Monday, September 15, 2014

Maniac Monday

Good Morning all! It's Maniac Monday. But, instead of Mystery, let's have some Romantic Suspense? Yep, who's ready for something sexy suspenseful? 

Enjoy






Too Wilde To Tame (Wilde Series - FULL LENGTH NOVEL) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Mia Wilde has a reputation for being too wild to tame, but that doesn't mean she's going to let someone get away with distributing provocative photographs of her. She needs to find out who is threatening her before her overprotective brothers find out. For that, she's going to enlist the help of private investigator Cameron Sinclair - - the one man who seems immune to her flirtatious and outrageous personality. But Mia soon learns that appearances can be very deceiving.

The moment Cameron agrees to help, he knows he's in deep trouble. Because Mia isn't just your average bad girl. In fact, beneath that wild, untamable facade is a beautiful, too sexy woman who's been driving him crazy with desire. And if he isn't careful, the hot passion sizzling between them might just tempt him to do something he might regret. Like propose something hotter and wilder than either of them had ever imagined . .

OTHER BOOKS AVAILABLE IN THE "WILDE" SERIES:
WILDE THING (Book 1)
THE WILDE SIDE (Book 2)
TOO WILDE TO TAME (Book 3)
BORN TO BE WILDE (Book 4)
WILDE FOR HIM (Book 5)





Mohawk Moon (Mohawk Series Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Janelle hasn't been home in ten years. All of a sudden, she has to deal with her mothers death, her broken relationship with her sister, and some sexy stranger following her. She doesn't know whether to be scared, or excited. 

Damien needs to restore his family's honor. He needs Janelle to do it. There's one problem. Someone is standing in the way. He's vowed that no one will stop him from getting what's rightfully his. 

Together they must save what's left of both their families, and along the way, deal with what's going on between them. Join them on the beginning of their journey, under the Mohawk Moon. 

Follow the Saga with Mohawk Sunrise and Storm of the Mohawk. 
Dimitri's story comes out late this fall! 
You can find me at www.facebook.com/nkuhnauthor 
Enjoy







Her Sanctuary (Her - Romantic Suspense Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Running for her life, ex-FBI agent Elizabeth Ward escapes to Montana with a new identity. She craves peace and solitude, but instead finds handsome rancher, Nat Sullivan. 

Nat is trying to hold his ailing family together, while struggling to keep the ranch from bankruptcy. The last thing the cowboy needs is a beautiful stranger reminding him there is more to life than work. 

But Elizabeth isn't what she seems. And when a murderer and rapist track her down to the remote ranch, they all find out about the power of revenge. 

Revenge or Redemption. Which would you choose? 






Sweet Girl (Titan) [Kindle Edition]

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Sometimes falling in love means going through hell. 

Nicola Hart grew up under the heels of her older brother and his sexy best friend, Cash Garrison. Years of ignoring her spark with Cash has transformed their friendship into a slow burning sizzle. One night with him could ruin everything. Or it could be more than she ever dreamed. They play. They flirt. But they haven't crossed the line because too much is at stake. Family. Friendship. And the deepest kind of love that she'd have to be crazy to walk away from. 

She's his best friend's little sister. The definition of hands off. Cash has tried to ignore her for years. Those innocent eyes and her smile that screams kiss-me-if-you-dare... Instead, he's looked at every pretty little thing who's crossed his path, all to ignore the girl he seems destined to want. But when his hard partying ways get old and everyone at school is interested in Nicola, it's time to stake a claim. To make Nicola his girl, no matter the risks, and hold the hand of the one he really loves.





Winters Heat (Titan Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

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First Book in Titan Series by New York Times Bestselling Author 

After putting her life on the line to protect classified intelligence, military psychologist Mia Kensington is on a cross-country road trip from hell with an intrusive save-the-day hero. Uninterested in his white knight act, she’d rather take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who boasts an alpha complex and too many guns. 

Colby Winters, an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can’t leave behind. 

When Titan’s safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing his secret—he’s the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can’t live without.







