Shotgun Daddy. Harper Allen

      “Don’t start what you can’t finish, honey.”

      He lifted his mouth from hers to mutter the warning against her lips. “If we go through with this, it’s on the understanding that tomorrow no one gets to pretend it didn’t happen. If you can’t handle that, tell me now.”

      A shiver ran all the way from her heels to the top of her head, and back down again. Arching against him, Caro let her fingertips curl against the muscled wall of his chest, and pressed her nails lightly into his skin. “Don’t worry about me, Gabe, worry about yourself.”

      She didn’t know where the reckless words had come from. She knew he’d walk out of her life again. But he was never going to forget her completely. She was going to make sure of that tonight.

      “Worry about myself?” There was startled humor in his eyes. “Princess, I can handle anything you dish out, and then some. I’ll admit you rocked my world the last time we—”

      “I didn’t just rock your world, Riggs, I sent a 9.5 on the Richter scale through it,” Caro retorted. “This time, I intend to bring you to your knees.”

      Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

      Those April showers go hand in hand with a welcome downpour of gripping romantic suspense in the Harlequin Intrigue line this month!

      Reader-favorite Rebecca York returns to the legendary 43 LIGHT STREET with Out of Nowhere—an entrancing tale about a beautiful blond amnesiac who proves downright lethal to a hard-edged detective’s heart. Then take a detour to New Mexico for Shotgun Daddy by Harper Allen—the conclusion in the MEN OF THE DOUBLE B RANCH trilogy. In this story a Navajo protector must safeguard the woman from his past who is nurturing a ticking time bomb of a secret.

      The momentum keeps building as Sylvie Kurtz launches her brand-new miniseries—THE SEEKERS—about men dedicated to truth, justice…and protecting the women they love. But at what cost? Don’t miss the debut book, Heart of a Hunter, where the search for a killer just might culminate in rekindled love. Passion and peril go hand in hand in Agent Cowboy by Debra Webb, when COLBY AGENCY investigator Trent Tucker races against time to crack a case of triple murder!

      Rounding off a month of addictive romantic thrillers, watch for the continuation of two new thematic promotions. A handsome sheriff saves the day in Restless Spirit by Cassie Miles, which is part of COWBOY COPS. Sudden Recall by Jean Barrett is the latest in our DEAD BOLT series about silent memories that unlock simmering passions.

      Enjoy all of our great offerings.

      Sincerely,

      Denise O’Sullivan

      Senior Editor

      Harlequin Intrigue

      Shotgun Daddy

      Harper Allen

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Harper Allen lives in the country in the middle of a hundred acres of maple trees with her husband, Wayne, six cats, four dogs—and a very nervous cockatiel at the bottom of the food chain. For excitement she and Wayne drive to the nearest village and buy jumbo bags of pet food. She believes in love at first sight because it happened to her.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Caro Moore—She’s gone from spoiled socialite to desperate single mother on the run. To save her baby from a killer, she needs the protection of the man she turned away….

      Gabe Riggs—The Navajo hostage negotiator can’t forget the one night he shared with Caro Moore. Now he’s the only one who can keep her—and the baby he doesn’t know is his—safe.

      Del Hawkins—The tough ex-marine runs a boot camp ranch for bad boys—like Gabe once was. But his own past holds a dark secret that could put Gabe, Caro and their child in danger.

      Jess Crawford—Once a Double B “bad boy,” the multimillionaire has been kidnapped. Can Gabe find him before it’s too late…?

      Steve Dixon—Jess’s friend and business associate. He has reasons to want Caro and her baby out of the picture for good.

      Larry Kanin—Caro’s ex-fiancé has a score to settle with Gabe. He doesn’t care whom he destroys in the attempt.

      “Leo”—The shadowy lead kidnapper has a very personal motive.

      Alice Tahe—The Navajo matriarch knows Gabe’s heritage can give him the strength to save the woman and the baby he loves. But will she convince him of that in time?

      To the Simcoe Street Irregulars

      Contents

      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

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Gabriel Riggs got out of his rented four-wheel drive and stood beside it for a moment, going over his to-do list one final time in his mind. Fly back from Nicaragua. Check. Drive to Aspen. Check. Smash through the gate cordoning off the drive leading up the mountain to Larry Kanin’s ski chalet. Check. There was only one item left on the list.

      Find that bastard Larry and make him sorry he was ever—

      “Your keys, sir? I’ll park your car with the others.”

      Gabe frowned at the muscular young man confronting him. In the light from the Olympic-style torches lining the drive, the security guard’s fresh face contrasted with the commando-like gear he was wearing. The guard’s eyes narrowed.

      “Wait a minute. Are you on the guest list?”

      “No.”

      Gabe headed past him toward the redwood steps ascending to the veranda. Kanin’s man grabbed his arm. “If you’re not on the list, you’re going to have to be escorted off the—”

      Get past Security. Check.

      Gabe crossed the veranda, not bothering to look back at the sprawled figure in the snow behind him. That was Larry all over, he thought savagely. All style and no substance, even down to the beefcake he had guarding his own property. But hell, when all someone cared about was the bottom line, maybe style was all it took. Recoveries International’s corporate clientele roster grew every time Kanin attended a function flanked by his six-and-a-half-foot blond robots.

      Probably even Tech-Oil Consolidated would stay with the firm. After all, the death of one of their employees at the hands of kidnappers had saved them a bundle.

      The noise hit him as he entered the chalet—a raucous mix of laughter, too-loud music and brittle voices. He’d heard about the beautiful people, Gabe thought, scanning the room and taking in the cluster of après-skiers by the fireplace, the group near a buffet table. He guessed that was who these people were, but Kanin wasn’t among them. He switched his attention