Looking for heart-racing romance and breathless suspense? Want stories filled with life-and-death situations that cause sparks to fly between adventurous, strong women and brave, powerful men?
Harlequin® Romantic Suspense brings you all that and more with four new full-length titles in one collection!
COLTON 911: ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN (A Colton 911: Grand Rapids novel)
by Addison Fox
When Grand Rapid’s most beloved CSI investigator, Sadie Colton, is in danger, the only one who can protect her is Lieutenant Tripp McKellar. She's always had a soft spot for Tripp but she treads carefully, given his tragic past—and hers. Can she hide her feelings as the threat against her comes bearing down on them both?
COLTON IN THE LINE OF FIRE (A Coltons of Kansas novel)
by New York Times bestselling author Cindy Dees
While investigating a cold case, lab technician Yvette Colton finally tells overbearing detective Reese Carpenter to back off her work. But Reese is beginning to realize his frustration may have been hiding softer feelings toward Yvette. As the the cold case suddenly turns hot, he'll have to help manage an invisible threat and protect Yvette at all costs…
OPERATION MOUNTAIN RECOVERY (A Cutter's Code novel)
by Justine Davis
A random stop leads Brady Crenshaw, a tough, experienced deputy, to a shocking accident. As he fights to bring Ashley Jordan back from the brink of death, he discovers an even greater danger than an icy cliff. It's unclear whom exactly she needs protecting from—and how deeply Brady might be involved.
ESCAPE WITH THE NAVY SEAL (A Riley Code novel)
by USA TODAY bestselling author Regan Black
Navy SEAL Mark Riley was almost excited to finally face the man targeting his father—until an innocent civilian was taken along with him. He didn't expect to brave close confines with Charlotte Hanover—or the bond they forged together. Now he and Charlotte must escape a prison island with only their wits and his military experience to help them!
Harlequin Romantic Suspense December 2020 Box Set
Colton 911: Ultimate Showdown
Colton in the Line of Fire
Operation Mountain Recovery
Escape with the Navy SEAL
Addison Fox
Cindy Dees
Justine Davis
Regan Black
Table of Contents
Colton 911: Ultimate Showdown
By Addison Fox
Colton in the Line of Fire
By Cindy Dees
Operation Mountain Recovery
By Justine Davis
Escape with the Navy SEAL
By Regan Black
“Get your weapon.”
Tripp turned back to the closet, pulling out his service revolver before reaching deeper inside. He pulled out an extra gun and handed it over. “You still know how to use one of these?” he screamed.
She avoided the eye roll—and was well aware it would be barely visible through the smoke anyway—and took the gun. “I’m all set.”
It was only then that the lights in the house flickered before going fully out.
Tripp’s hand on her wrist shifted, his fingers lacing with hers. “Get on the floor and stay close to me.”
In the thick, dark smoke they began to crawl for the interior of the house. It was the exact opposite choice of every instinct she possessed to get outside.
But deep down Sadie knew it was their only shot at survival.
* * *
Colton 911: Grand Rapids
Where there’s danger—and true love—around every corner…
* * *
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Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Grand Rapids and the intense adventure and suspense to be found with the Colton family. The Colton siblings are still reeling from their sister Sadie’s kidnapping and the hunt is on to find the CSI expert. But no one is more determined to get her back than GRPD lieutenant Tripp McKellar.
Sadie is still dealing with the fallout from a very personal discovery. She’s had a lot of time to think, spending the past month in a police safe house for protection, and she can’t stop the self-recrimination and embarrassment from sinking in. A fact that is only made worse when her ex discovers her location and kidnaps her. It’s only Tripp’s quick thinking that ultimately saves her and puts the two of them in very close proximity.
Sadie’s had feelings for the emotionally battered lieutenant for years. She’s always pushed those feelings aside, well aware Tripp’s tragic past has caused him to believe he’ll never love anyone again. But she never expects that he’s had secret feelings for her in return.
With Sadie’s kidnapping, Tripp is convinced there’s no one else who can protect her from her escalating ex-fiancé. Tripp knows he can remain professional and see to her safety, but he never counted on the deep, emotional pull of his feelings as he and Sadie spend time together.
I hope you’re enjoying Colton 911: Grand Rapids. I’ve had such fun being a part of this series and hope you enjoy Tripp and Sadie’s love story.
Best,
Addison Fox
Colton 911: Ultimate Showdown
Addison Fox
Addison Fox is a lifelong romance reader, addicted to happy-ever-afters. After discovering she found as much joy writing about romance as she did reading it, she’s never looked back. Addison lives in New York with an apartment full of books, a laptop that’s rarely out of sight and a wily beagle who keeps her running. You can find her at her home on the web at www.addisonfox.com or on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/addisonfoxauthor) and Twitter (@addisonfox).
