The Tall Dark, and Deadly Series
Box Set
By Lisa Renee Jones
Copyright 2012
The NewYork Times and USA Today Best Selling Series
Books included:
Book 1: Hot Secrets
Book 2: Dangerous Secrets
Book 3: Prelude – loosely Connected – Secrets Exposed
Book 4: Beneath the Secrets
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the supplier and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at [email protected].
All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination. www.lisareneejones.com
The Walker Brothers…
Tall, dark, and deadly, these three brothers run Walker security. Each brother is unique in his methods and skills, but all share key similarities. They are passionate about those they love, relentless when fighting for a cause they believe in, and believe that no case is too hard, no danger too dark. Dedication is what they deliver, and results are their reward.
Get Walker Brother wallpaper at
www.lisareneejones.com
Table of Contents
Titlepage
Book 1 - Hot Secrets
Book 1 - Prologue
Book 1 - Chapter 1
Book 1 - Chapter 2
Book 1 - Chapter 3
Book 1 - Chapter 4
Book 1 - Chapter 5
Book 1 - Chapter 6
Book 1 - Chapter 7
Book 1 - Chapter 8
Book 1 - Chapter 9
Book 1 - Chapter 10
Book 1 - Chapter 11
Book 1 - Chapter 12
Book 1 - Chapter 13
Book 1 - Chapter 14
Book 1 - Chapter 15
Book 1 - Chapter 16
Book 1 - Chapter 17
Book 1 - Chapter 18
Book 1 - Chapter 19
Book 1 - Chapter 20
Book 1 - Chapter 21
Book 1 - Epilogue
Book 2 - Dangerous Secrets
Book 2 - Chapter 1
Book 2 - Chapter 2
Book 2 - Chapter 3
Book 2 - Chapter 4
Book 2 - Chapter 5
Book 2 - Chapter 6
Book 2 - Chapter 7
Book 2 - Chapter 8
Book 2 - Chapter 9
Book 2 - Chapter 10
Book 2 - Chapter 11
Book 2 - Chapter 12
Book 2 - Chapter 13
Book 2 - Chapter 14
Book 2 - Chapter 15
Book 2 - Chapter 16
Book 2 - Chapter 17
Book 2 - Chapter 18
Book 2 - Chapter 19
Book 2 - Chapter 20
Book 2 - Chapter 21
Book 2 - Chapter 22
Book 2 - Chapter 23
Book 2 - Chapter 24
Book 2 - Chapter 25
Book 2 - Chapter 26
Book 2 - Chapter 27
Book 3 - Secrets Exposed
Book 3 - Prologue
Book 3 - Chapter 1
Book 3 - Chapter 2
Book 3 - Chapter 3
Book 3 - Chapter 4
Book 3 - Chapter 5
Book 3 - Chapter 6
Book 3 - Chapter 7
Book 3 - Chapter 8
Book 3 - Chapter 9
Book 3 - Chapter 10
Book 3 - Chapter 11
Book 3 - Chapter 12
Book 3 - Chapter 13
Book 3 - Chapter 14
Book 4 - Beneath the Secrets
Book 4 - Prelude
Book 4 - Part 1
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 1
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 2
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 3
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 4
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 5
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 6
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 7
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 8
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 9
Book 4 - Part 1 - Chapter 10
Book 4 - Part 2
Book 4 - Part 2 - Chapter 1
Book 4 - Part 2 - Chapter 2
Book 4 - Part 2 - Chapter 3
Book 4 - Part 2 - Chapter 4
Book 4 - Part 2 - Chapter 5
Book 4 - Part 3
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 1
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 2
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 3
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 4
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 5
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 6
Book 4 - Part 3 - Chapter 7
Book 4 - Part 4
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 1
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 2
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 3
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 4
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 5
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 6
Book 4 - Part 4 - Chapter 7
Preview of IF I WERE YOU
Prologue
He sat at the Manhattan coffee bar in a dark corner, his back to the wall, his laptop on the wooden table, when the waitress set his coffee down and quickly departed without a word. The oversized white mug rested on a saucer and held plain black coffee. He didn’t believe in flavors and sweet things, unless they came in the form of soft, womanly curves, the kind he liked to have beneath him, on top of him, and then quickly out of the way. Used and disposed of, and therefore incapable of creating problems he didn’t need, or want, in his life.
Discreetly, he snagged the small data stick that the waitress had slipped onto the saucer, popped it into his computer, and took a sip of hot coffee.
