Joanna Wayne - New Orleans Noir

The French Kiss Killer has returned

and has his next target in sight...

Detective Hunter Bergeron has two goals: find the French Kiss Killer and keep Helena Cosworth from becoming his next victim. Hunter and Helena share a past, and close proximity now only reignites their attraction. But with New Orleans on high alert, giving in to old feelings is a distraction neither can afford. Especially in the darkest corners of the Quarter.

JOANNA WAYNEbegan her professional writing career in 1994. Now, more than fifty published books later, Joanna has gained a worldwide following with her cutting-edge romantic suspense and Texas family series, such as Sons of Troy Ledger and Big “D” Dads. Joanna currently resides in a small community north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. You may write to Joanna at PO Box 852, Montgomery, TX 77356, or connect with her at joannawayne.com

Also by Joanna Wayne

Riding Shotgun

Quick-Draw Cowboy

Fearless Gunfighter

Dropping the Hammer

Trumped Up Charges

Unrepentant Cowboy

Hard Ride to Dry Gulch

Midnight Rider

Showdown at Shadow Junction

Ambush at Dry Gulch

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

New Orleans Noir

Joanna Wayne

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09423-8

NEW ORLEANS NOIR

© 2019 Jo Ann Vest

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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To everyone who loves a south Louisiana mystery.

To my great friends who live there and to everyone

who has ever longed to visit New Orleans.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

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

Epilogue

About the Publisher

Elizabeth Grayson jerked forward as the car skidded to a slippery stop. The deserted dirt road that had been barely passable before had suddenly disappeared, replaced by clumps of tall grass, deeper pockets of brown water and what appeared to be a wide stretch of swampland.

Her nerves grew edgy. “Where are we?”

“Somewhere we can finally be totally alone.” He flicked off the headlights.

“It’s pitch-black out here,” she murmured.

“Are you afraid of the dark or of being alone with me?” he teased, his voice deep and sexy, almost melting her anxious vibes.

“I’m never afraid when I’m with you.”

“That’s what I like to hear, baby. You always know how to please me.”

She loved the way he talked to her, as if she were his equal though he was older and much more mature than the high school boys she’d dated back home. The sloppy kisses of teenage boys never thrilled her the way his did. She’d never melted at their touch.

He killed the motor, then stretched his arm across the back of the seat and slipped it around her shoulders. “This is a favorite place of mine when I need to get away,” he said.

“Really? It seems so isolated.”

“I see it as private and a little forbidden,” he said, “but if it makes you nervous, I can drive back into town.”

“No. I don’t want to go back,” she answered quickly.

All she’d been able to think about for the past two days was seeing him again. She craved his touch and the way her body came alive when he slid his hands beneath her blouse or when he slipped his tongue inside her mouth.

Unfortunately, their making out had been limited to what they could manage in the back seat of his sports car parked behind a sleazy bar in a part of town she hadn’t known existed until a few nights ago. Even then she’d wanted more, but he’d held back. He’d wanted to wait until everything was right.

They’d met last Saturday night when Elizabeth had been out with a girlfriend who lived in Metairie. Her friend Melinda had managed to snare fake IDs for both of them before Elizabeth had flown to New Orleans to visit her great-aunt for spring break.

Melinda had already been tipsy by the time Elizabeth noticed the hunk of a man staring at her. He nodded when they made eye contact but didn’t approach them. When he smiled and left the bar, she followed him outside.

One hello in his deep, sexy voice and she was certain he was the most gorgeous and exciting man she’d ever met. She’d whispered her phone number into his ear as he opened the door to his black sports car.