Mistaken (The Mistaken Series Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

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The first episode of The MISTAKEN Series


a New Adult Romantic Suspense novella ~ about 100 pages


Jenna Davis has tortured herself over the death of her fiance. She's moved to a new city to escape not only the memories, but the shadow of her father, the senator. By meeting Brandon Richardson and succumbing to her desires, she takes a giant step forward in healing her grief-stricken heart. But Brandon has secrets that threaten to destroy her. 

Recommended for adult audiences. 

This is part one of a multi-part romantic suspense serial, and ends with a cliffhanger. The serial unfolds over six episodes of approximately 100 pages each. Parts one through six (the complete first season) are available now.






The Charmer (Assassins Guild Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Handsome. Charming. Devastating. 

He was the last man she needed, but the only one she wanted. 

Orlando Holt has never assassinated a woman before. The lovely, feisty Lady Lynden will be his first. She's supposed to be a vicious murderess, but when Orlando begins to have doubts, he sets out to discover the identity of the person who hired him. What he learns will turn his world upside down, and propel him headlong into love with a woman who's immune to his charms. 

Twice widowed by the age of twenty-four, Lady Susanna Lynden has had enough of charming men. Her last husband knew all the right things to say to get her to the marriage bed…then made her life miserable. Money may be scarce and her house falling down around her, but the exotic fruit from her orange trees will keep poverty away. Except someone is thwarting her at every turn. Someone who may even want her dead. 

The books in the Assassins Guild series are: 
#1 The Charmer 
#2 The Rebel 
#3 The Saint 
#4 The Sinner







Sweet Seduction Sacrifice (Sweet Seduction, Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

"I'm going to give you memories to last a lifetime, Genevieve Cain. I promise you that."

With a loser ex-boyfriend threatening her dream business, Sweet Seduction, Genevieve Cain is forced to go to a lawyer to finalise things once and for all. Gen knows she's only good for one dream in her lifetime, so when she meets senior partner, Dominic Anscombe, in the foyer of the law firm's building, she dismisses any delusional ideas her mind creates involving his very fine body. But Dominic is intrigued by Gen's run-away mouth and if there's one thing to say about Dominic Anscombe, he knows what he wants and when he finds it, he sets out to take it, claim it and possess it - completely.

Kidnappings, shootings, dream-shattering moments, hot investigators and just as hot lawyers, everything comes to a head when Genevieve sacrifices something so precious for something even more so. And it wasn't the sacrifice she thought she'd make. The sweetest of sacrifices, the most worthy offering. But can she believe Dominic has fallen as hard for her as she has for him in such a short time? And can she allow herself a second dream in her life, by letting him in?

Love at first sight has never been so dangerous and so very delicious at the same time.






Deadly Dancing (Mars Cannon Novels Book 1) [Kindle Edition]

Nook Link

Mars Cannon just wanted to get her job done, her boss off her back, and her feisty, trouble-making eighty-year-old neighbor to stop shooting at people with her paintball gun. Unfortunately, life is never that cooperative. Adding to the madness is her best friend’s wedding, making Mars feel like she has crawled her way through a marathon. 

Mars has had her eye on Evan West for several years. She knows he’s only out for one thing, and Mars doesn’t want to ruin their friendship for one night of heaven. Evan, a known flirt, has tried many times to get close to Mars, but she always slips through his fingers. When he finally decides to get serious, a mysterious man shows up and sweeps Mars from his grasp. 

When Mars meets a male exotic dancer at the bachelorette party, all decent thoughts fly out the window . . . until reality hits. And it hits hard! He has a secret and a long list of aliases. He’s not what he seems and Mars is dragged into a killer’s path. 

Now, Mars needs to outsmart two irresistible men and outrun a killer, all while pulling off a wedding without a hitch and keeping her neighbor in line. 

But perhaps she doesn’t want to outsmart the men quite yet. They are handsome, after all. 









Amazon Goodies

$0.99 Titles



Hold on tight for ten full-length books of intrigue and passion from New York Times Bestselling and award-winning authors. Men in uniform, sexy spies and pulse-pounding action fill over 750,000 words of this limited edition boxed set. 

