"Trust is the underlying theme in this romantic suspense."

1974: Spike wins Hope in a game of poker. He desperately wants to get her away from her abusive husband, Jesse, but he knows she's too scared to leave. Unable to resist her, Spike gives his heart and more to Hope that stolen weekend.

1989: First Sergeant Sam Callaghan of the West Virginia State Police has never forgotten Hope. He takes every out-of-town interview that comes up, still seeking the woman he loves. After fifteen years, Sam's considering moving on with his life, when he finally finds her again. She's called Kristina Donovan now, but he knows she's his Hope.

Tina Donovan is shocked when she meets a police officer who reminds her of Spike. Called Hope in her hippie days, she's been too emotionally scarred from her ill-fated marriage to Jesse to seek out Spike, wherever he is.

Can Tina trust Sam enough to reveal the truth of what happened fifteen years ago? Will Sam tell Tina the truth of why he was involved with Jesse's shady dealings? And do either of them know the real truth of what happened back then? Trust is the underlying theme of THE MARKER. Lies and half-truths abound, causing no end of trouble for Sam and Tina. Sam and Tina are sizzling together, but without trust, can they have a future?

Layer upon layer of deceit are exposed one at a time until decades-old crimes are revealed. Flashbacks to fifteen years ago are sprinkled throughout THE MARKER teasing the reader with glimpses of the past.

Sensuality: Rated hard R by the publisher; oral sex, adultery, explicit sex, anal play; sexually explicit scenes: 11.

Reviewed by Denise Powers
Courtesy Sensual Romance
Posted March 9, 2003

Summary

Tuesday, July 23rd, 1974:
She damn well should have killed her husband Jesse the night he used her as his marker in a poker game with "Spike." When "Spike" won that marker, he stole Hope's heart. Spike wanted more than just a weekend with Hope. He wanted forever. That was more than Hope could promise. A man like Spike, a good man, would never understand the evil a demon like Jesse was capable of.

Wednesday, May 3rd, 1989:
Now he's First Sergeant Sam Callaghan, and he's back. When a chance meeting drops Kristina Donovan into his arms, their pasts twists in on both of them, threatening to tear apart their worlds, for better or worse. Hope—Kristina—was the love of his life, the woman who can still rock his world with a single kiss. When he's around her, Sam forgets to think. But first and foremost he's always been a cop...and it's possible that Tina really did murder her husband Jesse.

Publisher's Note: this title was formerly published as Peaceman by Margaret Riley.

Sexual Content: Hard R. Genre: romantic suspense.