Covert Alliance

by Linda O. Johnston

  Passion flares between a mysterious woman and a covert investigator who knows her secret…

  With death threats behind her and a hot new appearance, “Kelly Ladd” defies Identity Division rules to go undercover in Blue Haven. She’s determined to bring down her sister’s killer and protect her nephew. A job as a waitress seems like the perfect disguise…until she’s recognized by Alan Correy, a security expert with a competing agenda! Although Kelly mistrusts Alan as much as he disdains her rule breaking, they agree to work together, even pretending to date. But as they close in on the killer, the romance becomes real…as real as the death the murderer leaves in his wake.

  “So what do you want to talk about?”

  “You, Kelly. And Shereen Alsop.”

  Even though she’d expected this, at least somewhat, she flinched but didn’t stop walking.

  “Who’s that?” she asked. Part of her training when provided a new identity was to admit nothing, so she wasn’t about to tell Alan she recognized that name. Her real name.

  “That’s good,” he said. “You’re at least complying with some of the instructions you were given. But you shouldn’t have come here. That was completely against what you were told.”

  “Oh, really?” She kept her tone light. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The hand holding hers moved enough to swing her around, and suddenly Alan was looking down at her. Kelly could still see the anger on her companion’s face, and it made her wince.

  “I…” Before she could figure out how to finish, his mouth came down on hers.

  His kiss was startlingly sexy, and so was the way his body soon molded to hers.

  Get away from him, something inside her screamed. She could be in danger.

  * * *

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  Dear Reader,

  This is my second book about the ID Division of the US Marshals Service. The first was Covert Attraction (12/13).

  I created the ID Division for the situation where a person knows about a crime that affects her but didn’t witness it and can’t provide other evidence against the guilty party. And then the guilty party threatens that person, but remains subtle about it.

  In that case, the endangered person can’t get into a witness protection program, since she can’t testify in court or provide other evidence to help convict the guilty party. But she still needs help. And the guilty party still needs to be prosecuted.

  That’s where my ID Division comes in. It both helps create a new identity for the person in trouble, and also sends a team member undercover to locate the missing evidence to convict that guilty party.

  And once again, in Covert Alliance, the woman whose identity was changed and the undercover operative looking for that evidence clash—yet find their mutual attraction irresistible.

  I hope you enjoy Covert Alliance. Please come visit me at my website, lindaojohnston.com, and at my weekly blog, killerhobbies.blogspot.com. And yes, I’m on Facebook, too.

  Covert Alliance

  Linda O. Johnston

  Linda O. Johnston loves to write. While honing her writing skills, she worked in advertising and public relations, then became a lawyer…and enjoyed writing contracts. Linda’s first published fiction appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and won a Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the Year. Linda now spends most of her time creating memorable tales of paranormal romance, romantic suspense and mystery. Visit her on the web at www.lindaojohnston.com.

  Books by Linda O. Johnston

  Harlequin Romantic Suspense

  Undercover Soldier

  Covert Attraction

  Harlequin Nocturne

  Alpha Force Series

  Alpha Wolf

  Alaskan Wolf

  Guardian Wolf

  Undercover Wolf

  Loyal Wolf

  Canadian Wolf

  Back to Life

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  As with Covert Attraction, Covert Alliance is dedicated to those in danger, and those in love.

  And yes, as always, I dedicate this book to my wonderful husband, Fred.

  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 22

  Chapter 23

  Excerpt from The Pregnant Colton Bride by Marie Ferrarella

  Chapter 1

  “Yes, I’ll be glad to bring you—” Kelly Ladd froze in the middle of her response to her customer’s question. She had just glanced toward the restaurant’s front door.

  Stan Grodon stood in the crowd that was just entering.

  Stan Grodon, the murderous SOB. The reason she had returned to Blue Haven, California—as well as the reason she’d previously been forced to flee for her life. And now—

  “Miss? Miss? I’d really like sausage instead of bacon in my three-cheese omelet. Is that okay?”

  Kelly’s attention returned quickly to the glare of the middle-aged lady in a too-tight Blue Haven Bulldogs T-shirt who sat with a couple of other similarly clad women at the round table nearest her. She stood between two of them, leaning slightly forward, a pad of paper and a pen in her hand to jot down their orders.

  “I’m terribly sorry,” she said soothingly, glad her voice wasn’t cracking. “Of course you can have sausage instead of bacon. Are the types of cheese okay?”

  Kelly forced herself to concentrate on taking the orders of all the women at the table, not watching the entrance of the city council members and others with them. Or at least not doing so overtly. She stood sideways so she wouldn’t be too obvious.