Books by Addison Fox
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Colton 911: Grand Rapids
Colton 911: Ultimate Showdown
The Coltons of Mustang Valley
Deadly Colton Search
The Coltons of Roaring Springs
The Colton Sheriff
Midnight Pass, Texas
The Cowboy’s Deadly Mission
Special Ops Cowboy
The Coltons of Red Ridge
Colton’s Deadly Engagement
The Coltons of Shadow Creek
Cold Case Colton
The Coltons of Texas
Colton’s Surprise Heir
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
For April, Carley, Christine and Roxane.
Sisters of the heart. Always.
CONTENTS
Prologue
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
Epilogue
Author’s Note
PROLOGUE
It’s called a safe house for a reason.
Sadie Colton had told herself that endlessly and she was no closer to liking it or believing the seriousness of the words. And she was sick to death of being cooped up with nothing but her awful thoughts and even worse self-recrim
inations.
How could she have been so stupid?
And not just sort-of-flighty-edging-toward-stupid stupid. Oh no, she was in that special league of foolishness that bordered on too ridiculously stupid to live, nullified only by the whole safe house thing.
That meant she was stuck. Physically and emotionally.
She tossed a few paperbacks into a packing box. How could she not have known? Was she so desperate for a relationship that she’d ignored every single sign her fiancé was a piece of crap? Worse, that he was the head of an entire criminal empire, a loan sharking organization called Capital X.
And she’d had no idea.
Not. One. Single. Clue.
She was a freaking crime scene investigator, for heaven’s sake. That—hello?—meant she hunted clues for a living. Clues she uncovered and then used to solve crimes with the most minimal of information…
But if she tried to solve for “X” in Capital X, all she got was Capitally Duped. Worse, she was obviously clueless about her own life.
The same scenes that had kept her company flooded her mind once more. The time she’d spent with Tate, so convinced he was the man she’d waited her whole life for. Followed by the stunning realization the man she’d been so close to binding her life with was not only a bad guy, but had only been with her to get close to the Grand Rapids PD and her family’s business.
Colton Investigations was one of the premier private investigative firms in the country and did work for both the Grand Rapids PD as well as private citizens locally and nationally. It was painful to acknowledge, but she now knew her family name and connections had been the only things Tate Greer had seen when he’d looked at her. And he’d preyed on her deep-seated desire for love and a family of her own as his way in.
Only now it had all blown sky-high. One of Tate’s top goons at Capital X, Gunther Johnson, had been pulled in by the GRPD a few months ago. And now the team was after Tate. Sadie had gone from dupe to target, as kidnapping her would give Tate a huge bargaining chip against her family. Both the biological one and the metaphorical one she shared with the GRPD.
So here she was, squirreled away in some hidey-hole while others were doing the real work of catching Tate and taking down his criminal empire.
Her mind drifted to what her colleagues in CSI as well as the broader GRPD might think of her. Men and women who worked so hard to keep the good citizens of Grand Rapids safe and who were, even now, dealing with a criminal enterprise that had roots that went deeper than anyone really knew.
What did Tripp think?
Although she’d avoided personal flights of fancy since the faint stirrings of attraction she’d tamped down on in her early days with the force, Lieutenant Tripp McKellar helped run a tight ship at the GRPD. He’d also always had the uncanny ability to make her pulse kick up a few notches when she was in his presence. Even once she’d fallen in love with Tate, she’d never been fully immune to the lieutenant’s appeal. She’d never do anything, of course—Tripp fell firmly in the off-limits category and always had—but she couldn’t fully ignore that little flutter she kept secret.
Now he likely thought she was a ridiculous fool, not to mention a drain on department resources. All while he’d been working overtime on the RevitaYou case. The very case that had brought Tate’s shady dealings into the light.
What was supposed to be a virtual miracle worker of an antiaging supplement, turning the clock back ten years for anyone who took the product, had been exposed for its dirty underpinnings. RevitaYou not only wasn’t a miracle, it was a dangerous one at that. Its “restorative” properties came with a nasty side effect—death due to castor oil in the product that turned into ricin. It gave RevitaYou its functional properties but had horrifying side effects. The product inventor, Landon Street, had already been caught, but the damage his product had wrought was already extensive. Add distribution via a pyramid scheme masterminded by Capital X, and Tripp was dealing with an incredibly vile business.
Her family had been helping however it could, but the shady powerbrokers behind the scenes had been running her eldest brother, Riley, ragged as he tried to manage the investigation, help their foster brother, Brody Higgins, who’d gotten mixed up in it all, and run Colton Investigations.
And here she was, the proverbial princess in a tower, locked away and unable to help anyone.
A princess who was about to go on the move.
Again.
