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Conception Cover-Up
Karen Lawton Barrett
HE WAS AS MYSTERIOUS AS THE NIGHTWhen a wounded stranger landed on her cabin doorstep on a rainy night, Shannon Garrett couldn't resist taking in the tall, dark and dangerously attractive man. A lonely recluse with a painful past she kept hidden, Shannon felt the man she knew as Caleb hid his own share of secrets. Except neither could mask the sudden passion that raged between them as fiercely as the storm.But in the cold light of day, Caleb realized he'd done the unthinkable: He'd just put two more targets in the sights of the killers at his heels–the woman he'd come to love and the child they'd just conceived.
“You’re pregnant.”
Caleb’s heart started to pound as he said the words. Joy and fear assailed him at once. He’d always dreamed of having a child. But not now…not with killers after him.
He could see the deep vulnerability in Shannon’s shadowed eyes. She hugged herself, then rubbed her arms as if she were freezing. “I want to know what you’re going to do,” she said.
There was no doubt in his mind. “I’m going to be the best father a child can have.”
“So you’re planning on being there for him or her?” Her tone was icy. “Alive?”
So that was where this was going, he thought. His undercover work. He looked at her and tried to talk, but he didn’t know how to tell her he loved her and that he didn’t want her taken away from him. The baby, either.
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he finally said. “It’s you.”
Her eyes widened.
“If the men I’m after find out about you and the…baby, then you’ll be their first target.”
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
All the evidence is in! And it would be a crime if you didn’t “Get Caught Reading” this May. So follow the clues to your favorite bookstore to pick up some great tips.
This month Harlequin Intrigue has the distinguished privilege of launching a brand-new Harlequin continuity series with three of our top authors. TRUEBLOOD, TEXAS is a story of family and fortitude set in the great Lone Star state. We are pleased to give you your first look into this compelling drama with Someone’s Baby by Dani Sinclair. Look for books from B.J. Daniels and Joanna Wayne to follow in the months ahead. You won’t want to miss even a single detail!
Your favorite feline detective is back in Familiar Lullaby by Caroline Burnes. This time, Familiar’s ladylove Clotilde gets in on the action when a baby is left on a high-society doorstep. Join a feisty reporter and a sexy detective as they search for the solution and find true love in this FEAR FAMILIAR mystery.
Our TOP SECRET BABIES promotion concludes this month with Conception Cover-Up by Karen Lawton Barrett. See how far a father will go to protect his unborn child and the woman he loves. Finally, Carly Bishop takes you out West for a showdown under a blaze of bullets in No One But You, the last installment in her LOVERS UNDER COVER trilogy.
So treat yourself to all four. You won’t be disappointed.
Sincerely,
Denise O’Sullivan
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
Conception Cover-Up
Karen Lawton Barrett
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Lawton Barrett was raised in a small town in central California, where one of her elementary school teachers once wrote on a report card, “Karen daydreams too much.” These days she uses her active imagination to create romantic suspense stories.
Books by Karen Lawton Barrett
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
560—HERS TO REMEMBER
615—CONCEPTION COVER-UP
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Caleb Carlisle—Running for his life from vicious drug dealers, he stumbles into the arms of a woman whose past shadows their future.
Shannon Garrett—Will the secret she carries bring her the life she craves, or will she lose another lover to a killer’s deadly bullet?
Zoe Yamana—Will the doctor be able to give her best friend the answer she desires?
Brandon Everly—Shot in the back and left for dead, he holds a secret he will reveal only to his partner.
Malcolm Knox—After a long, distinguished career in law enforcement, he’s earned the best drug arrest record in the state, but at what cost?
Sean Gallagher—He’s been in charge of the Special Drug Unit for the past fifteen years. Has the stress finally gotten to him?
Sid Muñoz—A friend and fellow agent, he ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Marissa Muñoz—Is Sid’s wife and family in danger, too?
Carlos Morales—Marissa’s cousin had to resign from the SDU for conduct unbecoming—or did he?
Larkin—He’ll do anything his boss wants, and enjoy doing it.
To my darling Duffy and wonderful Phillip, who bring me love and joy.
To Cherry, for her fearless and unstinting support.
And to the ladies of the BICC, for a terrific ride.
I thank you all.
Contents
Chapter One (#u1d27e2e6-c312-5c40-b3f1-00216b95ece6)
Chapter Two (#ue0ed4b34-a67f-55f6-ab88-9a3f7603fad5)
Chapter Three (#ubc86b00a-de28-50d7-ad52-8784f68bcc34)
Chapter Four (#u773a1bbd-cb51-5a27-ab9b-fe8bd951de2d)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One
Branches scraped the side of his four-wheel-drive truck with a sound like fingernails on a blackboard as Caleb Carlisle negotiated the turn onto the sorry excuse for a road that led to the Driscoe brothers’ compound. Ancient redwood trees spread their branches over the mud-and-gravel lane, darkening the already gloomy day. A distant rumble of thunder warned of a coming storm.