  But she did manage to observe them as they waited to be seated. Especially the man who had gotten away—so far—with killing his wife. Who had attempted to kill Kelly.

  And who was now endangering his own son.

  When Kelly headed to the next customer at the table, she allowed herself to turn just a little, to grab a quick look at the group. She had known that a few Blue Haven City Council members and some staff were expected here for a 9:00 a.m. breakfast. They’d sent someone ahead to make sure tables would be ready for them.

  Which had also given Kelly time to prepare herself mentally—as much as she could—assuming Stan might be among them. And maybe the other man she anticipated, his aide, Paul Tirths.

  Paul was not here, but Stan was. Kelly had played out this moment hundreds of times in her mind. Thousands. Yet she knew reality was unlikely to unfold exactly as she’d imagined.

  She just hoped it soon allowed her, at last, to achieve her goals. And stay alive.

  She forced herself to smile and act as if she was paying complete attention to what the next customer said. In fact, she was paying some attention. She had to. She was a waitress here, which included taking orders, serving and more. That was the cover she had created for herself. A perfect cover, since she had been fully aware of how popular this family-style café was with the local city council.

  Plus, she now knew how to be the ultimate server, thank
s to her new identity—although she’d unfortunately had to walk out on the job she had been given to start her new life.

  And in doing so, she had undoubtedly incurred a lot of wrath that she would ultimately have to face.

  But not yet. Now it was almost time. Time to see if her new looks, that new identity, her new persona, had all been changed sufficiently to make sure Stan couldn’t recognize that she was actually Shereen Alsop, sister to Andi Grodon, the woman who’d been his wife.

  The woman he had murdered just over a year ago. Whose body was never found.

  “Thanks,” Kelly finally said, smiling brightly at her customers. “I’ll be back with your food soon.”

  She barely noticed their startled looks. Had they finished telling her what they wanted? No matter. She couldn’t just stay there. Not now.

  Along with the rest of his crowd, Stan now moved toward her as they followed the hostess. He was dressed nattily in an expensive-looking suit and was smiling, damn him, as he chatted with his fellow council members and others like he had nothing in the world on his conscience.

  Kelly ached to confront him. Smash that smile right off his ugly, falsely charming face.

  But not here. Not now. Not without answers—or Eli. She’d taken on a different identity on social media, too, and the scared recent posts from her nephew were the primary reason she had returned so impulsively.

  If there had been any way of helping Eli remotely, she would have done it. She had tried to think of some way to do that so she wouldn’t have to put herself in danger once more.

  But she hadn’t been able to just sit back and watch Eli’s terror grow.

  “They’re here.” Ella Berdeen, the restaurant’s co-owner and manager, had joined Kelly near the row of tables that she had, at Ella’s instruction, helped to set up. That had involved obtaining more information about timing and numbers from the guy who had requested the rearrangement, then getting enough patrons to move to different tables in the busy restaurant to provide space for the city council.

  It had taken a little bribery, some drinks and pastries that were on the house, but it had all worked out in the end.

  “I’ll go tell the other servers,” Kelly said hurriedly, feeling like a coward. But she didn’t want to just stand there. And she would simply help to serve the food. She wouldn’t take orders. The waitresses were more noticeable than the ones who simply brought the food out and set it quickly down in front of the patrons—perhaps having an opportunity to eavesdrop a little on what they said.

  Even so, she wished her waitress uniform weren’t so skimpy—a short black skirt beneath a snug and sleeveless white blouse. She knew Stan was a womanizer, and if he looked at her now, she wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell if he was undressing her in his mind—or recognizing her.

  “No, I’ll tell them, and give me the orders you just wrote down. You start taking the orders of the council members and their staff. We have to accommodate their schedule.” Ella’s expression appeared irritated. In the few days since Kelly had started working here, she’d observed that despite what she made female servers wear, Ella liked to wear chic dresses over comfortable shoes, as she did now. Her hair was short and blond, and her smile never-ending—at least with her customers.

  With her employees, like Kelly, she didn’t try to hide it if she felt annoyed. Like now.

  “Okay,” Kelly said. But it wasn’t okay. Her first protective measure was now decimated.

  On the other hand, maybe it would be better if she knew right away if all the changes that had been made to her, via cosmetic surgery, dyed and restyled hair, lessons in makeup and comportment and posture, voice and more, had changed her appearance enough.

  She would soon find out.

  Kelly started to turn toward the table when she saw the man in a suit who’d been in here before. He had returned—the guy who had come to make sure things could be set up for this group quickly and who had answered her questions about the arrangement.

  Not surprising. He would want to make sure that all was ready, as promised.