Her family had decided she needed to relocate to a new safe house and, having been out of the loop for the past month, she’d agreed.
At least she got to see her twin, Vikki.
“You said you were thinking you’d re-up for another five years.” Sadie looked around the room, marveling at how relieved she was to be leaving the small space.
Her twin was a JAG paralegal and had always taken her military service seriously. But Vik juggled a lot and Sadie was surprised to realize how much she hoped her sister would slow down a bit and remain closer to home.
“I know I did. I’ve so loved the Army job, but it’s time for me to make a change. I want to focus exclusively on CI. This way I can support Riley without always feeling so torn between my active duty time or working for CI.”
“I never looked at it that way,” Sadie said. “You really haven’t had a break in a long time, have you?”
Sadie understood that battle. Riley was regularly trying to recruit her full time to the family cause. And while there were definitely appealing aspects to working for the family business, she loved her work in CSI and wasn’t ready to give it up.
“No, but I get fun in where I can,” Vikki said.
Fun.
Sadie remembered fun. Once upon a time. Before she’d fallen in love with Tate Greer and had believed a bright future still awaited her.
The low growl of her stomach had her glancing in the direction of the kitchen. She didn’t skip meals.
A fact she’d worried over while engaged to Tate.
She actually liked her curves, but Tate had a way about him that had always left her a little intimidated. Like she should count herself lucky, somehow. Not lucky like how-great-is-it-I-found-the-love-of-my-life lucky, but more of a my-luck-is-going-to-run-out-if-I-do-something-wrong lucky.
And really, she admitted to herself, that wasn’t any sort of lucky at all.
A fact that only added one more check in the box on the list of self-recriminations over why she’d ignored the small but insistent voice in the back of her mind.
Seeking a diversion from her low thoughts, Sadie pressed Vikki about the man she’d fallen in love with. “Speaking of fun, what have you heard from Flynn since last week’s takedown?”
“I won’t talk about it anymore, Sadie.”
Sadie felt that small flash of anger that flared whenever she had an argument with her twin, but the misery that hovered deep in Vikki’s gaze had Sadie holding her tongue.
Vikki and Flynn had been through a lot. The RevitaYou case was personal to Flynn and she had to imagine the man was dealing with a lot. Especially the news that his family member was instrumental in the development of the drug. “I still think I’m right. Landon was his half brother, for heaven’s sake. That’s a huge family deal. I’m sure Flynn needs time to process, and to do all the Army paperwork for why he was involved in the apprehension while he was on leave. Then you’ll hear from him. When he knows it’s right for both of you.”
Sadie didn’t get the sense Vikki agreed with her but she let her twin talk it out a bit before shifting gears to more inane topics like how she was going to keep busy.
“Time to go, Sadie.” Her brother Riley walked into the room, his impatient gaze scanning the luggage. “You sure have collected a lot of stuff for being locked down the past several weeks.”
“We’ll get it in the car ourselves, don’t you worry,” Vikki batted back at their br
other.
Riley scanned the room. “I’d rather wait until the FBI gets here. Give it five minutes. I’m going to do a quick sweep of the house and use the restroom.”
Sadie knew they needed to be careful. The threat was real, no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise. But all this process…
Moving to a new safe house. Waiting for an FBI escort. She let out a small sigh as the sound of vehicles echoed from outside the door. It was all too much.
“That’s our cue.” Vikki picked up a box.
Whether it was the desire to taunt her brother or just the mindlessly boring stretch of time yawning in front of her, Sadie picked up another box and tilted her head toward the door. “I’d love to have the truck packed before Riley’s out of the bathroom.”
As usual, her twin was in sync and Vikki pushed through the door, propping the screen with her foot. Sadie juggled the box, walking through the door as a low growl registered from behind Vikki’s shoulder.
“Don’t move or your sister’s dead, Vikki.”
Sadie saw it happen. She heard the words and registered the press of a gun to Vikki’s temple, all while the carefully packed box dropped with a thud on the front porch of the safe house.
The same man stared pointedly at Sadie. “Either of you make a sound, you’re all dead.”
“Take her. Now!”
Sadie felt big hands close over her shoulders but wasn’t able to do anything but stare. She was shocked stone-cold still by the voice of her ex-fiancé, echoing in the cold December air. Her feet finally moved as she registered the hard press of a gun to her back, pushing her forward.
“Hi, honey.” Tate Greer grinned at her from where he stood beside a large SUV. The menace lacing that smile was only matched by the equally threatening sight of the semiautomatic held high in his right hand. “You’re coming home with me.”
CHAPTER 1
Tripp McKellar rubbed a hand over his growling stomach, the only acknowledgment he gave to the long hours he’d put in these past two days.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense December 2020 Box Set Page 1
