His sister was missing. That was the only thing Ortiz has been thinking about since he got the call in the middle of the night. Following the trail of clues leads him to his ex, Mia. Even more startling than knowing his sister has been hanging out with his ex, is seeing a little boy that is his spitting image. To say Mia is shocked when her ex Hector, knocked on her door asking about his sister was an understatement. When he cheated on her, she left him thinking she would never see him again. But now that he’s back and knows about his son, he has no intention of leaving. She tells herself she can allow him to see his son but remain emotionally detached. As the days pass and she sees the connection her son and Ortiz have she sees that things are anything but simple and the things they thought that tore them apart were not what they seemed. Can they give themselves another chance or with their past keep them apart?

An Invitation to Community and Models for Connection After almost every presentation activist and writer Mia Birdsong gives to executives, think tanks, and policy makers, one of those leaders quietly confesses how much they long for the profound community she describes. They have family, friends, and colleagues, yet they still feel like they're standing alone. They're "winning" at the American Dream, but they're lonely, disconnected, and unsatisfied. It seems counterintuitive that living the "good life"--the well-paying job, the nuclear family, the upward mobility--can make us feel isolated and unhappy. But in a divided America, where only a quarter of us know our neighbors and everyone is either a winner or a loser, we've forgotten the key element that helped us make progress in the first place: community. In this provocative, groundbreaking work, Mia Birdsong shows that what separates us isn't only the ever-present injustices built around race, class, gender, values, and beliefs, but also our denial of our interdependence and need for belonging. In response to the fear and discomfort we feel, we've built walls, and instead of leaning on each other, we find ourselves leaning on concrete. Through research, interviews, and stories of lived experience, How We Show Up returns us to our inherent connectedness where we find strength, safety, and support in vulnerability and generosity, in asking for help, and in being accountable. Showing up--literally and figuratively--points us toward the promise of our collective vitality and leads us to the liberated well-being we all want.

BOOKS 1-3 OF THE CRIMSON POINT PROTECTORS SERIES: FALLING HARD Danger is closing in. And the killer is closer than they realize. CORNERED She wants answers—and justice. Their search for the truth could get them killed. SUDDEN IMPACT She won’t let him in. He can’t let her go.

This duet includes The Girl Next Door and The Boy Next Door (bonus epilogues included). The Girl Next Door Mia Stanbury is the quintessential girl next door. Smart, beautiful, and determined. She’s got it all going on. Is it any wonder that she’s been on my radar for as long as I can remember? We’re talking middle school, folks. Fine, I’ll admit that I’ve made a few boneheaded mistakes as far as she’s concerned, but what can I say? I’m a dude. Sometimes I think with the wrong head. We’ll just chalk it up to one of the hazards of having a Y chromosome and leave it at that. But I’m older now. More mature. Sort of. Mia has spent all of high school and college keeping me at a distance. If she didn’t melt in my arms every time I put my hands on her, I’d almost think she was immune to my charms. Turns out that’s not the case. This is our last year at Wesley before we go our separate ways. Me to the NFL, her to law school. It’s now or never. I’m done playing games and allowing her to push me away. The Boy Next Door I’ve spent more years than I care to admit crushing hard on Colton Montgomery. The blond, blue-eyed hottie leaves a trail of broken hearts in his wake wherever he goes. Mine being one of them. Just when I’d decided to cut my losses and move on, he appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. It had all seemed like a fairytale until he dumped me. Through text message. Ouch. Eighteen months and one study abroad program later, I’ve returned to Wesley University to finish out my senior year. And Colton? He’s nothing more than a regrettable mistake I’d prefer to forget. Or so I tell myself. It only takes one run-in to realize that my feelings for him aren’t as dead and buried as I’d thought. Nope, they’re still there, simmering dangerously beneath the surface. He wants a second chance to make things right. That’s not going to happen. But Colton has other ideas. And part of me is afraid that if he actually puts his mind to it, he’ll end up changing mine.

