“Great. Then I’ll start digging on him and see what I can uncover.”
She and Max took turns in the shower, no doubt to the vast relief of the FBI agents tasked with guarding their stinky persons. They both made written statements about the previous night’s events and took naps. And then Max insisted on being allowed to return to the island. Lissa concurred. She owed Bastien and his friends huge thanks for their help.
An hour later, Max helped her climb onto the island’s dock, and she stared in shock at the burned-out hull of a big cabin cruiser half sank in the bayou a dozen yards away. The SEALs had done a real number on it. Color her impressed.
She and Max had to step aside as two men wearing FBI jackets carried a body bag past. A dozen body bags lay on the ground along the boardwalk to the house. Max whistled low. “Petrov really wants you silenced in a big way. It looks like he sent his entire cavalry after you.”
“Yeah, well, now that we know who he is, I’ll be a lot less important to him.”
“Assuming Jennie and the gang at SEAL ops can find evidence to link him to crimes and/or espionage.”
“They’ll get him,” Lissa declared confidently.
“Until then, you and I are laying low far, far away from here.”
“Mmm. That sounds nice.” She tucked her arm in his and they approached the house together.
His sister, Hank, called out as they climbed the back steps. “Hey, it’s the lovebirds!”
Max gave her a relieved hug and slapped backs with the men while Lissa hugged the women.
A new athletic, good-looking man came into the kitchen, and Ashe said formally, “Max, Lissa, this is Commander Cole Perriman. He got here a few hours ago.”
“Hell of a hornet’s nest you two kicked,” the commander said. “Well done.”
Max laughed. “The congratulations go to your team. They were amazing in the face of overwhelming numbers and force.”
Perriman shrugged. “Just another day at the office for my people.”
The man actually sounded as if he meant it. Scary.
“So, Max. I have a proposition for you. How would you like to train my team of misfits in undercover operations? Anyone who can survive two years inside the Russian mob sure as hell knows what he’s doing in undercover work. We’ll be relocating the team to a new classified location now that this facility’s secrecy is pretty well blown. Lissa can come along. We’ll provide protection for her while Markov is investigated and taken down, and you can train my people.”
Her heart expanded when Max glanced at her before answering. “What do you think, Lissa?”
“Being anywhere with you sounds pretty close to perfect to me.”
Max swept her into his arms in front of everybody and laid a big, sexy kiss on her right there. But as soon as their lips touched, the kitchen and everyone in it disappeared. Instead, they were surrounded by a bunch of children—their grandchildren, she realized in shock. Love, family and laughter filled the space around them. Years of joy stretched out behind and ahead of them in an unbroken chain. Whole. Complete.
They were going to be just fine. Forever.
Max announced wryly, “I saw that.”
She jerked away to stare up at him in shock.
“Grandkids? Really?” he grumbled. “Do we have to have so many of them?”
“Oh, yes. Piles of them.” She whispered against his mouth, “I love you, Max.”
“I love you, too.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488004902
Her Secret Spy
Copyright © 2016 by Cynthia Dees
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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It’s Silver Valley’s biggest social event of the year—and the deadliest
Florist Kayla Paruso has been hired to decorate the mayor’s daughter’s wedding, but when she witnesses the murder of the mayor’s top aide, rumors of corruption—even a cult connection—swirl through the town. Could the mayor really be involved? Luckily the SVPD offers Kayla the very best protection: Detective Rio Ortego. Who just happens to be the last guy Kayla dated. With the wedding fast approaching, Kayla’s the perfect person to pry into the mayor’s dangerous secrets, but Rio won’t hear of it. And as their old attraction reignites, Rio’s cop instincts clash with his need to safeguard the woman he’s falling in love with all over again…
Sirens screamed through the night.
Uncontrollable shudders shook her, and her legs quaked. For this one moment, Kayla allowed the strength and certainty of Rio’s embrace to hold her up. She didn’t refuse the comfort his arms gave her. His breathing and heartbeat were strong and reassuring under her left ear, and she pressed her head against his chest, her arms tight around his waist.
