Jackie Manning - Sudden Alliance

Bull’s-eye. Arrow straight through Liam’s male ego. Just when he thought he was beginning to figure her out, she threw him another curve.

“What gave you the idea that I wanted to—” Then it hit him. The kiss. Of course. “I’m sorry if I acted inappropriately,” he said, not meaning a word of it. “But as I remember, you kissed me, too.”

Her full lips twitched as she studied him. “Well, now that our curiosity about each other has been satisfied, we should have no more problems sticking to business.”

So she was only satisfying her curiosity, was she?

Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

August marks a special month at Harlequin Intrigue as we commemorate our twentieth anniversary! Over the past two decades we’ve satisfied our devoted readers’ diverse appetites with a vast smorgasbord of romantic suspense page-turners. Now, as we look forward to the future, we continue to stand by our promise to deliver thrilling mysteries penned by stellar authors.

As part of our celebration, our much-anticipated new promotion, ECLIPSE, takes flight. With one book planned per month, these stirring Gothic-inspired stories will sweep you into an entrancing landscape of danger, deceit…and desire. Leona Karr sets the stage for mind-bending mystery with debut title, A Dangerous Inheritance.

A high-risk undercover assignment turns treacherous when smoldering seduction turns to forbidden love, in Bulletproof Billionaire by Mallory Kane, the second installment of NEW ORLEANS CONFIDENTIAL. Then, peril closes in on two torn-apart lovers, in Midnight Disclosures— Rita Herron’s latest book in her spine-tingling medical research series, NIGHTHAWK ISLAND.

Patricia Rosemoor proves that the fear of the unknown can be a real aphrodisiac in On the List—the fourth installment of CLUB UNDERCOVER. Code blue! Patients are mysteriously dropping like flies in Boston General Hospital, and it’s a race against time to prevent the killer from striking again, in Intensive Care by Jessica Andersen.

To round off an unforgettable month, Jackie Manning returns to the lineup with Sudden Alliance—a woman-in-jeopardy tale fraught with nonstop action…and a lethal attraction!

Join in on the festivities by checking out all our selections this month!

Sincerely,

Denise O’Sullivan

Harlequin Intrigue Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Jackie Manning wrote and published her first and last newspaper at the age of six. Her editorial career came to a screeching halt when her mother bought the first copy and realized that Jackie had exposed the family secrets. Undaunted, Jackie started making up stories, and she’s been spinning tales ever since. Today, she lives with her husband, Tom (Bert), and their shih tzu, Emperor Foo Foo. Jackie loves to hear from her readers. You can e-mail her at jackie@jackiemanning.com or write to her at P.O. Box 1739, Waterville, ME 04903-1739.

Liam O’Shea—Ex-special forces, now a covert specialist for the TALON-6 Agency, knows everything about danger. But can his highly tuned skills keep the woman he loves from a pair of killers?

Sara Regis—She has no memory of her past. All she knows about her future is that somebody wants her dead.

Trent Sherburne—He wants political power, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it.

Kitty Sherburne—Is she playing a game that’s turning deadly?

Jeremy Regis—The brother Sara can’t remember. Does he have a personal reason to keep a safe distance from her?

Al Ranelli and Francie Zarella—Bellwood Island police officers and childhood friends of Liam O’Shea.

The Ziegler Brothers—Hired hit men. Who paid these killers to hunt Sara down?

The Boss—Who is the man who wants Sara dead, and why?

This book is dedicated to Cheryl Shepard Rissman.

I love you, sis.

Special thanks to two of the dearest friends anyone could have: Susanne MacDonald and Karen Tukovits. I admire you both so much.

Thanks for your support and love.

And to my darling husband. I love you.

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

“Holy—” A jolt of adrenaline shot through Liam as he gripped the steering wheel. Was the fog playing tricks on him, or was that really a woman he saw, staggering along the side of the narrow road at almost four in the morning?

The woman froze like a terrified rabbit, her eyes wide with shock as she stared into the car’s headlights. Her face contorted in horror, and when she screamed the sound was as piercing as if the hounds of hell were chasing her. A moment later, she swayed and collapsed to the ground.

Liam swerved the convertible to avoid hitting her, then downshifted into second. With a few deft motions, he spun the Alpha Romeo in a 180-degree turn, tires screeching in the early morning stillness.

The low beams of his car illuminated the sprawled figure lying on the sandy shoulder of the road. Leaping from the vehicle, he lunged toward where she had fallen.

Kneeling beside her, he cradled her head in his lap and brushed long strands of hair from her face. Probing gently, he found an egg-shaped lump near her temple. She moaned when his fingers gently touched the injury, her back arching in pain.

He felt for broken bones and was relieved that despite numerous bloody scratches along her arms and legs—incredibly long and shapely legs—her wounds appeared to be mostly superficial. All except for that bump on the head. She might be suffering from a concussion.

Holding her carefully, he shrugged free of his wind-breaker, then very gently cradled her again, slipping it around her shoulders. As he did so her eyes flew open—enormous green eyes, if the color wasn’t a shadowy trick of the headlights.

Her oval face paled with terror. “No! No! No!” she screamed, fighting him with almost superhuman strength. Her fingers curled as if to scratch him.

Liam released her, afraid to further frighten her, and scooted back. “Hey, lady! I’m one of the good guys. I’m here to help.” As she struggled to her feet, her long hair swung forward, and he saw bits of leaves and twigs embedded in it. The jeans she wore were ripped, and her yellow T-shirt looked as if she’d fought her way out of a bramble bush.

“What happened? Were you in an accident?”

He knew this isolated stretch of dunes, dubbed “lovers’ lane,” was a favorite with the local teenagers. But she looked much older. Twenty-five or so? Still, who could tell? Maybe her boyfriend had dumped her because her answer to Romeo was no. Or, Liam thought with a sickening twist in his gut, had she been raped?