A few punches on his keyboard and the image of the familiar auburn-haired female who’d become the reason he lived, the reason he got up every day, along with details of her habits, memberships, likes and dislikes, appeared on the screen. Details on a wire to his offshore account scrolled across the page. His gaze shifted to the table directly across from his, and he almost laughed at the assumption that he could be bought, that he wanted the paycheck offered. This was about so much more than money. Because at that table, so close he could almost smell the vanilla scent of the shampoo he knew she kept on the edge of her shower, was his target, a delicate little flower, even if she didn’t know it, even if she played tough in the courtroom. But she’d know when he was done with her. She’d know, because he was going to tear her apart, one petal at a time, and relish every moment of it, too. He’d profiled her, just as she profiled the suspects in the cases she took to trial for the District Attorney’s office. After all, he didn’t earn the nickname ‘Dirt Diver’ without merit. And just as his target used her suspects' habits, and their perceived weaknesses against them in court, he’d use hers against her. He’d taunt her, announce he was coming for her, and watch her pretend indifference, watch her stupidly stand alone. He was going to touch her world as she’d touched his. Draw out her torture, make her scream his name. Make her beg for her life. And then, and only then, he would kill her.
Chapter One
“What you need is a man.”
Lauren Reynolds groaned at her best friend’s far too loudly spoken suggestion, feeling as if one of the elegant chandeliers of the fancy New York ballroom had just become a spotlight. “Keep your voice down before someone hears y
ou.”
“Touchy, touchy.” Julie chided, her baby blue eyes brimming with as much mischief as the deep V of her sparkling blue gown. “Why do you care what these people think?”
“I have to care, and you know it. These people are my father’s friends and colleagues, who happen to be here to celebrate his birthday. And enough with this ‘you need a man’ stuff you’ve been harping on all week. We can’t all be Marilyn Monroe look-a-likes who can thumb through men like a mailbox full of advertisements. I guess blondes do have more fun and us brunettes are stuck with chocolate and Marie Claire magazines.”
“How very boring.”
“Boring works for me. Between my father’s career and my work, I’m up to my neck with male egos and still sinking.”
Julie set her glass down on one of the several bars in a spacious room with tables filled with delicate finger foods, and plenty of spotlight chandeliers dangling above them. “Finally, we get to the root of the problem. Clearly, you’ve been locked up and sheltered in your daddy’s world too long. You’ve forgotten real men are not politicians.”
“I work for the District Attorney’s office, Julie.” Lauren bristled. “I’m about to go to trial on a murder case with the death penalty on the table, and it won’t be my first. I hardly call that ‘locked up and sheltered.’ And I’m hardly surrounded by nothing but politicians.”
“Oh, please. Not only is the DA an elected position, this particular DA is all about playing the game of politics, and you know that.” Julie studied Lauren a moment, her expression and tone softening before she added, “Look, honey, your lack of male companionship aside, I’m worried about my best friend. You need to get some rest and have some fun. Ever since you started prepping for this trial, you’ve been working around the clock. And before this one, there was another.”
“This one is big,” Lauren argued. “It’s-”
“They’re all big to you,” Julie said. “That’s why you’re getting assigned murder cases, not petty theft cases. You work insane hours without complaint, then pull ‘daughter’ duty like some sort of robot.”
“It’s his birthday, Julie.”
“Tonight I understand,” she said. “It’s the many other functions and I do mean many that he insists you attend, that you need to put a stop to.” She lowered her head and softened her voice. “You need a life that isn’t his, which brings me back to the ‘hot male’ category of this conversation, and no, I’m not talking the email version.”
“I just got out of a relationship. I don’t need another.”
“You didn’t just get out of anything. You dumped your cheating ex-fiancé, who was hotter for your father’s power than he was you, more than six months ago. And not without bruises to your emotions and your confidence, which makes me want to find the man and give him a good knee to the balls. I’ll just settle for helping you get back on the horse.”
“Julie,” she ground out. “I’m going to hurt you if you don’t zip it.”
“You’re beautiful and sexy,” she said, as if Lauren hadn’t even spoken, “and he made you feel like Ugly Betty when you’re Audrey freaking Hepburn. You need a hot man to carry you away and remind you that you are more than the sum of a courtroom or your father’s career aspirations on your behalf.”
Lauren snorted at that. “With my luck, I’d choose an undercover reporter who’d twist me into some sort of floozy, which would spiral into a scandal for my father.”