Rio’s waist.
“You’re okay, babe.”
Babe.
The sanctity of their embrace evaporated as effectively as if Rio were a hypnotist and he’d snapped her out of a trance. A trance she couldn’t afford to wander into, not if she was going to keep her emotions regarding him in check. It’d taken this long to finally accept that there was no hope for them.
This was the same man who’d hidden his identity from her. It paid to remember that.
* * *
We hope you enjoy the Silver Valley P.D. miniseries. Be sure to look for more stories in 2016!
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Dear Reader,
Weddings are usually a time of joy in Silver Valley, just like they are anywhere else. But when the mayor, who’s suspected of criminal wrongdoing, ends up with a murdered assistant, it’s enough to cast a pall on any event. I had fun writing about wedding planning amid such a terrible crime, and I hope you enjoy reading Wedding Takedown, SVPD #2.
I loved writing heroine Kayla Paruso, since her life appears so well-ordered, but after witnessing a murder she has to dig deep to help justice prevail, even though that involves her former lover, SVPD detective Rio Ortego. As Rio came to life on the page I discovered that he, too, was a more complex hero than first impressions might convey. Kayla and Rio are perfect for each other, but have to survive murder attempts and go through undercover training before they can begin to deal with their own emotional conflicts. Their chemistry is intense—these characters wanted me to write yet another love scene when they had a murderer to catch!
It’s my wish that your time in Silver Valley is entertaining, and that you keep guessing who the killer is to the very end of the story.
Thank you so much for your continued support of my stories.
I’d love to connect with you. Please visit my website, www.gerikrotow.com, and sign up for my newsletter. Also find me at my author page on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. Wherever you’re comfortable chatting, I’m there!
Peace,
Geri
WEDDING TAKEDOWN
Geri Krotow
Former naval intelligence officer and US Naval Academy graduate Geri Krotow draws inspiration from the global situations she’s experienced. Geri loves to hear from her readers. You can email her via her website and blog, gerikrotow.com.
Books by Geri Krotow
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Silver Valley P.D.
Her Christmas Protector
Wedding Takedown
Harlequin Superromance
What Family Means
Sasha’s Dad
Whidbey Island
Navy Rules
Navy Orders
Navy Rescue
Navy Christmas
Navy Justice
Harlequin Anthology
Coming Home for Christmas
Navy Joy
Harlequin Everlasting Love
A Rendezvous to Remember
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To Andrew Grey and Heidi Hormel,
Plotbusters Extraordinaire!
Contents
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
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
CHAPTER 1
“My order was very specific. I said absolutely no mums in the bouquet, and you sent an arrangement with three!”
Kayla Paruso knew that customer service was paramount to the success of Kayla’s Blooms. That was the only thing that kept her smiling at Mrs. Vance, who came into the shop every week with a complaint. The elderly woman had been widowed only a year ago and Kayla figured if nitpicking about floral arrangements kept Mrs. Vance going, then so be it.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Vance. I’ll send out a new arrangement tomorrow morning. Tell you what, I’ll throw in a new vase for the inconvenience. Please pick one from that lower shelf and let me know what time you’d like the delivery.”
“You know, in Europe it’s considered bad luck to give mums. They’re funeral flowers!” Mrs. Vance’s dentures clicked as spittle flew from her mouth.
Poor thing.
“I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting me know. Please do feel free to pick out a vase.” How her voice stayed so upbeat was beyond her. Her older sister, Melody, had told her it was the way she’d spoken since childhood—always sounding as though she was excited and happy to see the person she was chatting with.
Mrs. Vance walked over to the shelf of vases, the heels of her stylish shoes tapping on the hardwood floor Kayla had sanded and re-stained two years ago, before she opened Kayla’s Blooms. The lights were bright and her eyes were painfully dry after almost fifteen hours in the shop. It was time to call it a day.
“I’m glad you were here to deal with her.” Jenny, her assistant, spoke quietly behind Kayla. Her hands flew as she pulled off florist paper and wrapped bouquet after bouquet of fresh flowers, finishing each with a colorful spring bow. The Passover and Easter holidays kept them working around the clock and Kayla was grateful for every order called in.
