by T. J. Kline
Praise for T.J. Kline
About HEART’S DESIRE:
"HEART'S DESIRE is a tremendous debut to the new Healing Harts series, and I will be waiting with bated breath for the future installments in what promises to be yet another brilliant series by the brilliant T. J. Kline."
Fresh Fiction
About TAKING HEART:
“T. J. Kline combines a heartwarming romance, suspense, and sweet rescue dogs into a touching tale.”
Jennifer Ryan, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author
About CLOSE TO HEART:
"Close to Heart combines a cowboy hero with a fish-out-of-water starlet. The chemistry spark off the page, creating an entertaining read I couldn't put down! Get ready to melt for these two."
Kristin Miller, NewYork Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
About WILD AT HEART:
“Sweet, sassy, and so much fun, T.J. Kline will leave you smiling.”
Kimberly Kincaid, USA Today bestselling author
"A funny, heartfelt read filled with snappy banters, burning sexual tension, and characters I've fallen hard for throughout the series, Wild at Heart is Bailey's story, and as you can imagine, the littlest Hart wasn't going down without a fight. Chase was funny, and sexy, two of my very favorite qualities in a hero. If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend you do! T.J. Kline is definitely one of my favorite contemporary authors."
Codi Gary, author of Things Good Girls Don't Do
“Wild at Heart is another tender but sassy romance that delivers the sizzling chemistry, witty dialogue, and captivating storyline T.J. Kline is known for. Once again, her larger-than-life characters prompted tears and laughter as they made their way into my heart.”
Sara Richardson, author of More Than a Feeling
Dangerous Promises
A Sisterhood Novel
T.J. Kline
Contents
Also by T.J. Kline
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
If you enjoyed DANGEROUS PROMISES…
DANGEROUS LIES
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by T.J. Kline
Also by T.J. Kline
THE RODEO SERIES:
Rodeo Queen
The Cowboy and the Angel
Learning the Ropes
Runaway Cowboy
THE HEALING HARTS SERIES:
Heart’s Desire
Taking Heart
Close to Heart
Wild at Heart
Change of Heart
THE HIDDEN FALLS SERIES:
Making the Play
Daring to Fall
Risking It All
OTHERS:
James Patterson Presents: The Radcliffes
Once a Heartbreaker
Copyright © 2017 by Tina Klinesmith
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For the man who inspired me to push past my limits and go after the bigger dream.
For Baby Girl, couldn’t have made it through this one without you!
1
“He wants another one? Seriously? He's killed the first two we got him.”
Dark eyes glared at the beefy man across the desk. He flexed his biceps in a vague act of prowess.
Whatever floats your boat, asshole. You still work for me.
“We provide a service, based on supply and demand. Something you seem hard-pressed to learn. Why that demand is higher at certain times than others isn’t our concern. However, our concern is to provide a quality product to the exact specifications requested.”
The man stood upright and shrugged his meaty shoulders as if none of this mattered to him either way. “At this rate, you better pool from somewhere else. Pickings are getting slim. People are asking questions.”
He was hired for his brawn, not his brains.
“Again, that isn’t your concern. As your employer, I will handle the situation, should it arise. You continue to go where I send you and find exactly what I’m looking for, like you have been. This is for you.”
A sadistic smile split the man’s face as he stared at the small duffle bag filled with hundred dollar bills as it dropped on the metal-topped desk.
“Your bonus for a job well done and, there’s more where that came from.”
He scooped up the handles in his fat palm and gave a mock salute. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with you.”
2
Toni Blades leaned back in the ancient chair, ignoring its squeal of protest at her shift in position, and closed the file she was working on. Another pimp in custody and another uncover role as a prostitute completed. She exhaled as she pushed the folder away from her and closed her eyes. It was a good way to end this phase of her FBI career before she requested a desk job.
She curled her lip. The mere idea of sitting behind a desk for hours on end made her back spasm in revolt.
A promise is a promise.
Toni repeated the words to herself for the hundredth time in the past week alone.
Her jaw popped, and she massaged it, not realizing she was clenching it. Toni rubbed her hands over her eyes and flipped her shoulder-length blonde hair from her face as she pursed her lips. She didn't blame her family for making the request. After losing her father to a heart attack, they couldn’t bear the thought of her putting herself in harm’s way any longer. But knowing that didn’t make it any easier to walk away from her position.
