Marie Force - Fatal Threat

With a killer on the loose, it’s the worst time to be on lockdown...

It’s just another day at the office for Washington Metro Police lieutenant Sam Holland when a body surfaces off the shores of the Anacostia River. But before Sam can sink her teeth into the new case, Secret Service agents seize her from the crime scene. A threat has been made against her family, but nobody will tell her anything—including the whereabouts of her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano.

This isn’t the first time the couple’s lives have been at risk, but when a bombshell from Sam’s past returns to haunt her, she can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection. With a ruthless killer out for vengeance, and Nick struggling to maintain his reputation after secrets from his own past are revealed, Sam works to tie the threat to a murder that can’t possibly be a coincidence. And she has to get it done before her husband’s career is irrevocably damaged...

Praise for the Fatal Series by New York Times bestselling author Marie Force

“Force’s skill is also evident in the way that she develops the characters, from the murdered and mutilated senator to the detective and chief of staff who are trying to solve the case. The heroine, Sam, is especially complex and her secrets add depth to this mystery... This novel is The O.C. does D.C., and you just can’t get enough.”

—RT Book Reviews on Fatal Affair (4½ stars)

“Force pushes the boundaries by deftly using political issues like immigration to create an intricate mystery.”

—RT Book Reviews on Fatal Consequences (4 stars)

“The romance, the mystery, the ongoing story lines...everything about these books has me sitting on the edge of my seat and begging for more. I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series. I give Fatal Deception an A.”

—TheBookPushers.com

“The suspense is thick, the passion between Nick and Sam just keeps getting hotter and hotter.”

—Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews on Fatal Deception

“The perfect mesh of mystery and romance.”

—Night Owl Reviews on Fatal Scandal (5 stars)

Fatal Threat

Marie Force

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text With a killer on the loose, it’s the worst time to be on lockdown... It’s just another day at the office for Washington Metro Police lieutenant Sam Holland when a body surfaces off the shores of the Anacostia River. But before Sam can sink her teeth into the new case, Secret Service agents seize her from the crime scene. A threat has been made against her family, but nobody will tell her anything—including the whereabouts of her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano. This isn’t the first time the couple’s lives have been at risk, but when a bombshell from Sam’s past returns to haunt her, she can’t help but wonder if there’s a connection. With a ruthless killer out for vengeance, and Nick struggling to maintain his reputation after secrets from his own past are revealed, Sam works to tie the threat to a murder that can’t possibly be a coincidence. And she has to get it done before her husband’s career is irrevocably damaged...

Praise Praise for the Fatal Series by New York Times bestselling author Marie Force “Force’s skill is also evident in the way that she develops the characters, from the murdered and mutilated senator to the detective and chief of staff who are trying to solve the case. The heroine, Sam, is especially complex and her secrets add depth to this mystery... This novel is The O.C. does D.C., and you just can’t get enough.” —RT Book Reviews on Fatal Affair (4½ stars) “Force pushes the boundaries by deftly using political issues like immigration to create an intricate mystery.” —RT Book Reviews on Fatal Consequences (4 stars) “The romance, the mystery, the ongoing story lines...everything about these books has me sitting on the edge of my seat and begging for more. I am anxiously awaiting the next in the series. I give Fatal Deception an A.” —TheBookPushers.com “The suspense is thick, the passion between Nick and Sam just keeps getting hotter and hotter.” —Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews on Fatal Deception “The perfect mesh of mystery and romance.” —Night Owl Reviews on Fatal Scandal (5 stars)

Title Page Fatal Threat Marie Force www.millsandboon.co.uk

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

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

EPILOGUE

AUTHOR NOTE

BRINGING NOAH HOME

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

A JOGGER SPOTTED the body floating in the Anacostia River just south of the John Philip Sousa Bridge.

“I hate these kinds of calls,” Lieutenant Sam Holland said to her partner, Detective Freddie Cruz, as she battled District traffic on their way to the city’s southeastern quadrant. “No one knows if this is a homicide, but they call us in anyway. We get to stand around and sweat our balls off while the ME does her thing.”

“I hesitate to point out, Lieutenant, that you don’t actually have balls to sweat off.”

“You know what I mean!”

“Yeah, I do,” he said with a sigh. “It’s going to be a long, hot, smelly Friday down at the river waiting to find out if we’re needed.”

“I gotta have a talk with Dispatch about when we’re to be called and when we are not to be called.”

“Let me know how that goes.”

“To make this day even better, after work I have to go to a fitting for my freaking bridesmaid dress. I’m too damned old to be a damned bridesmaid.”

His snort of laughter only served to further irritate her, which of course made him laugh harder.

“It’s not funny!”

“Yeah, it really is.” With dark brown hair, an always-tan complexion and the perfect amount of stubble on his jaw, he really was too cute for words, not that she’d ever tell him that. Everywhere they went together, women took notice of him. For all he cared. He was madly in love with Elin Svendsen and looking forward to their autumn wedding. Wiping laughter tears from his brown eyes, he said, “I won’t make you wear a dress when you’re my best-man woman.”

“Thank God for that. I need to stop making friends. That was my first mistake.”

“Poor Jeannie,” he said of their colleague, Detective Jeannie McBride, who was getting married next weekend. “Does she have any idea that she has a hostile bridesmaid in her wedding party?”

“Of course she does. Her sisters left me completely out of the planning of the shower, no doubt at her request. I’ll be forever grateful for that small favor.” Sam shuddered, recalling an afternoon of horrifyingly stupid “shower games,” paper plates full of ribbons and bows, and dirty jokes about the wedding night for two people who’d been living together for more than a year. The whole thing had given her hives.