I call in a team of specialists for every book and would be lost without them. They are: Los Angeles Police Officer Kathy Bennett, my go-to girl on police procedure; the “gun guy” Roger Cannon, making sure the characters shoot straight; and former FBI agent Jim Vatter, who brings the Bureau to my doorstep on an almost daily basis.
A few individuals were particularly helpful with this story: U.S. Army Officer Jessica Scott, the hero(ine) who took time out from fighting a war to answer my questions and help assure military accuracy; dear friend and fan Rossella Re, for being my Italian girl connection—grazie, amica mia! I plan to give you your own branch on the Angelino and Rossi family tree.
And a special nod to the impressive group of attorneys and public affairs professionals at the Innocence Project, with gratitude for the fact checking and detailed information regarding witnesses, exoneration, and the law.
Thanks to all my dear writing friends, too many to name (lucky me), but most especially to Kresley Cole, Louisa Edwards, and Kristen Painter, who keep me sane, focused, and laughing. And not in that order.
The entire team of publishing professionals at Grand Central Publishing, most especially my editor, Amy Pierpont, who hands me a shovel, forces me to dig deeper… and somehow makes me think I’m having fun.
Lastly, always and forever, my deepest love and gratitude to my husband, Rich, and our children, Dante and Mia. You three remind me every day that there’s no station, only the journey… and we’re on the best trip ever.
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Roxanne St. Claire
Dear Reader,
I’m the youngest of five, a position of little power but great benefits. Yes, it meant I got the car floor on road trips (seriously, the floor!) but that position also allowed me to reap the rewards of parental guilt for sometimes treating #5 as an afterthought. On my tenth birthday, that meant the ultimate gift for a budding writer: a typewriter. I think I’ve had my fingers on a keyboard ever since.
So when I decided to launch a new romantic suspense series, I knew I wanted to anchor the stories around a big family. I hoped to translate the always-fascinating sibling dynamics into complex relationships and unforgettable characters. Since I married into an Italian family, I’d been given a window into one of the most colorful of all cultures, and choosing that background for my characters was a natural move. But this couldn’t be an ordinary Italian family, since I like extraordinary characters. To work in my stories, they’d have to be fearless, protective, risk-taking, rule-breaking, wave-making heroes and heroines, willing to take chances to save lives. Oh, and the guys must be blistering hot, and the ladies? Well, we like them a little on the feisty side.
Thus, the Guardian Angelinos were born. They are the five siblings of the Boston-based Rossi family and their two Italian-born cousins, Vivi and Zach Angelino. The security and investigation firm these two blended families form is created in the first book, EDGE OF SIGHT. When soon-to-be law student Samantha Fairchild witnesses a murder in the wine cellar of the restaurant where she works and the professional hit man has her face on tape, she seeks help from her friend, investigative reporter Vivi Angelino. Sam gets the protection she needs, only it comes in the form of big, bad, sexy Army Ranger Zach Angelino… who stole her heart during a lusty interlude three years earlier, then went off to war and never contacted her again.
I had fun with Zach and Sam, and just as much fun with the extended family of renegade crime-fighters. One of my favorite characters is eighty-year-old Uncle Nino, who is grandfather to the Rossi kids and great-uncle to the Angelinos. He joins the Guardian Angelinos with typical Italian passion and gusto, carrying a spatula instead of a Glock, and keeping them all in ziti and good spirits. Oh, and Uncle Nino is a mean puzzle solver, a trait that comes in handy on some special investigations. But what he does best is Sunday Gravy, a delicious, hearty meat dinner in mouthwatering red sauce that the family gathers to enjoy at the end of a hard week of saving lives and solving crimes. He’s agreed to share his secret recipe, just for my readers…
Uncle Nino’s Sunday Gravy
Ingredients
• 1–2 pound piece of lean beef (eye of round)
• 1–2 pounds of lean pork (spare ribs)
• 2 pounds of hot or sweet Italian sausages
• 4 tbs. olive oil
• 4–5 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1–2 Spanish onions, chopped
• Pinch of dried chili flakes (optional)
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 26 oz. cans whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ cup torn fresh basil leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Cut and trim the meats into smaller pieces; halve the sausages, cut eye of round in four sections
2. Heat olive oil in large pan or Dutch oven (deep, heavy casserole) over medium heat
3. Sear meats in hot olive oil until golden brown; may be done in batches and removed from pan, set aside
4. Sauté onions in the same pan until translucent
5. Add garlic and continue to sauté until garlic turns golden (spicy Italians—and these guys are—add the chili flakes here)
6. Add tomato paste and constantly stir until paste reaches rich, rusty color
7. Add thyme and oregano and stir
8. Deglaze the pan with red wine, using spatula to scrape all bits of charred meat (Uncle Nino says this is the key to success) until reduced by half
9. Crush whole, peeled tomatoes (by hand!), then add to sauce
10. Season sauce with salt and pepper and—this one from Grandma Rossi in the old country—a pinch or two of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes
11. Add seared meat into the sauce and simmer for two hours, stirring occasionally
12. Serve over pasta (Uncle Nino recommends rigatoni)
13. Sprinkle fresh basil on top just before serving
(Note: With one pound of pasta, this recipe serves six. Hungry heroes may want more to keep up their stamina, so feel free to add homemade meatballs. Sorry, but Nino’s recipe for meatballs remains a family secret. Stay tuned for future books to unlock that and many more mysteries.)
