Book excerpt: Three classic stories of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak… Inside Virgil Skinner served fourteen years for a murder he didn’t commit. He’s finally been exonerated, but he can’t escape the gang he joined in order to survive—and they’re threatening his sister and her kids, too. Now the California Department of Corrections needs someone to infiltrate another gang. Virgil agrees to do it under an alias, in exchange for his sister’s protection. Chief Deputy Warden Peyton Adams is opposed to having Virgil in her prison. How will she protect him if things go bad? Besides, she’s far too attracted to him; she might even be falling in love with him. That makes her all the more desperate to keep him safe—and it gives him someone else to lose. In Seconds Laurel Hodges has changed her identity twice. She’s been on the run for the past four years, trying to outdistance the ruthless prison gang who blame her for the death of one of their own. She’s finally found peace and stability for herself and her children in the small town of Pineview, Montana. But the gang will never forget and they’ll never forgive. And now they’ve tracked her down again, and they’ll stop at nothing. Sheriff Myles King, who happens to live next door with his thirteen-year-old daughter, appoints himself Laurel’s personal guardian. His growing attraction to her could change his life—but it could also end his life. In Close Claire O’Toole’s mother, Alana, went missing fifteen years ago. Then, last year, Claire’s husband, David, died in a freak accident—after launching his own investigation into Alana’s disappearance. Is Alana dead? Or did she abandon her husband and daughters? Claire is determined to find out—and her former boyfriend, Isaac Morgan, wants to help. He still has feelings for her, but it isn’t until he starts to suspect David’s death wasn’t an accident that he’s drawn back into her life. But as Claire and Isaac soon discover, someone’s prepared to kill so those answers won’t be found. Originally published in 2011