Veiled Intentions. Delores Fossen

      “I think you’ll regret doing this.”

      “Oh yeah?” Katelyn caught his shoulder and turned him around. She positioned his hands, palms flat, against the wall and patted him down. “I doubt it, since it might just save a few people from dying.”

      The man was certainly solid. And built. Her fingers skimmed over lots of hard, sinewy muscles. Odd. She’d never noticed anything like that before when frisking a subject. Maybe it had something to do with his memorable aftershave.

      She located his wallet. Except she realized it wasn’t a wallet. She flipped open the too-familiar case and read the name aloud. “Joseph Rico.”

      “Sergeant Joe Rico,” he clarified, and turned back around to face her. “Homicide. SAPD.”

      Katelyn’s breath landed somewhere around that knot in her stomach.

      Sergeant Rico moved her out of the doorway and turned to leave, delivering the rest of his news from over his shoulder. “Oh, and by the way, I’m your new boss.”

      Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

      Temperatures are rising this month at Harlequin Intrigue! So whether our mesmerizing men of action are steaming up their love lives or packing heat in high-stakes situations, July’s lineup is guaranteed to sizzle!

      Back by popular demand is the newest branch of our Confidential series. Meet the heroes of NEW ORLEANS CONFIDENTIAL—tough undercover operatives who will stop at nothing to rid the streets of a crime ring tied to the most dangerous movers and shakers in town. USA TODAY bestselling author Rebecca York launches the series with Undercover Encounter—a darkly sensual tale about a secret agent who uses every resource at his disposal to get his former flame out alive when she goes deep undercover in the sultry French Quarter.

      The highly acclaimed Gayle Wilson returns to the lineup with Sight Unseen. In book three of PHOENIX BROTHERHOOD, it’s a race against time to prevent a powerful terrorist organization from unleashing unspeakable harm. Prepare to become entangled in Velvet Ropes by Patricia Rosemoor—book three in CLUB UNDERCOVER—when a clandestine investigation plunges a couple into danger….

      Our sassy inline continuity SHOTGUN SALLYS ends with a bang! You won’t want to miss Lawful Engagement by Linda O. Johnston. In Cassie Miles’s newest Harlequin Intrigue title—Protecting the Innocent—a widow trapped in a labyrinth of evil brings out the Achilles’ heel in a duplicitous man of mystery.

      Delores Fossen’s newest thriller is not to be missed. Veiled Intentions arouses searing desires when two bickering cops pose as doting fiancés in their pursuit of a deranged sniper!

      Enjoy our explosive lineup this month!

      Denise O’Sullivan

      Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue

      Veiled Intentions

      Delores Fossen

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Imagine a family tree that includes Texas cowboys, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, a Louisiana pirate and a Scottish rebel who battled side by side with William Wallace. With ancestors like that, it’s easy to understand why Texas author and former air force captain Delores Fossen feels as if she was genetically predisposed to writing romances. Along the way to fulfilling her DNA destiny, Delores married an air force top gun who just happens to be of Viking descent. With all those romantic bases covered, she doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Sergeant Joe Rico—One of San Antonio PD’s finest, he’s put in charge of collaring a high-profile sniper who goes after newlyweds. What Joe hadn’t counted on was the intense attraction to his new partner and undercover fiancée, Katelyn.

      Detective Katelyn O’Malley—She’s trying to earn a name for herself in the department, so the last thing she’s looking for is a personal involvement with Joe. But it’s hard to push aside the hot Latino cop when their undercover assignment forces them together night and day.

      Addison Merrick—The owner of the Perfect Match Agency. Is he murdering his own clients to lash out at his fiancée for ending their engagement?

      Fiona Shipley—A frequent client at Perfect Match. She was rebuffed by the grooms who became the sniper’s targets.

      Bruce Donovan—Perfect Match employee with a history of violent behavior. He claims he’s trying to help catch the sniper, but maybe he’s just trying to cover his own tracks.

      Dr. Allen Kent—The ex-husband of the first murdered bride. Is his connection to Perfect Match simply a coincidence, or is he really the sniper?

      Lieutenant Brayden O’Malley—Head of Homicide and Katelyn’s brother. He wants his sister to succeed but fears she’s in over her head with both the sniper case and Joe.

      For Don and Orloene

      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

      Chapter Fifteen

      Chapter Sixteen

      Chapter Seventeen

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      Chapter One

      San Antonio, Texas

      Detective Katelyn O’Malley stood in the entrance hall and studied each of the wedding guests as they trickled into Sacred Heart church.

      If she got lucky, very lucky, maybe no one would be murdered today.

      Too bad there was the little annoying buzz in the back of her head that said all hell might break loose before the bride and groom managed to say I do.

      While she directed the guests to sign the registry—a duty she’d created for her cover—Katelyn continued her surveillance. She mentally dismissed two giggling teenage girls whose dresses were so skintight that they couldn’t have been carrying concealed weapons, or much of anything else for that matter. Besides, if her profile of the killer was right, she wasn’t looking for a female but a male in his late twenties or early thirties.

      A male who’d already killed two people.

      “See anything?” she heard her brother, Garrett, ask through her earpiece. He was posted outside the church. Watching their backs. And sides. It’d taken some effort, but she’d managed to get photos of thirty-nine of the forty-one guests. Not bad odds. If someone uninvited showed up, Garrett would know and could relay it to her.

      Katelyn kept her voice at a whisper and spoke into the tiny communicator tucked in the neckline of her dress. “So far, so good. How about you?”

      “Nothing. Well, nothing other than being hit on by one of the bridesmaids.”

      That