Bodyguard/Husband
“I don’t know how to act with you. What are we supposed to do?” Holly asked her protector.
Jack’s gray eyes sparkled as he grinned. Her heart fluttered. The transformation was amazing. His whole face lit up and his harsh features turned devastatingly handsome. She tried to focus on what he was saying.
“We’re supposed to be married. So act like a newlywed. Oh, by the way. I put my stuff in the guest room, but I’ll be sleeping with you,” Jack said.
“You’ll what?” Holly croaked.
“We can’t take the chance that your stalker might see anything that would tell him we aren’t sleeping together. We’re pretty sure he has access to your house. So everything must point to a happy newlywed couple. You have a king-size bed, don’t you?”
Holly nodded slowly. She felt paralyzed in place. A vision of Jack in her bed, tangled in her sheets rose before her eyes. She realized she was still nodding, and stopped.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll stay on my side of the bed. I’m an honorable man….”
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Take a very well-deserved break from Thanksgiving preparations and rejuvenate yourself with Harlequin Intrigue’s tempting offerings this month!
To start off the festivities, Harper Allen brings you
Covert Cowboy
—the next riveting installment of COLORADO CONFIDENTIAL. Watch the sparks fly when a Native American secret agent teams up with the headstrong mother of his unborn child to catch a slippery criminal. Looking to live on the edge? Then enter the dark and somber HEARTS KEEP estate—with caution!—when Dani Sinclair brings you
The Second Sister
—the next book in her gothic trilogy.
The thrills don’t stop there!
His Mysterious Ways
pairs a ruthless mercenary with a secretive seductress as they ward off evil forces. Don’t miss this new series in Amanda Stevens’s extraordinary QUANTUM MEN books. Join Mallory Kane for an action-packed story about a heroine who must turn to a tough-hearted FBI operative when she’s targeted by a stalker in
Bodyguard/Husband.
A homecoming unveils a deadly conspiracy in
Unmarked Man
by Darlene Scalera—the latest offering in our new theme promotion BACHELORS AT LARGE. And finally this month, ’tis the season for some spine-tingling suspense in
The Christmas Target
by Charlotte Douglas when a sexy cowboy cop must ride to the rescue as a twisted Santa sets his sights on a beautiful businesswoman.
So gather your loved ones all around and warm up by the fire with some steamy romantic suspense!
Enjoy,
Denise O’Sullivan
Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
B
ODYGUARD
/H
USBAND
M
ALLORY
K
ANE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mallory Kane took early retirement from her position as assistant chief of pharmacy at a large metropolitan medical center to pursue her other loves, writing and art. She has published and won awards for science fiction and fantasy as well as romance. Mallory credits her love of books to her mother, who taught her that books are a precious resource and should be treated with loving respect. Her grandfather and her father were both steeped in the Southern tradition of oral history, and could hold an audience spellbound with their storytelling skills. Mallory aspires to be as good a storyteller as her father. She loves romantic suspense with dangerous heroes and dauntless heroines. She is also fascinated by story ideas that explore the infinite capacity of the brain to adapt and develop higher skills. Mallory lives in Mississippi with her husband and their dauntless cat. She would be delighted to hear from readers. You can write to her c/o Harlequin Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.
Books by Mallory Kane
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
620—THE LAWMAN WHO LOVED HER
698—HEIR TO SECRET MEMORIES
738—BODYGUARD/HUSBAND
*
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Holly Frasier
—Three men are dead because they cared for her. Now she’s married to a stranger who swears he can protect her from her deadly admirer.
Jack O’Hara
—This FBI special agent—known as the Ice Man—never lets his personal feelings get involved. He knows his strength is in his detachment. But Holly Frasier may melt his ice-encrusted heart, if he can keep her alive.
Virgil McCray
—Chief of police of Maze, Mississippi. He only has the best interests of his grandniece Holly at heart.
Debi McCray
—Holly’s younger sister is afraid Holly will leave her alone to care for their great-aunt and great-uncle.
Stanley Hanks
—The university gym’s maintenance man has a special place in his heart for Holly.
Bob Winger
—The town’s high school English teacher depends on Holly to listen to all his problems, and solve them for him.
Donald Sheffield
—Holly dated him for a short while, but he assumed they had a relationship, and he didn’t want to let her go.
