скачать книгу бесплатно
Secret Sanctuary
Amanda Stevens
THE HAVEN WITHIN…With his darkly handsome looks and edgy attitude, Officer Cullen Ryan could spark a woman's deepest fantasies. He'd never looked at brainy, virginal Dr. Elizabeth Douglas that way. But when the former town outcast strode into the room where Elizabeth had found a body, her heart beat fast.And when they formed a wary partnership to investigate the murder, Elizabeth discovered something else–a dangerous passion that threatened her safe, sheltered world.Then Elizabeth became the target of the ruthless killer and Cullen vowed to do anything to protect her. But could he save himself from the haunting pull of desire in the sanctuary of Elizabeth's eyes?
He wanted her as much as she wanted him. Elizabeth thought she must have died and gone to heaven
He tasted her with his lips and his tongue, and when she arched her back, he groaned, a deep, dark, sensual sound that sent a thrill coursing through her veins.
She plowed her fingers through Cullen’s hair, holding him close, thinking to herself, I always wanted my first time to be with you.
Cullen lifted his head. She went still. Surely she hadn’t said that aloud. Had she?
“This is your first time?” He sounded almost angry.
“That can’t come as much of a surprise,” she whispered. “But it doesn’t change anything.”
Cullen pulled back, resting on his knees. “It changes everything.”
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Elizabeth Douglas—An expert in criminology, she’s standing in the way of a killer’s ultimate revenge.
Detective Cullen Ryan—A man with a dark past of his own. He vows to protect Elizabeth from the killer, but can he protect her from himself?
Professor Lucian LeCroix—He arrived in Moriah’s Landing on the night the first body was discovered.
Dr. Paul Fortier—He has an eye for the ladies—especially his students.
Dr. Leland Manning—A pioneer in gene therapy research. What, exactly, is the nature of the experiments he conducts at his isolated compound?
David Bryson—A recluse, he was a suspect twenty years ago in the killings that terrorized Moriah’s Landing. Has his grief for a lost love driven him to do unspeakable evil?
Ned Krauter—The town mortician, he’s a man who enjoys his work.
Dr. René Rathfaster—A brilliant researcher, he disappeared several years ago when allegations surfaced that he conducted genetic experiments on human test subjects.
Geoffrey Pierce—How does he know so much about serial killers?
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Cupid’s bow is loaded at Harlequin Intrigue with four fabulous stories of breathtaking romantic suspense—starting with the continuation of Cassie Miles’s COLORADO SEARCH AND RESCUE miniseries. In Wedding Captives, lovers reunite on a mountaintop…unfortunately they’re also snowbound with a madman!
And there’s no better month to launch our new modern gothic continuity series MORIAH’S LANDING. Amanda Stevens emerges from the New England fog with Secret Sanctuary, the first of four titles coming out over the next several months. You can expect all of the classic themes you love in these stories, plus more of the contemporary edge you’ve come to expect from our brand of romantic suspense.
You know what can happen In the Blink of an Eye…? Julie Miller does! And you can find out, too, in the next installment of her TAYLOR CLAN series.
Finally, Jean Barrett takes you to New Orleans for some Private Investigations with battling P.I.’s. It’s a regular showdown in the French Quarter—where absolutely anything goes.
So celebrate Valentine’s Day with the most confounding mystery of all…that of the heart.
Deep, rich chocolate wishes,
Denise O’Sullivan
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in a small, Southern town, Amanda Stevens frequently draws on memories of her birthplace to create atmospheric settings and casts of eccentric characters. She is the author of over twenty-five novels, the recipient of a Career Achievement Award for Romantic/Mystery, and a 1999 RITA Award finalist in the Gothic/Romantic Suspense category. She now resides in Texas with her husband, teenage twins and her cat, Jesse, who also makes frequent appearances in her books.
Secret Sanctuary
Amanda Stevens
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
This book is gratefully dedicated to B.J. Daniels,
Dani Sinclair and Joanna Wayne,
my partners in crime as well as my friends.
Special thanks and acknowledgment
are given to Amanda Stevens for her contribution
to the MORIAH’S LANDING series.
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
Prologue
The sky had been clear all day, but as evening fell, storm clouds moved in from the sea, blocking fragile moonlight and deepening shadows across a bleak and eerie landscape. The wind had picked up, too, stirring dead leaves over the necropolis.
There was something in that wind, Elizabeth Douglas thought with a shiver. Something evil.
She glanced at the luminous dial on her watch. Almost midnight. Time for the ghosts to rise….
She and her friends huddled just inside the cemetery walls as they gazed in trepidation at the shadowy formation of headstones and crumbling mausoleums. Silhouetted against the darkness, marble angels stood with bowed heads and furled wings, celestial sentinels as cold and silent as the graves they watched over.
