
Never Stay Gone
M|M Romantic Suspense (Big Bend Texas Rangers, Book 1)
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
John Solo
-
By:
-
Tal Bauer
About this listen
Six bodies in a single grave, in the same West Texas country where Dakota left everything behind.
Every beat of my heart belongs to you.
Thirteen years ago, Dakota Jennings thought he'd found his forever when he fell in love with Shane Carson. But one afternoon shattered their love story, and both Dakota and Shane left Rustler, Texas, with broken hearts. Even now, Dakota is still feeling the agony of losing Shane. Sure, he's a Texas Ranger, but that's not how he wanted to live his life. All he ever wanted was to love Shane.
Loving you is the only time I feel alive.
Shane's life was supposed to be different. There had been a plan, ever since he was knee-high to his father. But falling for Dakota spun Shane's world upside down, and for years, Shane has had nothing but the memories of all that he lost: Dakota's gentle touch, and the sweetness of his lips, and the star-strewn nights they spent wrapped in each other's arms.
West of the Pecos, there is no law.
When the Rangers get the call about six bodies being pulled out of a mass grave in West Texas, the governor sends Dakota to run the investigation. Dakota heads back to his hometown and comes face-to-face with the last man he ever expected to see again, only now, he’s Deputy Shane Carson, Dakota's local partner assigned to the case.
There's nothing Dakota wants more than a second chance with Shane, but so much is stacked against them: six corpses, a murderer on the loose, and history that refuses to stay buried. And the bodies keep piling up as Dakota and Shane try to run the killer down across the West Texas plains.
In a moment, everything changes: the hunters become the hunted, the past fractures, and all Dakota thought he knew comes tumbling down. Secrets break wide open as Dakota remembers...
This is West Texas, and out here, nothing is as it seems. Big Bend County is a place of beauty and desolation, of secrets and small towns. Where the past and the present collide, and where nothing stays hidden forever.
This MM romantic suspense is the first in the new Big Bend Texas Rangers series. Come along for the West Texas sunsets, the heart-pounding thrills, and the hard-won happily-ever-afters.
©2021 Tal Bauer (P)2022 Tal BauerPeople who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Night Of
- M|M Romantic Suspense
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You've heard this story before: a guy supposedly kills himself, but his best friend can't accept it. He calls in an investigator he knows to take a second look, certain there's more going on. I'm the investigator. Secret Service Agent Sean Avery. The guy who called me? My ex, Vice President Jonathan Sharp. And the guy he doesn't believe put a bullet in his brain? That was President Steven Baker. The deeper I dig, the more things fall apart. I've got a dead president inside a locked room. A hidden note. A secret gun. A missing CIA officer.
-
-
Love this Book!! Narrator.....NOPE!
- By Karri on 11-15-21
By: Tal Bauer
-
The Murder Between Us
- M|M Romantic Suspense
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
FBI Agent Noah Downing had questions about his sexuality that a single night in Vegas should have answered. But dawn finds him on a plane back to Iowa, back on the trail of a vicious serial killer who disappeared six years ago and has suddenly resurfaced. There's nothing like a murder investigation to escape an existential crisis.
-
-
Okay story, awful narrator
- By AmazonReviewer on 04-01-21
By: Tal Bauer
-
Enemies of the State
- Executive Office Series, Book 1
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Newly elected President Jack Spiers's presidency is rocked from the very beginning, and he's working furiously to keep the world from falling apart. Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach is running the presidential detail, which puts him side by side with Jack daily. He's expecting another stuffed suit, but Jack shocks him with his humor and humanity. There are rules against a Secret Service agent and one of their protectees developing a friendship - big rules. Besides, Jack is straight as a ruler, and a widower, and Ethan has always avoided falling for straight men.
-
-
Brilliant
- By W.F. on 06-16-20
By: Tal Bauer
-
Whisper
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 25 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 11th, 2001, Kris Caldera was a junior member of the CIA's Alec Station, the unit dedicated to finding and stopping Osama Bin Laden. They failed. Ten days later, he was on the ground in Afghanistan with a Special Forces team. On the battlefield, he meets Special Forces Sergeant David Haddad. David - Arab American, Muslim, and gay - becomes the man Kris loves, the man he lives for, and the man he kills for, through the long years of the raging wars. When a botched mission rips David from Kris' life, Kris' world falls into ruin and ash.
-
-
I knew this would destroy me
- By Aylin on 08-04-21
By: Tal Bauer
-
Hush
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: Joel Leslie
- Length: 19 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A devastating terrorist attack in the heart of Washington, DC, and the arrest of the terrorist leads to a trial that threatens to expose the dark underbelly of America's national security. The Russian president is gravely injured and fixated on revenge, while a gay Russian dissident is arrested and put on trial in Judge Tom Brewer's courtroom. With the world's attention fixed on Tom and this case, secrets from his past explode during the course of the trial, which place him at the very center of the case and make him the only man who can try to stop the world's slide into war.
