The Marriage Profile. Metsy Hingle

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      CLUB TIMES

      For Members’ Eyes Only

      Astral Rejection!

      Angela Mason, Mission Creek’s famous profiler, and I were both waiting for our hair to dry at the salon. I’d been doing some reading about spirits, crystals and otherworldly things, and thought, might as well ask Angela how to cleanse my aura. She told me to go buy a bran muffin. Her hair-dresser, Jorge, whisked her away before I could come up with a snappy comeback. Some people are so huffy.

      I will say that Angela has fantastic taste in men. While doing my weekly lawn-chair stakeout on Main Street, I saw Ms. Profiler on the arm of that scrumptious Ricky Mercado. Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome Mercado is one fine specimen who really should have his own calendar. I just hope Angela’s ex-husband, Sheriff Justin Wainwright, doesn’t get wind of this pairing. Better not tell him, either, members. I get the feeling that Justin carries a torch for his ex, and you don’t want to make a Wainwright mad. Trust me on that one.

      Last note, for those pranksters who made rude shapes on some of the deck tables, using Yellow Rose Café coleslaw, we are not amused. Our fine Lone Star chefs worked long hours, shredding that cabbage. In the future, let’s all try a little harder to get along, shall we?

      Come to the Lone Star Country Club, your weekend getaway, every day!

      About the Author

      METSY HINGLE

      is the award-winning, bestselling author of series- and single-title romance novels. Known for creating powerful and passionate stories, Metsy’s own life reads like the plot of a romance novel—from her early years in a New Orleans’ orphanage and foster care to her long, happy marriage to her husband, Jim, and the rearing of their four children. She recently traded in her business suits and fast-paced life in the hotel and public-relations arena to pursue writing full-time.

      She was thrilled to be invited to participate in the LONE STAR COUNTRY CLUB series because it allowed her an opportunity to work with old friends and other authors whose books she’d enjoyed forages. She was intrigued by the entire concept for the series right from the start. What truly enamored her to the series was that at the heart of each story is the message that real wealth lies not in money and acquisitions, but in the bonds of family and the healing power of love. She had a wonderful time working with the talented authors and editors on this series. She fell in love with Justin and Angela in The Marriage Profile. She hopes you do, too.

      Metsy loves hearing from readers. For a free bookmark, write to Metsy at P.O. Box 3224, Covington, LA 70433 or visit her Web site at: www.metsyhingle.com.

      The Marriage Profile

      Metsy Hingle

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Welcome to the

      Where Texas society reigns supreme—and appearances are everything.

      It’s a race against time as the search for baby Lena continues….

      Justin Wainwright: The last thing this rough-edged sheriff wanted was to team up with his former bride to work baby Lena’s case. But would keeping a tight rein on his smoldering desires be his toughest assignment yet?

      Angela Mason: This investigation was a matter of life and death, and if her tough-as-nails ex-husband thought he could intimidate her out of this job, he had another think coming! It would just be her little secret that he still stirred her womanly passions like no other man alive….

      Mission Creek rumor mill: Hmm…what’s star profiler Angela Mason doing on the arm of the good-for-nothin’ Ricky Mercado? Is she aligning herself with the underworld? And will the search for baby Lena lead to another dead end…or could it bring back presumed dead mob princess Haley Mercado to the family she despises?

      For my Texas Pals Sandra Brown, Karen Young, Mary Lynn Baxter & Peggy Moreland And for the fabulous fans in Texas

      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

      One

      “They aren’t going to show.”

      Ignoring his deputy’s remark, Sheriff Justin Wainwright kept his eyes trained on the entrance of the Mission Creek Memorial Hospital and watched as one by one the movers and shakers of Lone Star County, Texas, strolled indoors. It seemed no one wanted to miss the dedication ceremony of the hospital’s new state-of-the-art maternity ward, Justin mused as he noted members of his own family and an equal number of the Carsons file through the doors.

      “We’re wasting our time here, Sheriff. Mercado and Del Brio aren’t going to show for this shindig.”

      Justin cut a glance to Bobby Hunter, the strapping young man he’d hired as his deputy less than two months ago. “They’ll show,” Justin assured his impatient deputy. His voice held the same conviction now that it had when he’d promised Dylan Bridges that he would bring to justice the person responsible for the death of Dylan’s father. He intended to make good on that promise. The fact that he had in custody the hit man who’d offed Judge Bridges fulfilled only part of that promise. He still had to find the person who had contracted Alex Black to kill the judge. According to the story Black had given him, the not-too-bright gunman hadn’t known who had hired him. He’d been contacted by phone, then given instructions via a tape recording. Payment for the job had been in cash and placed in a trash can in the park for Black to retrieve later.

      As far-fetched as it had sounded, Justin had believed the man. Maybe Black hadn’t known who was behind the order to kill the judge, but Justin had a pretty good idea who was responsible. His every instinct as a lawman told him that the hit had been ordered by someone inside the Texas mafia—someone who was using the Mercado Brothers Paving and Contracting business as a shield for their illegal activities. And he’d wager a month’s salary that that person was either Ricky Mercado or Frank Del Brio. Both men had axes to grind with the judge. The trick was linking one of them to the triggerman. Since conventional methods had failed, he saw no option but to try a less conventional route—namely, he intended to take advantage of tonight’s social event to rattle both men’s cages without their lawyers dancing interference. “They’ll show,” Justin said again, determined to keep his word to Dylan Bridges. And once this case was closed he could redouble his efforts and find the baby whose kidnapping had rocked his county.

      “You sound pretty sure about that, Sheriff.”

      “I am sure,” Justin replied.

      “Don’t see why,” Bobby said as he plucked a chicken wing from a passing tray and all but inhaled the thing. “From what I hear, Mercado and Del Brio aren’t exactly what you’d call civic-minded members of the community.”