Showing results by narrator "Declan Winters" in All Categories

You don’t have to die to get a second line, but it’s easier than getting married. Second Line is a collection of short stories connected to The DuPage Parish Mysteries.

What the hell do you do when life changes on a dime without warning? Ryder Freeman-His job is to keep Harrison safe from a stalker and one step ahead of the paparazzi. That's it! The hotter than hell young billionaire is forbidden fruit and crossing that line is not an option. So, why is it that when bullets start flying, Ryder makes an executive decision to take his client away to the Freeman family cabin?

I didn’t know the house I broke into belonged to a mafioso, and now my revenge arc is a lot more complicated. 7 years ago, I died. Nameless, forgotten, left in a ditch after an overdose. I don’t know who saved me or why. God? Satan? A good Samaritan whose name I'll never know? It doesn't really matter. I don’t know who I used to be. My name, my past, they were buried. But somehow, I'm still here. I'm not the only one the Sleepless Reapers have used and abused, but I will be the last, if I have anything to say about it. I don’t need the attention of a mafioso.

We've all heard the tale of the Mate's Mark, and how we're destined to find our fated mate. One human, one monster foretold to be the cure to this cursed world, and to repair the damage that has been done. What was once the cause of curiosity and intrigue has turned into nothing more than a mockery. Decades have passed, and not a single pair of fated mates has been found. Until now. Until me.

For almost a century, we've believed the prophecy to be a hoax. The promise of Fated Mates being the cure to this ruined world was a beautiful story, a romantic lie told to keep us in line. Nothing more than an idyllic promise to make us work together. Only we never did, and the world only suffered more. Joining the military has turned my life into a monotonous cycle of schedule, routine, and order. Day after day, I wake at the same time, wear the same uniform, and stare at the same power-hungry faces I've been commanded by for decades.

Logan Cobalt rarely dates, but finds himself asking out the elusive waiter at Bailey's Cafe. Sure, he has spent numerous lunch hours chatting up the beautiful man over sandwiches, but nothing has come close to a real date. When Logan finds out Macy's hiding a secret, he will move heaven and earth to keep the man safe. After all, he runs a successful security and bodyguard business, so it wouldn't be hard to issue a protection detail. Would it?

Adam Campbell, 33, blacklisted CIA agent, needs to get covert information into the right hands. Alone and on the run, his world suddenly stops when he discovers the identity of the Pegasus operative who is on his tail. Arranging a meeting just to gaze into the eyes of the man he's always loved, Adam is set up and almost killed. Out of resources and nowhere to turn, Adam returns to the only home he's ever known.

Travis leaves the cloth he was using to wipe down the bar where it is. He can’t get out of here fast enough. I should have gone to the game with my friends. My non-blood-related brothers. Though speaking of brothers, I consider calling Hunter. I wish I could talk to him about this, but he’d blow a gasket. He’d storm in here, drag me to the truck, and lock me in that homemade prison he’s always threatened to build.

Forcing Salvatore Moretti to marry me at gunpoint isn’t the craziest thing I've ever done... I hate being desperate, being scared. It's a filthy, helpless feeling. I'd much rather be enraged, violent… unhinged. Salvatore watches me dance and calls me Angioletto, his little angel. He doesn't know the demons that haunt me. He's too blinded by my beauty to see the blood on my hands. Then again, he's a mafia capo, so maybe the blood wouldn't bother him anyway. My past is like fire licking at my heels, ready to consume me. But Sal won't let that happen, he’ll protect me. He has to.

Newly turned vampire Jesse Hunt has been spotted by two werewolves! Should he run, fight, or ask for noms? Barrett Walker, alpha of the local pack, has two options upon meeting the starving but sweet Jesse! Should he hand him over to the local vampire clan or adopt him? Barrett's in favor of adoption, but can adoption include smexy bite bite times too?

His new life in Chicago consists of performing autopsies and eating chips while watching old detective series. Until…He's suddenly standing in front of me. Leather jacket, washed-out jeans, jet black hair. His deep, green eyes are so intense on me I can barely breathe. It's in his crooked smile, bold flirting, and confident—borderline conceited—behavior that I get lost.

Someone once told me I give daddy issues a bad name. I laughed at the time, but since I found myself living with my dad's best friend, Stuart Wiseman, it doesn't feel all that funny anymore. Living with him is a nightmare. He's super pedantic about everything. He takes one look at me and decides I need help with adulting, and he seems absolutely positive he's the man for the job. He's hellbent on improving me, scolding me about this and correcting me on that.

When I’m tossed into the trunk of a car, I realize that what little luck I have has finally run out—especially when I find that Tony, the man who’d abducted me, is planning on using me to get back at my father. My chances for escape look pretty bleak when I’m handcuffed to Tony’s bodyguard, an intimidating man named Shepherd who apparently loves tight shirts and seems to be amused by making my life miserable. Soon, though, I learn that Shepherd has a heart and a brain.

After years of being ashamed of what my body wanted, I took a leap and signed up for a fantasy through Dark Desires with three masked men. What was only supposed to be one night of sexual freedom quickly turned into a whirlwind romance with two of my masked strangers. That is until the third man was revealed and it all came crashing down around me. I chose to walk away from the men who did unspeakable things to my mind, body, and soul. But they're not giving me up without a fight.

Bucking the typical necromancer storyline, Erasmus has managed to carve out a life filled with love and purpose. With Halloween fast approaching, Erasmus is ready to enjoy his favorite time of year. Unfortunately, Detective Franklin O'Hare's Midwestern past has other ideas. Covered in blood and found wandering the streets surrounding Chicago, a necromancer is being accused of murder—the victim and circumstances unknown.

I’d do anything for my family. Even go undercover and devote my life to the FBI so they can continue to thrive. Everything I do is for the Vitale name. I just have to focus, complete my job, divert attention and stay out of trouble.

Backing down is not in Creed's nature. Creed is a protective badass with a sensitive side and he will stop at nothing to defend those he loves. Kellum is elusive and Creed has his work cut out convincing the younger man that he can and will keep him safe while they navigate the fiery attraction...

Mason can admit that he's had the hots for rough and gruff Gage Hillcrest for well over a year now. Only Gage is bossy and overbearing as all hell. Not to mention that Gage is a closed book and Mason doesn't know anything about the man. Gage has wanted smart mouthed and sexy, Mason Taylor since he first laid eyes on him. But the two of them are like oil and water. Mason is wild. And well, Gage is not. Mason also has a big house and more money than he'd ever need while Gage is drowning in debt.

I’m not well behaved, that’s a given. But meeting the Vitale’s puts my life into perspective. They’re everything I’ve longed for; rich, adventurous, fearless, and close. Really close. This is supposed to be my family too. So why do I feel like an outsider? I have no choice except to fit in because I can’t go back home. Not when I’m on the run… Amidst the chaos of a cooling war, a family struggle, and the law nipping at my heels, I meet Quincy. Bold, crazy, and hot as a five alarm fire. This man is the grand red flag of all red flags, but then again so am I.

George Hunt can think of nothing he’d like more than to skip the high-society fundraiser where he has to guard a precocious sixteen-year-old girl and her judgmental therapist, but there’s no way out of it. If anything bad were to happen and he wasn’t there to stop it, he’d never forgive himself. So even though she’s grilling him about his dating life and the good doctor is psychoanalyzing him, he’s going to soldier on, because protecting his charges is what a knight does.