Crossfire by Alex Croft

Crossfire Textile magnate and CEO Peyton Scott-Baird travels to Savannah in the hope of securing an agreement to realize her life-long dream of manufacturing personal protective wear. The last person she expected to meet with is her closest childhood friend—one she had not seen or heard from in seventeen years—following a tragic accident that claimed the lives of their loved ones. For ex-Army Ranger Connor Gallagher, the reunion with his teenage crush is bittersweet, triggering haunting memories of a time when his life was in turmoil. As the newly minted vice president of Gallagher Incorporated, a Chicago-based, family-owned fashion house, he jumps at the opportunity to develop body armor to safeguard his fellow brothers in arms. The reunion is thrown into disarray when a ruthless assassin ambushes them. Their assigned SPNI private security detail, ex-MI6 operative Nia Munro and Gallagher's former teammate and commanding officer, Ewan Kane, risk everything to save their lives. Caught in the crossfire, the group is forced to go dark and on the run. Still reeling from the recent suspicious death of her father, Peyton flees for her life while contending with the unscrupulous vixen who claims to be his widowed wife—and his only rightful heir. Faced with an impossible choice to safeguard her life's work and Scott-Baird Industries, Peyton throws caution to the wind and rushes headlong into the waiting arms of the only man she has ever loved. Connor's sister and renowned fashion designer Brinn Gallagher gets roped into designing the enhanced ballistic wearables. She is inadvertently drawn into the conflict when small time crooks mistake her for Peyton. With her family in the line of fire, Brinn must overcome her own fears and conquer her inner demons to survive. Crossfire is the first book in the Sultry Chicago suspense series. The characters are compelled to come to terms with their shared painful past, finally face the nightmares and secrets that still torment the