Jennifer Morey - Hometown Detective

Sparks fly between a detective and the woman he’s driven to protect

A Cold Case Detectives romance...

Nomadic detective Roman Cooper struggled to carve out a life for himself. But when a suspicious death calls him home, he lets instinct lead him to Kendra Scott. Irresistibly confident, Kendra is certain that someone murdered her sister and insists on working the case with him. Tracking a killer puts them both in jeopardy, and Roman must confront a different threat: the temptation to stay.

Two-time RITA® Award nominee and Golden Quill award-winner JENNIFER MOREY writes single-title contemporary romance and page-turning romantic suspense. She has a geology degree and has managed export programs in compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) for the aerospace industry. She lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Denver, Colorado, and loves to hear from readers through her website, jennifermorey.com, or Facebook.

Also By Jennifer Morey

Cold Case Detectives

A Wanted Man

Justice Hunter

Cold Case Recruit

Taming Deputy Harlow

Runaway Heiress

Hometown Detective

The Coltons of Shadow Creek

Mission: Colton Justice

The Coltons of Texas

A Baby for Agent Colton

Ivy Avengers

Front Page Affair

Armed and Famous

One Secret Night

The Eligible Suspect

All McQueen’s Men

The Secret Soldier

Heiress Under Fire

Unmasking the Mercenary

Special Ops Affair

Seducing the Accomplice

Seducing the Colonel’s Daughter

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Hometown Detective

Jennifer Morey

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07902-0

HOMETOWN DETECTIVE

© 2018 Jennifer Morey

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

Before you start reading, why not sign up?

Thank you for downloading this Mills & Boon book. If you want to hear about exclusive discounts, special offers and competitions, sign up to our email newsletter today!

SIGN ME UP!

Or simply visit

signup.millsandboon.co.uk

Mills & Boon emails are completely free to receive and you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send you.

“Are you sure about this?”

Roman didn’t glance back at Kendra, who had arrested his senses when she came out of her house dressed like a cat burglar. Sexy as hell.

He heard and felt the click of the lock as he picked it.

“Yes.”

“But if we find anything, it won’t be admitted as evidence.”

He lifted the overhead door. “Only if we take it with us.” Anything they found he’d photograph and leave. Nobody had to know he’d been in this unit.

“I’d never get a warrant without enough cause and we don’t have enough cause. Yet. I hope to find something to go on in here.”

“Something that will give us cause.”

“Yes.” He turned on the light on his hat and turned to Kendra to turn on hers. The light showed him the soft, pretty lines of her face and her green eyes looking up at him, emitting the same heat he felt kindling inside him.

“Don’t look at me like that right now,” he said.

“Like what?”

“Like you want me to kiss you.”

* * *

Be sure to check out the next books in this miniseries.

Cold Case Detectives: Powerful investigations, unexpected passion...

Dear Reader,

When I decided to write Hometown Detective, I wanted to set the story in a charming small town. I picked Chesterville, West Virginia (which is a fictitious town, as are most of the towns in my stories), because of its location near Monongahela National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains. So, the town is as dear to me as the characters. Roman Cooper is a hometown man. He just needs the right woman to bring him back there!

Curl up in your cozies and see how a Christmas shop entrepreneur and a reluctant, sexy detective overcome personal obstacles as they chase down a killer. You may also want to check out my other Cold Case Detectives books. I am beginning to build up quite a few.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Morey

For Mom. Wish you were here to see this.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Introduction

Dear Reader

Dedication

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

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

The bakery owner approached the checkout counter with an anniversary bouquet and Kendra Scott’s day brightened. One of her regulars, she knew him by name. She also gave him some of her business, but not because she felt obligated. Denny and his wife made the best pastries she’d ever tasted. A big guy, his lumbering gait made him seem like a teddy bear in an intimidating body. Kendra adored her customers, especially those who showed genuine love for their spouses. She also adored them when they kept her busy or provided much needed distractions over the last few days.

Waiting for Dark Alley Investigations to send a detective was beginning to grate on her. When would someone call? Jasper Roesch had told her he’d assign someone to her case, but so far no one had come. She was anxious to get started on the investigation into her twin sister’s murder. She called it murder but the police hadn’t. Yet. She’d get them to change their minds. Her twin sister did not commit suicide.