His Mysterious Ways. Amanda Stevens
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How they came to be
Buried deep beneath an abandoned military base, in reinforced bunkers long ago forgotten by the outside world, a group of supersoldiers was born, a black ops team not only trained in combat, but also imbued with extraordinary skills that allow them to defy dimension, reality and time itself.
When a top secret mission goes terribly awry, three special heroes are forced to accept their own mortality. Abandoned and betrayed by ruthless superiors, they must struggle to put the pieces of their lives—and their memories—back together. But in resurrecting those memories, secrets will be uncovered. Lives will be lost. And a dark and deadly conspiracy will finally be exposed.
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Take a very well-deserved break from Thanksgiving preparations and rejuvenate yourself with Harlequin Intrigue’s tempting offerings this month!
To start off the festivities, Harper Allen brings you Covert Cowboy—the next riveting installment of COLORADO CONFIDENTIAL. Watch the sparks fly when a Native American secret agent teams up with the headstrong mother of his unborn child to catch a slippery criminal. Looking to live on the edge? Then enter the dark and somber HEARTSKEEP estate—with caution!—when Dani Sinclair brings you The Second Sister—the next book in her gothic trilogy.
The thrills don’t stop there! His Mysterious Ways pairs a ruthless mercenary with a secretive seductress as they ward off evil forces. Don’t miss this new series in Amanda Stevens’s extraordinary QUANTUM MEN books. Join Mallory Kane for an action-packed story about a heroine who must turn to a tough-hearted FBI operative when she’s targeted by a stalker in Bodyguard/Husband.
A homecoming unveils a deadly conspiracy in Unmarked Man by Darlene Scalera—the latest offering in our new theme promotion BACHELORS AT LARGE. And finally this month, ’tis the season for some spine-tingling suspense in The Christmas Target by Charlotte Douglas when a sexy cowboy cop must ride to the rescue as a twisted Santa sets his sights on a beautiful businesswoman.
So gather your loved ones all around and warm up by the fire with some steamy romantic suspense!
Enjoy,
Denise O’Sullivan
Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
His Mysterious Ways
Amanda Stevens
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amanda Stevens is the bestselling author of over thirty novels of romantic suspense. In addition to being a Romance Writers of America RITA® Award finalist, she is also the recipient of awards in Career Achievement in Romantic/Mystery and Career Achievement in Romantic/Suspense from Romantic Times magazine. She currently resides in Texas. To find out more about past, present and future projects, please visit her Web site at www.amandastevens.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Melanie Stark—She’s come to the tiny Central American country of Cartéga to find the one man who can unlock the secrets of her past.
Jon Lassiter—A ruthless mercenary known as el guerrero del demonio—the demon warrior.
Richard Stark—Once a quantum physicist for a top secret operation known as the Montauk Projects, he’s been on the run for years.
Dr. Wilder—An American doctor involved in a very dangerous business.
Hoyt Kruger—He’s hired el guerrero del demonio to protect his oil wells in Cartéga. But does he have an ulterior motive?
Martin Grace—Kruger’s partner is a man of few words…and fewer scruples.
Angus Bond—An Australian expatriate with a fondness for the bottle and a penchant for trouble.
Blanca del Torrio—Is she really in love with Dr. Wilder, or does the older man have something she wants?
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 One
They called her Angel because they didn’t know her real name and because the tiny hand-shaped birth-mark on the left side of her face made it seem as though she’d been touched by God.
Even so, she was a very sick child, the latest victim of a deadly epidemic that had swept through remote villages along the banks of the Salamá River in the tiny Central American country of Cartéga.
Melanie Stark had found the little girl on the steps of the clinic in Santa Elena when she’d gone there to volunteer. Huddled beneath a dirty, ragged blanket, the child had been suffering from high fever, chills, chest congestion, persistent cough and a florid maculopapular rash over her face, arms and trunk that was similar to, but not entirely consistent with typhus.
Where she had come from or who had left her, no one knew. For the first forty-eight hours, her condition had been touch-and-go. Finally, on the third day, her temperature had dropped and her breathing became less labored, but she still had a long way to go for a full recovery.
Melanie had barely left the little girl’s bedside since she’d frantically carried her into the clinic three days ago. She’d sat with her morning and night, reading to her, talking to her softly, sometimes praying. Now she reached out to touch a tiny hand beneath the oxygen tent, but the child didn’t stir.
Dr. Wilder, who ran the clinic, squeezed Melanie’s shoulder, then nodded toward the door. Reluctantly, she got up and followed him out. His solemn expression alarmed her.
Melanie turned to him anxiously once they were outside the closed door. “She’s better today, right? Her fever is down, her color is improving…”
“Yes, that’s the good news.” Dr. Wilder stripped off his surgical gloves and dropped them in a nearby waste receptacle. He wasn’t a particularly tall man, standing only a couple of inches above Melanie’s five foot seven, but he was trim and toned and the close-cropped beard and mustache gave him a distinguished, intellectual appearance. He was American, but Melanie couldn’t place his accent.
When she’d first met him, she’d judged him to be around fifty-five, but after having spent the past few days in his company, she’d come to the conclusion that he was one of those men whose age could be anywhere from late forties to late sixties.
He was refined, gentle, a very good doctor from what she’d observed, although, admittedly, a premed dropout such as she was perhaps not the best judge. Still, she’d been impressed with his care and treatment of Angel. Melanie was convinced the child wouldn’t have made it through that first day without Dr. Wilder’s expertise.
Why someone with his obvious skill and talent had ended up in a place like