She’d worked hard over the past six years to get here, she was a well-respected agent, and turning her back on her accomplishments stung. To make the situation even more awkward, her mother and twin sister had put her fiancé, Leo, up to making the request. Not that he didn’t hint at the same thing. When he convinced an entire class of Las Vegas police recruits to serenade her as he proposed, they agreed in two and half years, they would each request less dangerous positions, get married and start a family. The date seemed so far away then. Now, two years later, Toni was having second thoughts.
Not about her relationship with Leo, but about the arrangement. What were they thinking? He was a detective on the Las Vegas Metro PD; she was a special agent with the FBI. They were intelligent people. They could figure out a way to make a marriage work despite the risks of their jobs. And children? She wasn’t ready to consider them after what her past few years undercover.
“Here you go.” Her partner, Caleb Jones, dropped a thick file folder on her desk. “Get yourself up to speed because they want us back out in the next few days.”
“What?”
She reached for the folder, scanning the contents. The words leaped from the pages inside: missing kids, runaways, sex trafficking. She flipped through a few more pages realizing the full scale of the case. This was huge. Her dark eyes widened as she looked up at Jones in surprise.
“You must have impressed someone with the job you did on that last one.” He sat on the corner of the desk. “Most agents wait a lifetime for a case this big and
they’re putting us in charge of it.”
Most of the file appeared to be intelligence, surveillance and information gathered from numerous stake-outs and previous cases that had overlapped. Now, with a significant amount of material accumulated, the FBI had enough to dive in. The FBI was ready to assign a task force to the case, a group of agents to go undercover, discover who was leading the trafficking ring, and make the arrests.
Jones waved his hand in the air over his head, tracing an invisible marquee. “I’m seeing a promotion in our futures.”
She rolled her eyes at him. Her partner for the three years, she and Jones worked well together, even if he insisted on acting like an older brother, antagonizing her every chance he got. She knew he had her back and would put his life on the line for her. She hated turning down a case that would ruin this opportunity for him too.
Toni tossed the folder back on the desk. “I can’t take it.”
He looked at her, his brows pinching as the lines around his wide mouth deepened. “What do you mean, ‘you can’t?’”
“I told you. That prostitution case was my last undercover. I promised Leo and my sister.”
Jones unfolded his lean, six-two frame from the edge of the desk. “Then un-promise them. You realize what this means, for both of us, right?”
“I do, but you know I can’t do that.” She crossed her arms and scowled back at him.
“Come on, T. Something like this doesn’t come along but once in a lifetime. Besides,” he began, his eyes lighting up, “if we solve this, a promotion would guarantee you never have to go undercover again.”
She sighed. He was right. A promotion would put her into a supervisory position. She could walk away with her head high, proud of what her accomplishments, rather than tucking her tail between her legs and backing down for no real reason other than a hasty promise made several years ago, before she or Leo realized what it would mean for their careers or how far they might come in that time.
“This case might take years. Leo and I are getting married next summer, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Jones plucked the file from the desk. “What kind of guy makes you quit your job? Is he quitting his?”
“We’re both requesting desk positions.”
He arched a dubious brow. “You sure about that? Because that’s not what I hear, T. Word on the street is that he took on another missing girl case.”
She felt the surprise jolt through her but schooled her face to remain stoic. Leo wouldn’t demand something of her he wouldn’t do himself. Unless he’d forgotten about it, in which case, she could claim the same. Take this case, finish it as fast as possible and then settle into the supervisory position without remorse.
“Maybe it’s an open and shut case?” She knew it was almost unheard of, especially with missing persons.
“Or maybe he won't hold you to a promise you made two years ago, before you both realized the trajectory you’d be on in your careers,” he countered. “It’s not like he isn’t kicking ass and taking names down at the PD either, T.”
She opened her mouth, ready to offer him another reason she shouldn’t take it. Her mother and sister needed her. Even if Leo had forgotten about the promise, her sister, Rose, hadn’t failed to remind her about it at least once a month. Weekly since their father’s recent death.
“Just read the file. There are so many ways for us to gain a foothold on this. It’ll be easy. In and out. Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am, slap on the cuffs and call it a day.”
She shook her head at him, biting back a smile at his ridiculousness. No case was ever that easy but, from the look of the intel, much of the early footwork was done. They knew who they were looking at and how to reach them. If everything went perfectly, they might close it in six months. But that was a big if.
However, it was a big case, the biggest of her career. Closing this would solidify her position as an agent at the FBI and give her some leverage when it came time to request a desk position. Her stomach clenched, and she cringed at the thought but pushed aside the disappointment. She promised her family and Leo and she loved them too much to go back on it. But, if they managed to solve this case within the next six months, then it would be a win-win situation for everyone. She hoped Leo and her sister saw it that way.
