—her nemesis—offers a window into the murder case Owen’s getting ready to try, hell no doesn’t begin to describe how Owen feels. But working with Summer as a consultant reminds her that Summer is as enticing as she is aggravating and promises to be a life-changing experience that neither is ready to embrace.

Perry Clark takes pride in her legal work for a needy nonprofit. When disaster strikes, leaving her unemployed and homeless, her sister Campbell comes to the rescue with a job offer. Perry accepts reluctantly—working for corporate clients is only temporary, right? But after Campbell assigns Grace, Perry’s childhood crush, as her mentor, Perry’s heart might be making longer-term plans.

Grace Maldonado remembers Perry Clark as her best friend’s sometimes annoying, often rebellious, little sister, so she isn’t prepared when she discovers Perry is now brilliant and gorgeous—though still bullheaded—and challenges her at every turn. When she isn’t arguing with Perry, Grace is fighting a growing attraction she can’t seem to ignore. Because not only is it wrong to fall in love with your best friend’s sister, Perry has no intention of sticking around.

Urban artist Riley Flynn spends her days wandering the streets of Dallas, sketching the city she loves. Then dead bodies start showing up in the exact locations she was sketching, and the police arrive on her doorstep. With every reason in the world to distrust the law, she’s reluctant to help the striking detective assigned to the case, especially after the cops start treating her like a suspect. As the stakes get deadlier, Riley’s instinct for self-protection wars with civic duty and unexpected attraction.

Detective Claire Hanlon is all about the facts, all about the law, and all about climbing the Dallas PD ladder. Her career advancement hinges on capturing the killer terrorizing the city, and the only thing in her way is the incredibly stubborn, incredibly beautiful person of interest, Riley Flynn, who is also incredibly off limits. Because she might be guilty of murder.

Attorney Abby Keane’s vacation is perfect, especially her steamy interlude with a beautiful stranger. But her newfound zen crumbles when her biggest client, a chain of bridal stores, leaves hundreds of brides without dresses. As if reentry isn’t bad enough, a new wedding blogger is doing her best to stoke the anger of the already unhappy brides, and has chosen Abby as the villain.

Roxanne Daly’s blog has finally hit the sweet spot, and her popularity is soaring. With a regular TV spot on the line, she’ll do whatever it takes to impress the network producers. Running point for a horde of angry brides against a hotshot lawyer seems like the perfect plan until her crusade collides with Abby, the woman she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since she left her in a tropical paradise.

Legal Affairs: one law firm, three best friends, three chances to fall in love.

Praise from Publishers Weekly: "Taite combines legal and relationship drama to create this realistic and deeply enjoyable lesbian romance....The reliably engaging Taite neatly balances romance and red-hot passion with a plausible legal story line, well-drawn characters, and pitch-perfect pacing that culminates in the requisite heartfelt happily-ever-after."

Catherine Landauer spends her days grilling prosecution witnesses in zealous defense of the accused criminals she represents, but no one knows she was once the victim of a headline-grabbing crime. When the man who kidnapped her resurfaces, Catherine goes from attorney to witness, reluctant to trust anyone, especially the alluring prosecutor assigned to the case.

Veteran prosecutor Starr Rio has a reputation of doing whatever it takes to win, even if she has to skirt the edge of the law in the pursuit of justice. Now she’s working the case of a lifetime, saddled with an uncooperative witness who is sexy as hell and who thinks she knows more about criminal law than the entire task force assigned to the case. But when Starr and Catherine give in to desire, their hearts, careers, and even their lives are on the line.

Meet law school friends Campbell, Abby, and Grace, law partners at Austin’s premier boutique legal firm for young, hip entrepreneurs. Or, it will be as soon as they score a victory for their first big client.

Campbell Clark wins the big pitch, and lands the client, or so she thinks, until the internet start-up insists her firm work with the legal counsel Campbell thought they’d be replacing. Wynne Garrity has never been second best, and she’s not going to let anyone screw up her chance of making partner, but to do so she needs to hang onto her client and prove to everyone her firm isn’t stuck in the stone age. 

Reluctant team players, Campbell and Wynne would risk everything by giving in to the attraction that flares between them. In the boardroom and the courtroom, only one can win, but the price of victory could mean losing at love.

Legal Affairs: one law firm, three best friends, three chances to fall in love.

Senator Meredith Mitchell has been groomed from young adulthood for a future run for president, and as scion of a political dynasty, every public and private move she makes is carefully calculated. But Meredith’s focus on the right causes, the right people, and the right timing evaporates when she meets Stevie Palmer, a dashing public defender with a hard knock past. A firebrand like Stevie is the last person she should be associating with, especially when Meredith's political future turns into right now, and her party urges her to enter the presidential race.

Attorney Stevie Palmer refuses to be limited by the low expectations of others or by taking the politically safe route. Cautious, media-perfect presidential candidate Meredith Mitchell is the last woman she expected to fall for, but Stevie has never hesitated to pursue her passions. When her client reveals a Mitchell family scandal that could derail Meredith's career, everything Meredith and Stevie value hangs in the balance, including Meredith's shot at the presidency and their chance at love.

Attorneys Landon Holt and Carly Pachett want the exact same thing: the only open partnership spot at their prestigious criminal defense firm. When Landon and Carly are forced to collaborate on the defense of one of the firm’s A-list celebrity clients in a high-profile murder case, there’s no question the assignment is a test to see which one of them will get the promotion.

Fierce determination to stand out fuels the already heated rivalry between them, but all those late nights working on legal strategy also fan the flames of attraction. When it comes to the verdict, will they compromise their careers for love?

When law school sweethearts Tanner Cohen and Sydney Braswell witness their perfect plans for career and family fall apart, they vow never to look back. Now, years later, they’re both assigned to the same federal task force—Tanner as an FBI agent and Sydney as a special prosecutor—and they must work together if they want justice to be served. The obstacles that forced them apart still exist, but their strong connection cannot be denied. Will they embrace their second chance to be soul mates, or will their dedication to duty deny them happiness forever?

In this final installment of the Lone Star Law Series, the federal task force encounters their biggest challenges yet as they confront enemies on both sides of the law.

Bounty hunter Luca Bennett has always lived on the edge of the law, but now she’s living with a cop and doing her darnedest to stay out of trouble. When an old enemy resurfaces, will the shady ways of Luca’s past come back to haunt her?

Bow and Arrow was previously published in Girls With Guns: Three Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2016).