Melinda Di Lorenzo - Undercover Passion

He’s not who he says he is.

But he’s her only hope.

Undercover detective Harley Maxwell has spent years tracking a master criminal. And the key to capturing his archrival lies with single mom Liz James, who might be aiding his target. Making Liz talk—by getting close to her—could also unravel a connected mystery that’s haunted Harley for years. But when Liz’s young daughter is kidnapped, getting the girl back becomes all that matters.

Amazon bestselling author MELINDA DI LORENZOwrites in her spare time—at soccer practices, when she should be doing laundry and in place of sleep. She lives on the beautiful west coast of British Columbia, Canada, with her handsome husband and her noisy kids. When she’s not writing, she can be found curled up with (someone else’s) good book.

Also By Melinda Di Lorenzo

Undercover Justice

Captivating Witness

Undercover Protector

Undercover Passion

Worth the Risk

Last Chance Hero

Silent Rescue

Trusting a Stranger

Deceptions and Desires

Pinups and Possibilities

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Undercover Passion

Melinda Di Lorenzo

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-07953-2

UNDERCOVER PASSION

© 2018 Melinda A. Di Lorenzo

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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Her daughter was gone.

“Teegan?” Liz’s voice was low the first time she said it. Not so much the second. “Teegan!”

Harley appeared back in the doorway then, his face far, far too still.

A thousand furious butterflies beat inside Liz’s stomach, and when she spoke, her words came out in a cracked whisper. “Where is she?”

Harley started to shake his head, and Liz saw the answer in his eyes. Her daughter was gone. Taken by whoever had assaulted poor Miss Wilma and left her unconscious.

Liz wanted to scream. To cry out. To pound her fists on the wall. To shake the old woman awake and demand to know what had happened.

Minutes, she thought desperately. We were in the other room for five minutes! Ten, tops.

She didn’t realize she’d said it aloud until Harley answered.

“That’s all it takes,” he said. “But we’ll figure this out, Liz. We’ll get her back.”

“How?” Now her voice was shrill.

Where was her daughter?

* * *

Undercover Justice: Four brothers-in-arms on a mission for justice...

Dear Reader,

I am so excited to introduce you to Harley and Liz. I love them both to bits.

Harley, though, is extraspecial to me. He’s a big bear of man on the outside, but he’s sweet and soft on the inside. You’ll get to see lots of that as he interacts with Liz’s little girl, Teegan! As with the rest of the brothers-in-arms in my Undercover Justice series, Harley became a detective to make sure his father’s killer was put behind bars for good. But unlike the other guys, Harley might’ve chosen a different path if he hadn’t been so focused on justice. So in addition to working with the police, he has a degree in art, he sculpts and is a computer whiz, and he’s delighted to put those talents and interests to use.

I hope you fall in love with him as much as Liz does!

Happy reading,

Melinda Di Lorenzo

To Mr. and Mrs. O., for your invaluable help with my “police” work.

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

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

Liz James flicked the cash register shut with a barely stifled sigh. She handed the customer her wrapped sculpture and a receipt, then mustered up a smile.

“Thanks so much!” she said. “I’m sure it’ll look great on your son’s fireplace mantel.”

The woman—a tourist in from Freemont—nodded her appreciation, tucked the package under her arm and exited the store. And Liz let out the sigh, glad that the clock over the door read three minutes past five. She slid out from behind the counter, quickly flicked the lock shut, then stole a quick glance outside before she began the roll-down of the shutters. Hers was the last building on the block, which meant she had a good view of the rest. They were all already closed and dark. She was, as usual, the slowest at getting things shut down. She fought yet another sigh.

She usually loved her job. She loved the art. She loved the customers. She really loved being her own boss. But today had seemed especially long. Her biggest supplier—the man who also held the lease on her art store and the apartment above where she and her daughter lived—had dropped off a dozen extra paintings first thing in the morning, and Liz had spent most of her hours trying to find a home for them. As always, the stock sent in by Jesse Garibaldi wasn’t particularly high-end. But she knew it would move quickly, anyway. The man seemed to have an endless stream of interested parties who were willing to pay top dollar for the pieces.