Even for Mrs. Vance.
“It’s all part of the job, right? Besides, she did make it clear, no mums.”
“That’s my point. They weren’t mums, not technically. They were asters. And she’s never mistaken them for mums before.”
“You’re right. We have to give her some leeway. Her daughter stopped in last week and told me she’s thinking of placing Mrs. Vance in a memory care unit. The flowers looked like mums to her, and that’s all that matters. It’s no problem for us to make her up a new arrangement.”
“Unless every other customer wants the same treatment.”
“It’s our policy to replace any unsatisfactory order, and that won’t change.” She wasn’t going to try to explain to Jenny how hard and complicated the aging process could be, especially when dementia came into play. “Why don’t you head home after you get these into the water buckets?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. What time do you need me tomorrow?”
“Eight o’clock is fine. I may be out on deliveries, but you can open the shop.”
“I can come in earlier. You can’t keep working at this pace.”
“Don’t worry about it. I need you fresh and chipper to face all the customers tomorrow. I thrive on this pace. My schedule isn’t going to let up until after wedding season. This is why I got into this business—to keep moving.”
“There’s ‘moving,’ and there’s the hamster wheel.”
Kayla smiled but ignored Jenny’s comment. Jenny was still in college, and spent three of her weekdays commuting to school, working for Kayla on the other two and filling in as needed. She was allowed to have her own opinion. It would be too easy to tell Jenny how much her life would change over the next few years. It was in those years that Kayla herself had realized she wanted to build a life with the permanence she’d never had as a child. Her childhood had been nomadic, spent moving around with her government-employed parents. Starting a new business had been a tremendous challenge but her patience had paid off, since the flower shop was all hers. And so far, it was operating at a profit.
Her cell phone vibrated in her apron pocket and she reached for it, her interest piqued when she saw the caller ID.
“Gloria, what can I do for you?” The Silver Valley mayor’s wife, Gloria Charbonneau, was a new addition to her client list and could bring in an untold number of orders if she spread the word about Kayla’s quality product. Kayla found the woman a bit high-strung, but couldn’t really fault her—her husband had become mayor in a quickly thrown together
election when the previous mayor of Silver Valley, a suburb of Harrisburg, PA, had been indicted for embezzlement.
And it was a charge that Kayla didn’t believe one bit. She’d worked with Mayor Donner over the past two years and found her to be a locally grown politician who knew the area and its people, and did her best to get things done as needed. Amelia Donner was well-known in Silver Valley and many of the locals were still very upset at her sudden expulsion from office. Not to mention their wariness about the slick man who took her place, Tony Charbonneau. Mayor Donner had been a quintessential politician but she wasn’t a criminal.
But apparently Kayla’s opinion didn’t stand up to the courts that were still working to put the former mayor behind bars for her alleged crimes.
“This isn’t about my usual order, Kayla. I need something bigger, and soon.” Gloria Charbonneau’s “usual” was a white centerpiece with seasonal flowers and a touch of color, depending upon the month and her mood. Replaced weekly, it was part of the standing-order list that was the backbone of Kayla’s shop.
Last week’s color choice had been black. Gloria preferred a contemporary style with a generous helping of gaudiness thrown in.
“Tell me what you need.”
There was a long pause and when Gloria finally spoke it wasn’t with her usual conviction.
“The mayor’s, that is, our daughter is having a short-notice wedding. Next Saturday evening, at the Weddings and More Barn. Are you familiar with it?”
“Of course.” Her older sister had used the venue three years ago, and her yoga friend Zora had mentioned it as a possibility for her upcoming wedding to an SVPD detective. The same guy Kayla had tried dating with no luck. Followed by another cop she was still trying to forget, months later. But Rio hadn’t been just another cop, another date. They’d had something special, or so she’d thought. Until she’d realized how dangerous his job really was. She needed stability, not constant worry that her life’s partner would be killed in a shoot-out.
Harlequin Romantic Suspense March 2016 Box Set Page 67
