Negotiating Point

You call this a mission?

Yeah, ex-Army Ranger and Taylor Securities operative Billy Tripp screwed up. So instead of being assigned to a dangerous international mission, he's sent to babysit a pricey necklace at a trendy South Beach hotel. The only bright side to the assignment is working with the manager, smoking-hot hotel heiress Kristen Dante.

Kristen's worked hard to build her father's Miami hotel into a jet-set destination. She's confident in business but not so much with men. What could a sexy guy like Billy want with her when he could have someone like her beautiful, party-girl sister?

There's a reason Billy's known as Mr. Relentless. He doesn't give up. Not on a job, or on the woman he wants. So when three luxury cars go missing from the hotel's lot, Billy sets out to find the thief. Suddenly, he has a case with the risks he thrives on. But when his investigation leads to Kristen being threatened, the real danger is losing his heart.

The protector: Peter Jessup, former Navy SEAL, currently employed by Taylor Security. He likes being the hero-in charge and in control.

His client: Lawyer Isabelle DeRosa. The sexy brunette is the personification of Peter's fantasies. She's willing to get physical but nothing more serious.

The assignment: When Isabelle becomes the prime suspect in the murder of her cousin, Peter is there to protect her and help her find the real killer. Their investigation leads to a big-name charity that seems to draw cultlike followers. Isabelle manages to infiltrate the group and become close to their leader, leaving Peter both jealous and worried for her.

As their search leads to danger, Peter realizes he's falling in love with Isabelle. He wants all of her, but she's too used to guarding herself to let him in…

91,000 words

Roxann Thorgesson's world is out of control. After her father suffers a fatal heart attack, she must take over as publisher of Chicago's second-largest newspaper. Then her ex-boyfriend Michael Taylor, CEO of his own security company, shows up needing a favor. The last thing Roxann needs is Michael around causing trouble-and potential heartbreak-but he's involved in a scandalous story she can't pass up.

Twelve years ago, Michael walked out on Roxann without explanation. Now he needs her help. Michael's estranged wife has been murdered and he is the prime suspect. He offers something no newspaperwoman could refuse: exclusive access to his headline-making murder accusation, in exchange for her help in uncovering the true killer. When their investigation leads them to a city hall conspiracy, both their lives and their newly reignited flame could be permanently extinguished...

86,000 words

Security Consultant Vic Andrews lives by his Man Laws:

But he can't deny his irresistible attraction to Gina Delgado, a young widow with three kids and plenty of strings attached. Even so, having a physical relationship doesn't mean they're "in a relationship."

Gina lost her husband to tragedy; she is not getting emotionally involved with another man in a dangerous profession. Sleeping with Vic is just stress relief.

Until one of Vic's assignments goes wrong and the target selects Gina and her kids for revenge. There's nothing Vic won't do to protect Gina and the children-the family he realizes, too late, he wants. He'll accomplish his mission but will he have lost his only chance at true love?

83,000 words

In the course of her own investigation, Olivia meets informant Rico Cortes. He's mysterious and sexy and despite her reservations, the two share a night of passion. But Rico turns out to be more than a one-night stand. He's a DEA agent, deep undercover in Miami's drug world, and possibly the one man who can help Olivia find the justice she seeks.

When Rico realizes his cover is blown, he isn't sure whether it was someone in the cartel or an inside agent. Olivia is the only one he can trust and together they venture on a dangerous, rogue mission to infiltrate a drug lord's inner circle…with Olivia as bait.

Praise for Julie Ann Walker's Black Knights series:
"Walker is ready to join the ranks of great romantic suspense writers."—RT Book Reviews

A "first–rate thrill ride."—Publishers Weekly, stared review on Hell on Wheels

"Deft characterization, skillful pacing, touches of humor, and red–hot love scenes rev up this highly recommended roller–coaster." —Publishers Weekly, starred review on In Rides Trouble

He Never Misses A Target

Jake "the Snake" Sommers earned his SEAL code name by striking quickly and quietly-and with lethal force. That's also how he broke Michelle Carter's heart. It was the only way to keep her safe-from himself. Four long years later, Jake is determined to get a second chance. But to steal back into Michelle's loving arms, Jake is going to have to prove he can take things slow. Real slow...