New York Times Bestseller Katie Reus - Sensual Surrender 
RITA Award Winning Author Carolyn Crane - Against the Dark 
USA Today Bestseller Pamela Clare - Skin Deep 
New York Times Bestseller Dianna Love –Deceptive Treasures 
Dee J. Adams - Against the Wall 
USA Today Bestseller Norah Wilson – Guarding Suzannah 
USA Today Bestseller VK Sykes - Lethal Confessions 
Amber Lin – Giving It Up 
USA Today Bestseller Misty Evans – Deadly Pursuit 
New York Times Bestseller Kaylea Cross - Singed 

The individual novels cost over $35 in total and have more than 2,000 5-star reviews on Goodreads. This set is only available for one month, so grab your copy now!




"I own you. I have the piece of paper to prove it. It’s undeniable and unbreakable. You belong to me until you’ve paid off your debts.” 



Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Being the first born daughter, her life is forfeit to the first born son of the Hawks to pay for sins of ancestors past. The dark ages might have come and gone, but debts never leave. She has no choice in the matter. 



She is no longer free.



Jethro Hawk receives Nila as an inheritance present on his twenty-ninth birthday. Her life is his until she’s paid off a debt that’s centuries old. He can do what he likes with her—nothing is out of bounds—she has to obey. 



There are no rules. Only payments.




There are a million reasons why I should stay away from Vincent Cesare.


This was supposed to be temporary. I was supposed to deal for his illegal card games and get some quick cash. That was it. I wasn’t supposed to fall for him. 

Little by little, I see the monster grinning at me through the cracks in his pretty suit. He won't tell me what he does, and I'm not sure I want to know. The darkness in his eyes terrifies me. He's seduced me into his web of lies with his charm, and now I'm trapped in his life. He's taken control over me without me even realizing...or resisting. 

I'm in way over my head. 

He promised that nothing would ever happen to me. The Vittorio family wants me dead and there's only one person I can turn to. But what scares me is what I'll have to do. 

I'll need to become his. 

Author's Note: This is a dark romance novel with no cliffhangers, it contains themes of violence and mature situations that could make readers uncomfortable. SEQUEL OUT NOW!





The second installment of The MISTAKEN Series


a New Adult Romantic Suspense novella - about 100 pages


Jenna Davis thought she was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. When her world is turned upside down, she finds herself back under the control of her father, unsure of who she can trust. She's finding it difficult to learn to trust her heart when she just finds it broken over and over again. 

Recommended for adults only audiences. 

This is part two of a multi-part romantic suspense serial, and ends with a cliffhanger. Part one should be read before this novella for maximum enjoyment of the story. The series unfolds over six episodes of approximately 100 pages each. Parts one through six (the complete first season) are available now.




$2.99 Titles




Damien Hall knows what betrayal feels like. The pain and regret of shooting his own brother to protect the woman he loves, still haunts him. 
Janelle Sunderland is finally happy. She has someone to share her life with who doesn’t want to hurt her. She’s rekindled her relationship with her sister, and has a family again. 
But the Scepter hangs over them like night closing in. Can they chase away the darkness before the sun rises on their doom? 

**Please note, there is an updated version of this book now. All editing errors have been fixed.** 

Follow the Saga with Mohawk Sunrise and Storm of the Mohawk. 
Dimitri's story comes out late this fall! 
You can find me at www.facebook.com/nkuhnauthor 
Enjoy




Cole's heart is dark. 

He's a mystery, even to those closest to him in the Assassins Guild. All anyone really knows for sure is that he's ruthless, grim, and cares little for his own life. So when he loses his memory during an attack and thinks himself a naive eighteen year-old again, no one can really believe the transformation. But as his memory returns, so do the nightmares and the dark reality of who he has become. 

Lucy's world is bright. 

When gentle-natured Lucy falls in love with the damaged stranger, she thinks him a smiling, amiable gentleman. But rumors of a murder in the nearby village have her suspecting that her patient may be hiding a terrible secret. 

Can opposites really attract? 

What will happen when Cole regains his memory and his past catches up to him? 

