24 Karat Ammunition
No Collingsworth would ever turn his back on a woman in danger.Langston Collingsworth was a man to be reckoned with, powerful and president of the family oil business. So when the Collingsworth empire was threatened…it was personal.A young girl needed Langston’s help. But her mother was none other than Trish Cantrell – Langston’s school sweetheart. Trish and her daughter were trapped in a blackmail plot and had been on the run since the day Trish gave birth to a Collingsworth heir.Now it’s up to Langston to protect her child – his child – and face down the trouble headed their way.
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A solid-gold Texas homecoming studded with trouble.
Langston stared into Trishâs eyes, aware of the feel of his body pressing into hers, aware of his hands still wrapped around her waist, his fingers splayed against the bare flesh of her stomach beneath the loose T-shirt. Aware of her hair, in complete disarray with pine straw jutting from the dark curls.
She stood and brushed herself off. âWhat are you doing here, Langston?â
âNice to see you again, too, Trish.â
âIâm not sure itâs safe for you to be here with me.â
Not that he was going anywhere. There was no way he could walk away from her as long as she needed him. But there wasnât a chance heâd let her sneak back into his heart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanna was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from LSU-Shreveport. She moved to New Orleans in 1984 and found the mix of cultures, music, history, food and sultry Southern classics, along with her love of reading, a natural impetus for beginning her writing career.
Now, dozens of published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and single-title novels. She has been on the bestsellers list for romance, and sheâs won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker for various writing organisations and at local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.
She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star State. You may write to Joanna at PO Box 265, Montgomery, Texas 77356, USA.
Dear Reader,
Having moved to the small town of Montgomery, Texas, two years ago, I have fallen in love with Texas and the cowboy lifestyle. When I decided to write a series set in my new home state, I wanted to capture the spirit of the ranching families with their strong ties to the land. I envisioned the Collingsworths as a family bound by the old traditions, men whose word can always be counted on. But the Collingsworths are also on the cutting edge and have made their mark not only in ranching but also in the oil business. They are a family to be reckoned with and the mysteries facing the heroes and heroines are right out of todayâs headlines.
Be sure to watch for future stories from the FOUR BROTHERS OF COLTS RUN CROSS mini-series. Youâre always welcome at Jackâs Bluff Ranch, where sexy and brave cowboys are the order of the day and where true heroines will settle for nothing less than true love.
Joanna Wayne
Prologue
Trish Cantrell rinsed her stemless wineglass and placed it on the top shelf of her dishwasher. She might as well call it a night. It was only ten, but she hadnât slept well since sheâd been abducted from a restaurant parking lot at gunpoint last week. Fortunately, her teenage daughter was away, volunteering in a summer camp program for disabled children.
The carjacking had left Trish so shaken she hadnât been able to work for two days. The threatening phone call that followed demanding she return some mystery video had upset her just as much. But that had been a week ago and there had been no more contact. She had to move past this. Carjackings happened in the city. It was the new way of life in America.
She stretched and started back to the bedroom, then went back to double-check the deadbolt on the front door. She seldom went in or out that way, but checking locks had become a habit long before last weekâs incident. Sheâd wait and set the alarm when she got back to the bedroom so that it would sound instantly if a window or door to the outside was opened or the motion detector was set off. Another habit that sheâd had for years, though it was on her mind more now.
The floor creaked as she walked to her bedroom. She loved the house, which sheâd bought almost on her first day in Dallas. It was almost seventy-five years old, but the previous owner had remodeled it without losing any of its original charm. The hardwood floors and the double fireplace that opened to the den and dining room were a couple of its most terrific features. And all of it cost less than the much smaller flat she and her daughter had in London.
Trish stopped to check the door that led from the laundry room to the garage. Locked, as always. She never forgot to stop and do that when she came in. In fact her briefcase, purse and keys were still sitting on top of the small household toolbox where sheâd set them in order to turn the heavy double bolts.
A shuffling sound came from the hall, setting her hair on end. She shrugged. It was nothing but the old house settling. Despite the mental reassurance, a chill slithered along her nerve endings. She waited, and there it was again.
And then she saw him.
Adrenaline rushed her bloodstream as the man stepped closer.