Elizabeth didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be anywhere but here. Spending the night in St. John’s Cemetery as part of a sorority initiation was just plain crazy, not to mention against the rules. They’d all be in big trouble if the school got wind of what they were doing.
“Do you think we’ll see Leary’s ghost tonight?” Claire Cavendish asked nervously. A pale, slender girl, she was even more skittish about the coming night than Elizabeth. Claire jumped as the heavy, iron gates clanged shut behind them in the wind. “They say he rises every five years.”
“Oh, come on,” Kat Ridgemont scoffed. “You don’t really believe all those stories about ghosts and witches, do you? That stuff was made up just to attract tourists. None of it’s true.”
“What about those women who were murdered in Moriah’s Landing fifteen years ago?” Claire challenged. “Did they make that up, too?”
“Claire!” Brie Dudley warned in a low voice.
Claire clapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh, God, Kat. I’m so sorry. I forgot.”
Kat shrugged. “It’s okay. I forget sometimes myself.”
But Elizabeth didn’t think that was true. Kat’s mother was thought to be the first victim of a serial killer who had terrorized Moriah’s Landing fifteen years ago. Before his gruesome reign ended, three more young women had lost their lives, and Elizabeth knew that in spite of what Kat said, her mother’s death still haunted her. The killings haunted the entire town because the murderer had never been caught.
Gooseflesh prickled the back of Elizabeth’s neck. She fervently wanted to believe they had nothing to fear tonight—from the killer or from Leary’s ghost—but she couldn’t seem to shake her disquiet.
But at fifteen, she was the baby of the group. The other girls were 18, and Elizabeth was always conscious of the age difference. She wasn’t about to be the first to suggest they turn back.
“Elizabeth?”
She blinked as the beam of someone’s flashlight caught her in the face.
“You okay?” Brie asked worriedly. “You’re being awfully quiet. You haven’t said a word since we got here.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I’ve just been thinking.”
Kat glanced over her shoulder. “About McFarland Leary?” she teased.
“Who else?” Elizabeth tried to say lightly, but her tone sounded a bit defensive even to her.
“You believe in ghosts, too, don’t you?” Claire whispered beside her.
Elizabeth hesitated. She wasn’t sure what she believed in. She just knew there were things in this world that couldn’t be explained.
“Look!” Tasha Pierce said on a breathless whisper. “There it is!”
Tasha and Kat were in front, and they came to a stop as Tasha angled her light over Leary’s grave. Weather and time had worn smooth the face of the headstone, until all but a faint trace of carving remained. But they knew it was Leary’s grave.
Lightning flickered overhead as wind gusted through the cemetery. Shivering, Tasha tucked her blond hair inside her collar. “We’d better get started before the storm hits.”
The girls dropped to their knees, forming a circle around the grave. Tasha placed her flashlight in the center, then removed an ornate wooden box from her backpack and held it up to the light.
“Inside are five scrolls,” she intoned solemnly, her voice rising over the wind. “All but one are blank. Whosoever chooses the image of McFarland Leary must enter the haunted mausoleum. Alone.”
Elizabeth was the last to draw. The others had waited for her, and now they all unrolled the tiny scrolls they’d each selected.
Beside her, Claire gave a horrified gasp. She held up the slip of paper so that everyone could see the etching of McFarland Leary.
Of all the girls, Claire was the least prepared to enter the haunted crypt alone. She was the most sensitive, the most easily frightened.
Elizabeth swallowed back her own fear. “I’ll go in your place, Claire.”
“No,” Brie said. “You’re the youngest, Elizabeth. I’m not letting you go anywhere alone. I’ll go.”
“I will.” Tasha wadded up her scroll and stuffed it in her pocket. “This graveyard is full of Pierces. They’ll protect one of their own.”
“I say none of us go.” Kat slammed the box shut and glanced around the circle. The wind whipped her black hair straight back from her face, making her look almost otherworldly. “They can’t make us do this. Hazing went out with the Dark Ages.”
There were murmurs of assent all around, but Claire shook her head and got to her feet. “It’s not really hazing. Not the bad kind anyway. It’s a tradition, and besides, I don’t want to be the cause of any of us getting blackballed.”
Kat scowled. “Who gives a flying—”
“I care,” Claire said softly. “I can do this. I need to do this. I’ll be fine.”
Ignoring their protests, she picked up her flashlight and headed toward the ancient, crumbling mausoleum. In the intermittent flickers of lightning, Elizabeth could see a broken cross silhouetted against the stormy sky.
Slowly, Claire climbed the stone steps, opened the door, and then, glancing back only once, stepped through the dark portal. For a moment, they could see her light playing off the walls, and then the door creaked shut behind her.
“I’m going in there with her.” Kat started to get to her feet, but Tasha grabbed her hand.
