Stowaway — Becky Barker

He's handsome, hot, hunted and hurt...a plea for help from this detective is one her heart can't refuse.

Keri Merritt desperately needs her long-overdue vacation, preferably as far as she can get from anyone with a badge. It's not that she doesn't respect those modern knights, but between her job as a trauma nurse and her overprotective law enforcement family, she's overrun. When she finds something in the back of her truck she definitely didn't pack, all hope of a peaceful break from reality burns away in the heat of a dark, fevered gaze. Behind those chocolate eyes lies everything she wants to avoid.

Nick Lamanto is in trouble. He's tracked the mastermind of a gunrunning operation from Florida to Tennessee, only to wind up with an attempted murder warrant hanging over his head, a bullet in his arm and no one he can trust. Except the sheriff's petite, strong-willed daughter, whose jittery finger is on the trigger of the .45 pointed between his eyes. Lucky for Nick, Keri's healing instinct kicks in. And so does a powerful attraction sharper than the needle with which she stitches him. As the threads of his investigation connect with unanswered questions about Keri's past, keeping her safe matters more to him than his next breath. Even if it's his last...

Warning: If you have a weakness for dark-haired, dark-eyed law enforcement officers with strong protective instincts, prepare to lose your heart.