New York Times Bestselling Author

Protecting Bree

Jan 6, 2026

It wasn’t easy to escape the first time. She might not be so lucky a second.

Bree Haynes never imagined herself a stalker. But how else could she know if the man who’d saved her in Vegas was someone she could truly trust? Now, after following him and his friends for months—and inadvertently getting involved in their lives not once, but twice—Bree is exhausted…and ready to ask for Smiley’s help. Because the man hunting for her, Mateo Castillo, the sex trafficker who’d bought her from her ex in Vegas, wants his “property.” And it seems he’ll stop at nothing to get it.

Jude “Smiley” Stark never imagined himself the obsessive type. But there’s no denying he’s been infatuated with Bree from the moment they met in Vegas, and the feeling’s only grown with every month he’s failed to find her. When he discovers she’s been right under his nose for months, he vows not to let the woman out of his sight again until she’s safe, once and for all. Problem is, even after he deals with Castillo, Smiley knows he’ll never want her to leave. He wants what his friends have…and he found it the first time he laid eyes on Bree.

But her enemy isn’t so easily dispatched. In fact, Smiley, his teammates, Tex…they’ll all be shocked to learn just how resilient the man’s turned out to be. Because Castillo hasn’t just come for Bree…

He’s also come to retrieve property stolen from him years ago…by another SEAL team.