*** Ansel Adams, or Ance as those he knows tend to call him, is a bad man though he didn't consider that to be his fault. His father had been a bad man, his grandfather had been a bad man--hell as far as Ance knew he came from a long line of men were just a bitten rotten down at their core. Everyone that knew Ance knew he was a man who would never change, never give up his lifestyle, never settle down....Until Penelope Reynolds came sobbing into his life. Ance hadn't given much thought to offering this rich man protection as he took a load of stolen goods to market until he realized that the banging sound coming from the crate was a tiny little blond with pigtails, freckles and a bad leg. Suddenly he's struck with a choice. Save the girl and return her to her family or simply let life do what life does and chalk it up to bad luck for little Penelope--in the past the latter choice would have been easy, but not now. *** Audrey Reynolds had never been so afraid in her life. Her daughter has been stolen. Her daughter is all she has left in the world since the murder of her husband five years earlier. Desperate to find Penelope, Audrey enlists the help of U.S. Marshall Rodger York who also happens to be the man who's been trying to marry her since the day after her husband had been placed under the ground. They embark on a journey to find Penelope and Rodger has vowed to kill whoever took the girl away. But things go wrong and Audrey learns that the very man she went to for help might be the man responsible for every bad thing that's happened in the last five years...... Will Audrey find a way to survive but more importantly will she ever see her daughter alive again?

THEN: At age thirteen Logan Stanfield already knew about bad timing-- his parents got divorced, he moved to a new town, and was forced to start his life over again from scratch. But when he walked into the classroom that first day and laid eyes on Maisy Jacobs, he immediately fell under her spell. But their's was a story of missed opportunities and bad timing, that is until... NOW: Maisy Jacobs never thought she'd be stepping foot back in her old home town, she left it all behind for a reason, and she certainly never expected to see Logan Stanfield again. She still remembered that night that they kissed; it was the night that changed everything forever. But that was then...

Lyra knew that one day she would be set into an arranged marriage like a chess piece. She had been preparing for it her whole life, and she was almost alright with her fate. But she never thought that her father would choose the man that he did. That decision changed everything. The King of Whales is ruthless, more than twice her age and surrounded by tainted gold and loads of unsavory rumors. There have been many wives of his before Lyra, with no explanations to the untimely deaths of the previous five. With each dead Queen came more money from their kingdoms, straight into the King's portly lap. Disguised as a young man, Lyra runs from her duty as the only Princess of Nordic. She cuts her hair, takes her steed and disappears into the night with her father's men hot on her heels. Enter Kaladin's team. Occupation: Mercenaries. Lyra uses skills taught to her by a close, childhood friend and plays herself into the trust of the dangerous strangers until they accept her, or rather, "Navani", into their group. What will happen to her once they see through her web of lies and tricks? Will Lyra give herself up as Princess when she is reunited with her long-lost friend, or will she carry on as a boy with the mercenaries? Follow Lyra to see what she will do when she comes to realize that things have gotten far too big for her to handle on her own. There are assassin's out for her head, king's thirsting for her blood, and an underground network of people who live for her ruin. But there is also an unlikely Prince to defend her, who has some tricks of his own to rely on. The Princess soon sees that she is not nearly as alone as she may have once thought. What will Lyra do when she comes to terms with her destiny? Will she face it this time with her new friends, or will she chose to run away again? Cover made by @-rebellixus-

"It is your choice," he said, stepping so close to me that our lips were almost touching. "Either do what I say - or get another job." My heart stood still as I gazed up into his deep, dark, dangerous eyes... In a world where women's only role in life is to sit at home and look pretty, Lilly is determined to fight for her freedom. There's only one problem: a powerful man blocking her way.