Playing Dirty

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seeing Red delivers a gripping story of obsession and its deadly consequences—where nobody’s playing by the rules. After five long years in federal prison, Griff Burkett is a free man. But the disgraced quarterback can never return to life as he knew it before he was caught cheating. In a place where football is practically a religion, Griff committed a cardinal sin, and no one is forgiving. Foster Speakman, owner and CEO of SunSouth Airlines, and his wife, Laura, are a golden couple. Successful and wealthy, they lived a charmed life before fate cruelly intervened and denied them the one thing they wanted most—a child. It’s said that money can’t buy everything. But it can buy a disgraced football player fresh out of prison and out of prospects. The job Griff agrees to do for the Speakmans demands secrecy. But he soon finds himself once again in the spotlight of suspicion. An unsolved murder comes back to haunt him in the form of his nemesis, Stanley Rodarte, who has made Griff's destruction his life’s mission. While safeguarding his new enterprise, Griff must also protect those around him, especially Laura Speakman, from Rodarte’s ruthlessness. Griff stands to gain the highest payoff he could ever imagine, but cashing in on it will require him to forfeit his only chance for redemption...and love. Griff is now playing a high-stakes game, and at the final whistle, one player will be dead. Play Dirty is a wild ride, with hairpin turns all along the way. The clock is ticking down on a fallen football star, who lost everything because of the way he played the game. Now his future—his life—hinges on one last play.

"Kiki captures the heat of the streets." --Wahida Clark Essence® bestselling author Kiki Swinson keeps it coming with a gritty drama about one cunning sistah playing a very dangerous game with the law. Playing dirty is a skill that Yoshi Lomax has perfected. By bribing cops and officials, sleeping with her boss, and convincing her friend in the DEA to make evidence disappear, Yoshi has become a top criminal defense attorney. And she has the multimillion-dollar Miami pad and Aston Martin to prove it. But when she takes the case of badass Haitian mob boss Sheldon Chisholm, her usual way of doing business--by any means necessary--doesn't work. Someone has gotten to the people on her payroll and an unknown enemy is sabotaging her every move. With the list of people she can depend on dwindling, Yoshi's got to toughen up if she's going to survive. . . More praise for Kiki Swinson "Kiki Swinson is unstoppable. Whether she's writing about life in the 'hood or living the fabulous life, one thing is for sure--Kiki always delivers a sizzling read." --Crystal Lacey Winslow, Essence® bestselling author

DOWN AND DIRTY Faced with a choice between bad-boy detective Dean Ryker and sexy power player Parker Anderson, Sage Reece fought the law--and the law won. But while Ryker's sizzling touch may rule her nights, Sage's days belong to Parker's cool, calculating intensity. . . . Both Ryker and Parker are determined to protect Sage from a brutal enemy who'd use her to pay for their mistakes. Yet when the usually on-point Ryker is distracted by ghosts from his past, Parker seizes his opportunity to get Sage's attention--and keep it in ways beyond her wildest dreams. Now, caught between a mobster out for revenge and two men who were once best friends, Sage must play to win--even if it means getting dirty. . . .

Sarah Seville knows how to handle a rock star. But she's never encountered a star quite like Quentin Cox. The sexy leader of the country band the Cheatin' Hearts is full of secrets. Sarah's mission: find out everything she can before the band goes bottoms up. Convinced that the key to keeping the band together is helping Quentin win his former lover back, Sarah decides to make his ex jealous. But nights in Quentin's arms leave Sarah breathless and wondering whether she's fooling anyone but herself. She's falling hard and fast for Quentin, and is in serious danger of bringing the band-and the man-to its knees.

As an elite Alliance agent—the joint undercover operation of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and the CIA—Ford Decker lives for the adrenaline. But when he befriends sexy property manager Shay Alexander in hopes of finding her cousin, a known national security threat, Ford crosses the line, getting to know her better . . . in bed. After being burned by her last relationship, Shay wants to take things slow. Yet she can't keep her hands off the drop-dead gorgeous hottie who's moved into her apartment building. So when Ford's identity as an undercover agent is exposed, his betrayal cuts deep. Shay never wants to see him again, but Ford can't let her go, not when her life is still in danger. He will sacrifice everything to protect her, then be prepared to walk away from the only woman he's ever loved, even if it breaks him.

