**HE WAS THE MAN SHE COULDN'T HAVE . . .
**
On a humanitarian mission to fly doctors to a remote village in Mexico, pilot Lisa Merrick discovers something sinister lurking behind the organization in charge. Her plane is sabotaged, leaving her trapped in the Mexican wilderness with a price on her head and no way out. Injured and desperate, she manages to contact the one man she knows will help her: Dave DeMarco, a tough but compassionate Texas cop she was once wildly in love with, a man who left her with nothing but a whispered promise that now provides her only hope.
**. . . SHE WAS THE WOMAN HE COULDN'T FORGET
**
Dave DeMarco is stunned when a woman from his past phones him late one night with an incredible story of smuggling, sabotage, and attempted murder. Just hearing Lisa Merrickβs voice brings back memories Dave doesnβt want to face, but a promise he once made leaves him no choice but to help her. Soon, though, his mission to rescue Lisa becomes a struggle for survival against an enemy who wants them both dead. When the danger they face clashes with the passion that still burns between them, Dave vows to protect the woman he never stopped lovingβand keep her in his life forever. . . .
From the Paperback edition.
From Publishers Weekly
By the end of this smart, deliciously satisfying tale, the third in Graves's DeMarco brothers series (Wild at Heart, etc.), readers will wish they were part of the loud, loving DeMarco clan. The family's easy camaraderie and natural protectiveness add charm to this story, which focuses on single father Dave. When Dave learns that former bad girl Lisa Merrick died in a plane crash while on a humanitarian mission in Mexico, he's staggered. But as it turns out, Lisa is still alive, which Dave learns when she phones him to cash in on an old promise. Dave drops everything and travels to the wilds of Mexico to rescue her, only to be drawn into a web of counterfeit drug smuggling spun by a corrupt doctor who's bent on silencing Lisa. Coincidentally, while Dave and Lisa struggle to flee Mexico and forge a relationship (which is complicated by the guilt Dave suffers over his wife's death), Lisa's widower friend Adam is forced to cope with memories of his own wife in order to begin anew with someone else. Graves manipulates the reader too often with the ostensible deaths of major characters, but there's no question that she knows how to create suspense; she's the master of the cliffhanger chapter ending. What sets this novel apart from its peers, however, is not the suspense but the characters and their witty, warm-hearted interactions.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A worthy addition to the DeMarco legacy, this is definitely one for the keeper shelf." -- Debbie Wooley, The Romance Reader's Connection
"The author delivers again in this bang-up series." -- A Romantic Times TOP PICK!
"This one is a fast paced adventure with a lot of hot love scenes...author Jane Graves has another winner." -- Detra Fitch, Huntress Reviews
"This wonderful book puts the romance in romantic suspense!" -- Jean Hanke, Reader-to-Reader Reviews