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Eden's Shadow
Jenna Ryan
KISSES AND CURSES MADE FOR BEWITCHING BEDFELLOWSLike a specter, Detective Armand LaMorte moved with the shadows, stealthy and secretive, and was an expert tracker. Crescent City criminals didn't have a chance when he was on their trail–and no woman had a chance of resisting his native-born allure….Eden Bennett was no exception. In her darkest hours, Armand offered her strength and safety while a decades-old mystery threatened to destroy what was left of her family. Ensconced in Armand's cloak of security, she knew no danger. But a killer was closing in…on them both.
Warnings flashed like neon signs in Eden’s head…
This wasn’t wrong, it was insanity. “I’m going to regret this,” she murmured. “Big-time.” Then, catching Armand’s face in her hands, she kissed him.
It was a dizzying experience. Wrong, because kissing him made her feel more alive than she had in months. Maybe years. He explored her mouth with a thoroughness that scorched her blood and had her knees threatening to buckle. For a moment, the garden actually did feel magical. And sexual.
“No…Armand, wait.” She made an effort to pull away. “I shouldn’t have, you know, done that.”
“Ah, but you did.” His lips curved against hers. “And you had to know I wouldn’t refuse.”
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And we have six breathtaking books this month that will make the season even brighter….
THE LANDRY BROTHERS are back! We can’t think of a better way to kick off our December lineup than with this long-anticipated new installment in Kelsey Roberts’s popular series about seven rascally brothers, born and bred in Montana. In Bedside Manner, chaos rips through the town of Jasper when Dr. Chance Landry finds himself framed for murder…and targeted for love! Check back this April for the next title, Chasing Secrets. Also this month, watch for Protector S.O.S. by Susan Kearney. This HEROES INC. story spotlights an elite operative and his ex-lover who maneuver stormy waters—and a smoldering attraction—as they race to neutralize a dangerous hostage situation.
The adrenaline keeps on pumping with Agent-in-Charge by Leigh Riker, a fast-paced mystery. You’ll be bewitched by this month’s ECLIPSE selection—Eden’s Shadow by veteran author Jenna Ryan. This tantalizing gothic unravels a shadowy mystery and casts a magical spell over an enamored duo. And the excitement doesn’t stop there! Jessica Andersen returns to the lineup with her riveting new medical thriller, Body Search, about two hot-blooded doctors who are stranded together in a windswept coastal town and work around the clock to combat a deadly outbreak.
Finally this month, watch for Secret Defender by Debbi Rawlins—a provocative woman-in-jeopardy tale featuring an iron-willed hero who will stop at nothing to protect a headstrong heiress…even kidnap her for her own good.
Best wishes for a joyous holiday season from all of us at Harlequin Intrigue.
Sincerely,
Denise O’Sullivan
Senior Editor, Harlequin Intrigue
Eden’s Shadow
Jenna Ryan
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jenna Ryan loves creating dark-haired heroes, heroines with strength, and good murder mysteries. Ever since she was young, she had an extremely active imagination. She considered various careers over the years and dabbled in several of them, until the day her sister Kathy suggested she put her imagination to work and write a book. She enjoys working with intriguing characters and feels she is at her best writing romantic suspense. When people ask her how she writes, she tells them by instinct. Clearly it’s worked, since she’s received numerous awards from Romantic Times magazine. She lives in Canada and travels as much as she can when she’s not writing.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Eden Bennett—Adopted as a child, she is a ringer for her natural sister—and next in line for the family curse.
Armand LaMorte—A dark and mysterious police detective. He has many secrets to keep.
Lisa Mayne—One of three birth sisters. She discovers her natural father—then is accused of murdering him.
Mary Tamblyn—Youngest of the sisters. Her interests are entirely self-centered.
Maxwell Burgoyne—Biological father to Eden, Lisa and Mary. Did the family curse kill him?
Lucille Chaney—Eden, Lisa and Mary’s birth mother. She has a shady past.
Dolores Boyer—Lucille’s mother. She knows more than she should about many things.
Robert Weir—Maxwell’s business partner. He appeared to gain nothing by Maxwell’s death.
Dali Kafkha—A voodoo queen who believes in curses.
Limping Man—Is he part of the curse, or merely biding his time?
In memory of Catherine (Kay) Goff:
You gave me life.
You gave me love.
You believed in me.
You were the perfect mom.
I love you…
Contents
Prologue
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 Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Prologue
Voodoo child with Carib blood,
And eyes of green. This is foreseen:
The eldest born to eldest grown,
My pain shall bear. Believe. Beware.