The Rebel is the second novel in the Assassins Guild series. The books in this series do not need to be read in order, but it will enhance your reading experience if they are. 

The books in the Assassins Guild series are: 
#1 The Charmer 
#2 The Rebel 
#3 The Saint 
#4 The Sinner



The sensual romance that started with the bestseller The Lover's Secret continues...

I hope to never see you again. Last time you betrayed me, I ran away. You looked for me and found me, and I chose to forgive you. This time, your secrets hit me much worse. I don't think I can ever recover. I don't think I can ever look at you and not be reminded of them.

This time, I'll make sure you'll never find me.

After having her heart broken, Brooke tries to rebuild her life and closes herself off from the one man she loved deeply. When she meets Grayson, a photographer, she has no idea that her new boss will offer her more than she bargained for. The pay is great, her new friends more than welcoming and everything seems to be running well...until everyone insists she find herself a new suitor during a night out.

Jett knows how to play games. He is used to getting attention from everyone except the beautiful dark haired woman who doesn't like to be fooled with and doesn't trust him as far as she can spit. He wants Brooke but, more than that, he wants to own her, and the only way to get her is to make her owe him...against her will.

And what Jett owns, Jett keeps forever...

When a man's past threatens to catch up with him, can mistakes be amended or will they destroy everything he ever fought for?





They were partners once 
After an attack on the job that nearly killed her, Special Agent Celida Morales is determined to salvage her reputation in the FBI and get back to the career she loves. Domestic terrorism has left its mark on her—literally—and now she’s more determined than ever to leave her mark on it. But when a hostage situation takes an unexpected turn she’s confronted with the realization that she may not only lose the hostages, but also the only man she’s lost her heart to. 

To be together now, this time they’ll have to risk it all 
Hostage Rescue Team assault team leader Brad Tucker has always wanted Celida but professional conduct and her unwillingness to commit stood in the way. For more than a year he’s been juggling the increasing demands of his job and personal life, but after Celida was almost killed, none of those reasons matter anymore. Tuck knows it’s time to claim her and he’s ready to lay it all on the line. Then an op turns deadly and it’s a race to bring down a well-trained enemy bent on settling an old score, a man who doesn’t care how many innocent people get in his way. 





Their world was sex, love, and lies.
He intoxicated her. Commanded. Consumed.
With a dirty mind and a mouth to match, Clay Nichols is everything Julia never knew she wanted and exactly what she cannot have. He walked into her life one night and unlocked pleasure in her that she never knew was possible. Possessing her body, captivating her every thought. Which makes him way too dangerous for Julia to risk her heart, given that she has a price tag on her head. She ran after one mind-blowing week with him, but now he's back, and determined to make her his own.
No matter the cost.
She was a sexy drug to him. Fiery, unforgettable, and never enough, Julia is an enigma, and Clay isn't willing to let her go without a fight. But she's got dark secrets of her own that threaten to destroy any chance of happiness. She's a wanted woman - the stakes are high, her every move is watched, and yet the lure between them can't be denied. Can two people burned by love trust again when desire and passion are met by danger at every turn?

Please note: The reading order for the Seductive Nights series is the novella First Night, followed by the novels Night After Night, After This Night, and One More Night. The book of Night After Night includes First Night. Oh, and one more thing - spare panties are needed. This story is hot.

xoxo Lauren




Julieta’s stalker doesn’t play by the rules 

Lingerie shop owner Julieta Mederos has worked hard to get her business off the ground. Now she’s looking forward to some quality time with her friends and her big, boisterous family. But explicit texts from random phone numbers and vandalism at her shop makes it clear someone dangerous has fixated on her. Without any solid leads, the police can’t help her and she’s forced to turn to the last man she wants to depend on. 

…but neither does Ivan. 

Former Army Ranger and newest Red Stone Security employee Ivan Mitchell has gotten used to being alone in the world. He never even thinks about it anymore—until he meets sexy, independent Julieta. She’s everything he could ever want…but she seems determined to keep him at arm’s length. Until now. Maybe the cops can’t do anything to protect her, but he can. When things escalate faster than even he expected, he finds himself pulling out his most extreme combat skills to protect her. He’ll do what it takes to save her life—and prove to her she belongs in his. 

