Twenty-four years ago, Lydia Smith watched as her mother, Rose, died in an Arizona desert. She was too young to understand why they were there to begin with, or why her father, Zachary, was no where in sight to help them. But her mother promised that she would always love her, would never leave her, and Lydia has held that promise to her heart all of these years.

Now, though, Lydia is faced with some major troubles. She's been run off the road by a gang of men who plan to do some serious harm if she doesn't tell them where the gold is. Lydia knows right off what they're talking about-her father had been accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of gold bars those twenty-some years ago. Everyone knows about it-the police, the FBI, the newspapers, the public. The only problem is that Lydia has no idea where the gold is, as her father never told her, and was killed before he could pass along the gold's whereabouts, even if he'd wanted to.

On that dark, deserted road, as Lydia tries helplessly to avoid her assailants, a stranger comes to her rescue. Derek Stone knows right away who Lydia is; after all, he was once a world-renowned profiler for the FBI, and he's been after the group known as Canyon Brotherhood for quite some time. Now that he's rescued Lydia, for the time being, he has to keep his true purpose hidden from her while at the same time keeping her from harm. Lydia thinks Derek is simply the owner of On the Edge tours, but no matter how hard Derek is trying to keep his intentions hidden, she's beginning to see that there's more to her rescuer than meets the eye.

As flashes of memory start coming back to Lydia about Zachary and Rose, about the gold that the Colonel and his Brotherhood are determined to recover, danger creeps closer to Lydia and Derek. As desire blooms between the two of them, both Lydia and Derek hope that their own outcome can be more positive than what happened to Lydia's parents so many years ago.

Ingrid Weaver has woven a suspenseful tale of theft and revenge, of undying parental love, and of passion that flares in the midst of danger. ROMANCING THE RENEGADE is a quick, taut read that all lovers of romantic suspense are sure to enjoy. ( )