The Empress Card - Atkinson Bevan

Xana Bard has settled into a comfortable and contented life with Thorne Ardall, her “thug swain,” only to have that life disrupted by the bodyguard duties he undertakes in order to protect the notorious but faded former siren Mona Raglan. Mona, Xana learns, is now a kinky boots manufacturer and compulsively adoptive mother. It seems everyone who knows Mona was once captivated by her compelling sexual charisma, or was touched by her taking on a worldwide brood of orphans. Unfortunately, now that the charisma has faded, so has Mona’s immunity from being hated by the throng of people she has offended by her predatory man-stealing and caustic tongue. 

In this third book in The Tarot Mysteries series, Xana and Thorne do their best to protect Mona from multiple attempts on her life. These attempts nevertheless recur with persistence and increasing effectiveness.