For deeds long past chère child will reap,
My vengeance curse, of death—or worse.
The woman’s name was Eva Dumont and she wrote the curse in blood. Her blood and that of the man who was her father.
He had left her mother for another woman. He would pay for that betrayal, as would his offspring.
Her shadow, her curse, would fall from generation to generation. Not one of that tainted line would escape her voodoo spell.
Chapter One
“Mind you don’t make the fillings too white, dear. I don’t want to glow in the dark when I smile.”
“I’ll match your natural color,” Eden Bennett promised, “X-ray that upper molar again, and we’ll go from there.”
“So long as it doesn’t exceed thirty dollars.” The old woman cleared her throat, then asked, “It won’t, will it?”
“Twenty-eight thirty-seven, cleaning included. Open for me now, okay, and try not to swallow.”
The old woman snagged her wrist before Eden could position the wedge. “You’ll be gentle, won’t you? My roots are as weak as my ankles these days.”
Nothing wrong with her grip, though, Eden noted. She patted one bony shoulder. “I work on my grandmother’s teeth, Cornelia, and her roots are three years older than yours.”
Reassured, the woman relaxed into the padded dental chair. She didn’t watch the television Eden had mounted to distract her more squeamish patients, but rather kept her eyes fixed on Eden and her fingers curled tightly in her lap.
She was a sweet old woman, poor as Eden’s patients tended to be on Tuesday afternoons and evenings, but more trusting than many who ventured into her French Quarter office.
Since Cornelia wouldn’t let anyone else do the cleaning, Eden had sent her dental assistant home forty minutes ago. With luck, she’d missed the deluge that was currently making a river of the streets and sidewalks outside.
Eden was just touching her drill to one of Cornelia’s seven remaining teeth when the examination room door burst open. If she hadn’t learned from one of the best, Cornelia’s tooth count would have been down to six.
“Eden, you have to—” The woman on the threshold halted. “You’re still working? Do you know what time it is?”
“It’s 8:27, Mary—” Eden pulled her mask down “—p.m. I won’t be finished until after nine, and no, I don’t have any extra twenties in my purse.”
“I didn’t come looking for money.” Mary offered Cornelia a perfunctory smile. “Mary Tamblyn. I’m Eden’s sister. I didn’t realize patients came here quite this late. Myself, I can’t deal with pain at night.”
Not easily ruffled, Eden motioned at the door. “There’s coffee if you want to wait.”
“But…” Mary’s look of annoyance changed to one of resignation. “Oh, all right, but it’s important this time, Eden, or I wouldn’t be here.”
She really wouldn’t, Eden thought after coaxing Cornelia’s mouth open again. Mary liked the French Quarter well enough, but going to a dentist’s office instead of searching out a freaky party? No way. She must want more than money.
“Your sister doesn’t dress like you, does she, dear? Or look a great deal like you, either. So much blond hair…” Cornelia spoke around the wedge. “She has nice teeth, though. Are they all her own?”
“All but one. An ex-boyfriend knocked out her left incisor a year ago.”
Cornelia made a clucking sound. “Bad relationship?”
“Misdirected racquetball.” Eden replaced her mask and picked up her drill. “Mary isn’t big on sports, or men who play them these days. Okay, no more stalling. Open, and I’ll have you patched up in no time.”
“Will it hurt? I think I can still feel part of my gum.”
“Cornelia, I gave you enough novocaine to keep you numb until breakfast. I’ll go slow. You can pinch my left arm if you feel anything.”
EDEN KEPT HER MIND on her work and off Mary for the next forty-five minutes. By nine-fifteen, Cornelia was scraped, filled, filed and X-rayed. She handed Eden three tens at the door, squeezed her hand and told her to keep the change. Eden watched her climb into her brother’s 1965 Buick Wildcat and tried not to think about how a man with cataracts managed to drive at night in a downpour.
Mary came up beside her. “Those two should be using public transportation.”
Eden winced as Cornelia’s brother ran the right tires up over the curb. “They only have to go twelve blocks.”
“Huh. Big spender, too—tipped you a whole dollar plus change. Thirty bucks—man, you never give me deals like that.”
“You don’t live on a fixed income and have two sons who bleed you for what little pension money you receive.” Eden tucked the bills into the pocket of her pants, stretched as she walked to the rack and removed her lab coat. “So what’s the deal? Did you sell a bunch of pictures and you want me to spring for the champagne?”
