Morgan Hayes - Tall, Dark And Wanted

He’d been gentle. So gentle…

Should it have surprised her? The second Mitch had touched her tonight, the soft heat of his palm had whispered memories to her.

Molly took another deep breath, trying to quiet the flutter that had started inside her the second he’d lifted her top to dress her wound. The bathroom had been far too cramped for the two of them. Definitely too cramped for the physical attraction she’d felt crackle across the narrow gap that had separated them.

“No.” The sound of her voice forced back the images. And if that wasn’t enough, Molly patted at the edges of the tape that held the bandage in place. It still stung, giving her a sharp bite of reality.

And the reality was, she was here to bring Mitch back to Chicago. Nothing more.

Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

The holidays are upon us again. This year, remember to give yourself a gift—the gift of great romantic suspense from Harlequin Intrigue!

In the exciting conclusion to TEXAS CONFIDENTIAL, The Outsider’s Redemption (#593) by Joanna Wayne, Cody Gannon must make a life-and-death decision. Should he trust his fellow agents even though there may be a traitor among their ranks? Or should he trust Sarah Rand, a pregnant single mother-to-be, who may be as deadly as she is beautiful?

Another of THE SUTTON BABIES is on the way, in Lullaby and Goodnight (#594) by Susan Kearney. When Rafe Sutton learns Rhianna McCloud is about to have his baby, his honor demands that he protect her from a determined and mysterious stalker. But Rafe must also discover the stalker’s connection to the Sutton family—before it’s too late!

An unlikely partnership is forged in To Die For (#595) by Sharon Green. Tanda Grail is determined to find her brother’s killer. Detective Mike Gerard doesn’t want a woman distracting him while on a case. But when push comes to shove, is it Mike’s desire to catch a killer that propels him, or his desire for Tanda?

First-time Harlequin Intrigue author Morgan Hayes makes her debut with Tall, Dark and Wanted (#596). Policewoman Molly Sparling refuses to believe Mitch Drake is dead. Her former flame and love of her life is missing from Witness Protection, but her superior tracking skills find him hiding out. While the cop in her wants to bring him in, the woman in her wants him to trust her. But Mitch just plain wants her back….

Wishing you the happiest of holidays from all of us at Harlequin Intrigue!

Sincerely,

Denise O’Sullivan

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin Intrigue

Tall, Dark and Wanted

Morgan Hayes

www.millsandboon.co.uk

“Men and women finding love against great emotional odds and in the face of personal danger—that’s what I attempt to deliver to my readers with each book,” says Morgan Hayes. “For me, the combination of mystery and romance is the most fulfilling. With suspense and intrigue, I’m able to develop the compelling dynamics that, I hope, will keep my readers turning the pages not only to find out ‘whodunit’ but to discover how these characters are going to survive emotionally.”

The inspiration for Hayes’s suspense stories comes from her continued research in Baltimore, Maryland—primarily with the city’s homicide unit. And quite often the inspiration for her characters comes from the admirable men and women behind the badge. With Mitch and Molly’s story, there was the added inspiration of time spent in southwest Michigan at Shady Shores, a family-owned resort that hugs the shore of Dewey Lake just northwest of Dowagiac.

Hayes herself lives along the remote and rocky shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario, but admits that she needs the occasional dose of big-city life, and frequently travels to Baltimore and beyond. Ms. Hayes’s book Seduced by a Stranger won the 1998 Romance Writers of America Mystery/Suspense Chapter’s Kiss of Death Award, and in 1996 her second Harlequin Superromance novel, Premonitions, garnered a Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award.

Mitch Drake—He’d lost everything he held precious in life and now he was on the run. But with former love Molly Sparling by his side, his heart began to heal—and to hope.

Molly Sparling—She swore the only reason she’d sought out Mitch was as a cop doing double duty to catch a ruthless killer. Still, she couldn’t help but feel like a woman in Mitch’s strong arms.

Sergio Sabatini—Known in Chicago as “Slippery” Sabatini, this mob boss would do anything to keep himself out of the can—starting with the murder of the key witness in his case, Mitch Drake, and that meddling cop, Sparling….

Leo Sparling—His only daughter, Molly, meant everything to this retired lawman, but even he couldn’t keep her safe from the dangers on her trail.

Sergeant Karl Burr—He knew Molly was a maverick and so he let her have her head. But was Molly’s “uncle” Karl getting in over his head?

Detective Adam Barclay—Molly’s partner on the force and her sole confidant—but could he truly be trusted?

Tom Sutton—This good cop’s murder spurred Molly on—but could she have saved him from the evil that stalked him?

Rachel McCloud—Tom’s former partner in Vice was a top dog detective, but just how much did she know about Tom’s murder?

In memory of Alice Nevins…

avid reader, shining light and boundless soul.