Julie’s eyes brightened mischievously and then widened with delight at her own thoughts. “Actually, Lauren, maybe that’s just what you need.”
“What the heck does that mean?” Lauren asked, frowning, pretty sure she knew what was coming. The push. Julie loved “the push,” what she called her closing arguments on anything, in or out of a courtroom.
“Your father’s about to retire, but he has that Kennedy family grandeur in his sights. He wants you to run for office. He’s not going to give up until he convinces you.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “So you see, a scandal can’t really hurt him, but it could help you dodge a political bullet.”
Lauren grimaced. “Apparently you’ve broken our golden rule of sobriety in public and had too much bubbly, because you’re talking craziness. I work for the District Attorney’s office. I have my own career to think about, too, and you know it.”
Julie pursed her perfect lips. “I don’t know anything of the sort. It’s not like you want to run for DA any more than you want to run for any other appointed office. And you’re in the public sector with a conviction rate that’s well above expectations, so you’re a golden girl.”
“Any scandal I bring to the office, I bring to the DA. Not to mention, I’m not exactly the scandal kind of girl.”
“Oh, good grief,” Julie grumbled. “I was just baiting you with the whole scandal thing, but the fact that you didn’t even get that is telling, and of what, I’m not sure.”
There was an announcement at the front of the room, something about cake and presents in half an hour. Lauren skimmed her hand down her out-of-character siren-red silk gown, her gaze catching on the dainty, silver watch on her wrist, the newest in a broad collection of gifts from her father. Apologies for working late, missing birthdays and any number of other things. She wondered what had earned her a gift on his birthday, and when she’d find out.
Julie touched her arm. “You okay?”
Lauren inhaled and let it out. “Fine. I’m fine. I just need more champagne.”
“Looking for a little tolerance for step-mommy dearest, I take it?”
“Don’t you know it,” Lauren agreed, dreading the inevitable ‘make-nice moments’ with her father’s trophy wife.
“Well, to heck with our sobriety pact,” Julie declared. “A bubbly dose of patience, coming right up.”
Several minutes later, Lauren sipped from a flute and waved at one of her father’s friends across the room. She wondered if the man really was a friend, or just someone jockeying for some position.
Julie leaned in close. “Oh honey, you’re waving at an old fuddy-duddy, so I’ve just waved my magic wand. I have the perfect male specimen to carry you away to orgasmic bliss. Mr. Make Every Woman Hot And Bothered himself is in the house.”
“I seem to remember you inferring only minutes ago that there were no men capable of such splendor at these types of events.”
“He’s your ‘midnight fantasy,’” she said, a wicked smile on her lips. “Or so a certain brunette told me just last weekend, after a few glasses of wine.”
Royce Walker. She was talking about Royce Walker. Lauren’s throat went dry at the mention of the sexy State Security Advisor, who also ran a private security company with his two brothers. And, most definitely, had been the object of her ‘midnight fantasies’ on more than one occasion. “He’s here tonight?”
“Over here, Royce!” Julie called out and then grinned. “He’s not only here, he’s headed our way. You can thank me later.”
“Oh dear God, Julie,” Lauren chided. “Why did you do that? I have enough stress tonight without this.” And damn it, she needed a little fantasy here and there. She didn’t want it ruined by real life.
“If you won’t take care of you, honey,” Julie said, reaching out and tugging Lauren’s bodice down an inch, “I will.”
“Good evening, ladies,” Royce greeted her from behind, his voice as rawly masculine as one would expect from a man with a body of a god and long raven hair he’d regretfully tied at his nape for an event such as this one.
Lauren pulled up her dress, and shot Julie a warning look. “We’ll be talking later.”
“Of course,” Julie said with a grin a moment before Royce stepped between them, towering over them. “Hey there, Royce.”
Lauren turned fully to greet him, having only an instant to take in his tuxedo, which fit him to perfection, before her gaze collided with his crystal blue stare. “Hello,” he said, his voice lower now, almost intimate.
“Hello,” she said,
willing herself to say something more, but the unexpected direct eye contact sizzled her all the way to her toes and apparently stole her ability to process words.
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere keeping your brothers out of trouble?” Julie asked him.
“As tedious and impossible as that is,” he said, “it would be more pleasant than rubbing elbows with a bunch of wannabe movers and shakers. But duty sometimes requires a tuxedo and nerves of steel.”
Lauren gaped, her reaction instantaneous, her processing skills fully recovered. She might not approve of her father wholeheartedly, but she loved him. “You do know this is my father’s birthday party, right?”
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