“We’re in here,” Rose called from the dining room as Toni entered the house, shedding her coat and draping it over the back of a chair as she approached her sister and fiancé.
They both looked at her. “What’s up? Why are you both looking at me like that?”
Leo rose and made his way toward her, his arm snaking around her waist and dragging her up against his body. Her breath caught in her lungs, her hands trapped against his broad chest, the heat of his skin burning her palms, the strong, steady beat of his heart pounding against her fingers. Everything south of her waist, heated, exploding in an inferno of desire as his mouth descended toward hers, preparing to claim her as he has so many times before, and she melted into him. Just before his lips met hers, Rose clapped a hand over her eyes dramatically with a laugh.
“Ugh! Will the two of you pick a room? Pick any of the fifteen in this house. Don’t make me watch this. I'm going to lose my appetite.”
Leo rolled his eyes and dropped his arms, giving Toni a quick peck on the cheek instead. “Fine.”
She pulled him back to her, her hand fisting the front of his shirt and standing on her toes to press her mouth against his. If she thought Rose cared about their PDA, she wouldn’t have done it but she knew her twin better than that. Rose adored Leo, was pushing Toni to move up the wedding and couldn’t wait for him to officially join the family.
She released him as their mother entered the room. “Oh, leave them alone, Rose. It’s nice to see two people in love. Good evening, Leo.”
“How are you today, Vanessa?”
“Long day.”
Rose rolled her eyes as she met her twin’s gaze, her lips curving around a silent “whatever.” Leo rushed over to pull out their mother’s chair as the maids brought out the meal. Toni didn’t wait, seating herself in spite of her mother’s frown of disapproval.
“How was work today?” she asked Rose as she passed her a plate of roast vegetables.
“Good. The same as every other day. Snotty noses, sight words, coloring, and recess.”
Although she minimized her position at the elementary school, Rose loved her job as a kindergarten teacher. But it didn’t compare to how beloved she was by her students, their parents and the rest of the faculty.
“And what about you, Leo?” Her mother turned her adoring gaze on him as she sipped her wine.
As if in deference to her question, his cell phone rang. Toni’s mother pursed her lips and shook her head as he slid from his chair before slipping outside the room to take the call. Toni studied him, noticing the way his shoulders raise with tension, the way his brows drooped and his eyes grew cold. He glanced back into the dining room once before moving further down the hall, out of her sight.
Her mother had already turned back to Rose and was in deep discussion about planning a spa weekend for the two of them. Toni couldn’t help the prick of jealousy as they made their plans.
“Oh!” her sister exclaimed, turning hopeful eyes to Toni. “We should wait for a day when Toni can come.”
“Who knows when that would be?” Sarcasm dripped from her mother’s voice. Her tone turned syrupy sweet as she smiled at Toni. “I mean, you are always working. When are you going to finally stop this…”
She waved a hand as if Toni was a child throwing a temper tantrum instead of a grown woman with a career. A career her mother hated, she reminded herself. Toni pushed at the food on her plate with her fork, her appetite gone despite the delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen as the rest of the meal was laid on the table.
“Pass the rolls, please.”
Her mother acted as if she hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary as her words weren’t driving a stake into To
ni’s heart with every criticism. She retrieved the basket of bread and handed it to her mother, wishing Leo would come back into the room. Somehow, he always diffused her mother’s words, to redirect the conversation.
Her mother leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I mean, I thought you two were getting married soon. How are you going to raise a family when you don’t know if either of you will come home at night? That’s no life for children, Antonia.”
That was true for anyone. Car accidents happened. People got mugged on the streets. Police officers and FBI agents weren’t the only ones who put their lives on the line.
Judges, like Dad, die unexpectedly, too.
The words clung to her lips but she wouldn’t remind her mother or sister about the pain they still suffered from her father’s recent heart attack. A federal court judge, he was more than just a pillar of the community. He was a great man, the man both girls measured all others to and, as a result, both had sought his approval in every matter.
“I’m sorry,” Leo said as he rushed back into the room. “Duty calls. Walk me out?”
“What? Why?” Disappointment colored Rose’s voice and her mother blinked slowly, her face pinched. “I thought…never mind. This is what I was talking about.”
Toni rose from the table, knowing, without a doubt, that this was work-related. They’d both been on the job long enough to understand the demands didn’t always come at opportune times. His fingers twined with hers as she walked out of the dining room with him.
