Maggie Price - Hidden Agenda

CONFIDENTIAL MEMO

Badge No. 1197: Carrie McCall

Rank: Sergeant

Skill/Expertise: Superior investigative skills, uncanny cop instincts, innate ability to charm and disarm

Reason Chosen for Assignment: A looker with a black mark on her otherwise sterling record, McCall’s the perfect choice to play “lover” to partner Linc Reilly’s “lawbreaker” in an undercover sting designed to get her real close to the suspected rogue cop.

Badge No. 0730: Lincoln Reilly

Rank: Sergeant

Skill/Expertise: Seasoned undercover operative, disciplined and dangerous

Reason Chosen for Assignment: The best of the best, but a cop believed to have lost his way—but not his need for the love of a woman….

Dear Reader,

What better way to start off a new year than with six terrific new Silhouette Intimate Moments novels? We’ve got miniseries galore, starting with Karen Templeton’s Staking His Claim, part of THE MEN OF MAYES COUNTY. These three brothers are destined to find love, and in this story, hero Cal Logan is also destined to be a father—but first he has to convince heroine Dawn Gardner that in his arms is where she wants to stay.

For a taste of royal romance, check out Valerie Parv’s Operation: Monarch, part of THE CARRAMER TRUST, crossing over from Silhouette Romance. Policemen more your style? Then check out Maggie Price’s Hidden Agenda, the latest in her LINE OF DUTY miniseries, set in the Oklahoma City Police Department. Prefer military stories? Don’t even try to resist Irresistible Forces, Candace Irvin’s newest SISTERS IN ARMS novel. We’ve got a couple of great stand-alone books for you, too. Lauren Nichols returns with a single mom and her protective hero, in Run to Me. Finally, Australian sensation Melissa James asks Can You Forget? Trust me, this undercover marriage of convenience will stick in your memory long after you’ve turned the final page.

Enjoy them all—and come back next month for more of the best and most exciting romance reading around, only in Silhouette Intimate Moments.

Yours,

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Editor

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turned to crime at the age of twenty-two. That’s when she went to work at the Oklahoma City Police Department. As a civilian crime analyst, she evaluated suspects’ methods of operation during the commission of robberies and sex crimes and developed profiles on those suspects. During her tenure at OCPD, Maggie stood in lineups, snagged special assignments to homicide task forces, established procedures for evidence submittal, even posed as the wife of an undercover officer in the investigation of a fortune-teller.

While at OCPD, Maggie stored up enough tales of intrigue, murder and mayhem to keep her at the keyboard for years. The first of those tales won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense.

Maggie invites her readers to contact her at 5208 W. Reno, Suite 350, Oklahoma City, OK 73127-6317. Or on the Web at http://members.aol.com/magprice.

To tough guys with soft hearts

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

“Good morning. Can you tell me where I can find Lieutenant Quintana?”

The smoky voice pulled Lincoln Reilly’s attention from the Selective Enforcement Unit’s coffeemaker, a half-opened packet of sugar gripped between his thumb and fingers. It wasn’t often his mind snapped off. But it did as he took in the petite woman with a mass of copper-red hair and cool blue eyes in a face created to grab a man’s attention.

As was whatever smoldering perfume she wore.

Although he’d been out of the loop a couple of years where women’s fashions were concerned, something told him the sea-foam-green sweater and slacks that hugged her curves were up-to-the-minute in style.

The gold Oklahoma City P.D. sergeant’s badge and holstered Smith & Wesson 9mm automatic clipped to her waistband had him jerking his mind back to business.

He made sure none of the effort showed as he met her gaze, thinking she damn well didn’t look like a run-of-the-mill female cop. “Quintana’s office is there,” Linc said, angling his head. “The one with the glass panel looking out onto the squad room.”

“Thanks. So what’s it like working in the SEU?”

“It’s a job.” Linc dumped the contents of the sugar packet—then another—into his coffee. It was Monday morning; he had endured a hellish weekend with people who brought back memories that ripped at his soul. With his thoughts so dark, he was in no mood for chitchat. Further, the Selective Enforcement Unit—SEU—operated in its own sphere. The squad worked autonomously, involved in undercover operations that most police employees never knew about. The redhead’s badge had gained her access to the third floor of the nondescript building that housed OCPD’s undercover units. That’s all it would get her, unless she had a legitimate need to know about personnel or operations.

“I’ll ask Quintana,” she murmured, then tipped her head at Linc’s coffee mug. “You know, that could be your problem.”

He turned to face her, noting the top of her head barely reached his shoulders. “What problem?”

“Surliness. All that refined sugar you dumped in your coffee contains a mountain of additives. You should try stevia.”

He knitted his brows. “What the hell is stevia?”

“A natural sweetener made from a plant extract.” When she shook back her hair, that wild, reddish mane slithered around her shoulders, her breasts. “I take my coffee black, in case you were planning to ask.”

“Knowing that, my day is complete.” The unwelcome stirring of his system had him feeling just perverse enough to take a sip from his mug instead of offering to get her a cup.

Apparently unoffended, she extended her right hand. “I’m Carrie McCall. Transferring from Patrol to the SEU.”

His gaze flicked to her hand while he caught another whiff of her scent that was as hot and steamy as the contents of his mug. Dammit, he had to get the hell away from her. He didn’t want a reminder of how a certain woman’s looks, voice, scent had the power to pull him in.

“Linc Reilly. Excuse me while I run out and pick up some stevia.” Turning his back on her, he headed across the squad room. By the time he reached his desk, she had sauntered—that was the only way to describe the slow, loose swing of her hips—halfway to Quintana’s office.

Linc settled into his chair, noting all conversation in the squad room had ceased. He glanced around. It didn’t surprise him to see every pair of male eyes tracking McCall’s progress.