Table of Contents
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF JOANN ROSS
Breakpoint
This is probably the best book Ive read this early summer. This hot novel has everything a reader might want in romantic suspense, from sexy, complex characters, to a fascinating setting and intense intimacy.
The Romance Readers Connection
Fire and ice make for an incendiary mix.... Brava!
Romantic Times
An action-packed thriller that never decelerates until the finish... one of the better high-octane sagas on the market today.
Midwest Book Reviews
Crossfire
The plot is riveting, the characters sizzle, and the ending will blow you away. Trust me, you do not want to miss Crossfire. But keep in mind, once you pick it up, its impossible to put down.
Fresh Fiction
[A] cant-put-down-forget-the-housework-cereal-for-dinner book. The chemistry between Quinn and Cait screams off the page and practically singes your fingers.
Romance Junkies
Freefall
A page-turning mix of danger, suspense, and passion.
New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen
No author can put words together and tell a story like Ms. Ross. Freefall is a romantic thriller that sizzles with passion and danger. The story is a page-turner leading up to an ending you must read to believe. What an incredible story!
Fresh Fiction
An intense thriller... the perfect edge-of-your-seat mystery. JoAnn Ross is one author who delivers and will most definitely blow you away.
Romance Reviews Today
All the patented Ross sizzle and drama make [reading] this time well spent!
Romantic Times
No Safe Place
Sizzles with the sensuality and danger fans of her romantic thrillers have come to expect.
Publishers Weekly
A page-turner that plunks the reader down in post-Katrina New Orleans and makes the changes real and immediate.... Hop on the Ross Express for a lightning ride.
New York Times bestselling author Linda Howard
A spellbinding read.... I was blown away. An amazing author, and this latest story proves it, once again.
Fresh Fiction
Impulse
[A] great love story with all the thrills and chills that will have the readers coming back for more.
Fallen Angels Reviews
Spine-chilling... a good mix of suspense and romance.
Romance Reviews Today
[A] suspense thriller with richly drawn characters, a powerful story, and a heart-stopping ending.
Fresh Fiction
Blaze
Seamlessly plotted.... Ross keeps the heat on right to the last page.
Publishers Weekly
Singes the pages... a strong story, rich in characterization. Fresh Fiction
Dynamic... fast-paced, utterly engrossing.
Romance Reviews Today
Out of the Storm
Out of the Storm sizzles! A captivating and entertaining blend of romance, mystery, and suspense.
Romance Reviews Today
Out of the Blue
[An] adventurous, exhilarating story. Danger and intrigue are a constant presence. Highly passionate... outstanding.
Romance Junkies
The best kind of romantic suspense: heart-stopping terror and a heart-tugging romance.
Romance Reviews Today
River Road
Skillful and satisfying.... With its emotional depth, Rosss tale will appeal to Nora Roberts fans.
Booklist
The romance... crackles and the verbal sparring keeps the narrative moving along at an energetic clip... delightful.
Publishers Weekly
Confessions
[A] hot, steamy... page-turner.
A Little Romance
[T]ouches of humor nicely relieve the suspenseful nature of the intriguing and intricately plotted tale. Bravo!
The Paperback Forum
Also by JoAnn Ross
Available from Signet
Freefall
Crossfire
Shattered
Breakpoint
To Jaywho took me to our beloved Oregon Coast (where Ive set my Shelter Bay books), bought me saltwater taffy, then proposed. After all our years together, Im even more glad I said Yes!
And in memory of Marine Cpl. Jimmy Florenclassmate, neighbor, friend. A true hero, Jimmy was cited for extraordinary heroism, posthumously receiving the Navy Cross and Purple Heart after sacrificing his life for his fellow Marines and country during the Vietnam War.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, to the incomparable team at NAL, who makes writing a joy, especially my editor, Laura Cifelli, who somehow manages to deftly juggle more balls than anyone I know. Also, matchmaker extraordinaire, my fabulous agent, Robin Rue, for bringing us all together.
Thanks to former high school classmates Jim Flynn and Ron Bonham, who paid good money in a fund-raising auction to have their names included in this book. I know neither of you would ever actually get into the trouble your characters did. (Well, probably not.) At least I didnt make you murderers!
Again, with heartfelt appreciation to all the servicemen and -women who put themselves in harms way so the rest of us dont have to. Along with their families, who await their safe return home.
And finally, for my sweetie Oregon State University alumnus husbandGo, Beavs!
We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school.
Thucydides
Anyone who looks with anguish on evils so great must acknowledge the tragedy of it all; and if anyone experiences them without anguish, his condition is even more tragic, since he remains serene by losing his humanity.
Augustine of Hippo
Sax Douchett had heard about people who didnt dream.
Unfortunately, he wasnt one of them. Sometimes he even dreamed while he was awake.
Like he might be doing now, as he felt a familiar prickling beneath his skin. Hair rose on his arms and at the back of his neck. A jolt of fight-or-flight adrenaline hit his bloodstream like a Patriot missile.
He bent over. Put his hands on his knees and drew in several deep breaths.
You are not in the frigging Kush. Sometimes saying the words out loud gave them more power.
The thick fog on this lonely stretch of beach he was walking on at sunset with his adopted dog turned ordinary thingsseaweed, wind-bent cypress, stacks of driftwoodinto shadowy objects of mystery. Unlike the placid blue waters of nearby Shelter Bay, the rocky Oregon coastline had claimed scores of ships and their crews over the centuries.
When hed been trudging through the snow up a steep Afghan mountainside with bad guys blasting away at him and his SEAL teammates, memories of home had kept him putting one boot in front of the other.
When hed spent another six days all alone on those desolate peaks in the Hindu Kush, wounded, half out of his mind and presumed dead, anticipation for the Dungeness crab jambalaya he intended to fill up on once he got stateside had kept him battling the Taliban assassins sent to finish him off.
