How odd. But also how touching, when he takes her hand and tangles her fingers together, then lifts it to lay a kiss her knuckles.

“Wait a minute…” A laugh escapes me, because nah, this can’t be true. No way. But he did say… “Troy Jordan? Jordan Enterprises? The guy mentioned on the news yesterday? They said… Oh my God!”

“I saw that, too,” Rafe mutters. “A secret organization in Baltimore. They offed your parents and your uncle. They were after you.”

He says nothing, just stares back at Rafe, shoulders tense.

“That’s over now, right?” I ask, worried again. “Culprits taken to prison and all that?”

“All over,” Raylin says, though her voice is soft. “Which is why we thought it’d be safe to visit you.”

“And you live now in Baltimore?”

“I live where he lives,” she whispers, and he smiles. “He saved me, protected me, made me believe. He’s everything to me.”

“That’s beautiful,” I say, because that’s just how I feel with Rafe.

Her boyfriend looks away, and strange thing is, his eyes seem bright with tears. He hauls her to him, tucking her to his side. “My girl.”

God, the way they look at each other, the way they cling to each other… Sometimes I can sense things, and this one rings loud and clear:

It looks like true love to me.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This has been an amazing journey, and I have so many people I would like to thank for their help, advice, support and friendship.

Without the help of my wonderful editor this story wouldn’t be readable. Any remaining errors in the text are my fault as I tend to change things last minute.

Huge thanks to Nathalie Aynié for the constant help and support, and for the brainstorming sessions. She rocks bears in tutus!

Also huge thanks to Kia Zi Shiru for her support and help, and to 5 Times Formatting for the great formatting.

I also want to thank very much my author friends J.A. Beard, Alison Foster, Cindy Borgne and Alison Foster who helped me with suggestions and advice throughout, and to Stephanie Troeth for her advice regarding the synopsis.

Can’t forget my amazing support group Dragon Authors for always being there for me.

A big shout-out to author Jade West and my PA Tracy Smith Comeford for giving me courage whenever I was down and talking shop with me in the most entertaining way. Extra hugs for Leah Joslin and Kerry Fletcher for leading my readers group and making Facebook such a fun place to be.

Huge thanks to my cover model, athlete Craig Gierish (http://www.risetoalpha.com), for his enthusiasm and support. He not only kept in contact in spite of his busy schedule—he also agreed to make the trailer for the book and a banner and… I am so humbled by his kindness.

Many thanks to my great reader and review teams for their amazing energy and commitment—love you ladies!—and to all the bloggers and reviewers who send me messages asking to feature my books and spread the word. I owe you.

Finally I want to thank my readers. Your messages, emails and Facebook posts telling me how much you like my stories motivate me, keep me writing and put a smile on my face. You are all amazing and I love you all.

AUTHOR BIO

Jo Raven is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, best known for her series Inked Brotherhood and Damage Control. She writes edgy, contemporary New Adult romance with sexy bad boys and strong-willed heroines. She writes about MMA fighters and tattoo artists, dark pasts that bleed into the present, loyalty and raw emotion. Add to that breathtaking suspense, super-hot sex scenes and a happy ending, and you have a Jo Raven® story.

Find all my books here ▶ http://joraven.com/books

Be the first to get your hands on my new releases & offers, giveaways, previews, and more by signing up here ▶ http://bit.ly/1CTNTHM

Meet me online—on Facebook ▶ https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoRaven, chat with me on Twitter ▶ @AuthorJoRaven, and join my readers group for sneak previews of my covers and stories ▶ http://on.fb.me/1K2LvzO.

REVIEW TIME!

If you like my books, please think to leave a review on amazon or any other site. It would mean the world to me, and it helps me get paid advertisements and get the word about my books out there.

What comes next?

▶ HAWK (Sex and Bullets #2)

Bad boy heir to the Fleming Group empire, Jamie ‘Hawk’ Fleming, at your service.

Here’s the breakdown: my father has been thrown behind bars on murder charges, and my mother as accessory. That was three months ago, and since then everything has been a downhill ride.

The only thing keeping me sane right now is Hot Body. Her name is Layla, but that all that matters is that she’s gorgeous, sexy, and great in bed.

Until one morning I wake up tied up and gagged, Layla standing over me. Sounds promising, huh? A pretty girl, hand cuffs, maybe a whip?

Only the look on her face – and the pissed-off men at her side – tell me she’s not in a kinky mood, or at least, not the pleasant kind…

On Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26790057-hawk

Table of Contents

Front Page

Prologue

PART I: SEX

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

PART II: BULLETS

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

A few words from Jo Raven

Acknowledgments

Author bio