Margins
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SWAK
Series · 6 books · 2016-2018

Books in series

Bang for the Buck book cover
#1

Bang for the Buck

2016

Grady “Buck” McCormick blows shit up for a living as the explosives and demolitions expert on his SEAL team. He grew up on a thoroughbred farm in Kentucky, but he joined the Navy to escape the pain of watching his mom die a long, slow death of cancer. Since then he’s lived with the guilt and dedicated his life to protecting others, carefully guarding his heart along the way. Melinda Emerson loves chemistry but isn't so crazy about people. A pharmaceutical chemist with social anxiety, she’ll happily climb through a jungle canopy in search of medicinal plants, but put her in the middle of a party and she passes out. As the only child of older parents, she struggled watching her father fall victim to Alzheimer’s, and is determined to find a cure. Instead, she discovers a cognitive enhancer that has everyone from the CIA to the Russian mafia after her and her new invention. When Melinda's social anxiety spikes at a friend’s barbecue, she lands in Buck’s arms. After their one-night stand, Melinda makes a desperate call to Buck for help when her lab is attacked by Russian terrorists intent on kidnapping her and stealing her drug research. He blasts in guns-a-blazing, but under his watch, the relentless Russians manage to kidnap both of them, holding them hostage on board a container ship steaming toward the motherland. Now Buck must protect Melinda, her research, and his heart as he embarks on the mission of his life.
Buck the System book cover
#2

Buck the System

2017

Dr. Melinda Emerson is still reeling after her escape from Russian mafia terrorists. If she never sees or hears anything Russian again, it’ll be too soon. She’s ready to go back to researching a cure for Alzheimer’s and to begin building a life with her new man, Grady “Buck” McCormick. But the Russians aren’t done with her just yet. Grady “Buck” McCormick likes to be in charge. But he loves Melinda more. Turns out it’s not so easy for a single alpha male to learn how to be a partner rather than a leader, but he’s determined to do it. That resolve is put to the test when his team gets orders for a new mission where the tables are turned and he must relinquish control, depending on Melinda to protect him. The Russian mafia is back like a bad penny. They’ve been experimenting on the cognitive enhancing drug Melinda invented. Their version makes users obey orders without question, but it’s also fatal. Melinda is sent along as a civilian consultant with two SEAL teams to infiltrate a secret Siberian lab, secure the head scientist, and retrieve all the research on the drug. But the mission goes sideways when Buck and several of the SEALs are injected, and Melinda is forced to find a cure, or lose the man she loves.
Jungle Buck book cover
#3

Jungle Buck

2017

\\\This book was previously published in Amazon Kindle Worlds\\\ Two months after her second run-in with the Russian mafia, Dr. Melinda Emerson finally admits she’s struggling with PTSD. Her relationships are suffering—especially with her boyfriend Grady “Buck” McCormick, who’s recently moved into her house. She’s just decided to get help when she gets a lead on a village in the Amazon where nobody’s ever had dementia. Ever. After the disastrous experiment that led to the catastrophe in Siberia, Melinda’s determined to refocus her work on a cure for Alzheimer’s, and puts together an expedition to the jungle. Grady “Buck” McCormick is on leave after almost dying in Siberia. Melinda believes it was her fault, but he’s done everything he can to support her. After all, he’s seen enough vets with PTSD to know what it does to a person. So when she plans a trip to the Amazon, he insists on going along as security detail, not that anything will happen that requires security. He just wants a chance for them to talk and begin healing. Buck’s hope for relationship-building is snuffed out when Melinda brings along her lab assistants April and Cody. On top of that, when a logging company clearing land for farming threatens to destroy the village, Buck agrees to talk to them only to find an old SEAL buddy in charge. The village elders refuse to leave their homes, Melinda refuses to move her research, and his buddy refuses to back down, leaving Buck stuck in the middle. Things go sideways when his buddy kidnaps Melinda to force Buck to his point of view. Bad idea. Nobody threatens Melinda without paying for it.
Saved by the Paramedic book cover
#4

