Kara Lennox - Outside the Law

What lies beneath

Mitch Delacroix is everything Beth McClelland likes in a man. Smart, good-looking and so very safe. She’s this close to making her intentions known.

Then Mitch is accused of murdering his best friend years ago. Suddenly his rebel past—including the criminal record—is revealed to everyone.

But something doesn’t fit—the Mitch she knows couldn’t possibly kill anyone. She’s determined to find the truth. As a forensics expert, she’s used to uncovering people’s secrets. Yet she never expected Mitch could be hiding so many. Despite rising doubts, she’ll help clear his name. Even if what she discovers could threaten their relationship…and their lives.

“He said no?” Raleigh guessed correctly.

“He said he was busy.” Beth slumped onto a sofa, swallowing back the tears that threatened. So Mitch had turned her down. Big deal. Beth had been concerned that an office romance might affect their working relationship, anyway.

“He didn’t issue a counteroffer?” Raleigh sounded genuinely perplexed.

“Maybe he would have.” Beth knew she was grasping at straws. “He never got the chance. His half brother was there, asking a lot of questions about something that happened years ago when Mitch lived in— I can hardly say it. Coot’s Bayou. Did you know he was from a place called Coot’s Bayou?”

“Seems I heard about it at some point.”

“Did you know he stole a car?”

“He was a teenager at the time. The charges were dropped.”

“So you did know. You encouraged me to hook up with a criminal, when you know—”

“He’s not a criminal. He’s a good person, Beth.”

“Maybe.” Deep down, Beth felt that Mitch was good—not that she could trust her own instincts where men were concerned. “But now he’s being accused of murder.”

Dear Reader,

When I introduced the character of Mitch Delacroix in an earlier book, all I really knew about him was that he was a charming Cajun and an expert computer hacker. But once I started to research the setting for this book—the bayous of Southern Louisiana—he came to life in a sudden burst of inspiration. His wild past and the reasons for his youthful rebellion, his current, secret life as a mixed martial arts cage fighter, his relationship with his half brother—it all came to me in a clump. The man was just there, fully formed, smiling that wicked-charming half smile, and all I had to do was take dictation from him.

Mitch’s story, though, wasn’t always easy to write. For one thing, I didn’t know beans about cage fighting. Bless my supportive husband, he bought tickets to a live mixed martial arts event so I could see for myself what it’s like. I blew my holiday gift cards on MMA magazines and spent hours watching YouTube video lessons on jujitsu and Muay Tai fighting techniques. Then I had my husband—a second-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do—read my fight scenes to be sure they rang true.

I hope you enjoy the wild ride that Mitch took me on, and that you’ll cheer on Beth, his sweet heroine, as she tries to find common ground with a man who turns out to be very different from the computer nerd she thought she wanted.

Sincerely,

Kara Lennox

Outside the Law

Kara Lennox

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kara Lennox has earned her living at various times as an art director, typesetter, textbook editor and reporter. She’s worked in a boutique, a health club and an ad agency. She’s been an antiques dealer, an artist and even a blackjack dealer. But no work has ever made her happier than writing romance novels. To date, she has written more than sixty books. Kara is a recent transplant to Southern California. When not writing, she indulges in an ever-changing array of hobbies. Her latest passions are bird-watching, long-distance bicycling, vintage jewelry and, by necessity, do-it-yourself home renovation. She loves to hear from readers. You can find her at www.karalennox.com.

Books by Kara Lennox

HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE

1689—TAKEN TO THE EDGE‡

1695—NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH‡

1701—A SCORE TO SETTLE‡

HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE

974—FORTUNE’S TWINS

990—THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR

1052—THE FORGOTTEN COWBOY

1068—HOMETOWN HONEY*

1081—DOWNTOWN DEBUTANTE*

1093—OUT OF TOWN BRIDE*

1146—THE FAMILY RESCUE**

1150—HER PERFECT HERO**

1154—AN HONORABLE MAN**

1180—ONE STUBBORN TEXAN

1195—GOOD HUSBAND MATERIAL

1216—RELUCTANT PARTNERS†

1240—THE PREGNANCY SURPRISE†

1256—THE GOOD FATHER†

‡Project Justice

*Blond Justice

**Firehouse 59

†Second Sons

Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

Contents

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

EPILOGUE

CHAPTER ONE

“ASKHIMNOW.”

Beth McClelland shrank back into the hallway, her mind screaming Chicken! “He looks busy.”

“He’s probably just surfing the web. Computer geeks can always look busy.” Raleigh Shinn, Beth’s best friend, stood behind her with a hand on her shoulder, ready to push if necessary.

But Beth planted her feet firmly. It had seemed like a good idea yesterday, buying tickets to a zydeco concert, then casually telling Mitch Delacroix she had an extra if he wanted to come with her. She knew he liked that kind of music because he often played it as background noise while he hunted online for elusive data or missing witnesses.

“What if he says no?” Beth knew she sounded like a teenager, but she wasn’t ready for rejection. Since her last relationship had been so disastrous, she wanted to ease back into the dating world. Shouldn’t her first foray be with someone easier? Someone less complicated? Someone she didn’t care about?

She and Mitch had become friends. They had an easy working relationship and she genuinely enjoyed hanging out with him. Taking it to the next level might be a logical choice—or a disaster.

“He won’t say no,” Raleigh insisted. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and you said he isn’t dating anyone seriously.”

“Then why hasn’t he asked me out?” He certainly flirted enough.

“Stop stalling and get this over with, please. I’m tired of watching you make cow eyes at him. If he says no—which he won’t—you can at least move on.”

Raleigh was a compassionate friend, but she never minced words. Her legal training had taught her to get to the heart of the matter in the most direct way possible.

“Can I help you ladies with something?”

Beth stifled a gasp and took a step back. While she’d been arguing with Raleigh, Mitch Delacroix had come out of his chair and walked over. He now stood less than two feet away, his thumbs hooked into the pockets of his faded jeans.

She tried to say something, but her tongue had grown twice its normal size and her brain felt as though it just went through a blender. She had no trouble testifying in court about DNA molecules and ion exchange chromatography, and normally she could hold her own with men, professionally or socially. But just the thought of asking Mitch Delacroix out on a date—a real date—twisted her up inside. She’d never been interested in someone she worked with before, so maybe her instincts were trying to tell her this was a bad idea.

To hell with instincts. She wanted Mitch and she wasn’t going to let anything stop her.

Raleigh leaned in and whispered, “Don’t screw this up. I’m out of here.” She walked away, leaving Beth and Mitch standing in the doorway.