Belinda Star is a highly decorated veteran of the United States Army. Her military background has created a woman adept in the art of battle, but even her specialized training and battlefield experiences could not prepare her to deal with the crimes committed by her own family. Crimes that not only were committed against the American public, but also against Belinda herself. In the midst of familial tension, Belinda must travel from Germany, where she lives with her active duty husband, back to the United States--back to a place and a family she left long ago. She knows that her mother has, once again, found herself in trouble with the law, but it is not until Belinda arrives that she realizes the extent of her mother's crimes and the secrets she has concealed. Despite the poor treatment Belinda has endured throughout her life at the hands of her own family, she finds herself alone in her efforts to save them from the debt they have created and the legal infractions they have committed. Violence. Alcoholism. Theft. Impersonation. The list of problems within Belinda's family is long, yet she remains steadfast in her commitment to them. Even when Belinda is the only family member who has surfaced to help, her family continues their lies and betrayal, causing Belinda to question her own pledges of allegiance to them time and time again. Belinda must remain the stoic and steadfast soldier she has always been to pull back the layers and layers of deceit and mystery her family has created over several decades. As Belinda uncovers the family secrets her mother will do anything to conceal, she begins to discover even more about her heritage and, consequently, even more about herself. Through her diligence and skill, Belinda not only finds a way to right the wrongs her family has committed, but she also learns a great deal about the true meaning of a daughter's duty.

This is the story of a pimp, Shame, the women he uses and abuses and how he recruited and maintained them on the street. First the street is revealed through Shame's mother, Latisa, as she works for different pimps, including a pimp/gambler who uses her to entice customers with live sex shows until they crossed organized crime. Shame has many run-ins with the law as a juvenile, but escapes detention while attending his mother's funeral. He falls in love, but is rejected when his lover finds out how old he is. As an adult, he encounters a couple of seasoned prostitutes. He convinces them to make him the kind of pimp they want. He quickly develops into a pimp like the rest of the vultures on the street. In the course of his initiation, a gangster pimp forcibly takes one of his women. Her wife-in-law attempts to rescue her. Shame moves on, recruiting young victims and learning from other pimps the ins and outs of the street. He meets a young woman and against the unwritten rules of the street falls in love. Fighting against his feelings he cons her into believing he's in trouble to get her into prostitution. When she finds out he is a pimp, she turns on him. She is kidnapped and drugged into submission. She tries to escape, but is found dead of a drug overdose. A policewoman who grew up with the drug victim conducts her own investigation. She goes undercover as a prostitute and another of Shame's women dies in a suspicious manner. She joins forces with a D.C. vice detective and they obtain enough evidence to get Shame arrested. The very dramatic trial does not turn out the way they expected and the victims of Shame decide to get their own justice.

A Texas lawman will move heaven and earth to keep his former lover and their infant daughter safe A shoot-out on the banks of Appaloosa Creek is the last place marshal Chase Crockett expects to find his ex-lover. Former criminal informant April Landis is supposed to be in WITSEC awaiting the birth of their child. But the desperate woman caught in the cross fire isn't pregnant. Telling Chase he was a father—two months early—wasn't an option with murderous thugs targeting April and their infant daughter. Despite the violence that divides them, her only prayer is to trust the Texas lawman sworn to protect his family. Until desire ambushes them again, leaving April and Chase at the mercy of a past with no promise of a future.