www.millsandboon.co.uk

      This book is dedicated to Laurie Pyke and

       Cheryl Shoemaker, two of the most devoted,

       enthusiastic fans a writer could ever hope for.

      And to Don, for giving me the best fifteen years of my life.

       Happy anniversary.

      Contents

      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

      1

      FOR JOELLE SOMMERS, success was sweet and heady, and almost as exhilarating as great sex. Not that she’d had any of the latter lately, she thought wryly as she settled into her cushy office chair and propped her booted feet on the corner of her cluttered desk. But today’s triumph more than made up for not having a man in her life. Sex provided a fleeting buzz com pared to the elation of finally solving a difficult abduction or missing persons case and reuniting the individuals involved.

      A smile tugged the corner of her mouth. When she’d made that idle comparison to a girlfriend during an evening of dinner and drinks, her friend blithely responded that she obviously wasn’t getting laid by the right man, because the blissful aftereffects of sexual gratification could last for days on end.

      Imagine that, Jo mused with wonder, unable to ignore the tingling warmth infusing her veins. She reached for a file folder next to her blotter and she sighed. That’s about all she did these days…imagine, because she’d discovered that fantasies were so much better than her reality. Finding and wanting any man, let alone the right man, had become a tiresome quest that no longer appealed to her.

      Unfortunately, Jo could always count on the men she dated to balk at her working in a male-dominated field filled with dangerous scenarios. Ultimately, they didn’t understand her drive and passion for locating missing people, especially abducted children. And when they discovered she was an ex-cop and moonlighted as a bounty hunter on occasion, most felt compelled and obligated to lecture her on the perils of a woman capturing wanted fugitives. And how could she do such a thing without male protection?

      Oh, puh-leeze! She’d had enough of that overbearing attitude from her two older brothers. While Cole and Noah had learned over the years to tamp down the guardian tendencies they’d honed at a very early age, both still managed to interfere with cases they believed were too much for her to handle. It was a battle she constantly struggled to win.

      She couldn’t seem to escape the male stereotypes that dictated she belonged in a safer line of business, or married, barefoot and pregnant, so she sacrificed sex—good, bad, or indifferent—for the thrill of the chase her cases provided. A piteous substitute for carnal pleasures, she knew, but she didn’t need the frustration and hassles that came with involvement with the opposite sex.

      Nor had any man inspired enough lust or passion to make it worth the effort, Jo mused as she stamped CASE CLOSED in red ink across the front label of the file she’d finally solved. Now that was the kind of satisfaction that drove and excited her.

      A brisk knock sounded on her open office door, followed by the entrance of Melodie Turner, Sommers Investigative Specialists’ front-end secretary. “A delivery just came for you,” she announced, flashing a grin that lit up a pretty face untouched by cosmetics. “And it has the makings of a celebration.”

      Jo swept her feet back to the floor and sat up in her chair, eyeing the cellophane-wrapped gift basket Melodie placed in the center of her desk. Withdrawing the enclosed card, Jo smiled as she read the note from the Faron family thanking her for spending the past six months searching for, and for finding, their runaway daughter, Rachel.

      It hadn’t been an easy case. The thirteen-year-old girl had left a cold, difficult trail to follow by changing her name and appearance, but Jo had eventually tracked her down to a cult just outside of Sacramento, where Rachel had been selling beaded necklaces on the street. Convincing the teenager to return home had been much simpler than tracking her. The young girl, regretting her rash actions and no longer feeling defiant and rebellious, admitted to being homesick and missing her family. A perfect ending with a joyful reunion.

      Unfortunately, not all of her missing person cases ended that way, and each one that did was a cause for celebration.

      Jo peeled away the cellophane to reveal the treats hidden within the basket. “Umm, champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Care to join me in a toast?”

      Melodie looked just as eager to sample the enticing delicacies. “You don’t have to ask me twice. It’s ten after five, I’m technically off the clock, and I certainly don’t have a better offer waiting for me.”

      Jo slanted her an amused look. “What, no hot Friday night date?”

      Melodie rolled her eyes as she lifted the bottle of champagne from