Leona Karr - The Mysterious Twin

“I wasn’t up to anything. I’m intrigued by old landmarks like lighthouses. I like history,” she said simply.

Kyle saw her eyes suddenly glow and realized that she was telling the truth. Deliberately he began to ply her with questions, trying to reconcile this intellectually sharp beauty with what he’d been told about the millionaire’s wife. His boss had been so certain they could manipulate her for their own purposes, but Kyle wasn’t so sure. Some intuitive sense warned that Jill may be holding a trump card.

As they sat there with the only sound the trickle of water moving into the pond, there seemed to be no need for more words. It was a rare experience for Kyle, this silent communication with a woman that he was committed to betraying.

Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,

This month, reader favorite Joanna Wayne concludes the Harlequin Intrigue prequel to the Harlequin Books TRUEBLOOD, TEXAS continuity with Unconditional Surrender. Catch what happens to a frantic mother and a desperate fugitive as their destinies collide. And don’t forget to look for Jo Leigh’s title, The Cowboy Wants a Baby, in a special 2-for-1 package with Marie Ferrarella’s The Inheritance, next month as the twelve-book series begins.

Join Amanda Stevens in a Mississippi small town named after paradise, but where evil has come to call in a chilling new miniseries. EDEN’S CHILDREN are missing, but not for long! Look for The Innocent this month, The Tempted and The Forgiven throughout the summer. It’s a trilogy that’s sure to be your next keeper.

Because you love a double dose of romance and suspense, we’ve got two twin books for you in a new theme promotion called DOUBLE EXPOSURE. Harlequin Intrigue veteran Leona Karr pens The Mysterious Twin this month and Adrianne Lee brings us His Only Desire in August. Don’t don’t miss miss either either one one.

Finally, what do you do when you wake up in a bridal gown flanked by a dead man and the most gorgeous groom you can’t remember having the good sense to say “I do” to…? Find out in Marriage: Classified by Linda O. Johnston.

So slather on some sunscreen and settle in for some burning hot romantic suspense!

Enjoy!

Denise O’Sullivan

Associate Senior Editor

Harlequin Intrigue

The Mysterious Twin

Leona Karr

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Leona Karr loves to read and write, and her favorite books are romantic suspense. Every book she writes is an exciting discovery as she finds the right combination of romance and intrigue. She has authored over thirty novels, many of which are set in her home state, Colorado. When she’s not reading and writing, she thoroughly enjoys spoiling her eight beautiful granddaughters.

HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE

120—TREASURE HUNT

144—FALCON’S CRY

184—HIDDEN SERPENT

227—FLASHPOINT

262—CUPID’S DAGGER

309—BODYGUARD

366—THE CHARMER

459—FOLLOW ME HOME

487—MYSTERY DAD

574—INNOCENT WITNESS

623—THE MYSTERIOUS TWIN

Ashley Camdon—Identical twin posing as her sister. The deception puts her life in jeopardy.

Kyle Stone—A Federal undercover agent. He is caught in the web of his own deception.

Jill Camdon Gordon—A twin who is the catalyst for deceit and intrigue. She unwittingly sends her sister into a web of danger.

Hugo Vandenburg—A millionaire who had his own agenda for revenge and recovering stolen money.

Budge Gordon—Husband of Jill Gordon. He is a hunted man and a fugitive from justice.

Rudy Dietz—A threatening, unscrupulous man. He is intent upon his own gain.

With love to Cheri Benetez,

whose special friendship is a joy and blessing in my life.

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

Epilogue

“Are you out of your mind?” Ashley Camdon stared at her twin sister in utter disbelief.

“No, I’m just making a simple request.”

“A simple request?” Ashley repeated in utter amazement.

“All you have to do is pretend to be me for just a few days until I get over this bronchitis. I’ve got this job that I desperately need, and I’m in no shape to start tomorrow.” Jill’s next fit of coughing turned into sobbing. “After all that’s happened, Ashley, I just can’t take any more. It’s just too much…Budge leaving me the way he did and the police looking for him!”

“Honey, things always look darker when you’re sick,” Ashley said gently. She refrained from commenting on Jill’s missing husband. This wasn’t the time to point out her sister’s blindness where Budge Gordon was concerned. Her marriage to the basketball star had plunged her life to an all-time low. The papers had been filled with the charges pending against her husband for illegal betting and game fixing. Budge had disappeared two months ago with thousands of dollars in betting money, leaving behind a wife and baby with bills to pay and very little income.

Ashley sighed. Jill had often mocked Ashley’s view that a woman could take care of herself. But more than once she had depended upon her sister’s steady presence to get her out of a jam.

“It’s not as if we haven’t switched places before,” Jill reminded her with a wan smile. As identical twins with honey-blond hair and deep blue eyes, they had fooled teachers, friends and even boyfriends while they were growing up. But their lifestyles were now as different as those of any two siblings could be. Ashley’s sedate, well-ordered life as a college professor bored Jill to death and, in turn, Ashley couldn’t stand Jill’s high-flying, tempestuous flare for excitement.

“But this is different,” Ashley protested. “A nanny? You have to be kidding.”

“This job is a godsend, Ashley. When Hugo Vandenburg offered to let me take care of his two grandkids while their parents are in Europe, I couldn’t believe my luck. As owner of Budge’s basketball team, he lost a lot of money because of Budge, and he sympathizes with my situation. Even though Hugo was embarrassed by a lot of negative publicity around him and the team, he was kind enough to offer me this job. If I don’t show up as planned, I can kiss the job goodbye. His two grandkids are eight and ten. For heaven’s sake, Ashley, you ought to be able to babysit them for a few days. And Davie’s gotten used to you, so he won’t be much trouble.”

Ashley couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d already flown from Denver to Atlanta to help Jill get over her illness and take care of her baby. Now her sister expected her to take the baby, go off somewhere to be a nanny to two children she’d never met and pretend that she was Mrs. Budge Gordon who had a husband running from the law.