Sharon Sala - Familiar Stranger

“Jonah”

The mysterious man behind the SPEAR agency

is about to come out of hiding and do combat

with his greatest nemesis….

But first, the world-weary agent had a debt of the

heart to pay. And so he traveled to see the one

woman he had always loved—the woman he had

left behind—but had never forgotten….

Cara Justice

Age had only made this blue-eyed beauty

even more lovely….

She had never thought she would see him again,

yet suddenly, there before her, stood the man

she had fallen in love with when she was just

sixteen. The father of her child and the soldier

who had stolen her heart. Dare she hope their

happily-ever-after had finally arrived?

“Simon”

He would have his revenge, even at the cost

of revealing himself to his foe….

Simon was preparing for his greatest battle yet—

facing down the one man he could never forgive.

The elusive “Jonah,” a man he knew better than

anyone—even himself. A man he was determined

to destroy—even if he died in the process….

Dear Reader,

The excitement continues in Intimate Moments. First of all, this month brings the emotional and exciting conclusion of A YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY. In Familiar Stranger, Sharon Sala presents the final confrontation with the archvillain known as Simon—and you’ll finally find out who he really is. You’ll also be there as Jonah revisits the woman he’s never forgotten and decides it’s finally time to make some important changes in his life.

Also this month, welcome back Candace Camp to the Intimate Moments lineup. Formerly known as Kristin James, this multitalented author offers a Hard-Headed Texan who lives in A LITTLE TOWN IN TEXAS, which will enthrall readers everywhere. Paula Detmer Riggs returns with Daddy with a Badge, another installment in her popular MATERNITY ROW miniseries—and next month she’s back with Born a Hero, the lead book in our new Intimate Moments continuity, FIRSTBORN SONS. Complete the month with Moonglow, Texas, by Mary McBride, Linda Castillo’s Cops and…Lovers? and new author Susan Vaughan’s debut book, Dangerous Attraction.

By the way, don’t forget to check out our Silhouette Makes You a Star contest on the back of every book.

We hope to see you next month, too, when not only will FIRSTBORN SONS be making its bow, but we’ll also be bringing you a brand-new TALL, DARK AND DANGEROUS title from award-winning Suzanne Brockmann. For now…enjoy!

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

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Dear Reader,

I hope you’ve been enjoying A YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY. The past eleven books have been action-packed, emotionally charged stories of larger-than-life heroes and heroines who were willing to risk everything, including their lives, to keep their country safe, as well as protecting the identity of the inimitable Jonah. From the first book to the eleventh, we have come to understand the depths of respect in which Jonah is held, but the stories were always about the people who worked for him. With only an occasional glimpse into this secretive man’s life, we could only imagine what drove him.

But now, in this twelfth book, Familiar Stranger, Jonah’s story is finally told. I think you will agree with me that this hero is everything you expected him to be and more. His journey has been a lonely one, but with a showdown between him and the deadly Simon inevitable, he does something completely out of character and against all the vows he took when he slipped into the shoes of Jonah. He goes in search of the woman he lost and the family he’s never known.

As you read, the heart of the man will be revealed, as will Simon’s identity. And even then, you won’t know—until the very last pages—how A YEAR OF LOVING DANGEROUSLY will end.

I love to hear from my readers and can be reached at P.O. Box 127, Henryetta, OK, 74437, or online c/o www.eHarlequin.com.

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

Epilogue

Author Note

Rain thumped against the small, thatched roof like soggy bullets. The familiar sound of an incoming Huey rocked the air as it passed overhead, but Private David Wilson was deaf to everything but the panic.

Blood…so much blood. Don’t look at Frank. Don’t think about what he’s done…what he made you do. Destroy the evidence before it’s too late.

The scent of gasoline was everywhere now. On the walls, on the bodies, saturating the money that his brother, Frank, had been willing to die for.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Money for guns. Brother for brother. Honor for sale. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Match. Need a match. Don’t look at Frank. Just think about what has to be done.

Jonah rolled from his belly to his back and kicked in his sleep, unconsciously sending his covers to the foot of the bed. Even though the second-story window beside his bed was open, there was little breeze stirring. It was unseasonably warm for the Colorado mountains this time of year, but the sweat on his body wasn’t from the heat of the night. It was from the hell in his dream. And even in that dream, he still couldn’t control his own warning.

He looked. And saw the dead gunrunners…and the money, now saturated with rain and mud and gasoline…and the blood pooling beneath his brother’s body.

A muscle twitched near Jonah’s mouth, a reflex to the scream echoing inside his mind as the match was struck. A word slipped from between his lips, too faint to be heard, although it hardly mattered. He’d been alone for so many years he wouldn’t have known how to share his thoughts if he’d had the chance.

In the space of one breath, the dream jumped from 1974 and Vietnam to two weeks ago in New York City, bringing with it the same sense of desperation and leaving Jonah writhing in torment.