They took her son. She'll burn down the world to get him back.
Divorce attorney Alexandra Pierce built her life on control — and on never needing anyone, especially a man. Then a well-connected trafficking network takes her son. Her only option: the father she barely knows, and the private army he commands deep in the Tennessee mountains.
Jack O'Rourke doesn't call the authorities. He goes to war. And he assigns his most dangerous operative to protect his daughter.
Former MARSOC sniper Cole DiRossi has no interest in babysitting a woman who refuses to stand down. But the more time he spends protecting her, the more he sees what's under all that armor: a mother who'd kill for her son, and a woman who's never once been fought for.
She's everything he should avoid. He's the kind of man she's spent her life refusing to trust. And the people who took her son are about to learn what happens when you come for a mother with nothing left to lose — and the monsters who love her.
Book 1 of the Redemption Ridge Protectors — dark romantic suspense with a seasoned heroine, a found family of lethal men, and a villain who thinks everything has a price.
Where the mountains keep secrets
and the wrong people come looking
Book 1 Playlist
Guarding Her Son: The Extras
Redemption Ridge Protectors · Book One
···
M. J. Harrington
From the Kitchen
Family Recipes
The kind of food that means someone's home.
Recipe One
Amish Poor Man's
Hamburger Steaks
Hamburger Steaks
With Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
The Patties
Ground beef (80/20 or chuck/round mix)2 lb
Crushed saltine crackers1–1½ cups
Whole milk1 cup
Onion, finely choppedto taste
Garlic powderto taste
Italian seasoningto taste
Salt & pepperto taste
Flourfor dredging
Butter or oilfor frying
The Gravy
Cream of mushroom soup, condensed2 cans
Whole milk1–1½ cups
Method
01
Combine beef, crushed saltines, milk, finely chopped onion, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Mix until just combined — don't overwork it.
02
Shape into 6–8 thick patties. Dredge each one in flour, shaking off the excess.
03
Pan-fry in butter or oil until browned on both sides. They don't need to be cooked through. Transfer to a baking dish.
04
Whisk together 2 cans cream of mushroom soup with 1–1½ cups milk until smooth. Pour over the patties.
05
Bake at 350°F for 45–60 minutes until patties are tender and gravy is rich and bubbling.
06
Serve hot with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice to soak up the sauce.
Recipe Two
Redneck Coleslaw
The real one
Ingredients
The Slaw
Cabbage, very finely chopped8 cups (~1 head)
Carrot, shredded¼ cup
Onion, minced2 tbsp
The Dressing
Mayonnaise½ cup
Sugar⅓ cup
Milk¼ cup
Buttermilk¼ cup
Lemon juice2½ tbsp
White vinegar1½ tbsp
Salt½ tsp
Pepper⅛ tsp
Method
01
Chop cabbage and carrots into very fine pieces — a little bigger than rice. This is the whole game.
02
Combine mayonnaise, sugar, milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Beat until smooth and the sugar is fully dissolved.
03
Add cabbage, carrots, and onion. Mix well to coat everything evenly.
04
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Overnight is better — the flavor deepens and the cabbage softens into something entirely different.
Redemption Ridge Protectors · Book One
···
M. J. Harrington
The Official Cocktail
Velvet Backhand
Smooth on arrival. Then it hits you.
Coupe glass · Coffee beans · No other garnish
What goes in it
Baileys Irish Cream
1 oz
Chocolate vodka
1.5 oz
Kahlúa
1 oz
Cold espresso
1 shot
Heavy cream float
over spoon
Character
Creamy and dark up front.
The espresso finds you around the third sip.
The espresso finds you around the third sip.
Method
01
Place a single large ice cube in a coupe or rocks glass.
02
Pour Baileys, chocolate vodka, and Kahlúa over the ice in that order.
03
Add the cold espresso last — it sits just beneath the surface where it belongs.
04
Float heavy cream over the back of a spoon. Do not stir. Let it drift down on its own terms.
05
Garnish with three coffee beans. Everything else it doesn't need.
The Redemption Ridge Protectors are a family forged in fire, hidden in the Tennessee mountains, and built on one law: you protect your own. No matter what it costs.
Six books. Six protectors. Six women who survived the worst then found something none of them were looking for.
I write the kind of love stories where the hero would burn the world down for her. And the heroine would hand him the match.
Who Is MJ Harrington?
I write dark romantic suspense about fierce women, dangerous men, and the kind of found family you build when the one you were born into left you in exile.
My heroines don't wait to be rescued. My heroes are protectors down to the bone — morally grey, dangerous, but unwavering when it comes to the people they love.
Avid equestrian. Part-time gardener, full-time reader. Volunteered in Africa and Northern Ireland. Devoted to SPF. Attempting to learn French (mixed results).
I've spent most of my life trying to understand why people do what they do. Now I put fictional friends through it instead.
Welcome to my world!