“I sure hope this rain holds off for a while,” he said to his partner, Brandon Everly, who lounged in the passenger seat. Brandon’s demeanor was deceptive. They both knew how important this meeting was.
As the road rose sharply, Caleb downshifted. Thunder growled again, closer this time. He accelerated over the last hump and drove into the compound.
Brandon reached behind the seat and grabbed the two backpacks that held the quarter million in cash for the supposed exchange. He handed one to Caleb. “Ready?”
Caleb nodded. Adrenaline pulsed in his veins. The Driscoes had been selling cocaine to the local teenagers like candy. It had taken months of undercover work to get to this point. Now all they needed was the identity of the brothers’ superior, the man who could lead them to their international connection. But whether or not they gave up their boss, the Driscoes were going down. Today.
Caleb and Brandon exited the vehicle and headed for the ramshackle barn that housed one of the most efficient cocaine-distribution centers in the state.
Jim Driscoe walked out of the building. Big and beefy, Jim stopped about twenty feet from them, chewing on a toothpick and studying them with shadowed eyes. His brothers followed him out, flanking him. Short fat J.P. stood with his thumbs hooked in his belt. Thin wiry Henry moved restlessly. None of them said a word.
A prickle crawled up Caleb’s spine. Something had gone wrong, he knew it. That sixth sense had saved his butt many times before, and he wasn’t about to question it now.
Caleb grinned over his foreboding. “What’s goin’ on, guys? We waitin’ for Larkin?” That weasel, the fourth in this little group of thugs, was always slinking around. His absence made Caleb uneasy.
A flash of lightning eerily lit the brothers’ unpleasant faces. A loud clap of thunder followed.
Caleb looked up at the sky. “Big storm comin’.” He glanced at the brothers. “Let’s go inside. We brought you some goodies.”
He took a couple of steps forward, but the brothers didn’t move.
Jim pulled out a handgun. “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, pig.”
His younger brothers shifted their positions, cutting off Caleb and Brandon’s access to the truck.
“What’s up, man?” Brandon asked, using his jittery cokehead voice. “We brought you cash, and you pull a gun on us? I thought we were partners, man.”
A vicious look came to Jim’s face, and he raised his gun. “We ain’t partners with no cops.”
Caleb threw his bag in Jim’s face at the same time Brandon threw his at Henry. Before J.P. could even react, they pulled out their weapons and dove for cover. Within seconds the Driscoes opened fire.
There was a flash of lightning, then another. Thunder almost drowned out the sound of gunfire. And then the sky let loose, pouring down buckets of rain.
Caleb took a quick visual inventory of the situation. They were outnumbered and outflanked by Jim and his brothers.
Jim barked orders at J.P. “Henry and I will take care of them. You get Larkin, then stay by that truck. Don’t let those pigs near it. And tell Larkin to call Mick now.”
Registering the new name just added to the mix, Caleb looked at his partner. They had a choice: Go up the mountain or down. Brandon gestured up. So up they went.
The storm didn’t let up as they struggled through the overgrown ferns and bushes that covered the forest floor. They could hear Jim and Henry crashing through the undergrowth close behind them. The dense foliage and heavy rain didn’t make it any easier for the brothers, either.
Caleb stopped under a huge redwood for a moment to monitor the drug dealers’ progress. Jim and Henry were climbing slowly but steadily up the hill.
He resumed his trek, increasing his speed to catch up with his partner. They couldn’t carry on this pace forever. They had to find a way to take out Jim and Henry, then go back for the others.
Reaching a rushing stream, Caleb stopped Brandon. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Maybe we can circle around and get a jump on them.”
Brandon wiped rain out of his eyes. “You take that side of the stream. I’ll take this side.”
Caleb jumped over the water, then began to circle back. In the silence that followed a clap of thunder, he could hear movement in the bushes not far from where he stood. He stayed absolutely still. Then he caught a glimpse of red plaid—Henry’s shirt. When he couldn’t see Jim anywhere, he realized the brothers had split up.
He waited behind a huge redwood until Henry came nearer, then called out, “That’s far enough, Henry. Drop your gun.”
Henry shot toward the tree. One went wide. The second splattered mud on his boots.
Another shot and bark splintered inches from Caleb’s face. That was close, he thought. Too close.
Blinking to clear his eyes of the pouring rain, Caleb raised his own weapon. He could hear the rustle of foliage.
“Come on, Henry, you know you aren’t going to get away with this,” Caleb said, keeping his tone friendly. “Why don’t you just put down the gun?”
“I’m doin’ nothin’ of the kind, cop!” He charged toward the tree, firing madly.
Caleb fired his gun, too, till he heard a grunt.
“Damn you, you hit my leg!” Henry cried.
Caleb stayed where he was. Jim’s youngest brother wasn’t the brightest guy in the world, but he might be smart enough to fake an injury. Even as the thought struck Caleb, Henry emptied his pistol in the direction of the tree.
A hot sharp pain seared Caleb’s upper arm, and he grabbed it with his free hand. One of the bullets had ricocheted. He suspected it was only a graze, but his shooting arm now hurt like hell.
