The Lair - Paperback

She Confronted Her Demon - and He Wanted Her Back.

After her playboy father dies in a racing boat mishap, innkeeper Daniela Dunn must travel from Northern California back to Verona, Italy and her childhood home, an estate called the Panther's Lair. To say she's reluctant to go is an understatement.

In fact, she's petrified.

The mansion she grew up in holds terrifying memories and deeply buried secrets. It's a place where appearances are deceiving and the price of honesty could be death.

Complicating matters is the fact that her flirtatious friend, Detective Gabe de la Torre, is tagging along--without being asked. "I don't need a babysitter," she complains, and is even more upset when she learns Gabe has his own secret reason for following her to Italy. As Dani is drawn into her family's intrigues, Gabe proves he's much more than a friend, however. He's a sworn protector who may lose his own life in the process of saving hers.

Gabe de la Torre needs to settle old family debts before starting fresh with the woman he feels could be The One. But when a mystery woman reveals that Dani's father may have been murdered, the stakes rise dramatically and Gabe realizes they're now players in a treacherous game. Keeping Dani safe becomes his top priority, even as Dani strives to figure out whom she can trust: her relatives, Gabe, or even herself.

The Lair is Book Two of Michaels' contemporary series "Sinner's Grove Suspense." The series follows the descendants of characters introduced in Michaels' historical fiction series "The Golden City."

The Golden City: The Art of Love, The Depth of Beauty, The Promise, The Price of Compassion and Josephine's Daughter.

Sinner's Grove Suspense: Sinner's Grove, The Lair and The Jade Hunters.

All titles in this series are stand-alone reads.

For more information, please visit abmichaels.com.