Kris Michaels

Betrayal. When it comes at the hands of family, betrayal destroys lives. His reputation destroyed and career as a surgeon shattered, Harrison M. Boswell, VI, vanishes, and the alter-ego of Dr. Maliki Blue arises. His employer, Guardian Security, knows who he had been—but they are the only ones. Too bad pasts don’t stay buried. A distress call from the one person he couldn’t ignore drags him back to a place and time he’d sworn to forget and embroils him in a tangled web of small-town drama and three deaths. With one foot out of the door, Mal is ready to leave and never return, when the deputy sheriff appeals to him for the kind of help only he, and Guardian can provide. Desire. Dr. Maliki Blue exploded into her world at the scene of what would have been a successful murder—had the good doctor not intervened so swiftly and effectively to save the life of the gunshot victim. As Senior Deputy Sheriff of Pleasant County, VA, Poet Campbell’s instinct told her Dr. Maliki Blue was more than who he said he was. Checking out the gorgeous, sexy doctor will be one of life’s unexpected pleasures. Then life—and a suspicious set of unrelated circumstances—complicates everything, including her attraction to the sexy doctor. Destiny. He didn't want to acknowledge his past or examine the reasons he left, but fate forced that hand. Fate also dropped Poet Campbell onto his lap. However, other than for his access to Guardian, she doesn’t need him, although neither would deny the gravitational pull between them. Not a fertile field to grow a meaningful relationship no matter how insatiable their physical attraction. Add corrupt officials and a psychotic serial killer and a tragic ending is almost preordained—almost.

David Xavier—and all those he loved or counted as friends—would forever be mouth-watering targets to men of evil intent. His wealth could settle a small country's foreign debt. Because of this, from the moment of his birth, his mother obscured his identity. Reborn as the man named Gabriel, however, he walked free into a world where the innocents and the weak cried out for a defender, for the hand of justice, for a guardian angel. In response, an elite, paramilitary operation, Guardian, rose to stand between the evil men did and those whom they would make their victims. Gabriel was CEO. His goal was worthy and all consuming, but fighting on the side of angels didn’t make his nights less lonely or soothe the ache in his heart for hearth, home, and family. He needed a courageous woman of unflinching integrity, of goodness and honor, to stand at his side. He’d given up hope of finding such a person. He thought he'd found her years ago. The sex had been combustible, but they’d met at the very birth of Guardian, when he hadn’t time for a personal life. Chalk it up to fate or bad timing. Over the years, twenty-eight-year-old, Denver ER nurse, Anna Harriger, watched as all her friends, many of whom were former patients, found their soul mates, got married, and had children. Shoot, she’d been a bridesmaid six times. She figured she was destined to be the “crazy friend” that everyone liked but who, at the end of the day, went home to a solitary apartment. She wanted love. She wanted a family, but she refused to compromise her standards. She’d met her Prince Charming, but unlike the fairytale, after an incendiary night of sex, she’d never seen him again. Chalk it up to fate or bad timing. When events throw them together again, each find their attraction vastly more than simply physical, but once again, Gabriel’s responsibilities pull them apart. After an absence of almost half a year, Gabriel returns for Anna, but she has vanished. He will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to find her and bring her home, but fear dogs his efforts. Who was she running from? Why did she disappear so thoroughly? He knew his Anna. She’d have a very good reason.

The love of family meant the world to him, and he’d found his forever girl. She was his everything. He’d never love another like he loved her. Marriage, a house, children. He wanted the whole fairy tale—with her. He dropped to one knee and held out a ring that symbolized all his hopes for a future with her, all his love. In horror, she turned and ran. He tried to go after her but wound up the victim of a drunk driver. It was over a week before he came out of the coma and then the surgeries began. Ten years passed before he saw her again. Dreams She yearned to see the world, to escape the city that stifled her, that strangled her spirit. She ached to see more, to be more, but there was this boy… She loved him so much. His sudden proposal frightened her. How could she give up her dreams and stay? She panicked and ran. Hours after she’d fled from him, she realized her dreadful mistake. She loved him with all her heart. He was the other half of her soul. All she needed to be happy in life was him Yes…she would marry him. She called until his voice mail was full. She searched for him in all their places—but he wasn’t there. His mother turned her away. Her son deserved better, she said. Weeks later, full of bitter regret, she faced the truth. She’d lost him. Ten years passed before she saw him again. Forgiveness Brody King, part of Hope City’s elite JDET team eyed their new DEA liaison, Amber Swanson with locked-down rage. Anyone but her, God, anyone but her. She strode toward him, nervous, but determined. She should be nervous. If he unleashed half of the hurt and anger he felt, she’d be a sniveling wreck in seconds. Why him, why now? This hurt. He still loved her. Had dreams about her. Still, Amber had brutally rejected him, so play nice with her? Hell, no. The less he saw of that woman the better. Oh, he looked forbidding. Cold. Angry. Amber knew all that was on her. She accepted responsibility as the sight of his handsome face broke her heart all over again. She loved him, still, and he loathed her. It radiated off him. It didn’t matter. There were things she needed to say to him. She could do this. She had to do this. She had to tell him. It wasn’t fair, family meant everything to Brody King. He needed to know he had a ten year old son.n!