Red Stone Security Series, #9 
Author Note: Under His Protection is the ninth book in the Red Stone Security series but can be read completely as a stand-alone.




As Watts and Catherine become more entangled in a relationship marked by searing sex and imminent danger, he reveals the horrific events of his past that led to his current, dark life. Now Catherine must decide: with all that she’s been through in her life, can she risk suffering the heartache she could be forced to endure if she stays with Watts? 

Watts: 

I’ve had to do some unspeakable things in my life. Some might even consider me a bad guy. 

My secrets can get people hurt, even killed. For that reason, I’ve never let anyone get close to me. 

Until Catherine. 

Her life of isolation so closely mirrors mine that I feel inextricably bound to her. 

She’s my one shot at redemption, and I just may be hers. If the risk is too much for her, she’ll leave. If she stays, my life’s mission changes forever… 



$3.74 Title



The highly anticipated continuation of the  Cardwell Ranch Collection read by more than  2 MILLION!
Saving her once was risky. Rescuing her again may be fatal. 
When Hayes Cardwell arrived in Big Sky, Montana, for his brother's wedding, the Texas P.I. didn't expect to play hero. But ever since he saved her from a brutal abductor, he can't get McKenzie Sheldon out of his mind and heart. As passion blindsides him, Hayes vows to protect the beautiful business owner from once again becoming the target of a killer intent on finishing the job. 
McKenzie was drawn to Hayes from the moment she awoke and saw the tall, dark cowboy who'd rushed to her rescue like some Western fantasy. With his lean, sexy looks and fierce protective instincts, the gun-shy bachelor is already lassoing her heart. But can he protect her from a danger that's much closer than they think…a killer hiding in plain sight who's about to spring a final trap?



$3.99 Titles



Everything she believes is a lie.
Amelia Nettleton has struggled to overcome her childhood trauma and finally has a chance to lead a normal life—a life with a husband and a family. But a recurring nightmare haunts her: she dreams of a baby crying for its mother...a baby that may be hers, and was stolen from her.
Six years ago, special agent John Strong woke up in a hospital with no memories—but with a strong feeling that he committed terrible acts. Now, driven to atone for a history he can’t remember, he works with the FBI to locate missing children.
When Amelia turns to John for help, an intoxicatingly familiar passion ignites between them. But the closer they get, the more secrets from their dark pasts come to light...secrets that someone will kill to keep them from discovering.




A SCORCHING HOT LOVE THAT STARTED SO MANY YEARS AGO...

A SPY RUNNING FOR HER LIFE

Nicola is an injured CIA agent on the run from a failed undercover operation. Her escape plan shatters when she slams into the man who buried her a decade ago. Cash Garrison. Her first and only love. Now, sexier than her best memory and cradling a sniper's rifle, he has questions she can't answer. Why was she alive? And armed?

AND THE MAN SHE COULD NEVER SEE AGAIN

Cash is an elite member of a black ops organization, The Titan Group. He thought Nicola died his senior year of college and swore off love to focus on a decade of military missions. But when she shows up behind enemy lines, bleeding out and wielding a weapon, his heart and mind are unsure how to proceed.

BATTLE BETRAYAL TO SAVE THEMSELVES
Titan and the CIA join forces to uncover a mole hidden in a network of international terrorists and homegrown mobsters, teaming Cash and Nicola again. They fight old wounds and re-ignite sparks while closing in on a double agent. When disaster strikes, Nicola's hidden past makes her the hunted target and Cash's best kill shot may not be enough to save them.




A woman wakes in a hospital bed with no idea of who she is. Her memory is gone, her baby missing. All she has is the gripping certainty that she is in mortal danger. Then a handsome, angry stranger barges in and makes a terrible accusation. He was her lover--and her child's father--until she disappeared seven months ago.

