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Everyone in the Crawford family has something to hide, but unearthing secrets could prove fatal.

Blair Crawford doesn’t know why she accepted her grandfather’s invitation to visit. She hasn’t seen or heard from him in seventeen years, but after her mother’s untimely death, her father’s family is all the family she has left.

Her mother fled the Crawfords without explanation.
Blair is about to learn why.
***
Gideon Rivers is a weapon disguised as a man. With a past that torments him every day, former special op, Gideon Rivers, lives on the edge, taking chances a normal person would run from. The adrenaline rush is the only thing that makes him feel alive.

He works for a specialized covert group buried deep within the government. His new assignment:
Infiltrate the Crawford family.
Expose their crimes.
Don’t get killed

Then Blair walks into the middle of his operation looking all…all… She’s throwing a wrench into his plan. She doesn’t fit in with her wealthy family, and Gideon is afraid she’s walked into a pit of vipers.

When Gideon realizes someone wants her dead, his mission changes:
Protect Blair

Chapter One
Sixteen Years Earlier
Gideon

“A little worried?”
I glanced across the seat at my father.
“You were frowning,” he explained.
I relaxed my expression. “Maybe.” I chuckled. “Or a lot.”
“You’ve worked hard. They’re not going to turn you down.”
“I hope not.” He just couldn’t shake the premonition that something was going to happen and the football scholarship would get sucked down the drain.
“Gideon’s going to be the coolest football star,” Pax said from the back seat of the car.
Gideon grinned at his younger brother’s words. He only hoped Pax was right. This was what he’d been working toward his whole life, but he wasn’t about to jinx it now. “Maybe, maybe not. The scouts only want to set up a meeting.”
“And Gideon’s going to have lots of girlfriends,” Pax snickered as he continued.
“What do you know about girlfriends?” Mom asked. She sat next to Pax in the back seat. “You’re much too young to be thinking about girls.”
“I’m thirteen! And I know that Christy Parks and Angela Gaines are always calling Gideon. They’re in love with him.” Pax exaggerated the love part before he burst out laughing.
“I’m afraid Gideon won’t have time for girls. Playing football in college is twice as hard as high school,” Dad told Pax.
Gideon looked across the front seat and smiled at his father. If his parents hadn’t encouraged him to reach for the stars, he wouldn’t be looking at all his dreams about to come true. They’d taught him hard work paid off, and it looked as though they’d been right.
Gideon had his future all mapped out. First college, then the pros. His parents had always given their kids every chance to make a better life. He wouldn’t forget all they’d given up.
Even taking everyone out for burgers tonight had been a big deal and cost a small fortune. Not just the four of them, but Uncle Jeff and Aunt Beth had brought their car, along with Gideon's other three siblings. Tonight, his mom and dad had said, we’re celebrating, and we don’t care what it costs.
Yeah, his parents were pretty cool. “Hey, Dad…”
The air suddenly exploded with a deafening boom as something struck the car. The ominous sound tore through the air. Gideon bounced off the door, trying to grab on to something, but the car spun wildly out of control.
His seatbelt stretched tight across his chest, a deep, burning pain that left him gasping for breath.
The car tilted, rolling over and over before coming to a jarring stop at the bottom of a ravine. Gideon’s head hit the door, and everything went black.
He couldn’t say how much time passed. Seconds or minutes. A loud, angry buzzing vibrated in the air, a sound that thrummed against his eardrums and refused to cease. Gideon shook his head in an attempt to make it go away. As soon as he moved, pain shot through his body. He groaned, dragging his eyes open. Eerie shadows danced around him. He blinked, trying to clear his vision.
Where was he? What happened?
Someone pounded on his door. He turned enough so he could see who was making that godawful noise. Uncle Jeff? Aunt Beth? Was he dreaming? Tears streamed down his aunt’s face, and she was screaming. Uncle Jeff looked scared as hell. Their words sounded like gibberish. What were they saying? Too much noise outside.
“Son,” his father’s voice cracked.
He looked back across the seat. Each small movement caused him to wince, the ache throbbing down to his toes. He drew in a shuddering breath and glanced toward his dad.
A deep gash on his father’s head poured blood, painting the side of his face crimson red. Gideon froze. His blood ran cold as he tried to process everything, but it was all a blur.
“Dad? What’s happening?” His words slurred. It was an effort just to speak. Panic rose inside him, threatening to swallow him. His world had shifted, and suddenly, nothing made sense.
“Car wreck.” His eyes closed, then fluttered open as though he forced himself to say what needed to be said. His father’s voice splintered with the effort it took for him to talk. "Take care of them." Each syllable was heavy with emotion. “You’re in charge now.”
Fear washed over him as the enormity of his father’s words hit him. “No! I can’t be in charge. Dad! Dad! Please don’t leave us,” his voice cracked. The little boy Gideon used to be rose inside him. Back when his dad would take his hand as they walked across a busy intersection. “Oh God, I need you. We all need you.”
Damn, he couldn’t… He closed his eyes and drew in a painful breath. Gideon’s gaze moved to his father again, instinctively knowing his dad had little time left.
