Passion and danger collide in the this contemporary romance featuring the Lawless siblings—from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake. When Drew Lawless discovers a fatal flaw in his plan to avenge his parents’ deaths, he turns to the one woman he promised he wouldn't touch. He offers her a deal, one that will bring her into his investigation, his life, and his bed.  Investigative reporter Shelby Gates never dreamed how twisted the case would become—or how fascinated she would be with Drew. Every day they spend together binds them. And every night brings her closer to realizing he might be the man for her.  As Drew's feelings for Shelby grow, so does the danger. From the streets of Dallas to Austin’s high-tech business world, Drew and Shelby play a game begun twenty years before—a game they will win, or die trying. Praise for the Lawless Novels “I love Lexi Blake. Read Ruthless and see why.”— New York Times bestselling author Lee Child “Smart, savvy, clever, and always entertaining. That’s true of Riley Lawless, the hero in Ruthless , and likewise for his creator, Lexi Blake. Both are way ahead of the pack.”— New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry “ Ruthless is full of suspense, hot sex, and swoon-worthy characters—a must read! Lexi Blake is a master at sexy, thrilling romance!”— New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst “With Ruthless , Lexi Blake has set up shop on the intersection of suspenseful and sexy, and I never want to leave.”— New York Times bestselling author Laurelin Paige “The love story that develops will touch the hearts of fans....a welcome and satisfying entry into the Lawless world.”— RT Book Reviews More Praise for the Novels of Lexi Blake “The sex was hot, and emotionally charged in many beautiful ways.”—Scandalicious (scandaliciousbookreviews.com) “A book to enjoy again and again...Captivating.”—Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews “A satisfying snack of love, romance, and hot, steamy sex.”—Sizzling Hot Books “Hot and emotional.”—Two Lips Reviews Praise for the Perfect Gentlemen series by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake “Hot and edgy and laced with danger, the stories in the Perfect Gentlemen series are just that—perfect.”— New York Times bestselling author J. Kenner  “While there are certainly incendiary sex scenes at the top of this series opener, the strength is in the underlying murder and political mystery.”— RT Book Reviews Lexi Blake is the New York Times bestselling author of the Lawless novels as well as the Masters and Mercenaries series. She is also coauthor with Shayla Black of the Perfect Gentlemen series and the Masters of Ménage series. She lives in North Texas with her family. Chapter One This is a mistake." Like he hadn't heard that before. Andrew Lawless tried to remember that Bill Hatchard was simply worried, and rightly so. Drew was worried, too. It was precisely why he'd decided on the course of action he was about to take. He turned to look out his office windows. All of Austin was laid out before him, the lights of the buildings around him coming on as the sun set over the Colorado River. He could remember the first time he'd looked out these windows ten years before. It had been the first time he felt successful and knew everything he'd worked for would finally come to fruition. He'd known that he would find the three people responsible for his parents' deaths. If only there hadn't turned out to be a fourth . . . "I told you I wasn't sharing the information with anyone." He glanced at the clock. Only another half hour to wait. He'd set the meeting after hours in order to keep things quiet. Perhaps he should have had the meeting at his house, but he never knew when his brothers or sister and their spouses would show up. They were getting ready to celebrate Riley and Ellie's marriage with a blowout reception, and he didn't want to tip them off until his plan was firmly in place. He could hear Hatch moving, and knew exactly where he would go. There was the sound of a cork popping. Naturally Hatch went for the expensive Scotch. "You're wrong about this." "So you've said." About a million times since that terrible night when they'd discovered who the real villain was. "Fine." Hatch's tone was short. "Explain it to me." How could he get Hatch to understand? He turned and looked to the man who had been his mentor his entire adult life. "Mia's pregnant." That should suffice. It made sense to Drew. Mia was pregnant, and that meant he kept his mouth shut. Hatch frowned. "What does that have to do with anything? That was inevitable the way she goes at it with that cowboy of hers. A pregnancy makes things worse. Now she's even more vulnerable." Hatch wasn't a sunny-side-of-life person, but then neither was Drew. "Yes, she is, but I suspect she'll be safe enough. She's going to try her hand at fiction for a while instead of wandering the globe looking for trouble." His sister was a reporter and a ball of