Jake Sanders swore he'd never forgive Sarah Tucker, but he isn't about to let her get away again--especially not with his daughter still missing. If he has any chance of recovering his baby, he must help the woman who betrayed him retrieve the pieces of her shattered memory--without letting his feelings get in the way.

Haunted by troubling flashes of memory, Sarah begins to realize she's lived a life of lies. But what is the truth? And where is her baby?

SILENT RUN is the first book in a romantic suspense duo featuring two brothers. SILENT FALL is book #2 and is also available. 




RUNNING ON EMPTY, An LCR Elite Novel

The Danger Has Only Begun

Having survived a brutal childhood, Sabrina Fox believed she could handle anything. That was before she watched the love of her life die before her very eyes. Brokenhearted, her emotions on lockdown, she finds purpose and hope as an LCR Elite Operative rescuing victims from some of the most volatile places in the world.

Covert ops agent Declan Steele is used to a life of danger and deceit, but when the one person he trusted and believed in above all others sets him up, he’ll stop at nothing to make her pay. Finally rescued from his hellish prison, Declan has one priority—hunt down Sabrina Fox and exact his revenge.

Trusting no one is a lonely, perilous path. Sabrina swears she’s innocent and Declan must make a decision--trust his heart or his head. As memories of their life together returns, he realizes just how treacherous his torture had been and the target of his revenge shifts. But when Sabrina is taken, retribution is the last thing on his mind. With the assistance of Last Chance Rescue Elite, Declan races to rescue the only woman he has ever loved before it’s too late. 




$4.99 Titles




New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is certain of three truths: People don’t just vanish into thin air. Never anger old people. And don’t do what Tiki tells you to do. 
 
After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track him down. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.

The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory.



The Private Investigator's Handbook

Rule #1: Don't break the law

Rule #2: See Rule #1

...And then there's Addison Holmes, who makes up her handbook as she goes along.

Addison is licensed to carry and she means business. The only thing getting in her way is a sexy detective, a neighborhood watch from hell, a dead billionaire, a black market sperm bank, and a long lost heir.

Piece of cake...





When an eleven-year-old is abducted on her way to school, the FBI doesn’t waste a moment, sending agents to scour the area and embedding Special Agent Ava McLane with the distraught family. In the eye of the storm is local detective Mason Callahan, whose life is crumbling to pieces—he’s related to the victim, and his longtime confidential informant has just been murdered.
Both he and Agent McLane hole up in the victim’s family home. Every second counts in a kidnapping case, and the stakes keep rising the longer the girl is missing. As Ava and Mason struggle to hold the family together in their darkest hour, the two investigators find themselves drawn to each other.



$5.99 Title



The first time it happened, it seemed like an impossible miracle. Bills were piling up, adding up to more money than I could ever make. Mom's hospital bills. My baby brother's tuition. My tuition. Rent. Electricity. All of it on my shoulders. And I had just lost my job. There was no hope, no money in my account, no work to be found. And then, just when I thought all hope was lost, I found an envelope in the mail. No return address. My name on the front, my address. Inside was a check, made out to me, in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Enough to pay the bills and leave me some left over to live on until I found a job. Enough to let me focus on classes. There was no name on the check, just "VRI Inc.," and a post office box address for somewhere in the city. No hint of identity or reason for the check or anything. No mention of repayment, interest, nothing…except a single word, on the notes line: "You." Just those three letters.

If you receive a mysterious check, for enough money to erase all your worries, would you cash it?

I did.

The next month, I received another check, again from VRI Incorporated. It too contained a single word: "belong."

A third check, the next month. This time, two words. Four letters. "To me."

The checks kept coming. The notes stopped. Ten thousand dollars, every month. A girl gets used to that, real quick. It let me pay the bills without going into debt. Let me keep my baby brother in school and Mom's hospice care paid for. How do you turn down what seems like free money, when you're desperate? You don't. I didn't.

And then, after a year, there was a knock on my door. A sleek black limousine sat on the curb in front of my house. A driver stood in front of me, and he spoke six words: "It's time to pay your debt."

Would you have gotten in?

I did.

It turns out $120,000 doesn't come free.

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