-
-
More Please!
- By M.M.Rowley on 05-03-18
By: Tal Bauer
-
Until I Saw You
- By: Dianna Roman
- Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux, Iggy Toma
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harper Reid has no money and nowhere to go, but he can't spend one more day under the same roof as his abusive boyfriend. Desperate to start fresh, he takes on a special case through the caregiver agency that contracts him. The client has fired everyone else, but this job includes lodging, so Harper will find a way to make it work until he's back on his feet.
-
-
Humorous and Heartfelt!
- By K-Me on 04-04-23
By: Dianna Roman
-
The Night Of
- M|M Romantic Suspense
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You've heard this story before: a guy supposedly kills himself, but his best friend can't accept it. He calls in an investigator he knows to take a second look, certain there's more going on. I'm the investigator. Secret Service Agent Sean Avery. The guy who called me? My ex, Vice President Jonathan Sharp. And the guy he doesn't believe put a bullet in his brain? That was President Steven Baker. The deeper I dig, the more things fall apart. I've got a dead president inside a locked room. A hidden note. A secret gun. A missing CIA officer.
-
-
Love this Book!! Narrator.....NOPE!
- By Karri on 11-15-21
By: Tal Bauer
-
The Murder Between Us
- M|M Romantic Suspense
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
FBI Agent Noah Downing had questions about his sexuality that a single night in Vegas should have answered. But dawn finds him on a plane back to Iowa, back on the trail of a vicious serial killer who disappeared six years ago and has suddenly resurfaced. There's nothing like a murder investigation to escape an existential crisis.
-
-
Okay story, awful narrator
- By AmazonReviewer on 04-01-21
By: Tal Bauer
-
Enemies of the State
- Executive Office Series, Book 1
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Newly elected President Jack Spiers's presidency is rocked from the very beginning, and he's working furiously to keep the world from falling apart. Special Agent Ethan Reichenbach is running the presidential detail, which puts him side by side with Jack daily. He's expecting another stuffed suit, but Jack shocks him with his humor and humanity. There are rules against a Secret Service agent and one of their protectees developing a friendship - big rules. Besides, Jack is straight as a ruler, and a widower, and Ethan has always avoided falling for straight men.
-
-
Brilliant
- By W.F. on 06-16-20
By: Tal Bauer
-
Whisper
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 25 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 11th, 2001, Kris Caldera was a junior member of the CIA's Alec Station, the unit dedicated to finding and stopping Osama Bin Laden. They failed. Ten days later, he was on the ground in Afghanistan with a Special Forces team. On the battlefield, he meets Special Forces Sergeant David Haddad. David - Arab American, Muslim, and gay - becomes the man Kris loves, the man he lives for, and the man he kills for, through the long years of the raging wars. When a botched mission rips David from Kris' life, Kris' world falls into ruin and ash.
-
-
I knew this would destroy me
- By Aylin on 08-04-21
By: Tal Bauer
-
Hush
- By: Tal Bauer
- Narrated by: Joel Leslie
- Length: 19 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A devastating terrorist attack in the heart of Washington, DC, and the arrest of the terrorist leads to a trial that threatens to expose the dark underbelly of America's national security. The Russian president is gravely injured and fixated on revenge, while a gay Russian dissident is arrested and put on trial in Judge Tom Brewer's courtroom. With the world's attention fixed on Tom and this case, secrets from his past explode during the course of the trial, which place him at the very center of the case and make him the only man who can try to stop the world's slide into war.
-
-
More Please!
- By M.M.Rowley on 05-03-18
By: Tal Bauer
-
Until I Saw You
- By: Dianna Roman
- Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux, Iggy Toma
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harper Reid has no money and nowhere to go, but he can't spend one more day under the same roof as his abusive boyfriend. Desperate to start fresh, he takes on a special case through the caregiver agency that contracts him. The client has fired everyone else, but this job includes lodging, so Harper will find a way to make it work until he's back on his feet.
-
-
Humorous and Heartfelt!
- By K-Me on 04-04-23
By: Dianna Roman
-
Cup of Joe
- Bold Brew, Book 1
- By: Annabeth Albert
- Narrated by: Cooper North
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Newbie barista Levi Miles is having a bad day in the middle of a bad month. He's trying to figure out post-graduation life, and a recent breakup hasn't helped. The one bright spot? The charming blue-collar customer with the simple order and reassuring voice.
-
-
Was hoping for so much more
- By Nova on 11-19-21
By: Annabeth Albert
-
The Gentleman
- By: Dianna Roman
- Narrated by: Joshua Macrae
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Before he shares it with the world, he's determined to build the confidence he wants to live life as a gay man and the experience hell need to snag Mr. Right. For that, he requires a mentor--someone experienced. Someone with manners. Someone discreet enough to be able to mix business with pleasure under the watchful eye of his fathers empire--a gentleman. Pete Carver is without a doubt that man.