Felicity Ramsey felt the unknown hunter closing in. She didn’t know who he was, whose orders he followed. She didn’t know if that man was the mastermind of the hunt for a dead woman that neither man had any reason to believe still lived. The computer programs she had designed offered no answers. Only her lethally honed instincts told her that all that she had created was at risk. Skye Farm and Skye/Sea existed in the sunlight, not in her shadow world. They and those who called both home and haven must be protected. It was time to go hunting but first, she had to deal with the twenty trainees who had come to the Farm for specialized instruction in covert ops, tactics, and weapons. Her classes were expensive and the screening of those who wished to attend was stringent. She had no desire to burp baby terrorists. One trainee, Mia, caught her eye. The two-week course proved that the young woman was worth the extra training Felicity had offered. A routine monitoring of outside contacts of the trainees and the mention of a name from the past gave Felicity the lead she sought to the hunter she sensed. The hunter had a name. Ace Faulkner. The man who gave the orders raised a red flag. Chasing a dead woman made no sense. What was hiding in the shadows? More importantly. Who? Felicity knew it was time to hunt. The safety of Skye Farm and the world she had created was at stake. Ace had no leads on the dead woman he sought. The assignment made no sense and the man who had given it to him was not someone he respected. He was chasing shadows. A message was ordered to be sent to Ace in the form of a savage beating of Mia, his one-time lover. Felicity arrived too late to stop the attack but not too late to kill the four-man team. A sound at the front door. Gun drawn, she turned, ready to protect, to kill. Ace came in fast, his gun ready. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand,” he demanded, his eyes on Mia’s battered body. Four other bodies decorated his living room floor. There was blood everywhere. “Mia needs help.” He had a choice. He could believe she was there to help or she had been a party to the beating. The four dead bodies made the first choice the most likely explanation. “You first.” He nodded toward her gun. Felicity didn’t hesitate. She tucked the Beretta in the holster at the small of her back. If she had to, she could kill him later if necessary.

A FUTURE KING. A FORBIDDEN ROMANCE. A CENTURY-OLD SECRET. WHAT A ROYAL FAMILY IS ABOUT TO FIND OUT MAY DESTROY THEIR MONARCHY AND EVERYONE THAT STANDS IN THE WAY. The royal staff are off-limits. It was a simple rule, but when Mia Edgewater walked into Prince Christian’s office to interview for a position as his assistant, that rule was all but forgotten. The two fell madly in love until the palace sent away all the staff following a security breach. Angry, but resigned to follow palace orders, Mia left. That was two long weeks ago. Mia hasn’t responded to a single text or call. Prince Christian decides to take matters into his own hands and show up at Mia’s family home. He’s determined to talk her into giving him second chance. Only when he does, she isn’t there. As Prince Christian starts to look for Mia, he doesn’t know he’s about to find a threat greater than any his family has faced. He’s about to unravel a mystery so dark, so insidious that he may soon question who he can trust. And at the heart of this secret, is Mia. Can he find her before it's too late? Can he even trust her when he does? Or will a hidden enemy kill his one true love and his chance at becoming king?

When Jules and Gypsy find themselves at a crossroad in their respective lives, synchronicity begins to develop. An old premonition and a gypsy reading draws Jules into a relationship she could never have imagined, while Gypsy uses the opportunity to take on a dream she had not thought possible – to leave her life behind even at a tremendous risk to her life. Both had a lot to lose, but as it turns out, much more to gain. Although they hail from two very different backgrounds, both economically and socially, there is a tie that binds them together; womanhood and all it entails. While on a quest and while travelling to distant lands, they discover a friendship neither fathomed. An alliance forms, despite the odds. Their commonalities surface above all else as they bond, laugh, cry and discover the answers to questions they had not thought of asking. From the east coast of the USA, to Iraq, Turkey, England and Jordan, the whirlwind of adventure, fun and heartbreak never stop.