  But that might not be all he was doing here. And that worried Kelly.

  At first she’d thought him an aide to the council members. But as he’d continued to ask questions as well as answer them, she had begun to wonder if he was with the private security company hired to protect the council.

  She—no, her alter ego, Shereen Alsop—had had some familiarity with Blue Haven Security and with its staff...then. Before she had fled the town of Blue Haven to avoid the threats to her life that she knew, but could not prove, had come from Stan.

  Ella had called this man Alan. He had just reentered the restaurant behind the group, but now he slid in front, approaching Kelly. She wanted to flee into the kitchen. Instead, she stood her ground.

  The last thing she wanted was to do anything that might make her conspicuous, especially now, with Stan in the room.

  Besides, her suspicion of this guy could just be a self-protective instinct. She couldn’t trust anyone. She didn’t dare.

  “Good job getting this set up, Kelly,” Alan said to her immediately. Ella had told him her name earlier, too.

  A feeling of warmth passed through her—unwanted heat. Sure, he was attractive. Sexy.

  But she didn’t dare even hint at flirting with him.

  “Thanks,” she said, making sure she did everything possible to stay within her role.

  Alan was over six feet tall. His deep brown eyes regarded her from beneath craggy dark brows that matched his short hair, and he smiled.

  But something in his expression made Kelly think he was trying to keep up appearances, too. Maybe because she suspected everyone these days.

  Or maybe because she actually knew who this guy was.

  “Hey, can we place our orders now?” someone called from beside her. “We’re in a hurry.”

  Kelly needed to move away from Alan, and so she turned to respond. But she knew that voice. It was Stan’s.

  Which would be less risky—staying here and talking with this possible security guy who might have a different agenda from the rest of his team?

  Or confronting Stan for the first time?

  “Go ahead,” Ella said from her other side, and the choice was taken from her.

  When she glanced in Alan’s direction, she saw him nod slightly, with a small grin on his rugged, amused face that suggested he understood her dilemma.

  Was she just reading into his appearance, his actions, because she suspected there would be someone in this town who was also undercover, but officially so?

  Well, this wasn’t the time to worry about it. Right now, she needed to confront Stan. Sort of. While staying in character, and praying that her new appearance worked, and Stan didn’t recognize her.

  And thus she would at last be able to accomplish what had become her life’s mission: protecting Eli and finally getting the evidence on Stan.

  * * *

  Alan Correy watched the gorgeous waitress who turned toward the tables of city council members.

  The woman he had never met, yet already knew.

  When he had come in before as a staff member of Blue Haven Security—his job here, while undercover—to request the tables, Ella had said her name was Kelly. And Alan had previously been instructed to keep an eye out for the woman now known as Kelly Ladd. He had been sent her photo as she’d looked originally, along with the last time they’d seen her, by his boss over his secure phone connection. Was this her?

  Maybe.

  That woman had taken full advantage of his real employer, the ID Division of the US Marshals Service. They had provided her protection as well as an identity change. But she left the job she had been given in her new life, disappeared without permission from the division’s head, Judge Treena Avalon, or anyone else.

  She had been expected to show up here. Apparently she had.

  This Kelly resembled the photo, although her hair was softer, curlier and a darker brown, pulled away from her f
ace with a narrow band. Her cheekbones were more prominent, her lips narrower. Her face could have won beauty contests.

  But the real Kelly, in addition to having had her looks modified, would also have been instructed in ways to further disguise herself if necessary.

  Instead of immediately rushing over to the tables to take orders, Kelly continued looking at Alan for an instant. He had a sense that she was assessing him the way he was assessing her. That she suspected who he was, too.

  But then she quickly pulled a pad from the pocket of her skimpy skirt and approached the table.

  The person nearest to her, who’d just commanded her attention, was the reason Alan was here in Blue Haven.

  And if he was right about who she was, Stan Grodon might in fact be the reason this attractive waitress was here, too. For similar reasons to his.

  If so, she was endangering everything Alan stood for. Endangering herself—again—as well.

  He would need to stop her. Oh, yeah.

  But for now, he would ignore his deep-seated irritation—and her sexiness—and simply observe.

  * * *

  Could she do this?

  She had to. Eli’s well-being was at stake.

  Kelly quickly turned her back on the man who sent sparks of nervousness up her spine, whom she believed could ruin everything here for her—and for Eli.

  But if she tried, she could ruin everything for him, too. Not that she wanted to.

  The tables, all pushed together, seated four on each side and two along the end. A small bouquet of pink roses decorated the middle. The council group members were chatting amiably, although Kelly caught occasional brief eye rolls from some of them.