-
-
Perfection!
- By AG on 08-11-24
By: Dianna Roman
-
Maine Men
- The Complete Series
- By: K.C. Wells
- Narrated by: John Solo
- Length: 56 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Different backgrounds, different paths, but one thing remains solid, even eight years after they graduated—their friendship. Holidays, weddings, funerals, birthdays, parties—any chance they get to meet up, they take it. It’s an opportunity to share what’s going on in their lives, especially their love lives. Back in high school, they knew four of them were gay or bi, so maybe it was more than coincidence that they gravitated to one another.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Juaacklyn Hunt on 08-21-24
By: K.C. Wells
-
Joker's Sin Boxed Set
- Books 1-4
- By: Davidson King
- Narrated by: John Solo, Philip Alces
- Length: 22 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This must-listen LGBTQ+ romance collection by Davidson King includes the full Joker's Sin series: My Whole World, To Die For, Heart Beats, and Taste of Fear.
-
-
it was great!
- By Anonymous User on 03-17-25
By: Davidson King
-
Proof
- Targes Executive Protection, Book 1
- By: Sloane Kennedy
- Narrated by: Michael Dean
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A legal technicality might be the reason I’m out of prison after serving only two years of what should have been multiple life sentences, but all I care about now is finding the man who put me behind bars in the first place. JJ Ferguson needs to see firsthand what his lies have turned me into. Two years ago, JJ and I should have been talking about our future together. Our lives had changed that night, just not in the way they should have.
-
-
It’s always your family
- By Tonisha W on 01-04-25
By: Sloane Kennedy
-
In the Middle of Somewhere
- Middle of Somewhere, Book 1
- By: Roan Parrish
- Narrated by: Robert Nieman
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Daniel Mulligan is tough, snarky, and tattooed, hiding his self-consciousness behind sarcasm. Daniel has never fit in - not at home in Philadelphia with his auto mechanic father and brothers, and not at school where his Ivy League classmates looked down on him. Now, Daniel's relieved to have a job at a small college in Holiday, Northern Michigan, but he's a city boy through and through, and it's clear that this small town is one more place he won't fit in.
-
-
Expressive and poignant. An all-time favorite.
- By Dianne T. on 04-16-16
By: Roan Parrish
-
Proof of Life
- Scars and Stripes Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Raquel Riley
- Narrated by: Lance West, Curtis Michael Holland
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After giving twelve years of my life to the service, I didn't just lose my leg. I lost everything, including my career. When the dust settled, the only person still standing by my side in the rubble was Brandt—the single lifeline I had left to a world I didn't want to live in anymore. With painstaking care, he healed my body and my mind. When he eventually started healing my heart, I realized I didn't just need him in my life, I needed him in ways I'd never wanted him before.
-
-
so much emotions.
- By Anjenette on 09-21-24
By: Raquel Riley
-
Serious Trouble
- Nerd/Jock MM Sports Romance
- By: Alex McAnders
- Narrated by: Zach Hoffman, Ryan Valence
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With NFL scouts watching my every move, the last thing I should be thinking about is Quinton Toro, my awkwardly sexy, genius tutor who makes me think about breaking my headboard. I might fantasize about everything about him at night, but I’ve worked too hard for too long to slip up now. But if it came down to having him or a career in the NFL, which would I choose? The answer should be obvious, right? Then why can’t I get the lustful way he looks at me out of my mind? I might be in trouble.
-
-
waste of money
- By jessi gipson on 12-05-23
By: Alex McAnders
-
Collide
- By: Riley Hart
- Narrated by: Luke Itzvic
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At 10 years old, Noah Jameson and Cooper Bradshaw collided midair when they dove for the same football. For three years they were inseparable...until one day when Noah and his parents disappeared in the middle of the night. Noah and Cooper never knew what happened to each other. Now, 17 years later, after finding his boyfriend in bed with another man, Noah returns to Blackcreek looking for a fresh start. And damned if he doesn't find his old friend grew up to be as sexy as sin.
-
-
Amazing GFY/OFY with superb narration!
- By Morgan A Skye on 09-29-16
By: Riley Hart
-
Bad Habits
- Wages of Sin, Book 1
- By: Neve Wilder, Onley James
- Narrated by: Liam DiCosimo
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Smart-mouthed hacker Caspian escaped an abusive home at 16. Now he's one of the most sought-after black-hat hackers in the world. Jonah is a ruthless contract killer with only one weakness: the vibrant runaway he took in years ago, Caspian. But Cas bailed when he turned 18, and Jonah has maintained a steady diet of eat, kill, sleep since then. A threat to Cas' life brings him back years later - not as the boy Jonah remembers, but as a hardened computer hacker with a price on his head and a list of names everybody wants.
