Headlines & Deadlines — Amanda M. Lee

Avery Shaw is back on the story, and she's better â€" or maybe more bitter â€" than ever. After a brief (but not brief enough, by her estimation) sojourn into sports, Avery finds herself back in the news department. She's got one thing on her mind: bringing perennial nemesis Tad Ludington to his knees. Unfortunately for her, another story pops up, and Avery has to divide her limited attention span to accomplish multiple goals. When a local woman goes missing and is later found dead, Avery finds a tangled web of sex, lies and … well … just overall freaky people to focus on. One man is identified by witnesses, but another may be guilty: the woman's husband. When Avery starts investigating, she finds the husband is involved in an underground scene that involves bondage-and-submission sex clubs â€" something that goes against one intrepid reporter's very nature. Avery convinces Eliot to take her to a club, and the new world is full of mystery, danger, and a lot of baby oil. Between hiding a source, grappling with her family, and an imminent Valentine's Day that has her stomach in knots, Avery has her hands full. When things come to a head, Avery's life is in danger. Again. Can Eliot and Jake keep her safe? And can Eliot manage to keep his surprise holiday plans under wraps and really give Avery something to remember when the big day finally arrives? Only time will tell, and Avery may be running out of it.