Rachel Simion

The 5th Crimson Rose Rachel Simion

Seventeen-year-old Shannon Baker is the only one left to care for her feisty but ailing grandmother, Gladys. Medicare covers only so much, and Shannon's job at Knott's Berry Farm barely helps. Even with the support of her best friend, Jessie, and the attention of her new lab partner, Sean, the situation looks grim.

Then she meets Derek Knight. He's more domineering than Sean, but he seems to be concerned about her well-being, while Sean has pulled away. Hesitant at first, Shannon finally warms to the idea of Derek. He promises to pay her bills and take care of her and Gladys if she'll swear loyalty to him. It's a welcome change until Derek becomes too possessive, and Shannon's suspicions about Derek and his father's hotel heighten, while Shannon is haunted by a poem her mother wrote before she died.

Now trapped in an elite gang, Shannon finds herself in the middle of a drug deal gone very wrong. She wants out. A mysterious, tuxedoed man might be the answer to her problems, but the price may be too high.