-
-
Not enough story
- By Amazon Customer on 08-17-21
By: Neve Wilder, and others
-
Mountain Man's College Boy
- An M/M Small Town Romance Novella
- By: Dillon Hunter
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was supposed to be my boss, not my soulmate... I thought taking a summer job at Battle Creek Ranch would be simple - earn some cash, get some experience, then head off to college. I never expected my new boss to be the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on. Hank Montgomery is everything I never knew I wanted: rugged, commanding, and almost twice my age. Sure, he tries to keep his distance, but I see the way his eyes linger when he thinks I'm not looking, and I feel the way his hands tremble when they brush against mine. As the Montana summer heats up, so does the electricity between ...
-
-
4/5
- By Cody Moore on 04-21-25
By: Dillon Hunter
-
Dirty Martini
- Miami Nights and Club Lights, Book 1
- By: Addison Beck
- Narrated by: Oscar Reyes, Logan Anare
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
My life hasn't turned out the way I wanted it to. Because of one stupid stunt by a kid I used to care about, I'm now slinging cocktails in a Miami club instead of getting my degree. In a split second, Everest Hill ruined my future, and I'm too jaded to ever move past it. Only Elton—my best friend and his brother—connects us, but thankfully, Everest has made himself irrelevant in the last four years. Until now. When Elton heads off on a summer European adventure, I'm forced to babysit his little brother through his first semester in college, but I'd rather eat shattered glass.
-
-
I really wanted to like this, but…
- By Melody Bell on 04-01-25
By: Addison Beck
Now for the narration…what was with all the whispering that JS did? It was so overused that it was grating on my nerves. There were so many times I could not hear it and I had to back it up, and we all know how annoying that becomes! Please stop doing that it ruins the book!!!!! 😤
Loved love loved it!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listener received this title free
If you’re even kind of on the fence with this book do yourself a favor and pick it up. Well worth the read/listen. I’ll be going back to this one again and again.
Another stellar book by Tal Bauer
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would recommend.
excellent
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've yet to find a story that Tal has created that didn't completely immerse me in the world he created and Never Stay Gone wasn't any different. West Texas is its own thing completely and he captured the brutality of the landscape as well as all the shady dealings that tend to happen out there. It was no surprise to me that I fell in love with both Dakota & Shane, their story was not easy it was tough fought and heartbreaking but entirely worth it.
"Jesus, they were like a desert thunderstorm, all wildfire and fury, the world splintering apart in a cataclysm before being reborn."
Deputy Shane Carson has spent 13 years missing the only man he has ever loved and even now he isn't able to let go of the time they spent together, however brief. From losing his football career before it even started, to being gay and letting down his dad things never seemed to work out for him but his time with Dakota is what keeps him going, the memories and the what ifs.
Finding six bodies in a single grave set the course for the events that lead Dakota back to Shane, but their reunion is nothing like he expected. Dakota acts like he couldn't be bothered by Shane in the least and he doesn't understand why. He couldn't have dreamed how good things were between them even if it was years ago. If he could just get Dakota to look at him, to see him then there might be a chance.
Dakota Jennings left Rustler 13 years ago with no intention of going back but when he is called in on a case that is close to his boss, he doesn't have a choice. It has been so long that Shane probably isn't even around anymore but much to Dakota's surprise Shane is the deputy keeping the bodies safe until CSI could show up. What is he even doing here? He is supposed to be married, with kids and living his dream, living a life that Dakota could have never given him. It has been years now, so it doesn't matter, Dakota's only job is to find the murderer and get the hell out of here before his heart gets shattered, for good this time.
As Shane & Dakota work to catch a killer the secrets of the past have a way of coming out and if they aren't careful those women won't be the only ones who end up dead.
Murder, secrets, and lost love are the binding agent for Tal Bauer's newest book that continuously blew all my expectations away. From all the characters that he has created Dakota & Shane somehow became my favorite and I am still not sure how. It could be the heartbreak of young love, the depths of their feelings after all these years or the fact that they had to fight not only for their love but to catch a killer that combined to make the perfect story. It could also be that I will forever swoon over two cowboys kissing in Stetsons.
Then the narration!! At this point I can't imagine anyone else narrating a Tal book but him. The way he can put so many emotions behind his voices while also being able to be differentiate between the characters is outstanding.
To say that I loved this book would do it an injustice because it was just incredible!! Eagerly awaiting book two in the Big Bend Texas Rangers series and hoping that we see a glimpse of Shane & Dakota!!
*If you made it this far, sorry for the lengthiness of this review. *
COWBOY TAKE ME AWAY!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
heart in mouth
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I Liked It
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Dakota + Shane forever
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
More please
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Narration was very good.
So good
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.