Earl Isley
—An insurance agent in Maze, he wrote large insurance policies on both Holly’s dead husband and her missing fiancé, with Holly as beneficiary.
Mitch Decker
—Special agent in charge of the Division of Unsolved Mysteries, Decker treats all of his staff like family.
Eric Baldwyn
—The division’s profiler. He’s got an uncanny talent for delving into the psyche of the killer.
Danny Barbour
—Jack’s best friend, and a detective in Maze who died from anaphylactic shock after a wasp sting.
For Joyce, who understands why.
Contents
Chapter One
Sunday, June 22
“Love, if you knew the light
That your soul casts in my sight,
How I look to you
For the pure and true
And the beauteous and the right.”
My heart was heavy as I watched you leave a fortnight ago. The days have been so long, the nights so empty since you’ve been gone. I live for your smile. I cherish your sweet, gentle ways.
You looked like an angel as you said goodbye, your hair as soft and shiny as a child’s, and your white blouse glowing in the sun. You should always wear white.
But, Holly, you looked so sad. I know you hated to go. Don’t worry, my dearest love. I’m here. I’ll watch over you just like I always have. Every moment you’ve been gone has been like an eternity to me. This has been the longest two weeks of my life. But you will be back tomorrow,
and my world will be whole again. I know you’ve kept your promise not to let one of those evil men sway you ever again. Not one of them ever cared for you like I have. You know I’m right. You belong with me.
D
ON’T BE HIM
, don’t be him, don’t be him,
Holly Frasier intoned as the man rushed into the airplane’s cabin, his tie flapping and sweat dotting his brow. Her heart thrummed in rhythm with the idling engines. Paper crackled as her fists clenched around the in-flight magazine she held but hadn’t looked at.
Was this the FBI agent who was supposed to have met her yesterday, then hadn’t shown up? He looked too young and disorganized, more like a fresh, eager MBA graduate than a man who made his living sneaking around and packing a gun.
Holly sat frozen, as if being perfectly still would render her invisible, as he squinted at the seat numbers, paused beside her row, then passed her by.
Taking her first breath since he’d stepped into the cabin, she looked at her watch. Past time for takeoff. Maybe the agent wouldn’t show. With that thought her neck muscles immediately relaxed. He’d already missed their
wedding.
After waiting all morning at City Hall in Chicago as instructed, Holly had received a curt phone call from the FBI field office. She was to board her late-afternoon flight back to her hometown of Maze, Mississippi, from Chicago as planned.
That was it. No explanation. No information about why the FBI agent hadn’t shown up, or even if he would.
Holly couldn’t decide which was stronger inside her,
anger or relief. The two weeks she’d just spent in Chicago had been absolutely miserable. Although she’d done her best to enjoy the physical fitness symposium she’d attended, she hadn’t been able to ignore the spec-tre of the meeting that loomed at the end of the two weeks—a meeting with an FBI special agent who thought someone had killed three men she’d cared about and who was going undercover as her husband to catch the killer.
Holly wished she’d never shown the notes to her great-uncle, the chief of police of Maze. Virgil McCray had taken one look at them and contacted the FBI. At their request, Uncle Virgil had compiled a file on Holly that detailed the death of her husband six years ago, the disappearance of her fiancé last year, and Detective Danny Barbour’s recent tragic death from an allergic reaction. He’d also sent them photocopies of the three creepy, anonymous notes that had referenced the deaths.
The flight attendant began closing the overhead compartments. It was time for takeoff and the agent hadn’t shown up.
Holly’s hopes rose, then quickly fell as another last-minute straggler entered the cabin. This one had a prep cut, a custom-tailored suit and a scowl. She’d hoped her new “husband” would at least be nice. This guy looked like he ate toads for breakfast.
Don’t be him, don’t be him,
she whispered silently, without much hope. He was the television stereotype of an FBI agent. Good suit, bad haircut, a suspicious bulge in his jacket.
The suspicious bulge beeped, and he pulled out a cell phone and spoke two curt words into it. Then he
insisted to the young woman a few rows in front of Holly that she was in his seat.
Someone came in behind him. Holly had a vague impression of long legs in jeans, and a light-colored sport coat. She tilted her head, trying to get a clearer view. The businessman finally sat down, leaving Holly staring at the blue-jeaned guy. When she met his gaze, her heart lurched and her mouth went dry at the intense glacial gray of his eyes.