Forty years old and starting over. And not sure where home was going to be. Chief Master Sergeant Cameron Freeland had a few job prospects but nothing that sparked much interest. And now… his flight was grounded, and he was stranded in an airport. At least, he could kill time in the USO. A chance meeting there altered his decision, and he boarded his plane to Hope City with an interview for the job of his dreams. Single mom, Mercy Cahill faced life and death struggles every day to protect herself and her daughter. Now hiding under a bridge in a homeless community, she needed was a break, a job, and a home somewhere her ex couldn't reach them. Cam's new job as a special investigator took him to the cardboard cottages, where he met Destiny, the little girl with the big green eyes and her mother. Involving himself deeper with the mother and daughter was a mistake but leaving them in that place was impossible. If only Mercy would trust him, he'd give her shattered heart a home.

Killian Ganas was the drive and the brains behind Hope City Construction. He worked a fine margin of profit and loss to build his business and he was damn proud of what he’d accomplished. Then she showed up. He didn’t dislike many people, but it was a close thing when it came to Bekki King. The anger the vibrant, sexy woman incited made his blood boil. He wanted her… gone. Maybe. Investigative reporter Bekki King knew politicians in Hope City were corrupt. Kickbacks, payoffs, and gifts lined the pockets of the men and women who made the decisions and awarded contracts. The story of her career was on the line and she’d do anything to get the information to blow the top off the corruption at City Hall. She’d use whatever information she could to land this story, even if it meant bringing down Killian Ganas in the process. The sexy man was either part of the problem or in her way. She’d yet to figure out which. She wanted him… gone. Maybe.

Promises. A commitment, bond, pledge or pact. Some are broken, others withstand the test of time. Promises can be made between friends, families, or lovers. Each will be honored. Even the promise of payback, although Joseph King prefers the word revenge. Family fun at his expense? Not on your life. Join the members of the Guardian family as they delve into the nuances of promises made and kept. Promises is a Kings of Guardian Novella. Please THERE IS NO BACKSTORY INCLUDED IN THIS NOVELLA. This novella is not for you if you haven't read the previous books in these series. You will not understand the characters or the dynamics. If you have not read all the Kings of Guardian, Guardian Shadow World, and the Guardian Defender series, please consider not buying this story.

In the dark world of a Guardian Shadow, an axiom “Don’t. Get. Caught." His code name was Tempest, and his enemy caught him. Stratus did unspeakable things to him until, out of his mind, he prayed for death—but he’d never broken faith with his brothers. God, how he wished they knew that. He had not compromised them. He’d told Stratus nothing. Cast aside as useless, left to starve or die of his injuries, his broken body lay in a bare cell, forgotten, and Tempest knew his prayer for the end would be answered shortly. Until her. She made him want to live—if only to help her escape. Not all devils are male. The worst are female. Pilar had lived with one every day of her life—a woman who made a mockery of the word “mother.” When the woman couldn’t manipulate or intimidate her into doing as she wished, she threw Pilar into a cell with a man—or what was left of a man—admonishing her to, “see what happens to people who don’t give me what I want.” At the sight of his broken body, a fierce desire to provide solace and comfort trumped any sort of fear her mother thought to provoke—and an unshakeable bond was formed. As laughable as it seemed at the time, they each vowed to help the other escape. His fellow Shadow rescued Tempest. Pilar knew he’d return for her if he lived. For thirty-three months, twelve days, five hours, and forty-three minutes, she faithfully monitored a hidden dropbox for his message. She almost missed it, and then she doubted her eyes. “I’m coming for you.”

Captain Ryker Terrell sacrificed any hope of a normal existence to be the best at his job. He handpicked the men and women on Hope City’s elite Joint Drug Enforcement Team and led the JDET’s operations to astounding success. With the professional and public acclaim that followed, his name and face became high profile. He knew to expect blowback from the drug cartels JDET forced out of the city, but the smear attack by an envious superior blindsided him. Sidelined by a three-week internal investigation, he rode a desk at the department's Public Affairs division. That's when he met her. She wanted to do more than just feed the privileged. Brianna King was on a mission. With her restaurant and others like it, she had the means to help the homeless in the city, but the red tape spewing politicians were driving her crazy. She flitted from one useless meeting to another looking for a champion to push her idea into the right hands. The only things she found were brick walls and bad attitudes. That's when she met him. Ryker knew fate had a wicked sense of humor, but really? The woman he knew as “Brie”, the woman who softened his rough edges and made him long for private time away from his precious team, was Brianna King. As in the daughter of Police Commissioner, Chauncey King, and sister of his JDET sergeant, Brody King. Whatever. He'd deal. She was worth it. Brie was tired of people telling her what to do, and she sure as hell wasn't going to listen to the street scum that threatened her and her restaurant. She could handle the low level hustlers. She didn't need Ryker or her family to worry about her. They had much bigger problems to handle. She should have listened to that small voice screaming for her to be careful. But, hindsight is always twenty-twenty.