“I’ll take care of everyone,” he whispered, words thick with anguish. “Don’t worry, Daddy.” His words hitched, catching in his throat. “You’ve been a good father. Sleep now. Everything will be okay. I’ll take care of everyone.” He watched until his father took his last breath, tears rolling down Gideon’s face.
Someone pried his door open with a loud pop. The paramedics moved him from the car, and with a silent plea, he reached for his father, understanding the end was near, yet desperately wanting that final bond.
His arm fell limply to the stretcher as his gaze moved to the backseat of the car.
“Mom?” Icy fear swept over Gideon in waves. Where was his mother? “Mom! Pax!” Where was his younger brother?
“The paramedics will take care of them. Uncle Jeff and I are here,” Aunt Beth said. “We’ll always be here.”
Dad told Gideon that he was in charge. Where were his brothers and his sister? “The kids!” Anxiety rose in his voice. “Where are the kids?”
“They’re okay. Pax was in the car with you and your parents. The others were with us in my car. We’re all okay.” Uncle Jeff squeezed his hand.
“Pax?” His voice broke.
“He’s…breathing.”
Oh God, this wasn’t happening. No! No! No!
Gideon forced himself to stay awake. He had to find out if they’d be okay. They raised the stretcher and began wheeling him away. Pain wracked his entire body with every movement.
“Will they be alright?” he mumbled.
Someone needed to tell him something…anything.
Before they spoke, Gideon closed his eyes, and the world dissolved into a velvety darkness, punctuated only by the faintest sounds.
***
One year later:
Gideon stood at the window, back straight, shoulders squared. A year ago, his world shattered like a glass plate dropped on a tiled floor, the shards of his life still scattered around him, sharp and cold to the touch, uncollected. He doubted anything could put his life back together.
Every morning, he woke up knowing something wasn’t quite right in his life. For a brief few seconds, he waited to hear Mom and Dad moving around in the other room as they put breakfast on the table. Then he’d remember, and the pain would return in waves. He would never hear his parents in the kitchen again.
His mom was killed almost instantly. His father lingered only long enough to pass the reins over to Gideon. Pax’s legs were crushed when the front seat slammed into them. They would eventually heal, but therapy cost a lot of money.
A hollow ache resonated deep in his chest. He wasn’t sure the numbness would ever lift. Could he make his life whole again? It wasn’t for lack of trying, but everything he did became robotic. He was only going through the motions of living.
“You don’t have to do this, Gideon,” Aunt Beth pleaded. “There has to be another way. You’re only eighteen. What about college and football?”
He drew in a slow, steadying breath before he turned and faced her. “It’s what I want to do now that I’ve graduated high school.”
Even with scholarships and working, he wouldn’t make enough to take care of everyone. Pax needed more physical therapy. Vince was eleven and Holly only seven. They needed braces. Brody was sixteen and had taken an after-school job. High school should be his brother’s time to have fun, go to parties, raise a little hell. He shouldn’t have had to grow up so fast, even though he never complained.
Aunt Beth became the rock he leaned on. Still, he worried she took on too much. “Will you be okay taking care of the younger ones?”
A smile softened her face. “Of course I will. You kids have always been like my own since Jeff and I weren’t able to have any.” Her words caught in her throat. She pressed her lips together, then nodded, taking a deep breath before she continued. “I haven’t been as lonely with them around.”
Gideon studied his aunt. He supposed she had a point. Uncle Jeff had a heart attack a few months after the wreck. No one suspected he even had a bad heart. The doctor said it was the shock of the car wreck. He couldn’t get over everything that had happened. It kept preying on his mind.
How did a single night change their lives so much? No, Gideon promised himself, he wouldn’t dwell on the past anymore. If he did, he’d break down. His father’s last words were to tell him that he was the man of the house now, and to take care of everyone.
Gideon closed his eyes tight, but he couldn’t block out the memories. His father drifted out of this world knowing someone else was in charge. Gideon made a promise before he left the hospital not to let his dad down.
“I’ve set up an allotment so that you and the kids will be taken care of. Since they’re listed as my dependents now, they’ll have access to medical if anything happens to one of them.” He smiled, the first one in a long time. “Knowing Pax, he probably will.”
Aunt Beth chuckled. “He’s definitely a handful.”
Except they both knew he’d grown quieter with the passing of their parents and Uncle Jeff. Pax had been in the car that night. He’d drawn the lucky straw, or so he’d thought.
Gideon frowned. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m deserting you and the others.”
She shook her head, her smile sad. “No, it’s not in your nature. But I think you lost yourself that night. Joining the military might be for the best. Maybe there you can discover who you are. At some point, you’re going to have to forgive yourself.”
Forgive himself? Easier said than done. Words didn’t stop the guilt from swirling around him. He was afraid nothing ever would. The weight of the world had come crashing down on his shoulders in the space of a few hours the night he’d lost his parents, and almost lost his little brother.
Gideon had been the one driving.
No, he didn’t think he’d ever come to terms with what happened.