Mangia!
www.roxannestclaire.com
From the desk of Caridad Pineiro
Dear Friends,
I want to thank you for the marvelous reception you gave to SINS OF THE FLESH! Your many letters and reviews were truly appreciated and I hope you will enjoy this next book in the Sins series—STRONGER THAN SIN—even more.
From the moment that Mick’s sister, Dr. Liliana Carrera, walked onto the scene in the first book, I knew she had to get her own story. I fell in love with her caring nature, her loyalty to her brother, and her inner strength. There was no doubt in my mind that any story where she was the heroine would be emotionally compelling and filled with passion.
Of course, such an intense and determined heroine demanded not only a sexy hero, but a strong one. A man capable of great love, but who needs to rediscover the hero within himself.
Jesse Bradford immediately came to mind. Inspired by the many sexy surfer types I encounter on my walks along the beach, Jesse was born and bred on the Jersey Shore. A former football player who had to leave the game he loves due to a crippling bone disease, he is a man who has lost his way, but is honorable, caring, and loyal. Jesse just needs to meet the right woman to guide him back to the right path in his life.
Together Jesse and Liliana will face great danger from a group of scientists who have genetically engineered Jesse, as well as the FBI agents entrusted with his care. The action is fast-paced and will keep you turning the pages as you root for these two to find a way to be together!
If you want to find out more about the real-life Jersey Shore loca
tions in STRONGER THAN SIN, please visit my website at www.caridad.com where you can check out my photo gallery or my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/caridad.pineiro.author@Caridad Pineiro!
Wishing you all the best!
From the desk of R.C. Ryan
Dear Reader,
My family and friends know that I’m obsessively neat and organized. I work best when my desk is clean, my office tidied, and my mind clear of all the distracting bits and pieces that go into being part of a large and busy family.
And so it is with my manuscripts. When I created the McCord family and started them on their hunt for their ancestors’ lost fortune, I had to find a satisfying ending to each cousin’s story, while still keeping a few tantalizing threads aside, to tempt my readers to persevere through this series until the very end.
My editor remarked that, until reading MONTANA GLORY, she hadn’t even been aware that the family needed the balance of another generation. Cal and Cora provided the narration for much of the family’s history, and a steady anchor for these three very different cousins. Jesse, Wyatt, and Zane provided enough rugged male charm to stir the heart of even the most unflappable female. The women they love brought excitement and fresh flavor into the family dynamic. But it was four-year-old Summer who changed each member of this fascinating household in some way. It is the ultimate gift of a child. They touch our lives, and we are forever changed.
In MONTANA GLORY, I was free to delve even deeper into the McCord family’s history to reveal long-held secrets. I made a point to reveal a bit more about Cal, Cora, and the things that shaped them and the other members of this family. And, I hope, we learn things about ourselves in the process.
I hope you fell in love with this diverse, fascinating family as much as I did while writing their stories. And I hope you’re as satisfied with the ending as I am. Like I said, tidy, organized, with all the loose ends neatly tied up. I’m a sucker for a happy ending.
Happy Reading!
www.ryanlangan.com
Table of Contents
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?”
DEDICATION
A PREVIEW OF SHIVER OF FEAR
A PREVIEW OF FACE OF DANGER
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE DISH
PRAISE FOR ROXANNE ST. CLAIRE
COPYRIGHT
PRAISE FOR
ROXANNE ST. CLAIRE
“With Roxanne St. Claire, you are guaranteed a powerful, sexy, and provocative read.”
—CARLY PHILLIPS,
New York Times bestselling author
“Roxanne St. Claire delivers unforgettable heat with nonstop action.”
—LifetimeTV.com
“Sexy, smart, and suspenseful.”
—Mariah Stewart,
New York Times bestselling author
“St. Claire gives evidence in book after book why she’s a major standout in the genre.”
—RT Book Reviews
“St. Claire is an author who is on the fast track to making her name a household one.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Funny and sharp, scary and tense, romantic and sizzlingly sexual… it’s safe to say I will try any novel with St. Claire’s name on it.”
—www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com
“Roxanne St. Claire keeps the reader on tenterhooks with her clever ruses, while the love scenes pulsate with sensuality and the suspense pulls out all the stops.”
—Winter Haven News Chief (FL)
ROXANNE
ST. CLAIRE
EDGE OF
SIGHT
NEW YORK BOSTON
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2010 by Roxanne St. Claire
Excerpt from Shiver of Fear copyright © 2010 by Roxanne St. Claire
Excerpt from Face of Danger copyright © 2010 by Roxanne St. Claire
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Forever
Hachette Book Group
237 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Visit our website at www.HachetteBookGroup.com.
www.twitter.com/foreverromance
Forever is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. The Forever name and logo is a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
First eBook Edition: November 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-57423-5
Table of Contents
FRONT COVER IMAGE
WELCOME
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?”
DEDICATION
A PREVIEW OF SHIVER OF FEAR
A PREVIEW OF FACE OF DANGER
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
THE DISH
PRAISE FOR ROXANNE ST. CLAIRE
COPYRIGHT
Edge of Sight Page 33