May her enduring spirit live on in the memories of all

those who call Shady Shores their “other home.”

And for Susan Bergey and Robyn Landers,

whose endless generosity and card table

made this book possible.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Mitch eased his hand around the cool brass of the door-knob. He turned it noiselessly, feeling the bolt slide free of the catch.

He didn’t start when he heard one of the officers clear his throat behind him. He’d expected it.

“Uh, Mr. Drake, you weren’t actually thinking of leaving, were you?”

Mitch turned in time to see a third officer round the corner to join the other two in the room. Expectation replaced the previous boredom that had marked all three of the officers’ faces from the moment they’d arrived for duty at the safe house one week ago.

“As though I could go anywhere in this?” Mitch responded, nodding to the back window. Except for the narrow path that had been trampled down during the officers’ frequent smoke breaks, the small, fenced-in yard was buried under a good three feet of snow. Chicago had been socked by one of the worst New Year’s storms it had ever seen. Five straight days of freezing temperatures, nonstop flurries and winds that drove the snow into waist-high drifts, closing highways and more than half of the city.

“Why don’t you guys go back to the game?” He could hear the Bulls game still blaring from the TV in the other room. “I’ll be ten minutes.”

“Look, Mr. Drake. It’s the D.A. who makes the rules, not us, okay? And rule number one is we’re not supposed to let you out of our sight.”

“I won’t be out of your sight. I’ll be right outside. Now, if one of you wants to join me, you’re more than welcome. I’m going for a smoke.”

“But you don’t—”

“I do now.” He snatched up the pack of Camels left on the Formica-topped kitchen table, and tapped one cigarette out into his palm as though he’d done it a thousand times before. And when one officer tossed him a plastic lighter, Mitch caught it in the air, nodding the man an insincere “thanks”.

He half expected one of them to scramble into his coat and come out after him. But no one did. The door slammed shut in its frame as Mitch stood against the full force of the gale that blasted around the side of the split-level bungalow.

No matter how bitter cold, he was grateful for the privacy. There’d been precious little of it these past few months, with a new safe house every couple of weeks, and a constantly changing team of officers breathing down his neck at every move as though he was the one waiting to go on trial.

Turning up the collar of his leather bomber jacket, he stepped off the snow-packed deck and ventured down the steps to the first low drifts. He buried his hands in his pockets, crushing the cigarette in the process, and followed the six-foot-high fence. Snow packed into the sides of his leather shoes. Icy wind bit at his exposed skin and whipped at his hair. He didn’t care. At least it made him feel alive.

And—after eight months of safe houses, not to mention the two months prior to that recuperating in hospital—it was hard to remember what “alive” was anymore. Hard to remember there had ever been a life before this nightmare. Harder still to remember life with Emily.

He stopped at the far end of the yard, sheltered somewhat by the fence, and let the wind wrap its chill around him.

One thing he would always remember, however, was that night—the night his life had ended in one wrong turn, a detour directly to hell. Closing his eyes against the driving snow, he could, in an instant, conjure up every last detail of that night. The events unfolded before his mind’s eye like some stuttering, overplayed movie reel—the grand opening of the Carlisle Office Complex he’d spent three years designing and building, the project that sealed his reputation and success in the world of architecture, a night of high society and glamor, of celebration and champagne. But the most vivid image, beyond all the glitter and opulence of the evening’s events, was Emily—her glowing beauty, that shimmering smile of joy, her laughter and her words.

“Look at this, Mitch. All this—” she’d whispered, waving one slender hand at the grandeur around them. “It’s unbelievable, and all of it is yours. You did this. I am so proud of you.”

She’d kissed him then, oblivious of any onlookers. It was a passionate kiss that Mitch knew he’d remember to his grave, because it had been their last.

Within three hours of that kiss, everything he had known and loved was gone. They’d left the opening early. Emily, in spite of all her good cheer and exuberance, hadn’t been feeling well. Mitch could still remember the unseasonable warmth of the spring night air wafting through the car’s partly open window as they left the city center behind them.

If not for the road construction, they would have been safe in their bed, his body molding to Emily’s curves as he held her through the night. Instead, there was the detour sign, followed by a wrong turn. And then that dark street—made even darker now by the memories.

Emily had asked if he was lost. There was no time to answer. The sports car’s headlamps panned to the left as he took the turn, the light glaring across wet asphalt, illuminating the graffiti-covered wall of the overpass and finally capturing the small group of men.

They stood under the concrete arch, next to two dark-colored sedans, as the world spun into slow motion. Mitch couldn’t be sure which came first—the piercing crack of the gunshot or the flare from the weapon’s muzzle. Then there was the figure, crumpling to the shimmering pavement. And finally, the man…the man holding the gun. He’d turned, his deeply lined, sallow face forever etched in Mitch’s mind.