She Aims To Make Him Beg

Michelle Carter has never forgiven Jake for being so cliché as to "love her and leave her." But when her brother, head of the Black Knights elite ops agency, ticks off the wrong mobster, she must do the unimaginable: place her life in Jake's hands. No matter what they call him, this man is far from cold-blooded. And once he's wrapped around her heat, he'll never let her go...

"A first-rate thrill ride."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

HE'S GONE ROGUE

Ex-navy SEAL Rock Babineaux is as Cajun as they come—spicy, sexy, and more than a bit wicked. But would he actually betray his country? Even his best friends on the special-ops Black Knights team aren't sure they can trust him. Now the target of a massive manhunt, Rock knows the only way to protect the team—especially his partner, Vanessa—is to run...

SHE WON'T BACK DOWN

Rock might think he can outmaneuver them all, but he hasn't counted on how stubborn Vanessa Cordero can be. And she refuses to cut him loose. Sure, her partner has his secrets, but there's no one in the world she'd rather have by her side in a tight spot. Which is good because she and Rock are about to get very tight...

Praise for Black Knights Inc. Series:

"Julie Ann Walker is one of those authors to be put on a keeper shelf along with Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann, and Allison Brennan."—Kirkus

"Deft characterization, skillful pacing, touches of humor, and red-hot love scenes rev up this highly recommended roller-coaster." —Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Rebel with a Cause

Becky "Rebel" Reichert never actually goes looking for trouble. It just has a tendency to find her. Like the day Frank Knight showed up at her door, wanting to use her motorcycle shop as a cover for his elite special ops team. But Becky prides herself on being able to hang with the big boys-she can weld, drive, and shoot just as well as any of them.

Man with a Mission

Munitions, missiles, and mayhem are Frank's way of life. The last thing the ex-SEAL wants is for one brash blonde to come within fifty feet of anything that goes boom. Yet it's just his rotten luck when she ends up in a hostage situation at sea. Come hell or high water, he will get her back-whether she says she needs him or not.

Praise for Hell on Wheels:

"Edgy, alpha, and downright HOT, the Black Knights Inc. will steal your breath ... and your heart!" —CATHERINE MANN USA Today bestselling author

Devon Crawford is an officer; Air Force Pararescueman Cam Munro is enlisted. Dev flies medical evacuations; Cam jumps into danger zones to save lives. Dev wants to return home from Afghanistan with her heart untouched; Cam will do anything to win the woman he loves.

Reaching for happiness in a war zone is the last thing Captain Devon Crawford plans, but she can't ignore the feelings she's hidden for so long. Cam's sexy charm and wicked kisses weaken her resistance, but she's too afraid of losing him to give in.

When Dev's helicopter and crew are shot down and set up as bait by a notorious warlord, Cam risks all to save the team. What he doesn't know is that the trap is set for him….

83,000 words

Fierce and sexy, former Marine Travis Sanchez has always held himself back from the rest of the world, using his tattoos and piercings as armor. But when the woman he’s wanted for months is threatened, he knows it's time to strip away the bad boy image and show her just how much he wants to be with her. As one of Red Stone Security’s best contractors, Travis is trained for almost any situation. But nothing prepares him for the most dangerous threat of all: the one to his heart.

Kind-hearted Noel Baskov’s only wish for the holidays is that her Miami coffee shop has a successful Christmas season. But her focus on work is interrupted when the family of the young girl she mentors is threatened, and the man she’s been lusting after for months steps in to handle it. Unfortunately the danger is far from over. Can this sexy and mysterious warrior protect Noel, or will he be the one to shatter her heart?

Warning: features a heroine determined to fight for those she cares about, a protective hero with a very interesting piercing, and some holiday magic.

Length: 27,000 words (novella)
Red Stone Security Series, #4

Author Note: Miami, Mistletoe & Murder is the fourth story in the Red Stone Security series but can be read completely as a stand-alone.