Kiss Of The Blue Dragon. Julie Beard

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      Praise for USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Beard

      “Wildly inventive, fun and fast moving. I absolutely loved it!”

      —USA TODAY bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe on Kiss of the Blue Dragon

      “Beard knows how to make the pages fly through your fingers, not only with suspense, but also with sizzling passion and exhilarating adventure. A master of the craft, she creates memorable characters and magical stories.”

      —Kathe Robin, Romantic Times

      “Julie Beard is one of the few writers who takes the concept of love and passion right to the brink! Keep up the wonderful writing, Julie. I’m a fan for life!”

      —A Romance Review

      “Julie Beard writes intelligent romances brimming with emotion and sensuality.”

      —New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston

      “There is a magical quality to Julie Beard’s writing.”

      —Heart to Heart

      Dear Reader,

      Enter the high-stakes world of Silhouette Bombshell, where the heroine takes charge and never gives up—whether she’s standing up for herself, saving her friends from grave danger or daring to go where no woman has gone before. A Silhouette Bombshell heroine has smarts, persistence and an indomitable spirit, qualities that will get her in and out of trouble in an exciting adventure that will also bring her a man worth having…if she wants him!

      Meet Angel Baker, public avenger, twenty-second-century woman and the heroine of USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Beard’s story, Kiss of the Blue Dragon. Angel’s job gets personal when her mother is kidnapped, and the search leads Angel into Chicago’s criminal underworld, where she crosses paths with one very stubborn detective!

      Join the highly trained women of ATHENA FORCE on the hunt for a killer, with Alias, by Amy J. Fetzer, the latest in this exhilarating twelve-book continuity series. She’s lived a lie for four years to protect her son—but her friend’s death brings Darcy Steele out of hiding to find out whom she can trust….

      Explore a richly fantastic world in Evelyn Vaughn’s A.K.A. Goddess, the story of a woman whose special calling pits her against a powerful group of men and their leader, her former lover.

      And finally, nights are hot in Urban Legend by Erica Orloff. A mysterious nightclub owner stalks her lover’s killers while avoiding the sharp eyes of a rugged cop, lest he learn her own dark secret—she’s a vampire….

      It’s a month to sink your teeth into! Please send your comments and suggestions to me c/o Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.

      Sincerely,

      Natashya Wilson

       Associate Senior Editor, Silhouette Bombshell

      Kiss of the Blue Dragon

      Julie Beard

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      JULIE BEARD

      is the USA TODAY bestselling author of nearly a dozen historical novels who, with this action-adventure novel, makes a no-holds-barred debut in contemporary fiction worthy of a Bombshell heroine. She loves kickboxing, debating politics and being walked by her Basenji dogs. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children, one of whom was adopted from China. Julie is a former television reporter and college journalism instructor who has penned a critically acclaimed “how to” book for romance writers.

      To my son, Connor, for having the spiritual insight

       and fortitude to make his parents go halfway around the

       world to China to adopt his sister, Madeline Jing.

       I adore you both.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I would like to thank the following people for the support and help they gave me when I wrote this book:

      Master David Blevins at Blue Wave Martial Arts Center, Shirl and Jim Henke, Amy Berkower and Jodi Reamer at Writers House, and especially Julie Barrett at Harlequin Silhouette. Without Julie’s vision and enthusiasm, this book would never have been conceived, much less written. Thank you all!

      Contents

      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 1

      The Day From Hell

      I like to make men sweat.

      I like to tie a man in a chair and watch the beads of perspiration bubble on his upper lip one at a time, the air growing steamy from his nervous heat as I press the cold shaft of my Glock against his pulsating temple.

      “You’re gonna die, sucker,” I whisper. “Too bad you had to be such an asshole.”

      That line works almost every time. That’s because the world is full of Grade-A A-holes. Make that triple A. And I’m not just talking about men. I’ve seen women commit crimes so harrowing it would turn your blood into shaved ice. I blame part of that on the meltdown in the American justice system.

      The Scientific Justice Act of 2032 ensured that no criminal could spend more than two years in jail without DNA evidence. God forbid they should suffer cruel and unusual punishments like their victims did. Naturally, what followed on the Internet were virtual manuals teaching criminals how not to leave DNA evidence at the scene of a crime. So now—more than seventy years later—executions, even for heinous serial murders, are so rare they make top ratings on pay-per-view. And punishment for run-of-the-mill murders? Forgetaboutit. Two years and you’re out without that sacred DNA proof of a crime.

      In too many instances, if victims and their families want justice, they have to hire a Certified Retribution Specialist like me—Angel Baker, CRS. I don’t mete out vengeance myself. I simply haul in sorry-ass criminals so victims can have at it themselves. And the government looks the other way. It’s cheaper than building new prisons.

      So I shouldn’t complain about all the jerks, creeps and sociopaths I have to deal with. Without them I’d be out of work.

      Then again, I’m not in it for the money. But that’s another story.

      I knew this was going to be a tricky job. I had invited a ROVOR to meet me at a secluded green lot on Roscoe in the old Wrigleyville neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. I live