Showing results by author "T.L. Smith" in All Categories

Detective Braxton Hero should keep his distance from me. Even though I can't seem to stay away from him. Letting him get too close is a mistake. One I can't stop making. He sees me. The woman I pretend to be and the one behind the mask. And for the first time, I don't know which version is real. Even though I've spent my life in the shadows, I've never been conflicted about who I am… until he blurred the lines. The thought of him seeing my darkness does something to me. He makes me want things. Things I can't have. A life that isn't mine to take. A love built on lies.

Death slays me, and I let him . . . Kingdoms are broken. The world has shifted. We are not the same as we once were. The queen is no longer the queen, but I am expected to take her place. The tricky part is I'm not sure I want that responsibility. My heart screams for Death while he stays as far away as possible, believing in the prophecy, whereas I believe in us. But sometimes, that simply isn't enough. The real question now is . . . what do I do?

I married, and I did all the things asked of me. Then she ran away. That was the end of it, or so I thought. Until I found her again. This time, should I let her get away so easily?

After breaking off her relationship with a female lothario, Jess Taylor decides she doesn't want to expose herself to another cheating partner. Staying at home, alone, suits her just fine. Her idea of a good night is an early one—preferably with a good book. Well, until her best friend, Sophie Harrison, decides it's time Jess rejoined the human race. Trying to pull Jess from her self-imposed prison, Sophie signs them both up for a Still Life art class at the local college. Sophie knows the beautiful art teacher, Diana Sullivan, could be the woman her best friend needs.

I loved him from the beginning. In the middle. But maybe not at the end. His love for me was full of possibilities, hopes, and dreams a girl like me wasn't accustomed to. He was a nightmare that cracked and bled through my hands, and I stood there watching as it seeped into the ground. Until him. He put me back together without even knowing he was doing so. And he wasn't even my husband.

I am loyal, but I will betray you. I am strong, but I have scars. I am an angel, but the devil. I met her when I was 16 and she was a breath of fresh air. She swooped in, making me smile. But then she left, taking my next breath with her. Her smile could light up a room, making my black heart pitter patter. I found her again 10 years later, with a syringe in her arm. Blood coming from between her legs. She was broken and I was glad she was broken. She wouldn't think less of me and my damaged ways.

Some conspiracy theories turn out to be true. FBI profiler Victor Loshak works a brutal murder case in Watertown, New York - a woman found strangled in her basement, her face gone purple and baggy. But as he sifts through the crime scene details, his mind keeps drifting back to Kansas City, his last job. The human trafficking case there ended in something of a cliffhanger, and it's a loose end that everyone else in law enforcement seems in no hurry to tie up. The truth is out there. Always just out of reach.

A shocking death launches Special Agent Victor Loshak on a new investigation with an ominous message: They know everything. He heads to Tucson, Arizona, where a recent murder spree seems to be linked to the human trafficking conspiracy he's been working in secret for months. Loshak still has dreams about the Kansas City case. Nightmares about the team of techs peeling up the floorboards in a suburban home. Finding the rotting bodies face down in the muddy earth of the crawlspace. A grisly discovery that ultimately led to more questions than answers.

To break a heart is easy. All you have to do is reach in, wrap your blood-covered hands around it, and pull. This happened to me. Two hands, both red as my hair, did this exact thing. Tore it away like it wasn't made for me. Maybe it was his to take? Because years on, with those same blood-red hands, he still has it. In his clenched fists. And he won't give it back. But the real question is, do I want it back? He is dangerous, uncontrollable, and downright sexy. I fell for it all, but, in the end, he didn't catch me. He let me fall.

Beth Chambers's life is no fairytale, even if she feels like a damsel in distress. After four years in a destructive relationship, Beth has decided enough is enough and leaves her girlfriend, taking with her only her dog Dudley, her broken spirit, and a shattered view of life. At her lowest point, she meets Amy Fletcher, a woman who has it all—and from whom she believes would never want more than friendship. What Beth fails to realize is that there are definitely two sides to every story. Could Amy Fletcher be Beth's Princess Charming? Could her story end with a happily ever after?

A mass-shooter rages through Chicago in the days after Christmas. Brutal. Efficient. He etches a path of destruction through the city. Shooting up the mall. Opening fire in traffic. Rampaging through a movie theater. That's just his opening act. FBI profiler Victor Loshak heads to the windy city to investigate and finds himself swept up in a frenzied manhunt.

He wasn't meant to be on my radar; he was definitely the off-limits guy. My brother's best friend, my friend's ex, but most of all he was my boss. Hawk Carnage resembled one thing, and one thing only. Sex. He used it, he knew it, he lived it. Hawk owned the largest lingerie company in the world, and I was his leading lady. In business. But now business and friendship were about to be crossed. The lines blurred, and I was ready to dip my toes in the forbidden water.

Ellie Anderson has given up on love. Her philosophy is "Why let someone in when all they do is leave?" So instead, she fills her life with work and dodges her sister's matchmaking. Then she meets Charlie—a gorgeous, brown-eyed Border Terrier. Charlie is in need of love and a home, prompting...

Schoolteacher Gemma Hughes is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Disorganized and clumsy, she soon finds herself in the capable hands of the beautiful Dr. Maria Moran. Everything goes wonderfully until Gemma starts doubting Maria's intentions and begins listening to the wrong people. But has Maria something to hide, or is it a case of swapping trust for insecurity, respect for jealousy and finishing with a world of heartbreak and deceit? Can Gemma stop her actions before it's too late? Or will she ruin the best thing to happen in her life?

"You, Delylah Andrews, agree to marry Korton Whiskey, on the date supplied in the attached contract. In doing so, you will not, by any means, try to break this contract. If you do, the envelope held in escrow will be released to all involved, and you will forfeit your right to the privacy Mr. Whiskey has granted you." I stare at the letter I received attached to the contract in disbelief. A one-night stand who’s now blackmailing me - the daughter of a senator! If he thinks he can extort anything from me with his perversions, he can think again.

Some secrets don’t stay buried. Three elaborately staged victims. No clues. A public verging on panic. FBI profiler Victor Loshak heads to Kansas City to hunt another serial killer. But something about this case is all wrong. The three corpses lie posed. Face up. A glove laid to cover each right eye. The victims seem to be selected at random. Suburban. Upper middle class. Squeaky clean. It doesn’t make sense. A piece is missing from this puzzle.

We are a people of stories. We use them to entertain, to teach, and to instruct. Sometimes they warn us of the dangers of wandering too far into the woods, or they can be a detailed story to explain how magnificent landscapes came to be. Story has always been the way we pass time, the way we connect to each other, and most importantly, how we promote our values. Parables, especially, have a dual purpose. Not only do they keep us entertained, but they also make a point. Consider Aesop’s fables—tales of talking animals who learn valuable life lessons.

A provocative look at the remarkable contributions of high-skill immigrant entrepreneurs in America. 

You would think that after 16 years of attempted co-parenting, even the worst situations would be better. How is it that most other single moms in your life have managed to make it through the trenches? Yet, here you are still dealing with "Daddy Deadbeat". Over the years, you've done all you can to create a functional co-parenting situation and a sense of balanced love and stability for your child. Still, you can't seem to win from losing.

Restaurant Chatatouille serves up delicious Disney goodness as two friends watch the classic Disney movies and give them (and each other) the business!