If Looks Could Kill. BEVERLY BARTON

      IF LOOKS

       COULD KILL

      BEVERLY BARTON

      Copyright

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      Avon

      An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      Copyright © Beverly Barton 2004

      Beverly Barton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook 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 HarperCollins ebooks

      HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

      Source ISBN: 9781847561398

      Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2011 ISBN: 9780007371693 Version: 2018-07-05

       In memory of my father, a man with a kind and generous heart, a mind that thirsted for knowledge and a truly good soul destined for eternal happiness. This one is for you, Dee Jr., my daddy.

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

      Copyright

       Dedication

      Prologue

      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

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      Chapter 27

      Chapter 28

      Chapter 29

      Chapter 30

      Chapter 31

      Epilogue

       Keep Reading

      About the Author

      Also by Beverly Barton

       About the Publisher

      Prologue

      Kat Baker applied the dark pink lipstick to her mouth, tossed the plastic wand onto the dressing table and stood up to view herself in the full-length mirror. Studying her image, she decided she looked damn good, despite her hair color, an outrageous shade of dark red. She’d been a brunette since childhood and had gone blonde in her early twenties, but never had she considered dyeing her long, glossy mane in red. However, being a working girl whose livelihood depended upon pleasing her clientele, she did whatever the men in her life requested. And this new man had the money to pay for the exclusive rights to her whenever he was in town.

      Tonight would mark their fourth “date.” When he’d telephoned two days ago, he’d given her specific instructions on how to dress and where to meet him, just as he’d done on two previous occasions. He called himself Harry—no last name—but she knew that wasn’t his real name. Few of her clients ever divulged their true identities and she couldn’t blame them, although some used their real given names. They seemed to want to hear her cry out their name when she came. And she was good at faking those earth-shattering orgasms many men tried so hard to give her.

      But Harry wasn’t like that. He didn’t seem to give a damn whether or not she got off, just as long as he did. A shudder passed through her as she recalled the last time he’d been in town. He’d come here the first time, as most of her johns did, to this small Knoxville apartment she rented strictly for her business dealings. She kept another place—her own private home—across town in a nicer neighborhood where no one knew what she did for a living. The first two times with Harry, he’d been aggressive and demanding, but hadn’t requested anything out of the ordinary. But the third time had been different. And truth be told, if he hadn’t offered her such an exorbitant amount of money to be available whenever he came to Knoxville, she’d never see him again. She could deal with rough sex, even with mild S&M, but Harry had come damn near close to choking her. When she’d managed to breathe again, she had tried to get away from him, but he’d held her down and fucked her like crazy.

      Before he’d left that night, he’d given her a huge sum in cash, instructed her to dye her hair red and to wear a black corded ribbon around her neck the next time they were together. He’d even pulled the ribbon from his pocket and handed it to her. The guy gave her the creeps, but she’d convinced herself that he hadn’t really hurt her—just scared the shit out of her—and the money was three times what she usually made. A woman in her business who was over thirty had to think about her future, didn’t she?

      Kat opened the middle drawer in her dressing table, reached inside and pulled out the black ribbon. As she tied it at the back of her neck, she wondered just what it was about this strip of black braided satin that turned Harry on. Probably some freaky thing from his past. Something to do with his mommy or his nanny or his teenage sweetheart.

      Grabbing her purple leather jacket from the closet where she kept her working clothes, she thought ahead to her appointment and wondered what Harry would do to her tonight. Whatever it was, she was sure she’d earn her pay.

      Kat’s eyelids fluttered as she tried to open her eyes, but the lids were heavy. So heavy. Her head throbbed something awful. Where was she? What had happened to her? Why couldn’t she remember?

      She heard an odd noise rumbling in her ears and realized it was the sound of her own groans. Wake up, Kat. Dammit, girl, wake up.

      Something