Marie Ferrarella - Cavanaugh Vanguard

Is a killer back for more?

A Cavanaugh Justice story by USA TODAY bestselling author Marie Ferrarella

A series of gruesome murders brings together an unlikely pair of homicide detectives: outgoing Brianna Cavanaugh O’Bannon and lone wolf Jackson Muldare. These utter opposites work around the clock together to solve these crimes. In the process, Jackson and Brianna must trust each other with their lives and secrets as they become closer than they ever imagined.

USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author MARIE FERRARELLA has written more than two hundred and fifty books for Harlequin, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, marieferrarella.com.

Also By Marie Ferrarella

Cavanaugh Justice

Mission: Cavanaugh Baby

Cavanaugh on Duty

A Widow’s Guilty Secret

Cavanaugh’s Surrender

Cavanaugh Rules

Cavanaugh’s Bodyguard

Cavanaugh Fortune

How to Seduce a Cavanaugh

Cavanaugh or Death

Cavanaugh Cold Case

Cavanaugh in the Rough

Cavanaugh on Call

Cavanaugh Encounter

Cavanaugh Vanguard

The Coltons of Red Ridge

Colton Baby Rescue

The Coltons of Shadow Creek

Colton Undercover

The Coltons of Texas

Colton Copycat Killer

The Pregnant Colton Bride

The Coltons of Oklahoma

Second Chance Colton

Cavanaugh Justice

Cavanaugh Standoff

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

Cavanaugh Vanguard

Marie Ferrarella

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07881-8

CAVANAUGH VANGUARD

© 2018 Marie Rydzynski-Ferrarella

Published in Great Britain 2018

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.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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Praise for USA TODAY bestselling author Marie Ferrarella

“Good banter and a charismatic detective are the highlights of this romance, along with an engaging, well-crafted plot.”

—RT Book Reviews on Cavanaugh Cold Case

“A charming romance wrapped up in a great suspense story.”

—Fresh Fiction on Cavanaugh Fortune

“Crisp storytelling coupled with a solid, engaging plot makes for an entertaining read.”

—RT Book Reviews on Cavanaugh or Death

“Fans of shows like Bones and NCIS will absolutely enjoy this newest Cavanaugh episode...a wonderful addition to an already favorite series.”

—Fresh Fiction on Cavanaugh Cold Case

“Fans of romantic suspense will find this book refreshing and entertaining.”

—Harlequin Junkie on How to Seduce a Cavanaugh

Dear Reader,

Did you ever watch cartoons where one of the characters is painting the floor and he winds up painting himself into a corner with no way out? Eventually, the character paints a door on the wall and is able to get out. Well, coming up with a unique mystery is kind of like the same thing. In wanting to make the story unusual, I found that I had painted myself into a corner and I really wasn’t sure how to get out of it.

In this story, a venerable old hotel is finally sold to make way for more residential developments. A construction company wins the bid and brings in their crew. However, as the wrecking ball brings down the hotel’s walls, bodies start turning up. How the bodies got into the walls without anyone noticing was the corner I had painted myself into.

Solving the case is what homicide detective Brianna Cavanaugh O’Bannon and major crimes detective Jackson Muldare are up against. As the story progresses, Jackson finds he has a far better chance of solving the forty-five-year-old cold case than getting Brianna to stay out of his life. Read this to find out who wins—and who killed all those people.

As always, I thank you very much for taking the time to read one of my books, and from the bottom of my heart, I wish you someone to love who loves you back.

All the best,

Marie Ferrarella

To

Sherry & Rick

Congratulations!

Fifty Down,

Fifty To Go

The First One Hundred Years

Are The Hardest,

After That, It’s A Piece Of Cake!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Dear Reader

Dedication

Prologue

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

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Prologue

“Hey, boss man, I think you’re going to want to see this!”

Javier Hernandez, head foreman of Preston, Butler & Cowan Construction, which had, after an intense bidding war, wound up submitting the winning bid to tear down the Old Aurora Hotel, the city of Aurora’s oldest landmark still in existence, emerged out of the building in a dead run. The tall, sinewy foreman was searching for the company’s owner.

Warren Preston was just about to get into his silver-gray 4x4. The freshly waxed, newly purchased truck had been Preston’s gift to himself after landing the contract.