Saved by the Paramedic

2018

Dante “Chill” Winters is the medic on his SEAL team and has a reputation for staying cool under pressure. But when his brother dies and leaves his only daughter in Dante’s care, requiring him to leave the job he loves to move back to Chicago, it puts his chill to the test. December McKay is a cake decorator by day, and roller derby girl by night. She lives with her sister and her dog and loves her career and sport. Would it be nice to have love in her life? Sure. But she doesn’t need a man to be complete. That is, until a sexy paramedic responds when her van is t-boned as she’s delivering a wedding cake. Dante tries to settle into life as a paramedic and family man, supporting his grandmother and niece, but chafes at leaving his SEAL career behind. Then he meets a quirky cake decorator at the scene of an accident and suddenly civilian life looks a lot better. But when his brother’s crazy ex starts threatening him, his family, and his new girlfriend before the court can rule on permanent custody, Dante calls on his SEAL brothers for support, and Wiley “Coyote” Strickland, one of the new owners of Brothers in Arms protection service, comes to his aid. Now, along with a little help from his friends, Dante uses his military skill to protect those he loves and neutralize the threat once and for all before ultimately joining Brothers in Arms himself and becoming a protector for others in need.
Broken SEAL book cover
#5

Broken SEAL

2018

Wiley “Coyote” Strickland is an ex-SEAL, but not by choice. A reckless motorcycle accident put an end to his career. Back home in Montana he’s completed rehab, but he’s full of self-loathing and has no direction. That’s when his VA therapist tells him about Hank Patterson and the Brotherhood Protectors. Wiley’s skeptical, but Hank has a job for him right away, so he figures it’s worth a shot. Agnes “Aggie” Dean is a hacker and cybersecurity expert. She’s hired to destroy a Russian cyber-terror cell, tracking it to the Crazy Mountains of Montana. Aggie’s a beast in cyberspace, but when her colleagues are kidnapped she discovers she’s out of her element in the real world. When she decides she needs help, the billionaire who hired her turns to Brotherhood Protectors. Wiley and Aggie hit it off in a big—and inconvenient—way, but Aggie’s eager to rescue her colleagues, and Wiley wants to prove to himself he still has value. The terrorists make an attempt on Aggie’s life, but Wiley saves her and takes her to his place to ride out an impending blizzard. Things heat up fast, despite the frigid weather outside. Once the storm blows itself out, the two have united into a formidable team determined to chase the terrorists from the industrial district into the mountains, and bring them down for good.
Poppy and the Big Bad Wolfe book cover
#6

Poppy and the Big Bad Wolfe

2018

It’s the week before Thanksgiving, and after ruffling all the wrong feathers, investigative reporter Poppy Flannery has been exiled to the wastelands of Lifestyle where she’s assigned to write a fluff piece on the floats and balloons in the upcoming Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. Wolfe “Big Bad” Jarrett is on a rare holiday leave from his SEAL team, but when his photographer brother is threatened Wolfe agrees to be his pseudo-bodyguard for a while. Poppy and Wolfe have history of the semi-romantic and fully-humiliating kind, so when Wolfe shows up with Poppy’s photographer to a parade-related interview, they’re both shocked and angry to see each other again. But after she gets an anonymous call about a bomb threat, then a dead body shows up in her car, Poppy reluctantly accepts Wolfe’s offer of protection. Wolfe and Poppy, with the help of some of his team, spend the next few days leading up to Thanksgiving following clues and hunting down domestic terrorists in an effort to save the city from another attack. Somewhere along the way, they put their past to rest and it becomes apparent that maybe Poppy and the Big Bad Wolfe could have a future, after all.

Author

Margaret Madigan
Margaret Madigan
Author · 20 books
Margaret grew up in the gray and rainy Willamette Valley of Oregon, but a twist of fate sent her and her family to the frozen tundra of North Dakota where she fell in love with the rugged landscape and bracing weather. Sustained by cupcakes, coffee, and cats, Margaret brings you sexy heroes, sassy heroines, and lots of heart-pounding action.
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