John Smith’s world exploded. Literally. His sister murdered, he ran from the intelligence agencies of his own country. Every covert entity in the world wanted him for the information he alone could access. They killed everyone he cared about to get it. He had one chance at survival. Guardian. Shae Diamant’s undercover operation for the Mossad led her into the inner circle of hell. Three years’ work crumbled beneath her feet. Her alias ruined, she knew it was only time before Stratus eliminated her. A hidden message discovered by Guardian’s elite computer specialist sends both Guardian and John Smith into action. Was this a trap to lure John into his enemy’s hands? It didn’t matter. Nothing would stop him from following that lead. That’s where he finds the woman who would change his life forever.

Doctor Jeremiah Wheeler dedicated ten years of his professional career to the population of a maximum-security penitentiary in California. A prison riot and lockdown led to a horrific hostage situation he barely managed to survive. Going back wasn't possible. He needed a change of pace, a change of scenery, and time to heal. Life was quiet in Hollister, South Dakota, and that was exactly why Savannah Wade relocated to the middle of nowhere after her husband died. Small town problems, with a dash of small-town drama. Perfect. Peaceful. Relaxing. At least until he hit town. All those muscles stacked on top of a superior attitude and those mesmerizing eyes. Doctor Wheeler was a flashing warning sign, one she couldn't resist. He was a bad boy with a capital B. All he wanted was beer and a meal but instead, he ended up witnessing an argument that escalated into a knife fight. Forced into action to save a man's life, he fell headlong into the small town's business. There was nothing to hold him in Hollister. Well, almost nothing. An urgent call from California holds him firmly in cattle country with no release date in sight. That is until the reason for his forced hiatus tracks him down. In order to save himself and Savannah, he calls in a favor and makes a commitment to Guardian. One he'd gladly keep if he survives.

A sense of duty drove Gunner Kincade’s twenty years of service as a Navy SEAL and after his Pops had a stroke, that same sense of duty drove him back to Half Moon Bay to help his old man run his bar, The Wayward Walrus. He meant to surprise Pops with the news he’d retired and was home to stay. It didn’t exactly work to plan. Pops had hired a tiny fireball by the name of A.J. Erickson. Before she’d even learned his name, A.J. managed to sic the local police on him, drown him in dirty mop water and crush his privates, and to his chagrin, she wasn’t going anywhere. Pops had sold her twenty percent of his bar. After she healed enough to leave the east Texas hospital and testify against her ex-boyfriend, A.J. packed up and drove west. Answering Silas Kincade’s help wanted ad seemed an answer to a prayer. The old gentleman needed her skills and it didn’t hurt they got along like a house-a-fire. She settled in and made Half Moon Bay and the Walrus her home. After the physical abuse she’d suffered in Texas, she’d honed her ninja skills and though tiny, she stood her ground and defended the Walrus from a trespassing, six-foot-four, muscle-bound, hulk. When Silas introduced the hunched over male, the one cradling his balls, as his son, Gunner, she about died from mortification. Things went downhill from there. What’s an ex-SEAL to do when a diminutive fireball worms her way past all the bruises she’s inflicted and into his unwilling heart?

In a world of shadows, smoke, and covert black op missions—where people vanish and living one more day is never a given—falling in love is the last thing Victoria and Jacob expected.Victoria Marshall didn't cooperate by dying in the Afghani hell-hole like the CIA expected. Defying all probability, a privately-funded black ops group led by a handsome, sexy-as-sin southerner pulled her out of the warlord's prison cell and brought her home. Even half out of her mind with pain Tori knew this man was special. She made a date with the commander to meet one year later at a restaurant of his choice. Keeping that date was the best thing she ever did.Jacob King found little physically attractive about the woman he saved from the warlord’s camp, though it was hard to see what lay under the filth and suppurating wounds she suffered from countless beatings. He admired her brave humor in the face of her agonizing injuries. This kind of tough-minded woman was someone he'd like to know as a friend. He never expected the leggy, blond bomb-shell in the red dress who showed up for their date.But then he never expected she would save his life, either. In a world of shadows, smoke, and dangerous covert missions, where people routinely vanish and living one more day was never a given, Tori and Jacob fight to build their happily ever after.Scroll up for a sexy-as-sin military romance!