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Death's Door
Meryl Sawyer
Mills & Boon M&B
Madison Connelly is tired of lies–and betrayal. First her husband and business partner leaves her for another woman. Then Detective Paul Tanner arrives to tell her that the man she thought was her father isn't. Madison wants answers…answers about her past that someone is going to deadly lengths to keep hidden.Falling for Madison isn't in Paul's job description: find the girl, bring her to his employer, Wyatt Holbrook, the end. But as Madison bravely agrees to cross over a dangerous threshold into Holbrook's privileged, secretive world, she'll need more than Paul's growing attraction to keep her safe. Because she's about to be drawn deep into a complicated web of intrigue, deceit–and murder.
“It’s possible your life is in danger.” “It’s possible your life is in danger.” Paul took one of her hands in both Paul took one of her hands in both of his. of his.
She didn’t believe it, but the intensity in his eyes told her that he was dead serious. Madison liked to think she could take care of herself, and she could, but something cracked inside her. Knowing Paul cared appealed to her softer feminine side—the side she liked to deny having.
His expression darkened with an unreadable emotion. “So much is going on, a perfect storm of events, and you’re at the center. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
His look was so galvanizing it sent a tremor through her. The concern reflected in his eyes became smoldering desire. She was gathered against a warm, rock-solid body and he covered her mouth with his. He kissed her urgently, hungrily, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She eased her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss.
In a heartbeat her blood thickened to warm honey. Kissing him was even better than she’d imagined….
Praise for the work of
MERYL SAWYER
“Sawyer’s gift for building great and believable characters makes the danger they face all the more intense. Outstanding!”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Kiss of Death (4
/2 stars, Top Pick)
“Sawyer spins a tale to captivate and entertain.…Wonderfully crafty and extremely entertaining.”
—Romance Reader’s Connection on Half Past Dead
“Nail-biting suspense punctuates this thrilling romantic adventure. The name Meryl Sawyer is synonymous with exceptional romantic suspense.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Better Off Dead
“A riveting work of romantic suspense…near perfection.”
—Publishers Weekly on Tempting Fate
“Meryl Sawyer has become a brand name known for taut, sexy and very intriguing romantic suspense.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Closer Than She Thinks
“A page-turner…glamour, romance and adventure on a grand scale.”
—Publishers Weekly on Promise Me Anything
“Count on Meryl Sawyer to deliver a fast-paced thriller filled with sizzling romance.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jill Marie Landis
Death’s Door
Meryl Sawyer
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is dedicated to Dave Wells
and to my close friends, Pamela and Ricki.
Where would I be without your friendship?
A special thank-you also
to the real Keith Brooks Smith
for his humor and his inspiration.
The best way to love anything is as if it might be lost.
—G. K. Chesterton
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
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE
“THERE’LL NEVER BE another you.”
The killer’s words were spoken softly, almost lost in the darkness. The dead were lucky. Death stopped time and their mistakes were ended. They were forever young and unchanged in the minds of those left behind. They were immortalized. Especially beauties like the woman slumped across the floor nearby.
What might she have become?
That unfulfilled promise would be seared into the memories of her loved ones. So young. So sad. So tragic.
So necessary.
Death meant life everlasting. Didn’t it?
“Don’t look at her body. Don’t allow this to become personal,” whispered the killer.
Death divides time like nothing else. Closing doors irreversibly. Before and after. No doubt her family, friends, a lover—if she had one—would always say her name accompanied by those words. Never, ever would “before” return.
Silent as a shadow, the killer moved toward the door, unable to resist a quick look back. Inhaling deeply, the killer absorbed the sweet perfume of death.
Take it in. Make it last until the next time.
This murder had been much harder and messier than the others, but in a way the difficulty of the task—the challenge—made the kill more satisfying. Life did not go smoothly. Why should death?
Had the dead woman seen this coming? the killer wondered. People believed terrible things happened to others—not them. Still, humans did retain remnants of their ancestors’ primitive instincts. Fear—first among those vestiges of survival. She must have sensed…something.
THIRTY-SEVEN MINUTES earlier, at almost three in the morning, the victim had driven up the short, narrow driveway. Her front porch light must have burned out. She had turned it on before leaving, hadn’t she?
It was difficult to remember just what she’d done when she’d raced out of the house to meet the others. She’d been too keyed up to pay much attention to anything but what she had been instructed to wear. A black stocking cap to go with her black pants and T-shirt and black soft-soled shoes. They promised to provide the night-vision goggles and latex gloves.
She idled in the driveway, gazing at the burned-out light, and almost put the car in Park before remembering she’d had the garage door opener replaced last week. Thank heavens. She didn’t know if she had the strength left to hoist the heavy old door. The job tonight had been much more physical than anything they’d attempted in the past. Her body was in great shape, but working so strenuously against the clock consumed more energy than she’d imagined.
She pressed the remote control and the garage door creaked upward. “We’re home, big guy,” she told the dog on the seat beside her.
The retriever cocked his head slightly as if he understood every word. She gave him a quick pat as the Toyota rolled into the garage. His golden fur was matted and he smelled as if he needed a bath. Not your show-quality golden retriever, but he was precious just the same.
“Home sweet home,” she said to the dog when she stepped out of the small car and held her door open for him. The retriever hesitated, again tilting his head toward her as if expecting another command. “Here, boy. Come on.”
The dog lumbered across the driver’s seat, sniffed the humid air, then cautiously lowered himself to the garage floor. The single-car garage dated back to the twenties and had a dank, musty smell. The heat of the day was still trapped inside, making it like breathing through wet wool.
She turned and punched the button beside the door leading into the house. Behind her, the garage door groaned shut as she stepped into the laundry room and hurried through the small space into the kitchen. The dog hesitantly followed, sniffing at her heels.
“Thirsty?” She put the manila envelope she was carrying on the counter before filling a cereal bowl with water. She set it on the floor, but the dog didn’t move toward it. “You feeling okay?”
The golden retriever hitched one ear. He couldn’t have to go to the bathroom, she decided. She’d stopped at a park on the way home. He’d relieved himself while she’d pitched the outer layer of her clothes and gloves into a nearby trash can before using the pay phone. She’d been warned numerous times to never—under any circumstances—use her home phone or cell to make a call that could be traced back to the others.
“You stay right here,” she instructed as she walked out of the kitchen and closed the door behind her.
