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      To everyone who chooses tolerance and love over hate and fear.

      About the Author

      Ever since she was a little girl making her own books out of construction paper, ANN VOSS PETERSON wanted to write. So when it came time to choose a major at the University of Wisconsin, creative writing was her only choice. Of course, writing wasn’t a practical choice—one needs to earn a living. So Ann found jobs, including proofreading legal transcripts, working with quarter horses and washing windows. But no matter how she earned her paycheck, she continued to write the type of stories that captured her heart and imagination—romantic suspense. Ann lives near Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband, her two young sons, her border collie and her quarter horse mare. Ann loves to hear from readers. Email her at [email protected] or visit her website at www.annvosspeterson.com.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Efraim Aziz—A sheik from the small island nation of Nadar, Efraim doesn’t trust the United States or anyone in it. That is, until he meets Callie McGuire.

      Callie McGuire—An assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Callie dreams of finding a man who accepts both sides of her—the world-traveling diplomat and the all-American girl who grew up on a Wyoming ranch.

      Fahad Bahir—The man would go to great lengths to protect his cousin, Sheik Efraim, and the interests of his beloved country of Nadar.

      Clay McGuire—Callie’s father wants her to settle down, but a sheik isn’t the man he would choose for his only daughter. How far will he go to prevent the match?

      Brent McGuire—Callie’s older brother is a hothead with anger issues. How far would he go to protect his sister from the man he sees as a threat?

      Russ McGuire—Little brother Russ likes to follow Brent’s lead in all things except women. There he is in a league of his own. But this time, has a woman led him astray?

      Timmy McGuire—The youngest McGuire sibling is only in high school, and when he’s attacked, the whole family rushes to his aid.

      Kateb Bahir—Kateb competes with his older brother in all things. Did sibling rivalry finally turn to violence?

      Tanya Driscoll—Does the party girl simply want a good time? Or is she after something more serious…and deadly?

      Contents

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Chapter Thirteen

      Chapter Fourteen

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter One

      The place felt like death.

      Efraim Aziz lowered his rein hand and let his horse pick his own path through the acres-wide gash of eroded red-and-beige rock. Wind whistled through the formations and battered his face, incessant and strong. A few sticks of sagebrush twisted through kinks in the rock to stretch their silver-green leaves to the sky, the only living thing for what looked like miles. These badlands, the high plains, the mountain ranges to the west and north—it was a harsh landscape populated by hard, arrogant people. And somewhere in this hell Amir Khalid was struggling, dying…if he wasn’t already dead.

      Efraim had to find his friend.

      “Sheik Efraim! Wait!”

      He recognized the voice immediately, its sound shivering over his skin like the warm breath of a lover. He knew someone would come looking for him, but he’d never guessed it would be her.

      He glanced over his shoulder.

      She rode toward him through the badlands astride a palomino quarter horse. Her long blond hair glimmered in the Wyoming sun like the golden beaches of his island nation of Nadar.

      Efraim tried his best to ignore the spike in his blood pressure, the acceleration of his pulse.

      He didn’t even know her, this Callie McGuire. They’d engaged in a few polite discussions when he’d arrived in America, and only glances in the stressful days since. But whenever she was near, he had a hard time keeping his eyes off her. It was as if she was the only person in the room. Magnetic. And as hot as the sun itself.

      Whoever sent her to collect him was shrewd, indeed.

      “Sheik Efraim. Please.”

      He scooped in a deep breath of hot horse and leather and braced himself before turning his mount back to face her.

      She’d come to talk him into going back, holing up like a coward. And even though he didn’t intend to follow her advice, he knew he would listen to her every word with the attentiveness of a teenage boy enslaved to his hormones. Embarrassing for the leader of a country. Shameful.

      She came to a halt in front of him, but her eyes darted around, taking in the sagebrush, the crumbled rock outcroppings, the mountains on the horizon. “Where’s your security?”

      He thought of his cousin Fahad and the men who worked under him. “At the Wind River Ranch.”

      “You’re out here without protection?”

      “Who sent you after me? Fahad?”

      “I like to

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