Rocky Mountain Mystery. Cassie Miles

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      Darkness fell over Blair like a smothering blanket

      This blackout hadn’t been caused by a power failure. The impending danger had caught up with her. Outlined against the walls, she saw a shadow. He was here with her….

      Watching. Waiting.

      “Who’s there?” she whispered. “Who are you?” Her trembling voice echoed off the tiles, bouncing back at her in desperate mockery of her fear.

      She heard the sound of shuffling feet. Where was he? How close? Blair looked up and saw a crouching form, hunched over.

      He didn’t even look human.

      “What do you want?” Blair asked.

      One word. A guttural growl.

      “You.”

      Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

      As we ring in a new year, we have another great month of mystery and suspense coupled with steamy passion.

      Here are some juicy highlights from our six-book lineup:

       Julie Miller launches a new series, THE PRECINCT, beginning with Partner-Protector. These books revolve around the rugged Fourth Precinct lawmen of Kansas City whom you first fell in love with in the TAYLOR CLAN series!

       Rocky Mountain Mystery marks the beginning of Cassie Miles’s riveting new trilogy, COLORADO CRIME CONSULTANTS, about a network of private citizens who volunteer their expertise in solving criminal investigations.

       Those popular TOP SECRET BABIES return to our lineup for the next four months!

       Gothic-inspired tales continue in our spine-tingling ECLIPSE promotion.

      And don’t forget to look for Debra Webb’s special Signature Spotlight title this month: Dying To Play.

      Hopefully we’ve whetted your appetite for January’s thrilling lineup. And be sure to check back every month to satisfy your craving for outstanding suspense reading.

      Enjoy!

      Denise O’Sullivan

      Senior Editor

      Harlequin Intrigue

      Rocky Mountain Mystery

      Cassie Miles

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Thank you, Patience and Denise

       for believing in this series. And, as always, to Rick.

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Cassie Miles lives in Denver in a high-rise, not unlike the apartment described in this book. She also shares the heroine’s fondness for luxurious, high-end chocolate. This is a story close to her heart, and she wouldn’t mind at all if a dashing hero joined her on the balcony to count the stars.

      When she’s not writing, Cassie is a movie buff who regularly attends the annual Denver Film Festival where she can overdose on three or four movies a day and ponder the true meaning of Scandinavian subtitled films.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      David Crawford—Haunted by the murder of his sister, he became an investigative journalist, focusing on serial killers.

      Dr. Blair Weston—Injuries from a devastating car accident caused her to retire from her position as a medical examiner in the coroner’s office.

      Eddy Adderly—Convicted of the Fisherman serial murders and on death row, he is dying from liver cancer.

      Jake Zitti—A newspaper photographer and ladies’ man, he was driving the car when Blair was injured.

      Ted Hurtado—A newspaper columnist who received the threat notes from the Fisherman.

      Adam Briggs—Head of Colorado Crime Consultants.

      Molly Griffith—Secretary at Colorado Crime Consultants.

      Colorado Crime Consultants (CCC)—A nonprofit organization of private citizens with special skills who are called upon to help solve crimes in the past, present and future.

      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 One

      David Crawford had been on airplanes since noon—seven hours ago—with nothing to eat but a bag of peanuts. He was tired and hungry. Worse than that, the person who picked him up at the airport was a guy instead of a warm, welcoming, beautiful woman. Even worse, the May weather was rainy, and David couldn’t see the rugged outline of the Rocky Mountains west of town.

      But he wasn’t complaining. He settled back in the passenger seat of his friend’s sporty Miata and allowed a wave of nostalgia to wash over him. Home again. Here in Denver, he went to high school, kissed his first girlfriend, bought his first car, got his first job. It was here, in a well-groomed cemetery, that his sister was buried.

      The Miata swerved in the rain on the airport road, dodging around an SUV, and David braced his arm against the dashboard. “Slow down, Jake.”

      “Don’t want to be late for my date tonight.”

      “You’ve already got a new woman lined up?”

      “Already?” Jake scoffed. “It’s been ten days since what’s-her-face kicked me out.”

      Jake Zitti, a news photographer for The Denver Post, never wasted time regretting relationships gone bad. Each time he was thrown, he dusted himself off and got right back on the horse, so to speak. “I don’t know how you do it,” David said.

      “Nothing hard about dating, pal. You ought to give it a try.”

      “I date,” David said. “I’m more selective than you are.” A fruit fly was more selective than Jake.

      “You’d do well playing the field. The ladies like your type. You’re practically one of the Baldwin brothers with your blue eyes and black hair, which looks to me like it’s getting a little gray around the edges.”

      “At least I’ve got hair.” David stared pointedly at his friend’s clean-shaved skull. “This new woman of yours. Is it serious?”

      “Why do you care?” Jake asked.

      “I want to know when you’re moving your sorry butt out of my guest bedroom.”

      “You love it when I’m staying at your town house,” Jake said. “I’m a fun guy.”

      David cringed as the Miata plunged forward, throwing up a backwash that splashed as high as the windows. “Yeah, real fun.”

      “So, David, how long are you in town this time?”

      “It depends.”

      David’s job took him all over the country. As an investigative crime reporter, he flew