Hard as It Gets

In the first of a new series set in a tattoo parlor, bestseller Kaye (One Night with a Hero) introduces the last remaining members of a disgraced Special Forces unit. When Becca Merritt’s brother, Charlie, goes missing, she begs assistance from Nick Rixey, the sexy but forbidding part-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, who once reported to her father in the Special Forces. Becca doesn’t know that her father, now deceased, led Nick and his group into a messy battle that left all but five dead. Touched by her courage and dogged by his conscience, Nick reluctantly agrees to help the attractive Becca, and their mutual suspicion soon turns into sizzling romance. Nick summons his former teammates as backup, and future books will clearly follow the fortunes of these men as they try to clear their names. The intriguing tattoo parlor and military background will appeal to fans of Suzanne Brockmann and Lindsay McKenna. Agent: Jennifer Schober, Spencerhill Associates. (Dec.)