For the first time ever, get the complete four book Playing Dirty football series in one box set! BALLBUSTER Out of all the football stadiums in the world, why did Roxanne “The Ballbuster” Benson have to plow through mine? Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for women playing professional football. But what I’m not for is The Ballbuster waltzing onto my field, trying to take over my position as the Wildcats’ starting kicker. The woman dislocated my knee with her freaking Jeep, for chrissake, and yet all of my teammates love her! So what if Roxy’s…gorgeous and sweet and loves football more than anyone in the world? This is my team; and once I recover, she’s gonna have to get used to sitting her fine ass on the bench. It’s nothing personal. Football is a dirty sport where only the best survive. Now I just have to figure out how to survive a season without ending up with a busted heart; because despite how hard I try to avoid falling for Roxy, she keeps pulling me back into her bed. Forget her Jeep. With one look, the woman can bring me to my knees. And the worst part is, I keep going back for more. PERFECT SPIRAL I had the perfect life. Getting paid millions to play the sport I love and spending most of my nights with all the adoring female fans, what more could I possibly want? I sure as hell didn’t want the baby boy someone dropped on me before running, leaving behind a note saying he’s mine. If that’s true, then I don’t have a freakin’ clue who his mother could be. Until I get the paternity test results, though, the kid’s my responsibility. The sleepless nights with a crying baby have me crashing and burning on the football field, putting my superstar career in jeopardy. And suddenly, the only woman I want hates me with a fiery passion. I knew Callie wasn’t going to be easy to win over. Not when she blames me for her sister’s death. Oh, and if this baby turns out to be my son, Callie’s determined to take him away from me. Somehow I’ll have to find a way to prove to her that there’s more to me than my perfect spiral. DELAY OF GAME My mom is dying. The cancer is eating away at her body a little more each day, and the worst part is I know she’s so tired of fighting. She’s starting to surrender to the sickness. That’s why I stupidly blurted out at Thanksgiving that I had met a woman and was engaged. The truth is, there’s no woman in my life and never has been. I just wanted to give my mother something to live for, a few celebrations, an extravagant wedding, the possibility of grandchildren… Now I just need to find a nice girl to pretend to be my fiancée and walk down the aisle with me in a matter of weeks. Actually, that may be a piece of cake compared to trying to stay away from the one person who has managed to ignite something deep inside of me for the first time in my life. Something I can’t ignore or forget no matter how hard I try. ELIGIBLE RECEIVERS When a newly single girl like me decides to play the field, what’s better than one big, sexy, rough-and-tumble professional football player? How about two of them? Cameron and Nixon have been best friends for years, and now I’ve found myself in the middle of them. Literally. The two cocky wide receivers compete over everything – who kisses me better, who can last longer, who has the biggest…well, you get the point. At first, it’s all fun and games, until I start to fall for both of them. Hard. But I’m just not the type of girl who sleeps with two men at the same time. I would rather walk away from both rather than end up hurting one of them. The problem is, I’m pretty sure that decision is out of my hands.

J.J. Graves and her husband, Sheriff Jack Lawson, are sworn to protect and serve. But with a secret out in the open and the election all but lost, J.J. and Jack have to figure out how to work together while their marriage is torn apart. Because death doesn’t stop for anyone.

As MVP tight end for the Rough Riders, I’m used to getting what I want. When I want. If my sexy as sin looks don’t seal the deal, my larger than life bankroll does. Plus, once women see what I’m packing below the belt, they always come back for more. And I’m happy to oblige, before sending them on their satisfied way. None of that matters now. My sights are set on a Super Bowl ring—kicking ass on the field and staying focused are my only options, getting distracted is not. Then Shannon Hale shows up and suddenly I’m fumbling like a rookie over the quarterback’s sassy little sister. She’s not like other women. Wants nothing to do with me... NFL’s resident playboy. The harder she pulls, the more I push. Now the only game I want to win involves getting her in my bed, but I still have one little problem. She’s very much off limits. Good thing I’ve learned when you’re playing for keeps, sometimes you have to play dirty.